Shelby County, Kentucky Court Records
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Shelby County sits in Kentucky's Bluegrass region, just east of Louisville, and is served by a structured state court system that handles everything from traffic violations and misdemeanors to felony prosecutions, family law matters, and estate proceedings. Court records from these cases are official documentation of judicial activity — case files, pleadings, judgments, court orders, and dockets — and people use them for background checks, legal proceedings, real estate research, genealogical inquiry, and more.
Finding court records in Kentucky means working through official channels at the county level. The Kentucky Court of Justice offers online tools for searching case information and checking court dates, and KentuckyCourts.us can help you identify where specific case information is publicly available across the state. Records are not held centrally — they're maintained by the clerk's office of the court that handled the case, so that office is always your starting point.
How to Look Up a Court Case in Shelby County?
All records requests in Shelby County start with the Office of the Circuit Court Clerk, which manages records from the Circuit, Family, District, and Business courts. The clerk's office is at the Shelby County Judicial Center and can tell you whether a record exists, where it's stored, and how to get copies.
Shelby County Circuit Court Clerk
Address: Shelby County Judicial Center, 401 Main Street, Suite 101, Shelbyville, KY 40065
Phone: (Circuit): (502) 633-1287
Phone: (District): (502) 633-4736
Fax: (502) 633-0146
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (closed major holidays)
Clerk: Wendy B. Graney
Steps to request or locate a court record:
- Identify the correct court. Circuit and Family Court records are with the Circuit Clerk; District Court records are managed through the same office at the Judicial Center.
- Gather case details. Having the full names of the parties, a case number, or an approximate filing date will speed up any search considerably.
- Check online first. The KYeCourts public guest portal allows online case searches without registration. Kentucky Court Dockets Online is useful for checking upcoming court dates.
- Contact or visit the clerk's office. Call (502) 633-1287 for Circuit cases or (502) 633-4736 for District cases, or visit Suite 101 in person.
- Older or archived records. Records may be stored at a state records facility rather than the clerk's office. If that's the case, the clerk will provide case and file locator numbers. You can request archived records using the state records request form, submitted to state.records@ky.gov or by calling (502) 564-3617. Older historical records are also accessible through the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.
- Pay online. Fines and costs can be paid through the ePay portal. The clerk's office accepts cash, personal checks, money orders, and credit/debit cards (with applicable fees). Bonds must be paid in cash only.
Are Court Records Public in Shelby County?
Kentucky's Open Records Act (KRS 61.870–61.884) establishes a general right of public access to government records, including court records. Most criminal, civil, and probate records in Shelby County are available to the public upon request. That said, several categories of records carry statutory restrictions that limit or bar access entirely:
- Juvenile records — Cases involving minors are confidential. The District Court schedules confidential juvenile cases on Fridays at 8:30 a.m., and these records are not available for general public inspection.
- Expunged criminal records — Under KRS 431.073, certain felony convictions may be vacated and expunged. Expunged records are sealed and inaccessible without a court order.
- Adoption records — Adoption proceedings are confidential under Kentucky law.
- Family Court restricted matters — Certain Family Court proceedings — particularly those involving domestic violence, child abuse, neglect, and dependency cases — may have restricted access provisions under the Kentucky Family Court Rules of Procedure and Practice.
- Confidential District Court cases — Shown on the Monday docket at 11:00 a.m., these are sealed from public view.
Where a record contains sensitive information, redaction may apply to specific portions rather than the entire file. It's worth noting that the Administrative Office of the Courts does not maintain court case records and cannot provide access to them — only the clerk's office of the originating court can do that.
Shelby County Criminal Court Records
Criminal cases in Shelby County are divided between the Circuit Court and District Court based on the severity of the offense. Felony charges — including grand jury indictments, felony arraignments, and jury trials — are handled by the Circuit Court. Misdemeanor cases, traffic violations, and preliminary hearings on felony matters go to the District Court. Both courts' records are managed by the same Circuit Court Clerk's office at 401 Main Street.
Shelby County District Court Schedule (criminal):
| Docket | Day/Time |
|---|---|
| Traffic Docket | Tuesday, 8:30 a.m. |
| In Custody Arraignments | Tuesday, 1:00 p.m. |
| Misdemeanor and Felony Arraignments | Tuesday, 2:00 p.m. |
| Misdemeanor and Felony Motion Docket | Thursday, 8:30 a.m. |
| In Custody Arraignments & Preliminary Hearings | Thursday, 1:00 p.m. |
| Preliminary Hearings | Thursday, 2:00 p.m. |
Shelby County Circuit Court Criminal Schedule:
Criminal Motion Hour is held on the first and third Monday of each month — in-custody matters at 8:30 a.m. and out-of-custody matters at 1:00 p.m.
Keep in mind that criminal court records are different from arrest records and criminal history reports, which are maintained by law enforcement rather than the courts. For arrest information, inmate status, or criminal history inquiries, contact the Shelby County Sheriff's Office or the Shelby County Detention Center:
Shelby County Sheriff's Office
Address: 501 Main Street, Suite 8, Shelbyville, KY 40065
Phone: (502) 633-4324 | Dispatch: (502) 633-2323 | Fax: (502) 633-9677
Email: sheriff@shelbycoky.com
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Current jail rosters and inmate information for the Shelby County Detention Center are accessible through the Shelby County Detention Center's inmate search. For background check services at the state level, the Kentucky State Police administers an expungement certification process for those seeking to have eligible records cleared.
Shelby County Civil Court Records
Civil matters in Shelby County are heard in either the Circuit Court or District Court depending on the dollar amount at issue and the nature of the claim. The Circuit Court takes major civil litigation — large personal injury claims, significant contract disputes, and property cases. The District Court handles smaller civil claims, forcible detainer (eviction) proceedings, and probate matters at the district level.
District Court Civil Schedule:
| Docket | Day/Time |
|---|---|
| Forcible Detainers | Monday, 8:30 a.m. |
| Civil Motion Hour | Monday, 10:00 a.m. |
| Jury Trials | Wednesday |
Circuit Court Civil Schedule:
Circuit Civil Motion Hour is held on the first full week Thursday of the month and on the third Thursday, beginning at 9:00 a.m.
To get copies of civil case records, visit or contact the Circuit Clerk's office at 401 Main Street, Suite 101. Have the names of the parties, approximate filing date, or case number ready to make the search faster. The clerk's office accepts cash, personal checks, money orders, and credit/debit cards (fees may apply for card transactions). Phone payments using debit/credit cards are also accepted with applicable fees.
For property-related civil records — including deeds, mortgages, releases, liens, powers of attorney, and encumbrances — those are held by the Shelby County Clerk's Office, which is a separate office from the Circuit Court Clerk. The County Clerk's office is located at:
Shelby County Clerk (Tony Harover)
Address: 501 Washington Street, Shelbyville, KY 40065
Phone: (502) 633-4410
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (filings accepted during same hours)
All public records at the County Clerk's office are available for viewing free of charge in person. Document images for instrument filings are available online for filings from May 1995 to present through the office's eCCLIX system (requires an account assigned by the County Clerk). The filing fee schedule is published on the County Clerk's website and includes, among others: Deed recording — $50; Mortgage recording — $80; Will recording — $47; standard instrument recording (10 pages or fewer) — $46, with an additional $3.00 per page beyond five pages for most document types.
Shelby County Family Court Records
Shelby County has a dedicated Family Court division operating as a specialized branch of the Circuit Court. This court handles dissolutions of marriage (divorce), child custody and parenting time, child support, domestic violence proceedings, dependency/neglect/abuse cases, and adoptions. Family Court proceedings follow the Kentucky Family Court Rules of Procedure and Practice, which supplement general statutes with specific procedures for family law matters.
Family Court Schedule:
| Matter | Day/Time |
|---|---|
| Child Support | Wednesday, 9:00 a.m. |
| Motion Hour | Wednesday, 10:00 a.m. |
| Adoptions | Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. |
| Domestic Violence | Wednesday, 11:00 a.m. |
| Dependency, Neglect and Abuse | Wednesday, 1:00 p.m. |
Divorce decrees and dissolution records are filed with and maintained by the Circuit Court Clerk. Certified copies of divorce decrees are available at the clerk's office at 401 Main Street — have the names of the parties and the approximate year of the decree ready, along with payment for any applicable fees.
Marriage licenses in Shelby County are issued by the Shelby County Clerk, not the Circuit Court Clerk. Marriage license records are maintained from 1897 onward in the County Clerk's automated database.
Birth and death certificates for Shelby County residents are issued by the Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics, Cabinet for Health and Family Services, located at 275 East Main Street, Frankfort, KY 40621. Phone: (502) 564-4212 Office hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Certificate fees are as follows:
| Record Type | Fee Per Certificate |
|---|---|
| Birth certificate | $10.00 (non-refundable search fee) |
| Death certificate | $6.00 (non-refundable search fee) |
| Marriage certificate | $6.00 (non-refundable search fee) |
| Divorce certificate | $6.00 (non-refundable search fee) |
Certificates can be ordered online or by phone through VitalChek (additional fees apply), by mail to the OVS office with a check or money order payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer, or in person at the Frankfort office. Mail orders are typically filled within five business days, though processing can take up to 30 working days. Birth records are restricted to the individual named (if of legal age), close family members, and authorized representatives for 100 years; death records carry a 50-year restriction before becoming broadly accessible.
Shelby County Probate Court Records
Probate matters in Shelby County are administered through the Circuit Court, with the Circuit Court Clerk's office keeping all official records. The probate docket is handled at the District Court level on Mondays at 10:30 a.m. and covers estate administration, will validation, and guardianship appointments.
Probate records include wills, estate inventories, fiduciary appointments, accountings, and final distribution orders. These records are generally available to the public, though specific details about individual estates or family members may be redacted or restricted by court order where privacy concerns arise.
Wills can also be recorded with the Shelby County Clerk as a land record document — the recording fee is $47 for a will, with a $3.00 surcharge for each page beyond the first five. Recording a will with the County Clerk is a separate step from the probate process in court, but it creates a searchable public record of the document.
To access probate court records:
- In person — Visit the Shelby County Judicial Center at 401 Main Street, Suite 101, Shelbyville, KY 40065 during business hours (Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.).
- By phone — Call the Circuit Court Clerk at (502) 633-1287 to ask about a specific estate case.
- Archived records — If records are stored at a state facility, the clerk will supply the case and file locator numbers needed to submit a request to the State Records Center. Submit requests to state.records@ky.gov or call (502) 564-3617.
Be prepared to provide the name of the decedent and the approximate year the probate case was opened. If a probate matter was appealed and you need appellate court records, contact the Kentucky Court of Appeals Clerk at (502) 573-7920 or search through the C-Track Public Access portal.