You can look up court cases in Kentucky two ways: search the state judiciary’s online system, CourtNet 2.0, for basic docket information, or visit the Circuit Clerk’s office in the county where the case was filed to review the full file. The online option is free and fast for confirming a case exists. The in-person option is what you need when you want to read the actual documents.
Searching Online Through CourtNet 2.0
The Kentucky Court of Justice runs CourtNet 2.0, an electronic system covering criminal and civil cases filed in both Circuit Court and District Court statewide.1Kentucky Court of Justice. KYeCourts Login You can search by case number, party name, or citation number.
What most people miss is that CourtNet has tiers. Full access, with detailed case information and documents, is a paid subscription available to Kentucky-licensed attorneys and approved media outlets. The general public gets a free version that shows basic docket information but not the complete case file. It’s enough to confirm a case exists, see the parties, find key dates, and track general status. It is not enough to read pleadings, orders, or judgments in full.
If the free search gives you what you need, you’re done. If it doesn’t, the next step is the courthouse.
Visiting the Circuit Clerk’s Office
Every Kentucky county has an elected Circuit Clerk who keeps and controls both Circuit Court and District Court records for that county.2Kentucky Court of Justice. Circuit Court Clerks For a full look at a case file, the clerk’s office in the county where the case was filed is where you go.
Most Circuit Clerk offices have public access terminals that display more detail than the free online portal, and you can use them at no charge. If you need paper copies of specific documents, staff can pull and copy them for a per-page fee. Rates and hours vary by office, so call ahead. Some clerks will mail copies if you can’t come in person.
One thing to know before you start: Kentucky court records sit outside the state’s Open Records Act. You can’t get case files by sending a formal open records request to a court. The Kentucky Supreme Court’s Open Records Policy expressly excludes case records and directs those requests to the clerk of the applicable court.3Kentucky Court of Justice. Open Records Policy – Supreme Court of Kentucky Skip the request form and go straight to the Circuit Clerk.
What You Need Before You Search
Having the case number is the fastest way in. Enter it and the record comes up directly, online or at the courthouse. Without it, you’ll be searching by party name, so you’ll want the full legal name of the plaintiff or defendant. Common names produce long results lists, and that’s where other details start to matter.
County matters because records live at the county level. If you’re not certain where a case was filed, work from where the events happened or where the parties lived. An approximate filing date range helps narrow the results. For traffic citations or criminal charges, the citation number works as a direct lookup on CourtNet 2.0.
What Records You Can Actually See
Kentucky’s trial courts operate at two levels, and both feed into the same clerk’s office. Circuit Courts handle felonies, civil disputes over $5,000, divorces, adoptions, termination of parental rights, and contested probate. District Courts handle misdemeanors, traffic offenses, civil cases of $5,000 or less, small claims, and preliminary hearings in felony matters. Records from both are kept by the Circuit Clerk in each county.
For a case that is open to the public, the materials you can typically review include:
- Docket entries, which log every action taken from filing through resolution.
- Judgments and orders, including rulings on motions and final dispositions.
- Pleadings filed by the parties, such as complaints, answers, and motions.
- Scheduling information, including hearing dates, trial dates, and continuances.
Online, you’ll mostly see docket entries and case summaries. At the courthouse, you can usually pull the filed documents themselves.
When a Search Comes Back Empty
A blank result doesn’t always mean nothing was filed. Several categories of Kentucky records are restricted by law and won’t surface through a normal search.
Juvenile records are confidential. KRS 610.340 limits access to parties, attorneys, authorized agencies, and others with a court order or statutory permission. Adoption files and voluntary termination of parental rights records are sealed by statute: once a final order is entered, the clerk must place all papers in a sealed envelope that cannot be opened without a court order, and anyone with custody of those records is barred from disclosing the names of the parties.4Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 625.045 – Confidentiality and Sealing of Files and Records Beyond those categories, any case can be sealed by a specific court order. Mental health proceedings, sensitive details in domestic cases, and matters involving trade secrets are common examples.
Expungement is the other reason a case may not appear. When a Kentucky court grants an expungement, the statute requires courts and agencies to delete the record from their systems and to reply to any inquiry that no record exists.5Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 431.073 – Certain Felony Convictions May Be Vacated and the Records Expunged A clean search doesn’t always mean nothing was ever there.
Federal Cases Filed in Kentucky
Everything above covers Kentucky’s state courts. Federal cases filed in Kentucky are in a different system entirely. The state has two federal districts: the Eastern District, with offices in Lexington, Frankfort, Covington, London, Ashland, and Pikeville, and the Western District, based in Louisville with locations in Bowling Green, Owensboro, and Paducah.
Federal records live in PACER, the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system run by the federal judiciary. You need a free PACER account to search.6PACER. PACER Case Locator The PACER Case Locator runs nationwide searches, and you can narrow to a specific Kentucky district.
PACER charges $0.10 per page, capped at $3.00 per document. If your total charges stay at $30 or less in a quarterly billing cycle, the fees are waived.7United States Courts. Pricing Frequently Asked Questions For most casual searches, that means free. Newly filed cases usually appear in PACER within 24 hours.