Leslie County Circuit Court Clerk
Kentucky's local court-file clerk is the Circuit Court Clerk. In Leslie County, the Kentucky Court of Justice lists Carmolitta Morgan-Pace as Circuit Court Clerk. KCOJ states that circuit court clerks manage records for Kentucky's Circuit, Family, District, and Business courts. For Leslie County court case records, the Circuit Court Clerk is the starting point for copies, certifications, older files, and questions about whether a record is local or offsite.
The office is listed at the Leslie County Courthouse in Hyden, with court-clerk phone numbers 606-672-2505 and 606-672-2503. KCOJ lists public hours as Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday closed. Payment options shown for the court clerk are cash, check, and money order, plus online ePay for eligible cases and fines. Parking is published simply as on Dryhill Road.
Office of Circuit Court Clerk
Clerk: Carmolitta Morgan-Pace
22010 Main St. Unit 1, Box 7
Hyden, KY 41749
606-672-2505 / 606-672-2503
Fax: 606-672-5128
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
The manifest image from the Leslie County Clerk homepage is included because the clerk page must distinguish the court clerk from the county clerk's recorded-document office.
The county clerk source reinforces the split: court case files go through the Circuit Court Clerk, while county recordings and marriage licenses use the county clerk.
Leslie County Clerk Record Routing
The separate Leslie County Clerk is the official for recorded county records. The clerk's site identifies services such as deeds, mortgages, leases, marriage licenses, other real-estate legal recordings, vehicle registration and titling, motor-vehicle tax collection and insurance verification, voter registration, and elections. The county clerk also records probated wills after a District Court order and keeps the original will permanently.
The current county-clerk name has a research conflict. The clerk's homepage identifies Onzie Sizemore in the page message and footer, while the official Leslie County elected-officials page lists County Clerk James Lewis. Because the research flags that conflict, this page avoids relying on one current county-clerk name for record requests. The office contact remains usable: P.O. Box 916 and 22010 Main St., Hyden, KY 41749, phone 606-672-2193, fax 606-672-4264, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
| Record type | Starting office | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit, District, Family where applicable, and Business court files | Circuit Court Clerk | KCOJ says circuit clerks manage these court records. |
| Marriage licenses and certificate requests | County Clerk | The county clerk issues marriage licenses and lists certificate forms. |
| Deeds, mortgages, liens, releases, plats | County Clerk | These are recorded county land and legal records. |
| Probated wills after District Court order | County Clerk | The clerk records the will and order and retains the original will. |
| Felony, misdemeanor, traffic, probate case activity | Circuit Court Clerk | The court file belongs to Kentucky's trial-court record system. |
Request Leslie County Certified Copies
A certified copy is a copy that the record office certifies as a true copy of the original record it keeps. For a Leslie County court order, judgment, docket entry, divorce decree, probate order, or case document, ask the Circuit Court Clerk. For a recorded deed, recorded will, marriage certificate, affidavit, or lien record, ask the County Clerk. The research did not locate a court-certified-copy fee schedule, so cost should be checked before ordering.
- Decide whether the record is a court case file or a county-clerk recorded document.
- Collect the case number, party names, record type, approximate date, and court division if the request is for a court file.
- Call or visit the Leslie Circuit Court Clerk to ask whether the record is local, archived, sealed, or available only by clerk copy.
- For offsite court files, get the facility name plus case and file locator numbers from the clerk before contacting a record facility.
- Ask for the current copy and certification cost, then pay using an accepted method.
- Review the certified copy when received to confirm the case number, date, and certification stamp or clerk certification are present.
Leslie County Open Records Fields
The Leslie County Clerk's open-records policy is specific and should not be blended with court case-copy requests. The policy is dated July 29, 2021 and references Kentucky HB 312, effective June 29, 2021, amending KRS 61.876(2). It says email open-records requests are accepted only from in-state Kentuckians, the office will not accept out-of-state requests, the request must identify a specific document, and the office does not do research.
| Field or requirement | Required for County Clerk open records | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Specific document description | Yes | The policy says the office does not conduct research. |
| Kentucky residency for email request | Yes for email route | Email requests are accepted only from in-state Kentuckians. |
| Postal mailing address | Yes | Results are returned by USPS, not by email. |
| Email address used for request | Only if emailing | Policy lists Yelanda.Hornsby@ky.gov and Onzie.Sizemore@ky.gov. |
| Copy preference and payment readiness | Practical requirement | Copies are 50 cents per page under the policy. |
| In-person inspection choice | Optional | Large requests may be easier by in-person inspection and purchased copies. |
Note: Court case files use the Circuit Court Clerk and KCOJ process, while county-clerk open records use the County Clerk policy.
Leslie County Clerk Fees
The confirmed fees and payment notes are limited. The County Clerk open-records policy gives a 50-cent per page copy fee. The County Clerk homepage gives a 3% credit-card convenience fee and says the county does not receive that fee. KCOJ lists Circuit Court Clerk payment methods for court payments, but the research did not locate a Leslie court-copy fee schedule or a court certification amount.
| Item | Fee or note | Source |
|---|---|---|
| County Clerk open-records copies | $0.50 per page | County Clerk open-records policy |
| County Clerk card transactions | 3% convenience fee | County Clerk homepage |
| Court payments at Circuit Court Clerk | Cash, check, money order, eligible ePay | KCOJ Leslie County page |
| Court certified-copy fee | Fee not located in Leslie official sources | Verify with Circuit Court Clerk |
| Court plain-copy fee | Fee not located in Leslie official sources | Verify with Circuit Court Clerk |
| Archived record facility costs | Fee not located in Leslie official sources | Ask clerk after locator numbers are issued |
Leslie County Clerk Forms
The County Clerk forms page lists many county-office forms, including vehicle transfer, motor vehicle usage tax, replacement affidavit, incomplete transfer affidavit, disabled parking permit application, exempt transfer affidavit, boat transfer, voter registration, notary application, application for marriage/divorce certificate, request to inspect public records, mechanics lien, release of real estate mortgage, and tax-sale registration. Those are county-clerk forms, not court pleadings for every case type.
For court case records, KCOJ says to contact the local Circuit Court Clerk first. If a court case is stored at a record facility, the clerk identifies the facility and gives case and file locator numbers. The State Records Center cannot search by name or Social Security number. Older cases may be held locally, stored offsite, or destroyed under retention schedules, so a clerk-confirmed locator is important before mailing any offsite request.
The assigned manifest image from Southern Health Partners appears in the record set because Leslie jail materials link that vendor for inmate medical service.
That source is not a court-clerk copy channel, and it helps mark a boundary: jail medical vendor information is not requested as a certified court record from the Circuit Court Clerk.
Leslie County Court Record Channels
Online access is useful for public case information, but it is not the same as a certified court file. KCOJ provides a KYeCourts guest entry for public case information throughout Kentucky and a trial-court docket search for hearing schedules. The docket search is expressly not an official docket and is subject to change. For payment on eligible cases, KYeCourts Easy Pay can search by case, citation, or party depending on the available information.
The Leslie Circuit Court Clerk remains the verification point for certified copies, older cases, sealed or restricted records, and offsite files. Public access is broad under Kentucky open-records law, but juvenile records, sealed or expunged matters, mental-health cases, adoption records, domestic-violence details, protected identifiers, and other restricted categories may be withheld or redacted. A clear record request is faster and less risky than a broad demand for "everything."
For in-person visits, the courthouse page gives only a brief parking note, stating that parking is on Dryhill Road. No Leslie-specific public source in the research set published a courthouse locker rule, cell-phone rule, security list, or same-day copy guarantee. Call before traveling if the request depends on a device, large file pull, accessibility detail, or immediate certification.
County-clerk records have their own mail rule. The open-records policy says results are returned by USPS, so requesters must include a postal mailing address. For court files, call the Circuit Court Clerk before mailing a request because the file may need a case number, locator number, or certification instruction.