Johnson County Marriage License
Marriage licenses and marriage records are Johnson County County Clerk functions. The County Clerk office is at 230 Court Street, Suite 124, Paintsville, KY 41240, with phone 606-789-2557, fax 606-789-2559, email sallee.holbrook@ky.gov, and Monday-Friday hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The clerk's records page says marriages are indexed and scanned in CCLIX back to 1797 and that public records and indices are available for free viewing in the office.
Statewide Kentucky marriage-license instructions say both applicants must appear together, the license is valid for 30 days from issuance, the fee is non-refundable, and the license must be used in Kentucky. Johnson County research did not locate a local page giving a current county-specific marriage-license fee, age documentation rule, appointment requirement, or certified-copy price. Those details should be confirmed with the County Clerk before a visit.
Johnson County Clerk
230 Court Street, Suite 124
Paintsville, KY 41240
606-789-2557
Email: sallee.holbrook@ky.gov
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Apply for Johnson County Marriage
A safe marriage-license process in Johnson County starts with the County Clerk rather than the Circuit Court Clerk. The Clerk's website has a forms page and contact form, and its records page points to CCLIX/eCCLIX for historical records. Because the research did not find a dedicated Johnson County marriage-license instruction page, applicants should confirm the current local fee, ID requirements, accepted payment types, and whether walk-in service is available before going to the office.
- Call the County Clerk to confirm the current marriage-license fee, required identification, and whether both applicants can appear during regular office hours.
- Go to the County Clerk office at 230 Court Street, Suite 124 during posted hours. Both applicants should appear together under the statewide Kentucky instruction.
- Provide the information requested for the license application, review the spelling of names, and ask how certified copies can be ordered after the marriage is returned for recording.
- Pay the non-refundable Kentucky marriage-license fee in the amount the County Clerk confirms at the time of application.
- Use the license in Kentucky within 30 days from issuance, then make sure the completed license is returned for recording.
Marriage Application Fields
Johnson County's research did not capture a local marriage-license application form with every blank. The Kentucky Application for Marriage/Divorce Certificate, Form VS-230, is linked from the County Clerk legal-records forms and shows the kind of identifying facts needed for certificate requests. For the license application itself, applicants should be ready to provide core identity and marriage details at the County Clerk counter.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Applicant full names | Yes | Use legal names and verify spelling before the license is issued. |
| Date of birth or age | Expected | Confirm required proof with the Johnson County Clerk before arrival. |
| Identification | Expected | Research did not locate a Johnson-specific ID list, so call the clerk first. |
| County of license | Yes | Certificate requests need the Kentucky county where the license was issued. |
| Date of marriage | For record search | Needed for certificate orders and historical search narrowing. |
| Requester contact | For copies | Use a mailing address, phone, or email for copy follow-up. |
Marriage and Divorce Fees
Some amounts were not available in official Johnson County sources. The County Clerk research specifically warns that no local marriage-license fee or certified-copy instruction page was located. The proper build treatment is to show the known fee status and the correct office, not to invent a dollar amount.
| Item | Amount or status |
|---|---|
| Johnson County marriage license | Confirm with County Clerk; local fee not located in official sources. |
| Marriage certified copy from County Clerk | Confirm with County Clerk before ordering. |
| State marriage/divorce certificate request | Use Kentucky CHFS Office of Vital Statistics instructions for current state fee. |
| Divorce case filing | Confirm with Circuit Court Clerk or Kentucky Court of Justice fee schedule. |
| Certified divorce decree | Confirm copy and certification fee with the Circuit Court Clerk. |
| Remote eCCLIX/CCLIX image access | Access fees apply for convenience; in-office viewing of public indices is free. |
Search Johnson County Marriage Records
The County Clerk's records page says marriages are indexed and scanned in CCLIX back to 1797. It lists marriages among the online real-estate and legal-record database categories and states that public records and indices are available for free viewing in the clerk's office. Remote image access through eCCLIX/CCLIX requires an account and password assigned by SMI, special software for document-image viewing, and access fees for the convenience of remote use.
For a local marriage record, start with the County Clerk. For a statewide certificate from June 1958 to present, use Kentucky CHFS Office of Vital Statistics. CHFS directs users seeking earlier records back to the county clerk for marriage licenses. Certificate requests require both parties' full names, date of marriage, and the Kentucky county where the marriage license was issued.
| Search route | Best for | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| County Clerk office | Free in-person viewing of public marriage indices and records. | Requires visiting during office hours. |
| eCCLIX / CCLIX | Remote marriage index and image access. | Account, password, software, and access fees may apply. |
| Kentucky CHFS Vital Statistics | Marriage certificates from June 1958 to present. | Older records route to the county clerk. |
| DOCALERT | Deed or mortgage recording alerts. | Not a marriage-record search tool. |
Find Johnson County Divorce Records
Divorce is a court case, not a County Clerk record category. Johnson County divorce decrees and divorce case files start with the Circuit Court Clerk at the Johnson County Judicial Center. Family Court and domestic schedules appear on the Kentucky Court of Justice Johnson County page. Family Court Motion Hour is listed for the second and fourth Tuesday at 9 a.m., motions must be filed Tuesday of the week before motion hour, and Domestic Court is listed at 9 a.m.
Online public case information may be available through KYeCourts guest access, subject to captcha and public-access limits. Divorce files can contain sensitive family-law material, including child custody, support, adoption-related material, juvenile information, protected addresses, financial account data, and confidential exhibits. Those parts may be sealed or redacted even when the existence of the case or a final decree is public.
Circuit Court Clerk
Johnson County Judicial Center
908 3rd Street, Suite 109
Paintsville, KY 41240
606-297-9567
Certified Marriage and Divorce Copies
Certified marriage copies and certified divorce decrees come from different sources. A Johnson County marriage certificate or license copy starts with the County Clerk unless the request is for a state vital-record certificate from CHFS. A Johnson County divorce decree starts with the Circuit Court Clerk because the decree is a court order. For either record type, certified copies should come from the issuing office, not from a third-party search result.
- Use the County Clerk for Johnson County marriage licenses, historical marriage entries, and clerk-certified marriage records.
- Use the Circuit Court Clerk for Johnson County divorce decrees and copies from the divorce case file.
- Use CHFS Office of Vital Statistics for Kentucky marriage and divorce certificates from June 1958 to present.
- For pre-June 1958 marriage records, CHFS sends users to the county clerk.
- For pre-June 1958 divorce decrees, CHFS sends users to the circuit court clerk.
Kentucky Vital Records Channel
Kentucky CHFS Office of Vital Statistics is the state certificate channel for marriage and divorce records from June 1958 to present. The County Clerk records page links the Kentucky Application for Marriage/Divorce Certificate, Form VS-230, under legal-records forms. Certificate requests need both parties' full names, the date of marriage or divorce, and the Kentucky county where the marriage license or divorce decree was issued.
Kentucky Court of Justice legal-help tools also include guided interviews for divorce without children and a VS-300 divorce certificate generator. Completed legal forms still must be printed and filed with the circuit court clerk in the county where the case is handled. The state certificate generator is not the same as filing the divorce case or obtaining a certified divorce decree from the Johnson County court file.
Johnson County Marriage Sources
The eCCLIX records access site supports the remote County Clerk records channel used for Johnson County marriage and legal-record searches.
Remote image use is a convenience path, while free inspection remains available at the County Clerk office for public records and indices.
The Johnson County DOCALERT registration page is tied to deed and mortgage fraud alerts.
DOCALERT is useful for recorded land instruments, but it is not a marriage-license or divorce-decree search.
Kentucky CHFS adoption confidentiality guidance explains why some family-law records are not open like ordinary marriage records.
That confidentiality context matters when divorce or family files include adoption, juvenile, or protected child information.
The CHFS inspection-of-adoption-records guidance gives more detail about statutory access paths.
Divorce records may be public in part, but sensitive family-law exhibits can still be restricted or redacted.
A 2026 Kentucky open-records news item provides statewide context for public-record limits.
Official copies still come from the County Clerk, Circuit Court Clerk, or CHFS, depending on the exact marriage or divorce record requested.