Hardin County Circuit Court Clerk
The Kentucky Court of Justice Hardin County page names Deanna Simcoe as Circuit Court Clerk. Her office is the records clerk for Hardin County Circuit Court, Family Court, District Court, and court case files generated in those divisions. The office is not the same as the Hardin County Clerk. The split matters because a felony case, civil case, divorce file, misdemeanor case, traffic case, eviction, probate court file, juvenile matter, or domestic-violence court file starts with the Circuit Court Clerk, while deeds, marriage licenses, vehicle registration, elections, and recorded instruments start with the separate County Clerk.
Office of Circuit Court Clerk
Clerk: Deanna Simcoe
Hardin County Justice Center
120 E. Dixie Ave.
Elizabethtown, KY 42701
270-766-5000
Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; phones answered until 3:30 p.m.
Hardin County Clerk Duties
The Circuit Court Clerk maintains the trial-court case records. KCOJ explains that court case records can include criminal citations, pleadings, motions, orders, evidence, reports, dockets, video recordings, and transcripts. The clerk is the starting point for the actual case file, even when a public user first finds basic case information through KYeCourts or a docket search.
- Circuit criminal and civil files, including felony and larger civil matters
- Family Court files such as divorce, custody, support, adoption, and domestic-violence matters where access is allowed
- District Court files, including traffic, misdemeanors, small claims, evictions, probate, juvenile, and mental-health matters
- Certified copies and official file checks for cases heard in Hardin County trial courts
- Older-record routing when files are at a record facility, the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, or no longer retained
Hardin County Clerk Phone Options
Hardin County uses a phone tree by case type. Calling the correct option helps the clerk route questions about copies, court dates, payment, or case availability. The published page also notes free parking behind the building, accessibility through ramps, elevators, and equipped bathrooms, and payment options of cash, check, money order, or online ePay.
| Case or record type | Phone route | Fax |
|---|---|---|
| District traffic, criminal, small claims, evictions, general civil | 270-766-5000, option 3 | 270-769-6505 |
| District probate, domestic violence, mental health, juvenile | 270-766-5000, option 5 | 270-766-5184 |
| Circuit criminal and civil | 270-766-5000, option 4 | 270-769-6505 |
Note: Phones are answered until 3:30 p.m., which is earlier than the posted office closing time.
Request Hardin County Certified Copies
A certified copy is a copy authenticated by the clerk as an official court record. It may be needed for employment licensing, appeals, agency filings, expungement review, divorce proof, probate administration, or a party's own records. Online case information is not a certified copy and should not be treated as a court-issued document.
- Identify the case type, party names, case number if known, and whether the matter was in Circuit, Family, or District Court.
- Use KYeCourts or the public docket portal only to help find the case or court date.
- Call or visit the Office of Circuit Court Clerk for the actual copy request and current copy or certification requirements.
- Ask whether the requested document is public, restricted, sealed, expunged, stored off site, or no longer retained.
- Pay any clerk-approved copy, certification, mailing, or court fee through the method the clerk allows.
Hardin County Clerk Request Fields
Research did not identify a separate Hardin Circuit Court Clerk web request form. KCOJ's process is office-based: start with the clerk of the court that heard the case. A complete request should still include enough detail for staff to locate the file without guessing.
| Field | Required in practice | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Best if known | KCOJ case searches require county of origin and case number. |
| Party or decedent names | Yes | Needed when the case number is unknown. |
| Division or case type | Yes | Routes the request to Circuit, Family, District, probate, traffic, or another counter. |
| Document requested | Yes | Examples include order, judgment, docket sheet, citation, transcript, or certified copy. |
| Filing year or event date | Useful | Helps with older files and record-facility searches. |
Hardin County Clerk Search Channels
Several official systems support clerk-record research. KYeCourts guest access provides free public case information throughout Kentucky after a captcha and Continue gateway. The docket portal searches by county, division, date, courtroom, and subdivision, but it is for court dates and states that results are not an official docket. Kentucky ePay supports payment searches by case, citation, or party for fees, fines, and costs.
| Channel | Best use | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| KYeCourts guest search | Public statewide case information | Not the source for official copies |
| Kentucky docket portal | Hardin County court date by division and date | Not an official docket |
| Office of Circuit Court Clerk | Certified copies, file checks, older records | Access depends on case type and restrictions |
| County Clerk eSearch | Recorded instruments and County Clerk records | Not a court-case portal |
Hardin County Court Fees
The KYeCourts guest page links ePay and carried a live notice that Circuit and District civil filing fees increase on July 1, 2026 under Kentucky Supreme Court Orders 2026-15 and 2026-18. The research did not capture a Circuit Court Clerk copy-fee table, so copy and certification costs should be confirmed with the clerk before payment. County Clerk recording fees are separate and should not be used for court case copies.
| Item | Where to confirm |
|---|---|
| Court certified copy | Office of Circuit Court Clerk |
| Civil filing fee | KCOJ fee orders and clerk office |
| Traffic fines, costs, and fees | Kentucky ePay or clerk office |
| County Clerk certified copy | Hardin County Clerk schedule, not court clerk |
Restricted Hardin County Clerk Records
The Circuit Court Clerk may not release every item in a case file. Juvenile records, adoption records, mental-health proceedings, domestic-violence matters, sealed cases, expunged records, protected addresses, medical details, financial account numbers, and other personal identifiers may be withheld or redacted. Kentucky statutes such as KRS 61.878 and juvenile confidentiality provisions help explain those limits.
Older-file access also has practical limits. KCOJ says a record may be in the clerk's office, a record facility, KDLA storage, or destroyed under retention schedules. If a public file is stored at a record facility, the clerk can identify the facility and provide case and file locator numbers. That extra step is normal for older Hardin County court records.