Kentucky Judgments & Liens Search

Kentucky judgment notices, property liens and court records

The circuit court clerk and county clerk hold different parts of the record

Kentucky's circuit court clerks hold the Circuit Court and District Court case records. The Court of Justice identifies one circuit court clerk in each of the state's 120 counties. A money judgment belongs in the file of the court that entered it, with the pleadings, orders and later proceedings. The county clerk's judgment-lien notice is a different record created under KRS 426.720. A search that stops at either office can therefore miss the other part of the history. Record the court, civil action number and judgment date before matching a county-clerk lien entry. The court directory is the source for the trial-court custodian; an election or land-record directory ordinarily identifies the other clerk. Source: Kentucky circuit court clerks.

Under KRS 426.720, effective June 29, 2023, a qualifying final money or costs judgment from a Kentucky state or federal court of record acts as a lien on the debtor's real-estate ownership interests in a county only after the prescribed county filing and debtor-notice steps. The notice must identify the court, civil action number, judgment-entry date and amount, including principal, interest rate, court costs and attorney fees. The creditor or counsel must send the debtor or attorney a copy at the last known address by prepaid first-class mail, or deliver it personally. The notice includes the statutory homestead-exemption text and the required warning concerning an exemption. The filed document also carries the creditor's mailing certification. Those requirements make the notice more informative than a bare name match in a property index.

The same section directs the county clerk to enter these notices in the lis pendens records and note that entry on the original. Accordingly, a local system may place the judgment notice with lis pendens material even though the underlying proceeding was a debt action. Search the instrument category used by the clerk and read the recorded notice. A deed search restricted to conveyances can miss it. A county filing does not establish ownership in every county, and a notice should not be described as a lien on every asset of the debtor. The statute concerns real estate and the county in which its prerequisites are completed.

The 2023 lien rule requires more than one date

For a judgment lien created on or after June 29, 2023, the starting point for the statutory ten-year expiration period is the date the final judgment was entered by the court. It is not the later date when a searcher retrieves the lien, and it is not automatically the county clerk's recording date. A notice lodged well after judgment can consequently have less than ten years remaining. Preserve both dates in the research record: judgment entry establishes the ordinary statutory measuring point, while the county entry shows when the notice was lodged there. Do not reset the period merely because an index displays a recent scanning or indexing date.

Liens created before June 29, 2023 follow the transition in subsection (2)(a). Their ordinary expiration is the earlier of the underlying judgment's limitations period under KRS 413.090 or ten years after June 29, 2023. The latter branch points to June 29, 2033, but it is not a guarantee that every older lien survives until then. The underlying judgment period can expire first. A historical lien report should therefore retain the judgment's execution history as well as the original notice. Treating all older entries as automatically renewed through 2033 would omit the statute's earlier-of condition.

The renewal route has a lead time that deserves attention when reviewing a recent filing. KRS 426.720(3)(b) requires the renewal notice at least 120 days before the applicable expiration date, in the county where the lien notice is lodged. It must repeat the original required identifying information and state the unsatisfied amount. A copy must be mailed or personally delivered as specified. This route permits one extension, for no more than five years from the expiration established by subsection (2). A document titled renewal is therefore not enough on its own: compare its filing date, the original expiration, the stated unpaid balance and whether the one permitted renewal has already been used.

A separate route concerns an enforcement proceeding filed before expiration. Both the court proceeding and a county notice of that proceeding are required. The notice identifies the court, proceeding type, case number and filing date, together with the promised follow-up certification. A lien postponed by that route expires when final judgment is entered in the enforcement proceeding or when that proceeding is dismissed. Within ten days of that event, the creditor or counsel must lodge the further notice containing the proceeding information and expiration date. The county notice and the court disposition thus need to be read together. An enforcement notation does not itself create another fixed ten-year term.

The underlying action-on-judgment limitation is a separate subject. KRS 413.090 generally states a fifteen-year period for an action on a Kentucky, federal, other-state or territorial judgment, measured from the last execution, with the statute's listed exceptions. That wording explains why a judgment's enforceability cannot be reduced to the expiration field of a county lien notice. It also explains why the last execution may matter even when the original judgment date is old. Locate the execution in the court record rather than assuming that an unrelated collection letter is an execution for this purpose.

Interest and exemptions change how the judgment amount should be described

KRS 360.040 supplies a six-percent rate compounded annually from entry for the ordinary judgment within its scope. Its 2017 amendment applies to judgments entered on or after June 29, 2017. Separate provisions cover unpaid child-support judgments at twelve percent compounded annually, written obligations at their contractual rate, and a lower rate for unliquidated-damages judgments when the court makes the required determination after a noticed hearing. A research summary should report the rate stated in the judgment and any later order. It should not turn every Kentucky judgment balance into principal plus a universal six-percent calculation. Payments, costs and the applicable exception require their own record support.

The homestead text that accompanies a judgment-lien notice is KRS 427.060. It protects an individual debtor's qualifying aggregate interest up to $5,000 in a permanent residence used by the debtor or a dependent, or in a qualifying burial plot, subject to its exceptions. It excludes foreclosure of the owner's homestead mortgage and purchase money, and it does not apply where the debt or liability predates the property purchase or improvements. This is a specific execution exemption, not a statement that no lien can ever appear in the county index. The presence of the required exemption notice does not establish that a court has allowed an exemption in that case.

Construction claims have notice, filing and enforcement periods

The current KRS 376.010, effective June 29, 2023, reaches qualifying labor, materials and improvements furnished through the relationships described in the statute. It includes work on structures and fixtures and specified improvements to land. A lessee is not automatically the owner's agent merely because the lessee ordered the work. The statute now addresses the lessee's and lessor's interests, written agency, lease provisions excluding the lessor's interest and the contractor's notice of those provisions. Its legislative note states that the subsection (3) provisions do not apply to leases or agreements entered before June 29, 2023. For a leased-property claim, record the agreement date and the interest against which the notice is asserted rather than assuming the whole fee ownership is bound.

For a claimant without a direct contract with the owner, authorized agent or applicable lessee, subsection (4) requires written notice within 75 days for claims below $1,000 and 120 days for claims above $1,000 after the last labor or materials. The posted wording uses below and above that amount; it should not be silently rewritten to decide an exactly $1,000 claim. Owner-occupied single- or double-family dwellings and the associated property described in subsection (5) have a separate 75-day notice rule. That notice replaces the subsection (4) notice for its covered circumstances. The owner-occupant's payment before receipt can limit the lien as the subsection provides. A single deadline measured only from the last invoice would omit these differences.

The lien amount and priority also have limits. KRS 376.010 ties the aggregate to the original contractor's contract price and provides for proportional distribution where qualifying liens exceed it. Its priority provisions address the commencement of labor or materials and the separate advance statement needed to claim precedence against the specified prior recorded or lodged interests. The actual dates and documents matter. Rental-equipment claims have a cap of six months' rental and sixty percent of the agreed equipment value, and the statute subordinates specified supply liens to the other described claims. The record researcher should preserve the claimed amount, work commencement, last furnishing date, any advance statement and recorded encumbrances instead of assigning priority from the order of search results.

KRS 376.080 requires the sworn lien statement within six months after the claimant stops labor or furnishing materials, filed with the county clerk where the improvement is located. The statement reports the amount after known credits and offsets, a property description adequate for identification, the owner if known and the contractual relationship. It must also provide the claimant's name and address, with the statutory corporate service information where applicable. A copy must be mailed to the owner's last known address within seven days after filing. The statute treats failure to send that copy as a ground of dissolution. A county-stamped statement therefore establishes a filing event but does not independently prove timely owner notice.

The enforcement clock appears in KRS 376.090. The claimant generally must bring the enforcement action within twelve months after filing the statement. The section contains an added period tied to qualification of a personal representative when the affected debtor dies before the usual action period ends. Search the court file for the enforcement complaint and its filing date, not just the property index for an unreleased notice. Conversely, a timely lawsuit needs to be connected to the particular recorded lien. Matching property descriptions and claimants is more reliable than assuming that any construction dispute in the county is the enforcement action for that instrument.

A lien can leave the real property through substituted security. Under KRS 376.100, the eligible owner, contractor or other listed participant may execute a bond before the county clerk, before judgment enforcing the lien. The bond is for twice the claimed lien amount, with approved sureties, and is conditioned on satisfying the eventual judgment. The clerk preserves the bond, and the lien on the property is discharged. The claimant can pursue the bond obligors. A discharge under that procedure says that security was substituted; it does not establish payment to the claimant or a decision that the underlying debt was invalid.

Association assessments and professional-service liens need their own rules

A condominium assessment can be secured even when a name search shows no separately filed assessment notice. Under KRS 381.9193, effective January 1, 2011, the association's lien arises when the assessment or fine becomes due; for installments, it covers the full assessment when the first installment is due. Recording the declaration supplies notice and perfection without another claim recording. Earlier recorded encumbrances, qualifying previously recorded mortgages, and government real-estate taxes or assessments have the listed priority exceptions. Enforcement must begin within five years after the full assessment becomes due. An owner can request a recordable statement of unpaid assessments, due within ten business days and binding on the association and unit owners. These features explain why reviewing only a later recorded lien notice can miss an association balance.

The applicable condominium regime matters. KRS 381.9103, effective April 11, 2012, applies the newer act generally to condominiums created after January 1, 2011, and specified provisions, including the assessment-lien section, to earlier condominiums for later events without invalidating their existing governing provisions. The older KRS 381.883 describes unpaid common-expense liens, governmental and first-mortgage exceptions, mortgage-style enforcement and a separate money-judgment action. Read the declaration and creation date before deciding which provision governs the event. The Legislative Research Commission's current Chapter 381 index links these provisions and the separate planned-community law.

Planned-community liens have a newer statutory basis. KRS 381.799, effective June 29, 2023, creates a continuing lien for qualifying assessments, charges and related permitted amounts remaining unpaid thirty days after a portion becomes due. A properly recorded lien is subject to the stated exceptions for government claims and mortgages, liens or encumbrances recorded earlier, and can be released or satisfied in the manner used for real-property mortgages. The application provision, KRS 381.786, preserves qualifying governing-document provisions recorded before June 29, 2023, and requires a declaration for newly established planned communities after that date. Its exception for developments without the specified association structure must also be considered. An older local checklist describing every homeowners-association lien only as a contractual claim does not fully state this current statutory system.

Engineers, architects, landscape architects, land surveyors and real-estate brokers are addressed separately in KRS 376.075, effective July 15, 2002. It requires a direct contract with the owner or the owner's agent and a sworn county-clerk statement within six months after services cease, followed by enforcement within twelve months after filing. Broker claims have additional written-agreement and procuring-customer conditions, with a separate newly constructed residential-property limitation. A recorded professional claim therefore requires more than proof that the claimant performed some work on the project. The current code also sends qualifying public-improvement claims to a different provision instead of applying the ordinary private-property process unchanged.

For work on government-owned improvements, KRS 376.210, effective July 15, 1998, places the claim against funds owed to the contractor rather than the government's land. It specifies filing in the county containing the owner's seat of government and delivery of an attested copy to the contracting authority for the stated attachment to unpaid funds. KRS 376.230, effective June 26, 2007, supplies the filing limit: the later of sixty days after the last day of the month in which work or supplies were furnished, or substantial completion. Its statement identifies the amount, last furnishing date and improvement, verified by affidavit. The county clerk enters it in the mechanic's-lien book, with fees governed by KRS 64.012.

Perfection of a public-funds claim also requires the delivery and mailing proof in KRS 376.240, effective June 21, 1974. Under KRS 376.250, effective January 1, 2007, the authority withholds the specified funds; the contractor has thirty days to protest after delivery of the attested copy. If a protest occurs, the claimant must institute suit and serve the authority or its chairman within thirty days after the protest notice is mailed, or the lien is released. Suit ordinarily belongs in the circuit court where the improved property lies; public-university work uses the main-campus county. A public-project search may therefore require both the county recording and the contracting authority's notice, protest and payment records.

Use the document category and statutory components when pricing a filing

The current KRS 64.012, effective July 15, 2026, specifies a $33 base charge for the listed instruments up to five pages, $3 for each page above five subject to the stated exceptions, and $4 for each additional reference relating to the same instrument. The list includes deeds of release, federal liens and discharges, lis pendens notices, mechanics' liens and the described financing statements. It separately gives a $63 base charge for a real-estate mortgage up to thirty pages and $3 per additional page. Subsection (3) provides a $10 storage reimbursement for its listed service groups. These component amounts should not be presented as the final charge for every lien or deed.

The same statute gives $5 for filing a state tax or other state lien and $5 for its release, while specified city and local-government liens or releases have a $20 category. A certified copy of a county-clerk record costs $5 for up to three pages, then $0.50 per additional page. Those copy charges do not create a universal price for circuit-court certification. The county clerk and circuit court clerk have different functions and fee authorities. Identify which office issued the requested certificate and whether the order is a copy of an existing instrument or a new recordation.

KRS 142.010, also effective July 15, 2026, adds a $4 state tax to the original filing of the instrument classes it names, including mortgages, financing statements, security agreements, real-property conveyances and specified mineral liens or conveyances. Subsequent assignment does not trigger another tax under that section, and its text excludes a deed releasing a lien retained in a deed or mortgage. Do not add the $4 indiscriminately to every recorded notice or release. The proper total requires the actual document classification and any other applicable charge, with the county's current published schedule used to verify the amount collected.

For ordinary legal-size or smaller paper copies, KRS 64.019 sets a county-clerk ceiling of $0.50 per page unless another statute specifically provides a higher price. It also permits local procedures restricting scanners, cameras, computers or personal copiers, while protecting the ability to make handwritten notes. Access to a public record consequently does not guarantee permission to photograph every page with personal equipment. Ask about the copy method at the records counter, and distinguish the ordinary paper rate from a certified-copy product or a remote system's subscription.

A Kentucky UCC search has its own names, status rules and prices

The Secretary of State UCC division is the state repository for the financing statements within its statutory role. Its current mailing information identifies the UCC Division at 1025 Capital Center Drive, Suite 201, P.O. Box 718, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601; telephone 502-564-3490, with weekday service from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time. Since August 15, 2021, the division's stated practice is to email acknowledgment of a paper UCC submission when the form supplies an email address in Box B. A filing acknowledgment records acceptance; it should not be substituted for an examination of the collateral description and later amendments.

The official UCC index search is available without a charge and updates as filings enter the system. Search by debtor name or the initial financing-statement number. Its public output is expressly uncertified, and Social Security numbers are withheld under the cited privacy exemption. For filings before June 29, 2001, the office cautions that exact legal names were not required in the same manner, making a nonstandard search potentially useful. It also identifies the older Kentucky Lien Information System as a separate dataset maintained from January 4, 1999 through July 13, 2000 and obtainable by contacting the Secretary's information-technology section. Those historical dates do not describe a current statewide judgment-lien index.

The division's search-logic explanation distinguishes a full-name standard search, whose results can be certified, from a partial-name search. Standard logic disregards letter case, punctuation, accents, spaces, specified organizational endings and an initial the; it also has stated treatment of individual initials. A percent sign can function as a wildcard in the nonstandard tool, while the standard tool removes it. These rules make the type of search part of the evidence. Preserve the exact submitted name and whether the search was standard, nonstandard or certified when reporting an apparent absence of filings.

The UCC fee schedule lists $5 for electronic financing statements and amendments, $10 for written filings of no more than two pages and $20 for longer written filings. Certified search results cost $5. It publishes $0.50 per page for copies and $5 per certificate per file number for certified copies, plus copying. The separate FAQ retains a $0.10 copy figure, creating an unresolved inconsistency between two current office pages. Request confirmation for the copy product before payment instead of silently treating both prices as equivalent. The division's overpayment policy caps the amount refunded at $50; an underpaid filing is refused and returned.

The UCC FAQ explains why an active search hit does not prove an unpaid or enforceable security interest. Accepted financing statements remain active in the office's records until one year after lapse, and the office reports active statements even when amendments, assignments, terminations or corrections have been filed. Its role is ministerial, without deciding legal sufficiency. Examine the entire filing chain. The FAQ also says that a filing with attachments cannot use the electronic filing service, and that title-lien statements for vehicles and other titled property belong with the county clerk. These are service and custody distinctions, not grounds to erase a termination from the research record.

For an official information request, the office-linked UCC11 form, revised July 19, 2012, asks for one exact debtor name and a return address. It separates a search response, copies of the resulting records and specified copies by record number. Certification is a separate selection, and the form distinguishes all active records, including lapsed filings within that category, from unlapsed records. Do not treat a request for a certified search as an automatic request for every certified document image. The parent public index supplies the form link; the division's current instructions and available record scope govern the completed order.

Execution papers, garnishment and exemptions

A final personal money judgment can support an execution against property under KRS 426.010. The collection file should contain the judgment as entered, the amount credited as paid, later orders, and the particular writ being enforced. An order to sell property in a mortgage or lien case can also accompany a personal recovery of the debt under KRS 426.005. These forms of relief explain why a foreclosure docket, a judgment docket and the county land index may contain related entries with different descriptions. Read the actual relief ordered before describing the result as a personal judgment against every named defendant.

KRS 426.030 ordinarily prevents issuance of execution until ten days after rendition of judgment, unless the court orders otherwise. That waiting rule is separate from the time allowed to challenge a specific garnishment or execution. The duration provision in KRS 426.035 permits execution until collection is barred by the applicable limitation, even if no execution issued during the first year and a day. A period of inactivity therefore needs to be evaluated against the actual limitation and recorded-lien rules, rather than labeled an automatic one-year expiration.

The officer's return provides evidence that the original writ alone cannot supply. Under KRS 426.040, an execution against property is returnable within 30 days after levy and no later than 60 days after issuance. The officer must identify satisfaction, a partial satisfaction and its uncollected balance, a sale, an unsuccessful sale for lack of bidders, or a failure to find property, as applicable. Ask for that return when the docket lists an execution without explaining its outcome. A returned writ finding no property does not establish that the court vacated the underlying debt.

After an execution is returned wholly or partly unsatisfied for want of property, KRS 426.381 permits a supplemental petition against the debtor and persons holding the debtor's assets or owing the debtor money. The case is redocketed and proceeds as an equitable action to discover and subject property to the judgment, with attachment available under the stated chapter. Accordingly, a later asset-discovery filing can remain part of the original action rather than a new case searchable under a separate creditor name. The docket and supplemental pleadings show which assets were actually alleged and which parties were joined.

A lien-enforcement complaint must address other liens held on the property and make their holders defendants under KRS 426.006. Holders seeking sale proceeds must establish their rights through the required answer and cross claim. When examining an apparent priority dispute, collect those pleadings and the distribution order as well as the recorded instruments. Merely finding an earlier recording timestamp does not reveal whether a party asserted, released, subordinated or lost the particular claim in the litigation.

For postjudgment garnishment, KRS 425.501 calls for an affidavit in the same action identifying the judgment, amount due and the garnishees. It allows issuance without a bond and provides a $10 processing payment to the garnishee from the plaintiff, retained even when no garnishable property is held. This payment is distinct from the court's charge for issuing a garnishment. The debtor can claim exemptions, and an order applying assets to the judgment depends on the court finding that the garnishee holds property that is subject to garnishment. Successive orders may issue until the judgment is paid.

Wage garnishment has a continuing structure under KRS 425.506. Its lien reaches earnings for the pay period during which the employer is served and designated successive pay periods. Competing garnishments take priority according to service on the employer, rather than the date of the creditor's judgment. The employer's sworn answer reports the earnings, the nonexempt amount and the reason when funds are not available. Copies go to the creditor, debtor and court. Compare the service return and employer answers before concluding that a higher balance or an older judgment necessarily receives the next paycheck deduction.

KRS 427.010, effective June 29, 2017, limits ordinary weekly wage garnishment to the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the applicable federal minimum hourly wage. It provides an equivalent calculation for other pay periods. The subsection excludes support orders, Chapter 13 bankruptcy orders, and state or federal tax debts from this particular restriction. Its personal-property exemptions include a $3,000 aggregate for household furnishings, jewelry, clothing and ornaments, a separate $3,000 for qualifying farming tools, equipment and livestock, and $2,500 for one motor vehicle and necessary accessories. Prescribed health aids and qualifying health savings funds also receive protection. Property voluntarily pledged as collateral has the stated exclusion to the extent of the secured debt.

The court system's legal forms index links the wage garnishment materials. AOC-150, revised July 2026, gives a debtor 13 days from the paycheck date to file a garnishment challenge using AOC-150.2 with the circuit clerk. It describes the hearing process and the consequence of failing to appear for that withholding dispute. The employer generally has 20 days to answer, or 30 days for a federal employee, and supplies later answers when the withholding changes. The form also describes the creditor's notice and a 15-day hold on money received from the employer. Preserve the paycheck date, service evidence, answer and any challenge order together; each controls a different step.

Do not apply the additional $1,000 exemption in KRS 427.160 as an unrestricted state collection allowance. That provision is expressly confined to applying the specified federal bankruptcy exemption rule when the debtor has filed bankruptcy, within the limits of applicable federal law. Likewise, a protected category does not establish that a particular asset meets its conditions. For record research, identify the exemption invoked, the property described and the ruling rather than replacing the court's outcome with a calculation based only on a statutory headline.

Judgments arriving from another jurisdiction

Kentucky's foreign-judgment procedure uses foreign to include a qualifying judgment of a United States court or another court entitled to full faith and credit, as defined by KRS 426.950. The term should not automatically be read as a judgment from another country. An authenticated copy may be filed with a Kentucky court of competent jurisdiction under KRS 426.955, after which it receives the treatment of a judgment of that court, including the applicable defenses, stays and enforcement procedures. Keep the originating court's case number and Kentucky docket number in the research record, since they describe separate custodians and proceedings.

KRS 426.960 requires an affidavit with the last known addresses of the debtor and creditor when the foreign judgment is filed. The clerk mails notice and makes a docket entry; the creditor may also mail notice and file proof. Execution cannot issue until 20 days after filing. A filing receipt alone therefore does not show that execution was immediately authorized. The authenticated judgment, affidavit, mailing record, any objection and subsequent Kentucky order establish the procedural sequence.

The court may stay enforcement for a pending appeal or stay in the originating jurisdiction upon the required showing and security, and may grant an equivalent Kentucky stay under KRS 426.965. The filing charge follows ordinary civil-suit charges under KRS 426.970, so the proper court's current fee rule and additions matter. The statute does not supply a single separate statewide foreign-judgment dollar amount. A creditor also retains the alternative of bringing an action on the judgment under KRS 426.975. A search must accommodate both procedural routes.

Court filing and record charges effective July 1, 2026

The Supreme Court's administrative orders index is the office parent for the current fee and records orders cited here. Order 2026-15 amends Civil Rules 3.02 and 3.03 effective July 1, 2026. Its ordinary Circuit Court civil filing amount is $188, and its ordinary District Court amount is $94. The listed small-claims amount is $38 for a controversy within the rule's $2,500 limit, excluding interest and costs. A $20 court technology fee and applicable statutory, facility or library charges are additional. These base amounts should not be represented as the final amount due for every county and action.

Order 2026-18 sets certified-mail service at $35 effective July 1, 2026, under the specified Circuit and District civil-rule provisions. A certified copy fee does not buy certified-mail service, and paying for a writ does not establish that the sheriff has served or levied it. Identify each requested court service in a copy or filing inquiry. The order supplies no promise that the court can produce an entire file for the price of one page or one certificate.

The Court of Justice clerk-directory parent also links the Circuit Court Clerks' Manual, whose current cover is October 2026. Its small-claims sections 88.5 through 88.8 distinguish entry of the judgment, a settlement and a later satisfaction. AOC Form 190 records the small-claims judgment. Postjudgment interrogatories use Form 197; after thirty days without a response, the winning party can use Form 198 to seek an order requiring answers. Satisfaction is addressed through a Form 191 motion and a Form 191.1 order, followed by notice of entry. A court-file satisfaction should therefore be obtained as its own document rather than inferred solely from the original judgment or a private settlement.

Satisfaction, releases and notices concerning real estate

A payoff record and the land-record release serve different purposes. KRS 382.365 generally requires the holder of a lien on real property, including the stated construction liens, to release it in the county clerk's office within 30 days after satisfaction. The statute defines satisfaction by receipt of the specified acceptable payment covering the secured principal, interest and other required amounts. Its process permits an owner or other qualifying interested party to seek relief in District or Circuit Court, and the resulting order can authorize a master commissioner to release or assign the lien. Record the actual payoff date, recipient and funds form when using that deadline.

The same section makes monetary consequences dependent on its notice and good-cause conditions. It provides $100 per day beginning on the fifteenth day after qualifying written notice is received when the holder lacks good cause for noncompliance, with an additional $400 per day after the stated 45-day point. These are statutory remedies to evaluate through the prescribed proceeding, not an automatic amount to subtract from a closing payoff. The separate duties concerning delivery of the release and assignment remedies have their own conditions. A historical index entry can remain visible after a valid release; the research question is whether the linked discharge has been recorded and whether it covers the searched property and obligation.

KRS 382.360, effective January 1, 2020, permits release through the prescribed marginal entry or a separately executed and acknowledged instrument identifying the original record. Its assignment provisions ordinarily call for recording within 30 days, with the stated exception when a succeeding assignment is recorded in the chain. Giving a release instrument to the borrower does not itself constitute filing with the county clerk. Payment of one note also does not require release of an entire mortgage securing other unpaid obligations. Examine the referenced book and page or instrument, the parties and the description of what is released.

A lis pendens notice is a record of litigation affecting an interest in real property. KRS 382.440 requires the action, court, affected interest and property identification specified in the statute, with notices in the required counties when tracts cross county lines. A changed description or extended claim can require a further notice. For attachment or execution affecting purchasers without notice, KRS 382.450 prescribes the memorandum identifying the proceeding and writ. Do not treat either filing as an independent final adjudication that the claimant owns the property.

The county clerk records the day and hour and indexes the person whose property is affected under KRS 382.460. That section applies the recording charge to each separately described tract and allows advance payment. A release or discharge of such a notice may be entered or recorded in the manner specified by KRS 382.470. When a land search reveals a notice, retrieve its court case and search forward for amendments and discharge instruments. Dismissal in the court docket and discharge in the land index are separate records to reconcile.

Court access, privacy and agency records requests

The current court records instructions direct requests for Circuit, Family, District and Business Court files to the circuit court clerk in the relevant county. The Administrative Office of the Courts does not maintain those case files. Court of Appeals records are handled by that appellate clerk, reachable at 502-573-7920, and Supreme Court records by its clerk at 502-564-5444. Start with the case number, county, party names, approximate filing year and specific judgment or later document wanted. A request limited to a judgment, satisfaction and current docket can be more precise than a request for every paper associated with a common surname.

The CourtNet contact instructions describe public case information from all 120 counties, but the displayed application is expressly for media outlets and requires approval and a subscription agreement. They do not establish a free general-public subscription, a uniform earliest year or a complete statewide image archive. Treat the coverage statement as a description of the participating counties, not proof that every case or confidential document is visible online. The local clerk remains the source for the actual case record, older material and the meaning of an unavailable entry.

Amended Order 2026-30, entered August 18, 2026, retains disclosure of court records subject to statutory and rule-based restrictions. Its principles preserve free lawful in-person access at the custodian's facility while treating additional forms of access as services subject to a public mission, privacy safeguards and possible administrative-cost charges. They also reserve ownership and control to the Supreme Court. An online convenience, an in-person inspection and a bulk collection therefore have different access terms. A searchable result should not be described as permission to redistribute the underlying court record for any purpose.

The court's self-help filing guidance explains Civil Rule 7.03 redaction: Social Security and taxpayer identification numbers ordinarily retain only their last four digits, birth dates retain the year, and financial account numbers are fully hidden. The filer is responsible for applying the rule; the clerk does not check every filing for compliance. These directions concern preparing papers for filing and do not authorize a requester to demand an unredacted version of a protected record. If a filed document exposes information that should be protected, identify the document and issue to the clerk so the court's proper correction or protective process can be used.

The AOC's administrative records request page supplies OpenRecords@kycourts.net and distinguishes administration records from case records, background checks and compiled statistical information. Its narrative still states a three-business-day response period. The controlling replacement policy in Order 2026-37, entered and effective October 15, 2026, specifies five days excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays for the decision. The written request must identify the requester and specifically describe the administrative records. Reproduction can be charged at actual cost without staff costs, with actual delivery charges. A denial may be presented to the Chief Justice in a detailed letter within 30 days; a further request to the full Supreme Court has a ten-day period after the Chief Justice's decision. These routes concern AOC administration records, not an appeal of a judgment or a blanket procedure for obtaining sealed case files.

For covered executive and local agency records, KRS 61.872 establishes the request procedure under the Kentucky Open Records Act. A custodian may require a signed written request with a printed name, a description and a residency statement. The agency cannot insist on its own form when the required information is otherwise supplied, and the statute provides delivery, mail, fax and designated email routes. A requester outside the county of the record's location may use the specified mailed-copy process for precisely described, readily available records after paying applicable reproduction and postage charges. An office lacking custody should identify the proper custodian if known.

The residency category is broader than a Kentucky home address. The definition in KRS 61.870(10) includes the listed persons who work in Kentucky, own real estate there, qualifying business entities, authorized representatives and qualifying news organizations, as well as residents. State which statutory category applies when an agency asks for that information. The statute's category should not be replaced with a requirement to explain a personal dispute or to establish that a public record concerns only the requester.

For noncommercial requests, KRS 61.874 permits reasonable reproduction costs based on actual materials and equipment without ordinary staff time. It distinguishes existing electronic records from a demand that the agency create a new electronic version of paper records. A nonstandard format or commercial request raises different cost and certification provisions. Identify the existing record and desired available format first. A special recording-copy statute or court rule can set a different product-specific price, so the agency reproduction provision is not a substitute for the county clerk or circuit clerk schedules described above.

KRS 61.880 generally requires a written agency decision within five days excluding weekends and legal holidays. A denial must identify the statutory exception and explain its application. The requester may send the Attorney General the request and denial, or the request and evidence of nonresponse. That review ordinarily has 20 business days, subject to the specified unusual-circumstance extension. Excessive charges, delay and misdirection can also be reviewed. An Attorney General decision can be appealed within 30 calendar days; an unappealed decision has the statute's binding effect.

Circuit Court review under KRS 61.882 does not require prior use of the Attorney General route. The court reviews the matter anew and the agency bears the burden of sustaining its action. Venue follows the statute's agency-location or record-location provisions. For willful withholding, the court may award the specified costs, fees and up to $25 per day. Keep the initial request, delivery evidence, response and exact records still disputed; a request for a written explanation creates a clearer review record than repeated calls that leave no account of the denial.

Transferred files and the date limits of archive searches

The judiciary's current records arrangements require a distinction between a file still at its original court, an accessioned file transferred to storage and a permanent archived record. Order 2026-32, entered September 17, 2026, applies to Court of Justice records regardless of age, format or physical custody. Section 6 addresses entities entrusted with accessioned records other than the records custodians: public viewing is in person, requested physical copies or digital images may be supplied, media requests go to AOC Communications, and sealed or confidential records must be removed before access. Discovery tools must not reveal the existence of protected records. A missing online entry can therefore reflect access controls as well as a coverage limit.

That order also places digitization, distribution for searchable databases and commercial use under its stated restrictions and authorization requirements. An archive's possession of an old file does not transfer the Supreme Court's control over it. If a proposed request involves reuse of a collection, identify that proposed use when seeking the applicable terms. For an individual judgment, request the particular court record and the form of copy required. The custodian and archive can identify whether the file remains local, was transferred or was disposed of under an authorized retention schedule.

The Kentucky State Archives records request instructions supply the civil-case request route, county holdings list and fee sheet. The Civil Case Record Request Form asks for the parties, county, year and record type. It states that case indexes are unavailable after 1977; for cases filed after January 1, 1978, obtain the case number, location number, accession number and box number from the appropriate court. Put those identifiers in the request notes. The form separates certified mailed copies, electronic scans and a notarized copy, and directs checks or money orders to the Kentucky State Treasurer. Submit the specified single form and payment rather than assuming a surname request will locate an entire series of later cases.

The archive's county holdings document separates civil or divorce cases, criminal cases, probate cases and available order books. Its inventory concerns physical archival holdings, not a promise of online images. Confirm the particular county, record series and year before paying a search charge. The court's transfer information is especially important for a modern case because a statewide archive inquiry without the required locator numbers cannot substitute for the court's indexing. The archives request page gives a general four-to-six-week processing expectation for research requests, rather than a guaranteed deadline for every stored court file.

The linked Archives and Records Management fee schedule, effective August 1, 2026, separates two facilities and several products. At the State Records Center, an off-site package with up to 30 photocopies, postage and certification costs $20 for an in-state customer or $25 for an out-of-state customer. Its emailed public-request package with up to 30 scanned pages is $12. The State Archives Center likewise lists $20 and $25 research packages, while its $12 emailed legal-request product contains up to 30 noncertified scanned pages. Additional paper copies are $0.25 per page; the archives lists additional scans at $0.20 and microfilm prints at $0.50. On-site certification is $5. The sheet marks specified products for 6% sales tax. Ask which facility and product will fulfill the request before applying any of those amounts to a case.

State revenue liens and property-tax certificates

The Department of Revenue's state tax lien instructions describe notice filed in the county of a taxpayer's residence, business or property interest. Filing follows assessment or a tax bill, demand and nonpayment, and a payment arrangement does not necessarily prevent a notice. For taxes governed by KRS 131.515, the lien attaches to existing and later-acquired property and remains in force for ten years from filing of the notice. The section expressly excludes taxes governed by KRS 134.420. It also sets notice-based priority rules and a limited protection for qualifying advances made within 45 days of filing or earlier actual notice. A state revenue lien should therefore not be analyzed using the separate property-tax certificate timetable.

The specific lien release program can remove a described asset from the state tax lien under the department's listed conditions, including payment of the Commonwealth's interest, a determination that its interest has no value, sufficient other property, or an escrow arrangement for disputed proceeds. A property-specific release does not by itself prove that every state tax liability has been paid. The office currently links Form 12A503, marked March 2008, which asks for the deed reference and precise property description, copies of the liens to be released, superior-lien balances, transfer costs and supporting appraisals. Its instructions require two professional appraisals and relevant IRS release or commitment documentation when a federal lien is involved. The form's old revision date is stated here because it remains the document supplied by the current office route.

State lien subordination changes priority at the department's discretion, such as for a qualifying refinance or financing that aids collection. Its current application link is Form 12A502, also marked March 2008, which requires the proposed lender's letter and loan amount, the exact collateral description, copies of the affected liens, superior debts and appraisals. Both department programs publish up to ten business days for processing and warn that incomplete submissions or a closing less than ten days away may delay completion. A closing date written on an application does not create an entitlement to expedited action. Retain the issued certificate and compare its property and lien references with the pending transaction.

Delinquent real-property taxes follow a county certificate process. KRS 134.122 generally requires the sheriff to transfer remaining tax claims to the county clerk on April 15, with an alternative-schedule rule and a stated additional period for a consolidated local government. Filing converts the claim into a certificate of delinquency owned initially by the taxing jurisdictions. The statutory base includes the tax, specified penalty, sheriff's commission and add-on. Search the clerk's certificate records and assignments as well as the sheriff's current tax-payment information; a bill that left the sheriff's collection system may still be an enforceable county-recorded claim.

KRS 134.420 gives the state and local taxing districts a lien on assessed property for eleven years after delinquency, including the prescribed interest, fees and collection expenses. An instituted enforcement proceeding continues the lien until judicial termination. By contrast, KRS 134.125 sets simple interest at 12% annually on the applicable certificate base, treating a fraction of a month as a whole month. A third-party purchase changes the relevant initial base to the purchaser's payment. Obtain a payoff calculated to the intended payment date rather than adding 12% to the original tax face amount without accounting for the statutory base and credited payments.

The current text of KRS 134.490, effective July 15, 2026, requires the purchaser's initial notice within 50 days after delivery of the certificate and repeat notice every six months until the pre-action notice. Certified mail with proof of mailing and copies to mortgagees are specified. At least 45 days before a collection action, the purchaser must give the additional notice after the one-year waiting period. The section describes address checks through the property valuation administrator, notice returned as undeliverable, the required breakdown of balance and fees, and updates to purchaser contact information. Failure to give required original or correction notices suspends accrual of the purchaser's interest and fees as the section provides. Those mailing records can be decisive when examining a contested amount.

For the covered certificates purchased after June 1, 2012, the same section requires a registered third-party purchaser to offer a monthly installment plan on written request. The parties sign its terms, and the processing fee cannot exceed $8 per month. The statute addresses default and which purchasers remain subject to the requirement. A plan is an agreement with the certificate holder; it is not a change that a researcher can infer from the public tax balance alone. Keep the notice, current holder's recorded address, plan and payment history associated with the same certificate number.

The collection period in KRS 134.546 generally begins after one year and ends eleven years after delinquency. The purchaser may pursue a debt action, lien enforcement or a combined proceeding. Read the body of subsection (5), which refers to appraisal and a redemption right under KRS 426.530; the section's headline still contains the words no redemption. The operative text, court judgment, sale record and applicable redemption provisions are the materials needed to understand an actual foreclosure outcome. Purchasing a tax certificate at the clerk's sale does not itself convey the underlying land.

KRS 134.127, effective July 14, 2022, provides a route when an entitled payer cannot locate the third-party holder. It requires the prescribed letter to the recorded or most recently notified address, proof of mailing, the returned letter if applicable, and a sworn attestation when the holder does not respond within 30 days or the letter returns unclaimed. After accepting the proof, the clerk may receive the full amount reflected in the records plus applicable interest and make the necessary assignment or release, including the specified related notice discharge. The clerk holds the payment in escrow and may deduct a $20 service fee, with the separate statutory recording charge for the release. This is a documented statutory process, not permission simply to send a disputed payoff to any county office.

The Department of Revenue's Clerk Network currently links county tax-sale dates updated September 14, 2026, and its real-property duties manual identified on the page as June 26, 2025. The manual itself is marked April 2025. Treat that training material as dated guidance and compare any fee or notice rule with the later statutory text. The network also supplies the receipt, redemption and related forms used in the county process. For a particular certificate, the county's actual assignment, payment and release records establish what happened, while an annual sale list only establishes what was scheduled for that sale.

Federal notices in the Kentucky land records

Federal tax notices have a state recording route under KRS 382.480. It calls for filing in the county where the affected property is situated and an alphabetical index with the taxpayer, residence, serial number, recording time and amount. A later discharge certificate is recorded against the corresponding entry under KRS 382.490. Compare the serial number and original filing reference when a release appears under a variant name. The clerk's index supplies the public recording history; it is not the IRS's current payoff calculation.

The IRS's federal lien explanation, updated September 14, 2026, distinguishes release, discharge, subordination and withdrawal. Release generally follows full payment within 30 days; discharge concerns particular property; subordination changes creditor order; withdrawal removes the public notice without necessarily canceling the underlying tax debt. A levy is the collection action against property. The Centralized Lien Operation handles routine verification, payoff and release questions at 800-913-6050, while complex relief goes through the IRS advisory program. These distinctions prevent a property-specific certificate from being reported as a complete cancellation of every federal claim.

Certified bankruptcy documents required by federal law can also be recorded with the county clerk under KRS 382.510. The Kentucky recording statute directs indexing of the bankrupt as grantor and trustee as grantee. That is a land-record entry associated with a federal case, not a state bankruptcy court. Retrieve the federal docket and the particular order to determine whether it avoids a lien, releases property, authorizes a sale or addresses a different issue. A bankruptcy case's existence alone does not identify which recorded encumbrances were affected.

The IRS links Publication 4235, revised July 2025, from its federal lien instructions. It identifies Advisory Consolidated Receipts at 7940 Kentucky Drive, Stop 2850A, Florence, KY 41042-2915, for the listed discharge, subordination, withdrawal and related certificate matters, with online-account submission also described. General payoff and release inquiries remain a separate Centralized Lien Operation function. Use the requested relief to select the recipient; mailing a certificate application to a county recorder will not cause the IRS to decide it.

The same IRS office page supplies Publication 1660, revised January 2020, on collection appeals. It explains that the first notice of a federal tax-lien filing for a tax and period carries a Collection Due Process hearing right. The IRS provides notice within five business days of filing, followed by the stated 30-day hearing-request period; the notice gives the actual last date. Form 12153 or a written request containing the same information goes to the address on that notice. The publication distinguishes this route, with possible Tax Court review, from the Collection Appeals Program, whose decision does not carry that court-review route. Preserve the notice and mailing proof when researching whether the challenge was timely.

Federal judgments, bankruptcy orders and older federal files

PACER searches federal records through a specific court or a national case locator. On November 6, 2026, its published rate is $0.10 per page, with a $3 cap for a single document and qualifying case-specific reports. Name searches, non-case-specific reports and transcripts have different cap treatment. Quarterly charges of $30 or less are waived. The announced change for January 1, 2027, raises the rate to $0.12 and the quarterly waiver threshold to $40 for a five-year period. Those future prices should not be substituted for the rate applicable to a November 2026 retrieval.

The Eastern District of Kentucky lists offices in Lexington, Ashland, Covington, Frankfort and London. Its Pikeville instructions now send cases from Johnson, Magoffin and Martin counties to Ashland, and cases from Floyd, Knott, Letcher and Pike counties to London. An older case caption referring to Pikeville therefore does not establish that a staffed Pikeville counter remains the correct request destination. Use the current routing and retain the original division and case number so the receiving office can locate the historical file.

The Western District maintains four clerk-office locations. Their location pages publish an 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. office day, using Eastern Time for Louisville and Central Time for the other three. Its separate paper-file inspection instructions give an earlier 4 p.m. cutoff, so distinguish counter hours from the service being requested.

The Western District's copy and older-file instructions direct specific requests to copyrequest@kywd.uscourts.gov, with the case number, caption, document names or docket entries, and contact details. Prepayment is required. Its published historical resources include civil and criminal index cards for 1970 through 1981 in case 3:23-mc-22201, criminal cases before 1981 in 3:23-mc-22205, and closed civil docket sheets for 1951 through 1992 in 3:23-mc-22206. These described collections are not a statement that every pleading from those years is digitized. For stored files, obtain the federal storage locator information from the clerk before ordering from the records center.

The Western District's fee table, effective December 1, 2023, lists electronically formatted copies at $0.10 per page, paper reproduction at $0.50, certification at $12 and exemplification at $24. Registration of a judgment from another federal district under 28 U.S.C. 1963 is $52. A records search is $34. The table gives $70 for retrieval of the first storage box and $43 for each additional box, and electronic retrieval at $20.90 plus $0.65 per page. The older narrative instructions still show $64 and $39 for box retrieval and a $10 SmartScan administrative component. Use the designated fee table and request the clerk's total for the selected service rather than treating the older narrative figures as current.

The Eastern Kentucky Bankruptcy Court has its intake office at 100 East Vine Street, Suite 200, Lexington, KY 40507, telephone 859-233-2608, with published intake hours of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday except federal holidays. Hearing locations and the records counter are not interchangeable. Its document-copy instructions use August 1, 2002, as the division between the described electronic and older paper files. Public-terminal printing is $0.10 per page, while staff-made or mailed uncertified copies are $0.50. The linked payment form requires a known page count; the office directs requesters to call when the count is unknown. A discharge-order request is offered separately from a full case-file request.

Online availability has an additional restriction: the Eastern Bankruptcy Court's public-viewing policy limits remote document access in cases filed before December 1, 2003, and closed for more than one year, while identifying access through court users, public terminals and qualifying participants. Its older-file guidance explains that pre-August 2002 paper cases may have been sent to the Atlanta records center and later destroyed under retention schedules. A storage inquiry requires the transfer number, location number, box number, case-file name and case number. A missing PACER document is therefore not sufficient evidence that a judgment or lien-avoidance order never existed.

For basic Eastern Bankruptcy case information, the office's free telephone service uses 866-222-8029 and the court selection Kentucky Eastern Bankruptcy. That service supplies case information rather than a certified order. The Western Kentucky Bankruptcy Court directs non-electronic documents and fees to 601 West Broadway, Suite 450, Louisville, KY 40202, telephone 502-627-5700. Its published office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time on weekdays, with fees accepted only until 3:30 p.m. A filing delivered to the District Court's different room in the same courthouse has not necessarily reached the bankruptcy clerk.

The Western Bankruptcy Court's administrative fee schedule lists $0.50 paper reproduction, $12 certification, $24 exemplification, $34 for a qualifying records search and $70 for the first retrieved storage box plus $43 for additional boxes. Its search charge is per name or item when applicable and excludes basic readily retrieved case information. A combined search and certification may require both charges and copying. The page's electronic-retrieval line still gives $19.90 plus $0.65 per page, while the Western District's current table uses $20.90 plus the page charge. Obtain the bankruptcy clerk's quotation for its retrieval product before sending payment. The records request should identify the exact order affecting the lien, since a general discharge and an order concerning a particular recorded interest answer different questions.

County recording contacts across Kentucky

The following contact entries come from the Kentucky County Clerks Association's current county directory. They identify county recording-office routes, while judgment case files belong to the separately organized circuit court clerks. Addresses retain postal boxes where the directory supplies them. Use the recording department number when one is identified, and confirm the land-record service and its cutoff before visiting a branch whose advertised hours may concern vehicle transactions.

Local recording prices, search limits and request routes

County pages frequently direct searches to the same service but publish different local conditions and historical coverage. The office-linked eCCLIX service currently lists a monthly setup charge of $200 for the first county and $20 for each added county, followed by $75 per month per county and $10 per additional user. The first month is prorated with a $15 minimum per county; subscriptions started during the last seven days also charge the next month. Its single-day arrangement uses $45 initial setup, $20 for an added county, $15 per 24 hours per county and $10 for an additional user. Public accounts depend on the participating county's terms. The service also directs Daviess users to a separate free county system because Daviess left the central service after March 1, 2022. These prices are access products, separate from county recording and certified-copy fees.

Adair County

Adair's published recording schedule, marked January 1, 2020, lists $46 for a judgment lien, mechanic lien, lis pendens, federal tax notice, and the listed releases or subordinations. Initial fixture filing is $96, with specified later fixture actions at $46; a bond releasing a mechanic lien is $60. The certificate-of-delinquency assignment is $30, while reassignment and release are $46. State tax and in-state child-support lien items are $5, and the corresponding out-of-state child-support items are $46. Most starred instruments include five pages with $3 thereafter; mortgages use $80 through thirty pages, then $3 per extra page. Additional PIDN or instrument references cost $4. The office distinguishes these final listed products from the statutory base components discussed earlier.

The Adair request instructions permit hand delivery, mail and email, plus fax to 270-384-4805, and publish a five-business-day decision period. Copies require advance payment. The instructions prefer the supplied form but also describe a written alternative when it cannot be printed. Apply the current statutory request requirements when a local form asks for additional information. Adair's lien recording instructions separate judgment notices, lis pendens, federal notices and other lien categories, so a search for a document should use its recorded type as well as the party name.

Allen County

The Allen clerk's records service distinguishes a paid commercial eCCLIX account from a no-charge personal account for Allen residents, limited to Allen records and five searches each day. Its recording table lists $46 judgment and mechanic liens, $46 related releases, $96 initial fixture filings, $60 mechanic-lien release bonds and $5 state tax liens. Copy pricing needs a product-specific quotation: the introductory text says $0.50 per page for copies made in the office and $5 for certified copies, while a lower table says regular copies are $0.25 and retains $12 federal lien entries alongside the $46 recording table. Those entries should not be combined into a single assumed price.

The office-linked Allen open-records policy, dated July 1, 2021, separately gives $0.50 for an ordinary noncommercial document copy after applying controlling statutory schedules. It lists $5 for noncommercial recordings, discs or tapes, advance payment including postage, and a five-working-day determination. Requests can be delivered or mailed to 201 West Main Street, Room 6, Scottsville, faxed to 270-237-9206, or emailed to sarah.constant@ky.gov. The policy's commercial-request contract provisions are distinct from the resident portal's personal-use restrictions.

Anderson County

Anderson's record inventory says most instrument images are online from January 2004 forward. It separately describes deed indexes and scans back to 1966 and mortgage indexes back to 1966, which does not promise mortgage images for that entire period. Public records can be viewed at the office without a viewing charge. The online access instructions distinguish commercial subscriptions from personal use by county residents, limited to Anderson records and five searches daily. Keep the record series and image range with the search result, since the general 2004 statement and the deed-specific 1966 statement describe different coverage.

The Anderson fee page, effective January 1, 2020, gives $46 for judgment liens, lis pendens, mechanic liens, releases and federal tax notices, $5 for state tax items, $96 for initial fixture filing and $46 for later fixture actions. It prices a mechanic-lien release bond at $60 and an initial delinquency-certificate assignment at $30. The starred charges add $3 per page beyond five, while the $80 mortgage category adds that amount beyond thirty pages. The current office request-policy route supplies a policy document and inspection form, keeping a records request separate from a paid search subscription.

Barren County

Barren's lien department instructions distinguish motor-vehicle title liens from fixture filings handled in Legal Records and ordinary UCC filings routed to the Secretary of State. The deed room assists with retrieval, research, copies and inspection of legal documents, including liens and releases. Its January 1, 2020 recording schedule lists $46 judgment liens, mechanic liens and lis pendens notices, $96 fixture filings, $5 state tax notices and releases, and $80 mortgages. The page qualifications add $3 after five pages for starred instruments and after thirty pages for mortgages.

The Barren remote-access instructions retain a $65 monthly subscription figure, whereas the current linked vendor body publishes $75 per county. Use the vendor's current product terms when choosing access and ask about any county-specific arrangement. Barren also describes public accounts that may be suspended when the office reopens after a public-safety closure, with availability from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and a five-search daily limit. That conditional service is not an unrestricted entitlement to continuous free access. The same office route offers a separate mortgage/deed name-alert service; an alert does not replace retrieval of the recorded instrument.

Bath County

Bath separates its street location at 17 West Main Street, Owingsville, from its mailing address, P.O. Box 609, Owingsville, KY 40360. The clerk accepts written records requests in person, by mail, by email through its published contact route, or by fax to 606-674-9526. Its instructions call for a response within five business days and payment before copies are supplied. A name, the record being requested and the desired delivery method belong in the request; describing a lien by its parties and book reference will identify it more precisely than asking for every document concerning a property. The currently linked fee page displays an image headed January 1, 2020, rather than a readable fee table in the returned text. Obtain the applicable instrument charge from the clerk before mailing payment. See the Bath request instructions.

Bell County

Bell's records service distinguishes residents making personal searches from commercial users. The resident route is confined to Bell County and permits five searches per day; commercial research uses the subscription service. Its recording table lists $46 for a judgment lien, mechanic's lien, lis pendens notice and their listed releases, $5 for a state tax lien or its release, and $96 for an initial fixture filing. A bond releasing a mechanic's lien is separately priced at $60. Those instrument charges do not establish the cost of a certified copy. Bell also names CSC, Simplifile and ePN as electronic recording routes. Consult the office before treating a document delivered through a vendor as accepted and indexed. The Bell records instructions and fee table supply the county-specific access and recording choices.

Boone County

Boone's property records require an additional identifier that a statewide name search cannot supply: the clerk says its group number is mandatory on land-related instruments, following the county's group identification system established in 1969. The recording department lists 859-334-3624 for direct questions. Payments for recordings may be made by cash, personal or specified official checks, or money order; its instructions exclude credit and debit cards. Read the recording requirements and linked fee documents before submitting a notice against Boone property. The linked fee and document particulars, marked January 1, 2020, list a judgment lien at $46 for the first five pages and $3 for each page beyond five.

Two inventories linked from Boone's online search instructions describe different stages of its indexing project. The inventory in the October 2025 upload path lists encumbrances scanned and indexed from E8, 1976, and mechanic's liens from ML9, 1989. Mortgage name indexing begins with M530, 1988, while M132, 1966, through M529 are scans only. Deeds D170, 1965, through D481, 1992, likewise require image-based work rather than assuming a name index. The older search sheet, internally dated March 15, 2023, uses later starting points for several indexed series. Its useful search instruction is to put the book prefix, such as E or ML, into the book field with the number, leaving the separate type field empty. Ask the Real Estate Department about subsequent indexing progress.

A Boone records request can be emailed to boonecounty.openrecords@ky.gov. The office specifically requires the request information in the email body because it cannot open attachments. Its policy permits an optional form and calls for a written response within five working days. Statutory copy schedules take precedence; otherwise it lists $0.50 for a noncommercial paper copy and $5 for the listed recording or digital media products, with postage and fees prepaid. Use the Burlington address, 2950 Washington Square, KY 41005, for the main office. The Boone request policy supplies the submission rules. Confirm that a Florence visit can handle the intended land-record service rather than inferring that every branch performs every clerk function.

Bourbon County

Bourbon offers a free personal search account for county residents, limited to Bourbon records and five searches per day. Its commercial account is a subscription and can include additional counties. These are different access products, so an individual using records for paid title research should not select the resident option merely because the property is local. The office also provides an optional mortgage and deed email alert. That description does not promise alerts for every judgment, tax lien or release; continue the encumbrance search independently of any alert registration. The Bourbon online-records service is the clerk's own entry point. It does not give a document-by-document starting year in the relevant records portion reviewed.

Boyd County

Boyd provides a specific email route for land-record copies: boydcoclerk@gmail.com, with aballengee@boydcountyky.gov also shown. That service lists documents at $0.50 per page and plats at $1 each. Supply the recorded reference and the desired certification status rather than assuming an emailed image is certified. These are the amounts on its land-record email instructions. Its separate 2021 open-records policy, linked from the clerk's office navigation, gives $0.10 for ordinary noncommercial written records and $0.50 for commercial copies. Ask the office which service applies instead of merging the two schedules. That policy names kjohnston@boydcountyky.gov for requests and gives five working days for a written availability decision.

The recording schedule linked by Boyd's office is marked effective January 1, 2020. It prices judgment liens, mechanic's liens, lis pendens notices and federal tax liens at $46, while a state tax lien is $5. An initial fixture filing is $96. Its footnotes add $3 per page beyond five for the marked documents, $3 beyond thirty for mortgages, and $4 for each additional reference on the categories carrying that mark. The office's search referral links its Courthouse Computer Systems service; that referral alone establishes neither a full historical date range nor the availability of every recorded image.

Boyle County

Boyle gives its Records Room a separate number, 859-238-1112, which is more targeted than the general office line for an index or book question. Its free resident access is limited to personal use, Boyle records and five daily searches. The published recording table charges $46 for judgment liens, mechanic's liens and lis pendens notices; it lists $30 for assigning a certificate of delinquency and $46 for its reassignment or release. Most marked instruments add $3 per page beyond five, while mortgages use a thirty-page threshold. Copy charges are expressly excluded from these recording prices. The clerk's current records instructions show Monday hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., along with the linked request policy.

Bracken County

Bracken's personal account is free for residents researching without commercial gain and allows five searches per day within Bracken records. A paid commercial account has different terms and can include other counties. Contact the clerk at 606-735-2952 or jennifer.free@ky.gov when the account does not locate the needed book or image. Its main-office schedule is Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Wednesday and Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon; and Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Friday listing for the Augusta City Clerk's Office is a separate location listing and does not establish that Bracken's entire land-record collection can be inspected there. Use the Bracken records entry to reach the county's designated search service.

Breathitt County

Breathitt's records table distinguishes a $5 in-state child-support lien from a $46 out-of-state child-support lien; the corresponding listed releases carry the same distinction. Judgment liens and mechanic's liens are $46, while an initial fixture filing is $96 and a bond to release a mechanic's lien is $60. Check the applicable page and reference additions with the clerk because the returned table marks categories without exposing an accompanying explanation for every symbol. A Breathitt resident's personal search account permits five county-only searches daily without a charge. Its records service also lists a commercial subscription option. The main office closes at noon on Wednesday; its other listed weekday hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Bullitt County

Bullitt's current land-copy instructions say the office no longer verifies or supplies record information by telephone or email. That service instead directs requesters to mail, the designated online search, or an in-person researcher. It lists mailed copies at $0.30 per page and permits five free documents daily through its private-citizen search. The land-record copy instructions link an affidavit request form with fields for names, book and page, property address and map identifier. The form repeats the $0.30 amount and includes a notary section. Distinguish this service procedure from an ordinary statutory records request.

The clerk's separate open-records policy allows delivery by hand, mail or email to openrecords@bullittcountyclerk.com, recognizes an electronic signature, and quotes $0.50 for noncommercial copies. It promises a written response in five working days. These two published copy amounts and submission routes are not interchangeable. Identify whether the request is for the land-copy service or inspection and copies under the records law, then obtain the applicable written quote. The 2020 recording schedule linked in Bullitt's land-record menu lists $46 for a judgment lien, mechanic's lien or lis pendens notice, with $3 for each page after five. Its formatting instructions call for single-sided, unbound pages, legible type and the specified recorder space.

Butler County

Butler supplies a search correction that matters when an identifier seems absent: remove leading zeroes from a security number. Its examples turn R00015 into R15 and H01205 into H1205. Apply that instruction to the security-number search, not indiscriminately to party names or every book reference. The county's fee table assigns $46 to judgment liens, mechanic's liens and lis pendens notices; $5 to state tax liens; and $96 to original fixture filings. The private account serves Butler residents making personal searches, with five county-only searches daily at no charge. Both the search correction and product limits appear in Butler's records instructions.

Caldwell County

Caldwell publishes both the recording prices and the account conditions alongside its records entry. It lists judgment liens and mechanic's liens at $46, federal tax liens and releases at $46, and state tax liens and releases at $5. An initial fixture filing costs $96; the listed continuation, amendment, assignment or partial release costs $46. Its free resident account covers personal, noncommercial searches within Caldwell and allows five daily searches. Additional county access belongs to the paid subscription product. See the Caldwell records service for those distinctions. The published office schedule is weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Calloway County

Calloway's real-estate desk has its own number, 270-767-0429; its current office homepage separates that contact from motor vehicles and elections. The document schedule lists $46 for a judgment lien, an assignment of judgment and a judgment-lien release. It prices a lis pendens at $46 and specifically calls for an additional charge for each extra tract. Fixture filings are $96, or $142 with an assignment; the listed full-release distinction turns on July 14, 1994, so provide the original filing date before assuming a release is prepaid. The Calloway fee list also distinguishes a $5 state lien from a $46 federal lien and gives corresponding release categories.

Calloway accepts a written request at 101 South Fifth Street, Suite 5, Murray, KY 42071, or by fax to 270-759-9611; an email link is available in the request instructions. The office calls for advance payment and a response within five business days. Its preference for a form does not replace the statutory rule allowing an adequate written request without an agency-specific form.

Campbell County

Campbell's records office links a revised land-record tariff bearing the date July 15, 2026. The revised schedule charges $46 for a judgment lien, mechanic's lien or release, lis pendens notice or release, and federal tax lien or release, through five pages. State tax liens and releases remain $5. A fixture filing is $96 through five pages, a mortgage $80 through thirty, and each extra page $3. Each additional PIDN or notation relating to the same document adds $4. City liens and city-lien releases are listed at $23 through five pages, with partial releases, amendments and modifications expressly excluded from that category. The schedule separately identifies a certificate of delinquency at $30 and its assignment at $46; do not substitute another county's older assignment label.

Campbell's resident account permits five free county-only searches for personal purposes. Its office locations and hours list Newport at 1098 Monmouth Street and Alexandria at 8330 West Main Street. Both normally operate from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. Newport extends hours to 6 p.m. on the first and last Monday; Alexandria lists the first and last Thursday. Verify the land-record service at the intended branch before using an extended general-office session for historical research.

Carlisle County

Carlisle's recording table gives $46 judgment, mechanic's and federal tax lien charges, $5 for state tax liens, and $96 for initial fixture filings. A mechanic's lien release bond is a separate $60 product. The office's request-policy parent currently identifies clerk Lindsey Lemons, the 985 US-62 address in Bardwell and 270-628-3233. Its linked July 2021 policy still names Becky Martin and an email bearing that name. Confirm the active email with the current office; the current postal address avoids depending on that older named mailbox. The policy quotes $0.50 for ordinary noncommercial copies after applicable statutory charges, $5 for the specified media products, advance payment and a five-working-day response.

Carroll County

For Carroll residents conducting personal research without commercial gain, the clerk supplies five free searches per day within Carroll records. Commercial users subscribe, with the option of additional counties. The office's online-records route links both products and advertises mortgage and deed notifications separately. Its hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. The same body says transfers stop after 4:15 p.m.; it does not identify that line as a universal land-record inspection deadline. Request a recording or research appointment using the particular service name.

Carter County

Carter's online instructions give mortgage or vendor's-lien releases a $46 charge through five pages, with $3 for every later page. The release checklist calls for the parties, the original mortgage or deed reference, identification as a full or partial release, the relevant property description for a partial release, and acknowledged signatures. A Carter resident's personal account is free, limited to five daily searches in the county. Its records service lists the Grayson office from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, with 8:30 a.m. to noon on the last Saturday of each month. Olive Hill has a different schedule and closes Mondays. Those location distinctions matter when arranging inspection of a record that is unavailable through the account.

Christian County

Christian's Legal Records Division, 270-887-4109, says its maintained documents extend from 1797 to the present. That is the office's collection statement, not proof that every type has a complete online image series from 1797. Its legal-records office page identifies the designated search and lists tax liens, assignments and releases among database categories. The current fee parent links a schedule effective July 15, 2026. Judgment, mechanic's and federal tax liens are $46; state tax liens are $5. A certified copy costs $5, plus $0.50 per page after three. Fixture filings are $96, or $142 when the original includes an assignment. The ordinary additional-page charge is $3 beyond five, with the listed mortgage categories receiving thirty pages.

The clerk's open-records parent links its written policy, which directs requests to 511 South Main Street, Hopkinsville, KY 42240, fax 270-887-4186, or melinda.humphries@ky.gov. It states a five-working-day response and $0.10 per page for standard noncommercial photocopies, with actual media, processing and postage charges where applicable. Certification remains a distinct product under the current land-record fee sheet. The policy's printed general telephone number differs from the current office webpage; use the Legal Records Division number above for the record inquiry.

Clark County

Clark describes a collection maintained from 1795, indexes for most types extending to 1880, and online images for most instrument filings reaching January 1795. Those are three distinct statements, with exceptions acknowledged by the clerk; a name index beginning later than an image collection requires a book-based approach to older material. In-person viewing is free. The same Clark records page lists mailed copies at $1 per page, self-made office copies at $0.50, and certified copies using the wording $5 per page. That certification wording differs from the statutory first-three-page formula. Obtain an itemized certification quote before payment. Judgment and mechanic's liens are listed at $46, with the published $3 additional-page rule. The current records contact is michelles.turner@ky.gov, 859-745-0280, at 34 South Main Street, Room 109, Winchester.

Clay County

Clay dates its recorded instruments to 1824 in its recording-office description. That statement concerns the collection and does not establish a complete remote index. Its January 1, 2020 fee schedule lists judgment liens, mechanic's liens, lis pendens and federal tax liens at $46, with state tax liens at $5. The marked five-page instruments add $3 per later page, and an additional PIDN or reference adds $4. A written request can go to 102 Richmond Road, Suite 101, Manchester, KY 40962, or fax 606-599-0603. The Clay request procedure also supplies its email link, calls for prepaid copies and states a five-business-day response. For an older lien, describe the book series and relevant names as well as the approximate year.

Clinton County

Clinton's posted January 2020 schedule prices a judgment lien at $46 through five pages, with $3 per page afterward. It applies the same listed amount to mechanic's liens and lis pendens, distinguishes $5 state liens from $46 federal liens, and adds $4 for an additional PIDN or reference. A $60 mechanic's-lien release bond differs from the ordinary $46 release. The current office homepage gives weekday hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and first-and-third-Saturday hours of 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Its online-records heading did not expose a usable historical coverage table in the returned body; check the needed series with the clerk at 606-387-5943.

Crittenden County

Crittenden has moved to Suite B of the County Office Complex, 200 Industrial Drive, Marion. Its current homepage describes the new permanent office and a deed room with the records on one level. Older references to viewing at the courthouse should not send a visitor to the wrong building. The main office operates weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but the deed room closes at 4 p.m. The separately published recording standards preserve that earlier research cutoff and specify single-sided, unbound pages with the stated recorder margins.

The document-fee page dates the maintained collection to the county's 1842 formation from Livingston County. It links a subscription search and lists judgment liens and their releases in the Lis Pendens series at $46. Mechanic's liens have their own series and the same $46 listed charge. An initial fixture filing is $96 with its release prepaid; the version containing an assignment is $142. Certified copies cost $5 through three pages and $0.50 for each later page. The schedule's stars matter: the ordinary addition is $3 after five pages, mortgages use thirty, and only the designated double-star categories also add $4 per extra reference. For an early property chain, establish whether the relevant event predates county formation before limiting the search to Crittenden's books.

Cumberland County

Cumberland's recording department can be reached at 270-864-3726 on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The recording explanation describes the sequence: a document receives its book and page before staff index it for searching. A recently assigned recording reference therefore does not itself establish that a name search has caught up. The clerk says deed images are available and describes mortgage images as covering at least thirty years, without a fixed publication date for that relative period. Ask for the actual starting book or year for the mortgage series you need; do not convert that wording into an assumed 1996 cutoff.

Edmonson County

The Edmonson records description separates the courthouse collection from remote images: most holdings and indexes reach 1840, most online images begin January 1986, and the office separately states that deeds from inception and mortgages from 1986 are online. None of those statements establishes an 1840 online judgment-lien image series. The resident account is restricted to personal, noncommercial searches of Edmonson records, five daily, without charge; public inspection in the office is also free. Its fee table lists judgment liens, mechanic's liens, lis pendens and federal tax liens at $46, state tax liens at $5, initial fixture filings at $96 and a bond releasing a mechanic's lien at $60. The department identifies Kevin Alexander and Jason Alexander at kevin.alexander@ky.gov and jasona.alexander@ky.gov for records questions.

Elliott County

Elliott publishes a personal-search option for county residents, limited to its own records and five searches per day, with no commercial gain. The county recording table distinguishes a $96 fixture filing from a $46 judgment, mechanic's or federal tax lien and a $5 state tax lien. It lists $60 for a bond used to release a mechanic's lien and $30 for assignment of a certificate of delinquency. Those are separate documents, so a searcher's copy charge and a filer's recording payment should not be confused. The general office hours shown are weekdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the returned material did not give a document-specific earliest image date.

Estill County

Estill's records inventory identifies deed indexing and scanning from 1966 and mortgage indexing from 1966. Most instrument images are described as starting January 2004, which is a narrower promise than having a mortgage name entry. Its separate public account instructions retain closure-related conditions: weekday access between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., five searches daily, a local travel-area qualification and a power to suspend the arrangement. Treat that as the terms actually posted, rather than a permanent unrestricted statewide account. The January 2020 schedule lists $46 for the principal judgment, mechanic's, lis pendens and federal-lien documents; state liens are $5 and fixture filings $96. Page additions are $3 beyond five pages for starred documents or beyond thirty for mortgages.

Fleming County

Fleming provides a free local resident account for five personal searches daily and free inspection at the clerk's office. Its records description also contains broad statements about 1795 holdings and images alongside 1880 indexes. Those dates do not identify a particular lien book or establish complete remote coverage. A researcher working before the modern index should request the relevant series and book range from Jarrod Fritz, 606-845-8461, jarrod.fritz@ky.gov, at 100 Court Square, Flemingsburg, KY 41041. The fee page quotes $0.50 for self-service copies and $1 per mailed page, while its certified-copy wording says $5 per page. That last wording needs reconciliation with KRS 64.012's first-three-page certification formula before payment. The lien recording rows show $46 for judgment, mechanic's and federal liens, $5 for state liens and $96 for fixture filings.

Franklin County

Franklin offers a particularly useful index distinction. Its deed-room description places the lien and encumbrance index at January 1981 and says the computer index begins in 1981. The older rolodex stops at December 31, 2010; later filings require the computer system. A name checked in the rolodex alone therefore does not clear subsequent encumbrances. Counter copies are listed at $0.50 and certified copies at $5, with the state certification formula supplying the page-count detail. The dedicated recording schedule uses five pages for the $46 judgment-lien charge and thirty for the $80 mortgage, with $3 per later page; older embedded three-page wording should not replace that table.

A Franklin resident seeking a private, noncommercial search can use the five-search county account route. For a formal request, the current policy gives five working days for a written response and accepts delivery to 315 West Main Street, Frankfort, KY 40601, fax 502-875-8718, or the listed Sabra Wooten and Tonya Gordon mailboxes. It quotes $0.50 for noncommercial paper copies and $5 for other media where a specific statutory schedule does not control. The clerk supplies identifiable records; the request process does not require staff to produce a title investigation.

Fulton County

Fulton's office homepage identifies 2216 Myron Cory Drive, Suite 3, Hickman, KY 42050, and fax 270-236-2522. Its request instructions instead place the main telephone number in the fax field. Use the clearly labeled current office fax or confirm transmission with the clerk; do not send a deadline-sensitive request to an unverified number. The policy accepts mailed requests at P.O. Box 126, Hickman, KY 42050, calls for prepaid copies and states a five-business-day response. The posted fee schedule is marked January 1, 2020. It lists $46 judgment and mechanic's liens, $5 state liens, $46 federal liens, $96 fixture filings and $60 mechanic's-lien release bonds, with $3 page additions and $4 per additional PIDN or reference in the stated categories.

Gallatin County

The Gallatin account description begins with Gallatin resident eligibility but then says the searchable county is Allen. That internal mismatch prevents treating the paragraph as reliable proof of the county restriction. The body offers five daily personal searches without charge, but obtain confirmation that the account actually searches Gallatin before relying on it. General weekday hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A complete search still needs the record series and time span, neither of which is established by the misplaced county wording.

Garrard County

Garrard's recording information sends online researchers to eCCLIX and supplies a document table: judgment, mechanic's and federal liens $46; state liens $5; fixture filings $96; mechanic's-lien release bonds $60; certificate-of-delinquency assignments $30. The table adds $3 after five pages for ordinary starred instruments and after thirty for mortgages. The clerk's request-policy parent links the July 1, 2021 policy naming 15 Public Square, Suite 5, Lancaster, KY 40444, fax 859-792-6751 and kevin.montgomery@ky.gov. It gives five business days for a decision and, where no statutory fee applies, $0.50 per noncommercial paper copy or $5 for other media. That policy concerns providing existing records, not determining whether a lien remains legally enforceable.

Grant County

The Grant circuit court clerk handles the originating court file at 224 South Main Street, Williamstown, KY 41097. Circuit matters use 859-824-4467 and District Court 859-823-5251; the published counter day is weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. That destination differs from the county recorder's office below.

Grant publishes separate image starting points: deed images from June 1986 and mortgage images from September 1986. Its record room instructions refer older requests to 859-824-3321, option 3. An instrument outside those image periods may still have a paper record. The resident account permits five daily personal searches of Grant records; the recording table lists the $46 judgment-lien category, $5 state liens and $96 fixture filings, with the usual stated page additions. The policy landing retains an older clerk's email, whereas its updated policy document names Colton Simpson and colton.simpson@ky.gov. Prefer the updated named custodian or verify the current mailbox before sending a request. The physical request address is 107 North Main Street, Williamstown, KY 41097, with fax 859-824-3367.

Graves County

Graves distinguishes courthouse holdings beginning in 1902 from most indexes beginning in 1985 or earlier. The records description gives a February 1997 image date in its discussion of security agreements, UCC filings and title liens; that context cannot establish February 1997 as the first image date for every real-estate instrument. Ask for the appropriate lien series when ordering a document. The January 2020 fee table shows $46 judgment, mechanic's and federal liens, $5 state liens and $96 fixture filings. Its extra-page charge is $3 beyond the applicable five-page or thirty-page allowance. The online subscription referral establishes a route to the service, but does not supply an independently verified complete historical range.

Grayson County

The current Grayson office homepage gives the recording and tax department's number as 270-259-5295, separate from motor vehicles at 270-259-3201. The clerk is at 125 East Market Street, Leitchfield, KY 42754. Current office hours are weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the second Saturday 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., which differs from the later weekday close in the association listing. The county online-records body limits its no-charge private option to Grayson residents, personal use, Grayson records and five searches per day. It does not establish a first year for judgment images. Request that coverage from the recording department when the relevant judgment or release predates the available screen results.

Green County

Green's two inventory descriptions should not be combined into one asserted coverage date. The Land Records body says real-estate images and indexes start August 1995, security-agreement images June 1999, real-estate indexes 1993 and security indexes 1998. Its Legal Records body gives different broad dates and mistakenly refers the reader to Martin County for inspection. The first source also describes an intended older-record expansion without proving completion. Confirm the specific Green book series before deciding an older lien is absent. The fee table separately lists $46 for judgment, mechanic's and federal tax liens, $5 for state tax liens, $96 for fixture filings and $60 for a mechanic's-lien release bond.

Greenup County

Greenup's records service offers the local resident, noncommercial option with five daily searches of Greenup records. Its table separates lien creation from later instruments: $96 for an initial fixture filing, $46 for a fixture continuation, assignment, amendment or partial release, $46 for judgment and mechanic's liens, $5 for a state lien and $46 for a federal lien. A certificate-of-delinquency assignment is listed at $30, while a bond to release a mechanic's lien is $60. These distinctions matter when a search returns a later amendment without the initiating instrument. The returned policy headings supplied no additional verified image range or processing deadline.

Hancock County

Hancock's records narrative says deeds are indexed and scanned from 1979, but gives both 1971 and 1974 for mortgage indexing. Treat the earlier mortgage boundary as unresolved until the clerk identifies the actual index volume. The same narrative describes most instrument images from January 2004 and offers free counter inspection. Its recording schedule supplies $46 judgment and mechanic's liens, $5 state liens, $96 fixture filings and $3 extra pages after the stated five-page or thirty-page threshold. The request-policy route leads to the clerk's written policy naming 225 Main Cross Street, P.O. Box 146, Hawesville, KY 42348-0146, fax 270-927-8639 and trina.ogle@ky.gov. General noncommercial copies are $0.50 per page under that policy where another statute does not set the fee.

Hardin County

The Hardin recording office is at 150 North Provident Way, Suite 103, Elizabethtown, KY 42701, telephone 270-765-2171, weekdays 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Its recording requirements and fee table require a three-inch top margin, one-inch other margins, at least ten-point type, single-sided paper and no staples. Judgment liens use the Lis Pendens series at $46; mechanic's liens have their own series at $46. City liens are $23, but city amendments, partial releases, assignments and corrections are $46. Fixture filings cost $96 with the release prepaid, or $142 with an assignment. A mechanic's-lien release bond is $60. The Radcliff branch described for vehicle work should not be assumed to hold the recording room.

Hardin's archive search provides older real-estate access through index books, name initials and book/page controls, plus a separate route to subdivision restrictions before 1988. The current-search route did not produce a usable public body during review, so no additional online date range is established here. The archive expressly sends wills and marriages to a different search; selecting a familiar surname in the wrong collection would not test the land-record lien history.

Harlan County

Harlan's records table quotes $46 judgment, mechanic's, lis pendens and federal tax lien filings, $5 state tax liens, $96 fixture filings and $60 bonds to release mechanic's liens. It describes a personal-search allowance of five records searches daily. Office hours shown are Monday 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the last Saturday 9 a.m. to noon except holiday qualifications. A visit for a book outside the online holdings should identify the lien type before arrival; the reviewed material does not provide a complete historical image inventory.

Harrison County

Harrison publishes a one-to-two-day recording processing period on its online-records instructions. That is a local operational statement, distinct from the legal filing deadline and the statewide five-business-day records-response rule. The deed room operates weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with an extended third Thursday to 6 p.m. Its no-charge resident option is confined to Harrison records, five personal searches each day. When checking a recent satisfaction, compare the receipt or recording reference with the index rather than assuming every accepted instrument immediately appears online.

Hart County

The Hart records information sets out $46 judgment and mechanic's lien filings, $5 state liens, $96 fixture filings and $60 mechanic's-lien release bonds. Page additions are $3 beyond five pages for designated documents and beyond thirty for mortgages. The office lists weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the last Saturday 8 a.m. to noon. Its linked request policy names 200 Main Street, P.O. Box 277, Munfordville, KY 42765-0277, fax 270-524-0458 and lisa.hensley@ky.gov, with a five-business-day decision and $0.50 general noncommercial copies. Those published contact routes provide an alternative when the needed book is not covered by remote images.

Henderson County

Henderson's current County Clerk department directs land-record subscribers to TitleSearcher and accepts telephone or email requests for copies at $0.50 per page plus an unspecified card convenience charge. It separately links TaxMaster for delinquent real-estate tax searches. A tax account is therefore a different inquiry from the recorded instrument history. Renesa Abner's office is at 20 North Main Street, Suite 206, Henderson, KY 42420, with mail to P.O. Box 374, Henderson, KY 42419. Contact 270-826-3906 or rabner@hendersoncountyky.gov; fax is 270-826-9677. The posted hours are Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday to 6 p.m.

Henry County

Henry prices several copy services differently. The records department lists $0.25 per office copy, $1 for an extra conformed label, mailed copies at $2 per document plus $2 shipping, and emailed copies at $5 per document. Its card terms add $2.50 for debit or 2.75% for credit. The same body describes certified copies as $5 with another $2 when more than ten pages, which needs reconciliation with the current statutory certification formula. The separate general request-policy parent links a policy using $0.50 noncommercial copies when no specific statute controls. Ask for the price of the selected service rather than treating either amount as a universal per-page land-copy price.

The copy-order form asks for book/page or identifying parties and property information, certification choice, delivery and payment. It does not send the copies before payment. Recording takes place at 27 South Property Road, New Castle, KY 40050, with mail to P.O. Box 615. Weekday office hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed noon to 1 p.m. The recording table lists a $46 judgment-lien charge, $5 state lien and $96 fixture filing. Court-case requests belong to the separate circuit clerk at 502-845-2868.

Hickman County

Hickman's online-records body provides its authorized electronic-recording vendors and identifies the office at 110 East Clay Street, Suite E, Clinton, KY 42031, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The city is Clinton; that does not make the office the Clinton County Clerk. The body also repeats broad 1795, 1981 and rolodex dates found in another county's inventory. Without a Hickman series-level inventory, those statements should not be used to declare an older judgment search complete. Use the county clerk to establish which local index and image collection actually contains the instrument.

Hopkins County

Hopkins' Legal Records and Official Documents department links its authorized TitleSearcher service and offers electronic certified copies: contact the office, let staff retrieve the identified record, pay by card and receive the certified electronic copy by email. That is a clerk-issued product, distinct from a printed search image. The current-linked fee PDF was image-only in the accessible response, so its exact recording tariff was not extracted. An older linked policy lists 24 Union Street, Madisonville, KY 42431, fax 270-821-3270 and $0.50 copies, but its three-day response and refusal of email requests do not match the current Kentucky access provisions described above. Use the current statute for the response period and permitted transmission routes; confirm the requested copy product with the records department.

Jefferson County

Jefferson's online land-records instructions distinguish the main August 1984-forward system from a separate 1966-to-1984 archive. The main service requires an account but allows viewing and printing without a charge. The office links the county entry at Jefferson Deeds search. Its published online hours are Monday through Saturday 8 a.m. to midnight and Sunday noon to midnight. Technical questions go to websupport@JeffersonCountyClerk.org; the Deed Room is 502-574-6220, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. An older archive lookup and a modern name search are different tasks, so keep the date range with the result.

Effective September 1, 2026, Jefferson adds $1 postage to every mailed instrument. The current document-fee body lists $46 judgment liens, their assignments and releases, mechanic's liens, lis pendens and federal tax liens; state tax liens are $5. A lis pendens with another tract adds $46, while a mechanic's-lien release bond is $60. Fixture filings are $96, or $142 with an assignment; the table distinguishes later fixture releases by the July 14, 1994 boundary. Customer-service copies are $0.50, with certification $5 through three pages and $0.50 thereafter. A professional-license copy category elsewhere in the table is a different product. Additional book/reference notations are $4 as listed.

Jefferson's indexing requirements specifically call for a case number on judgment liens, lis pendens and releases. Names and signatures must be legible, preparation statements complete, and referenced exhibits actually attached. Fixture records need their property description. The clerk's separate Deed Room location notice places that counter in Metro Hall, 527 West Jefferson Street, Room 204, Louisville. A deed-room search should use that departmental destination rather than a motor-vehicle branch address.

Jessamine County

Jessamine gives June 30, 1966 as the starting point for scanned and indexed deeds and for mortgage indexes. Its recording description places most instrument images at January 2004. The earlier mortgage index date therefore does not promise the mortgage image itself. Public viewing in the office is free. Records contacts are Nicholasville 859-885-4161 and Wilmore 859-858-4411, extension 108. The document schedule gives $46 for judgment, mechanic's and federal liens, $5 for state liens and $96 for fixture filings, plus the stated $3 additions after five pages or thirty for a mortgage.

Johnson County

Johnson's records body reports deeds indexed and scanned from 1966 and mortgage indexes from 1966, while most document images start January 2004. Keep the deed-image statement confined to deeds. The public can inspect records at the office without a viewing charge, and the stated weekday hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Its January 2020 fee schedule lists judgment, mechanic's and federal liens at $46, state liens at $5 and fixtures at $96. A longer filing adds $3 after its applicable page allowance. The current record description does not identify a complete judgment-lien image range separate from those broader document categories.

Kenton County

For the judgment case itself, the Kenton circuit court clerk is at the Justice Center, 230 Madison Avenue, Covington, KY 41011, telephone 859-292-6521, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Its case-record custody differs from the land-record offices and historical districts described below.

Kenton has two historical recording districts, so place and date affect the search. Its official search-guide parent links a thirteen-page real-estate search guide explaining that records before 1840 belong to Campbell County, and that pre-2016 Kenton research may require Covington and Independence. Before April 1991, use index books; the guide gives four overlapping Independence index spans, 1840-1917, 1911-1947, 1946-1978 and 1978-1991. Its Public Inquiry terminals cover April 1991 through January 1, 2020, while the newer Kenton Records system handles 2020-forward work. A known older book/page can locate an image even when no modern name-index entry exists. Tax, probate and court-related recordings generally call for the Covington search route described in the guide.

The historic index table identifies Covington judgments and state, federal and unemployment liens from January 1987, with court orders and UCC records from May 1991. Independence's judgment and tax-lien indexes begin May 1991. These are index dates. A separate nine-page image and plat guide, linked by the same guide parent, explains that a no-data result can mean the document lacks an index entry even though an image is available through the image control. It also distinguishes older Covington and Independence plats from newer plat books. The public search is a paid land-record service; a free marriage index does not establish free access to all real-estate images.

The Kenton fee schedule lists judgment, mechanic's, lis pendens and federal tax liens at $46, state liens at $5, city liens at $23, fixture filings at $96 and a mechanic's-lien release bond at $60. It calls for PIDNs and adds $4 per extra PIDN or reference, with $3 page additions beyond five pages or thirty for a mortgage. Its certified-copy entry uses five included pages, conflicting with KRS 64.012's three-page formula. Confirm that product's calculation with the record room instead of silently substituting one number. The Real Estate FAQ says staff do not supply copies by fax or email or give book/page references by telephone. It directs foreclosure-sale questions to the master commissioner and court-case documents to the circuit clerk.

Kenton's current contact and request policy gives the recording telephone as 859-392-1650 and the Covington office as 1840 Simon Kenton Way, Suite 1100, KY 41011. The listed mailing address is P.O. Box 1109, Covington, KY 41012, whereas the fee page uses a different ZIP. The contact policy permits written requests by mail, hand delivery or Gabrielle.Summe@ky.gov, with a five-business-day response and statutory fees first. Its general noncommercial copy amount is $0.10 where another fee does not apply. A separate sentence describes real-estate records as outside open records because they are online; online availability alone should not be read as a statutory exemption. If the needed image is inaccessible or a request is denied, seek the particular legal ground and use the review route in the access section.

Knott County

The search link supplied by the Knott clerk leads to its Courthouse Computer Systems account entry. The returned plan table offers one day for $15, thirty days for $50, 180 days for $300 or 365 days for $550, with $0.50 printing and a 5% transaction service fee. It describes unlimited index and image searching within the selected plan. The entry redirects into the provider's account system, so retain the county-specific starting link when returning to it. A subscription price is not evidence that every historical Knott instrument is imaged. The terms also limit an account to its registered individual and prohibit systematic automated retrieval.

Knox County

Knox's current homepage identifies Mike Corey at 606-546-3568 and mike.corey@ky.gov. Its delinquent-tax link warns that the clerk determines the amount actually applicable to a bill at sale, so a displayed tax amount should not be treated as a payoff quote. The recording table, labeled effective January 1, 2020, quotes $46 for a judgment, mechanic's or federal tax lien and $5 for a state tax lien. Initial fixture filings are $96 and later fixture continuations, assignments, amendments or partial releases $46. The extra-page charge is $3 after five pages for starred instruments, or after thirty pages for mortgages. The separate records-information branch did not provide a readable body during review, leaving its earliest remote lien coverage unestablished.

LaRue County

LaRue's records department offers residents five daily searches of LaRue records for personal purposes without commercial gain or a charge. Commercial users take a separate subscription route. The same body advertises mortgage-and-deed name alerts; that stated product does not promise notification of every judgment, tax or mechanic's lien. Its fee rows give $46 judgment and mechanic's liens, $5 state liens, $46 federal liens, $96 fixture filings, $60 mechanic's-lien release bonds and $30 certificate-of-delinquency assignments. Weekday office hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The returned material supplies no instrument-specific earliest remote image year.

Laurel County

Laurel's Deed Room instructions offer eCCLIX for subscribers and counter viewing for people without an account. Records questions go to 606-864-5158 or tony.brown@ky.gov, with fax 606-864-7369. The linked availability selector did not expose a county-level date table in the accessible response; obtain the beginning lien book from the clerk rather than using a vendor's statewide description. The county fee rows list judgment, mechanic's, lis pendens and federal tax liens at $46, state tax liens at $5, fixtures at $96 and mortgages at $80. Additional pages cost $3 after the specified five-page or thirty-page allowance.

Letcher County

Letcher's published records information allows a resident private account, confined to Letcher records and five noncommercial searches daily without charge. Its itemized fee rows list $46 judgment and mechanic's liens, a $60 mechanic's-lien release bond, $5 state liens and $46 federal liens. The certification row gives $5 through three pages and $0.50 thereafter; fixture filings require a quote from the clerk. The general introductory note still describes a three-page recording allowance, while the detailed document rows use five pages and mortgages thirty. Use the product row and current statute to resolve the document allowance. A broad 1786 collection statement does not establish a dated Letcher lien-image inventory.

Lewis County

The Lewis online-records route distinguishes commercial subscriptions from a free personal account for Lewis residents. That personal account covers only Lewis records and allows five searches daily. The advertised name-alert service concerns deeds and mortgages, so an alert account alone cannot replace a judgment-lien inquiry. The returned body contains no local beginning year for lien images. When a search concerns an older release, ask the clerk for the appropriate recording series and whether a manual index is required.

Lincoln County

Lincoln's lien filing checklists distinguish the identifiers used for judgment notices from those used for lis pendens. A judgment notice identifies the parties, amounts, originating court and civil action number; a lis pendens also identifies the land and pending action. The clerk requests a return address. These filing checklists should be read with the current statutes above, particularly the 2023 judgment-lien duration changes, rather than treating every old explanation on the local body as a current legal rule. The January 2020 schedule lists $46 judgment, mechanic's and federal liens, $5 state liens, $96 fixture filings, $60 mechanic's-lien release bonds and $4 per additional PIDN or reference. Designated instruments add $3 after five pages, mortgages after thirty.

For existing land records, the Lincoln request instructions accept hand delivery or mail to 301 North Third Street, Stanford, KY 40484, fax 606-365-4572 and the office's email link. They call for precise documents and prepaid copies and give a five-business-day response. The body's preferred-form wording does not replace KRS 61.872's rule that an agency may not require its particular form. Requests for sheriff or court-clerk records must go to those custodians.

Livingston County

Livingston's Legal and Land Records department offers free counter inspection and a paid eCCLIX account for remote records. Its broad historical claims do not distinguish every lien series or explain how a stated early image date relates to the later index date; use a specific book-range confirmation for an older search. The current-linked recording table gives $46 judgment, mechanic's and federal liens, $5 state liens and $96 initial fixtures. It also lists $46 fixture amendments and partial releases, $60 mechanic's-lien release bonds and $30 delinquency-certificate assignments. The stated additional-page charges are $3 after five pages for starred instruments and after thirty for mortgages.

Logan County

Logan's online-record instructions limit the free private option to Logan residents searching Logan records for personal reasons, five searches daily. The listed general hours are weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A last-Saturday opening from 9:30 a.m. to noon is expressly for vehicle transactions; it does not promise access to the recording room. The body identifies authorized electronic-recording providers but gives no local earliest judgment-image date. Check a proposed older-record visit against the recording counter's availability rather than the vehicle schedule.

Lyon County

Lyon's records terms provide a free personal account to county residents, restricted to Lyon records and five daily searches. The recording table puts judgment and mechanic's liens at $46, federal liens at $46 and state liens at $5. Fixtures are $96 initially and $46 for the listed later fixture instruments; a mechanic's-lien release bond is $60. The $30 delinquency-certificate assignment and $46 reassignment or release are separate entries. Keep those document categories with any fee estimate, especially when a file contains both a transfer of the claim and its eventual discharge.

Madison County

Madison's recordings department describes name-based searching and reserves its early morning electronic-recording processing period, until about 9:30 to 10 a.m., from walk-in wait-on work. A person bringing an instrument for immediate handling should account for that departmental schedule. The county's name-alert arrangement applies to the county and the exact names chosen, so spelling variants require their own attention. The reviewed copy-request passage concerns marriage records; its wording does not establish a land-copy charge. No complete historical judgment-lien image range was verified from that body.

Magoffin County

Magoffin's land-record fee material retains conflicting entries, including a $13 lis pendens release and a $63 bond releasing a mechanic's lien, while current schedules elsewhere use different amounts. Those entries should be resolved against current KRS 64.012 and an itemized clerk quote. Its certified-copy statement uses $5 through three pages and $0.50 per later page. The lien information separates judgment, tax and other filing categories, but does not establish an instrument-specific complete remote history. A general collection start in 1860 is not sufficient proof that every lien image from that year is searchable online.

Marshall County

Marshall's recovered current County Clerk department identifies the recording vault at 270-527-4746. Use that departmental contact for a lien book, filing or historical image question. The older directory website route is no longer the useful starting point. The reviewed current material established the office route and vault contact, without a complete historical portal inventory or a separately readable lien-fee table.

Martin County

Martin's records description says deeds are indexed and scanned from 1966, mortgage indexes begin in 1966 and most instrument images begin January 2004. A mortgage index entry in the earlier span may therefore need a clerk-supplied image. Generic claims about unrelated 1797 records should not be used to extend Martin's judgment-lien coverage. The posted recording schedule quotes $46 judgment, mechanic's and federal liens, $5 state liens, $96 fixtures and $3 page additions after five pages, or thirty for mortgages; the authorized eCCLIX route should be priced from the current provider terms above rather than an older local subscription quotation.

Mason County

Mason describes most courthouse records and indexes from 1795 and most online images from January 2004 on its Legal Records service. Those qualified statements do not guarantee every type for the entire interval. The office links a July 1, 2021 request policy applying statutory charges first, otherwise $0.50 for a noncommercial paper copy and $5 for other media, prepaid with postage. It accepts mail, hand delivery, email and fax and gives five working days for a written decision. Because the document repeats one number as both telephone and fax, confirm the transmission number against the current clerk contact before sending. The form's optional phone and email fields should not become an invented requirement for every request.

McCracken County

The McCracken records telephone is 270-448-1540. Its records instructions quote $0.50 copies and $5 for a full-page plat. The certification paragraph describes certifying a page for $5 and then $0.50 for added pages; ask how that product is counted against the current statutory first-three-page provision. The office also offers a no-charge resident account for five personal searches daily. A plat-copy price and a certification price purchase different things, and neither establishes the cost of recording a new lien. The reviewed account terms do not supply a complete historical image span for every encumbrance series.

McCreary County

McCreary's online-records instructions restrict its free personal access to county residents, their own county's records and five daily searches without commercial use. The same returned body contains unrelated older licensing material, which provides no evidence about lien duration or search coverage. For a judgment recorded outside the visible image range, give the clerk the party names, case number if known and estimated recording date and ask which local index holds the notice or release.

McLean County

McLean's Legal Records inventory places most courthouse records and indexes at 1854, but most online instrument images at January 2004. It permits public inspection in the clerk's office without charge. The Online Land Records label opens request instructions rather than a dated portal inventory, so that route cannot establish earlier image availability. Use the actual series and book/page when asking for an older lien. The separate recording table quotes $46 judgment, mechanic's and federal liens, $5 state liens and $96 fixtures, with $3 extra pages after five or thirty as marked.

Meade County

Meade provides a product-specific account in its Land Records description: real-estate index and images from August 1995, security-agreement images from June 1999, real-estate index-only entries from 1993 and security-agreement index-only entries from 1998. A planned expansion toward January 1990 is not a statement that the project has been completed. Its broader Legal Records narrative contains different generic dates; retain the specific collection limits when deciding what a search actually covered. The HTML fee table lists $46 judgment, mechanic's and federal liens, $5 state liens, $96 fixtures and $3 extra pages after the five-page or thirty-page allowance. A linked spreadsheet did not expose its contents in the review. A spreadsheet link alone would not establish an amount.

Menifee County

The Menifee records body establishes free office inspection and an authorized eCCLIX search route. It also gives broad 1795 holdings, 1880 indexes and January 1795 online images without a supporting type-by-type inventory. Those statements do not establish complete remote lien coverage. The fee branch returned an access error, so a current local recording quote should identify the document type, page count and references. Keep the access gap attached to that tariff rather than treating an unread linked schedule as a verified amount.

Mercer County

Mercer's land-record access instructions supply an account route without a historical starting date for judgments or releases. The current recording-fee table lists $46 judgment, mechanic's and federal liens, $5 state liens, $96 fixtures and $60 mechanic's-lien release bonds. Its page addition is $3 beyond five or thirty as designated. A separate legal-record branch failed during review, which leaves that branch's additional coverage details unverified. Begin an older search with the county clerk's index or identified book series; the existence of an account screen does not establish that a nineteenth-century encumbrance has an online image.

Metcalfe County

Metcalfe's records and deeds inventory, updated February 20, 2026, provides actual scanned-series boundaries. Deeds begin at Book 35, February 2, 1933; mortgages at Book 34, February 15, 1963; miscellaneous records at Book 3, May 31, 1946; commissioner deeds at Book 1, December 20, 1884; and county orders at Book 20, February 23, 2007. Oil-lease scans start at Book 56, September 12, 1991. These product dates are more useful than a single county-wide year. The office links Kentucky County Records and gives DRMS support at 270-443-1610. No paid account amount was verified. The clerk's general noncommercial copy statement is $0.50 per page, subject to applicable statutory schedules.

Monroe County

Monroe's records service provides the resident personal-use option with five daily searches of Monroe records and a separate commercial route. Its request instructions call for precise existing records. The document table gives $46 judgment, mechanic's and federal liens, $5 state liens, $96 fixtures and $60 mechanic's-lien release bonds. No complete remote beginning date was established for judgment images. A search for a satisfaction should identify both the original lien and the later release reference rather than relying on the creditor's name alone.

Montgomery County

Montgomery's recording table gives $46 judgment, mechanic's and federal liens, $5 state liens, $96 fixtures and $3 extra pages after five or thirty as designated, while the online-records route describes a five-search allowance. The reviewed excerpt did not establish every account eligibility condition or a complete historical image range. Verify those terms before assuming that a visitor or commercial researcher qualifies for the allowance. For an older encumbrance, ask the recording department which book and index cover its filing date.

Morgan County

Morgan's Recordings department still links an older tariff quoting $13 judgment and mechanic's liens, $29 fixture filings, $17 mortgages and $12 federal tax liens. Those figures conflict with current statutes and modern county schedules. The main 2020 Fees route instead supplies an image that did not yield readable tariff content in this review. Obtain an itemized quote for the present document; do not reuse the older low amounts merely because their link remains active. The unsupported image does not establish a replacement number.

Muhlenberg County

Muhlenberg has different image starts for two major property series: deeds from April 2002 and mortgages from September 2006. The records department sends earlier requests to the clerk. Those dates do not establish the first searchable judgment or tax-lien image. Its recording-fee table lists $46 judgment, mechanic's and federal liens, $5 state liens, $96 fixtures and $60 mechanic's-lien release bonds, with the stated $3 additional-page charges. A daily update time shown in the office's feedback material concerns elections, so it cannot be used as a promise that the land-record index refreshes at that time.

Nelson County

Nelson's Recording department houses permanent records dating to 1785 and links separate premium and EZ searches. Its Online Access FAQ gives the narrower remote span: index data and images from 1977 forward, with a stated thirty-minute update cycle. Commercial access is described as available throughout the day. The search methods include party name, book/page or file number, instrument type and daily notebook. A 1785 courthouse holding is therefore not automatically a 1785 online image.

The premium-service explanation identifies delinquent-tax records and advanced search tools as premium features. Its actual county premium entry displays $15 for one day, $60 for thirty days, $175 for ninety days, $350 for 180 days and $700 for 365 days. Printing is $0 in that plan table, with a 5% transaction service fee. The office's EZ service description identifies land records and financing statements but supplies no current price. Its linked application failed to return a usable body in this review. The old introductory premium waiver ended November 1, 2024; it is not today's pricing.

The recording parent links format standards recommending three inches at the top of the first page for the recorder, one-inch other margins, single-sided white paper and ten-point type, with no staples, watermarks or colored highlighting. That source calls the top margin recommended, unlike offices that expressly require it. Nelson's fee and request-policy PDFs remained image-only in the accessible bodies, so their figures and terms were not inferred from their filenames.

Nicholas County

Nicholas publishes a recording schedule listing a judgment or mechanic's lien at $46, a federal tax lien at $46 and a state tax lien at $5. An initial fixture filing is $96; listed later fixture instruments are $46. A bond releasing a mechanic's lien costs $60. The schedule adds $3 after five pages for designated instruments, while a mortgage uses a thirty-page allowance. The reviewed records and homepage material did not establish a document-specific earliest remote image date; election text and records headings should not be used to fill that gap.

Ohio County

Ohio County's personal-search terms require county residence, personal reasons and no commercial gain. The account searches Ohio County only, with five searches daily at no charge. Its recording table distinguishes the $46 judgment, mechanic's and federal-lien categories from the $5 state-lien category and $96 initial fixture filing. Later fixture continuations, assignments, amendments and partial releases are $46. The starred additions are $3 after five pages, or after thirty pages for mortgages. These office filings are separate from a searcher's subscription and printing arrangement.

Oldham County

Oldham's Legal Records inventory describes images broadly from 1990, with earlier deed images from 1915 and mortgage images from 1957. Deed and mortgage name indexes begin in 1980. An earlier image may therefore require a book/page reference obtained from a manual index. The local personal-account route allows residents five daily noncommercial searches of their own county's records. Its January 2020 tariff gives $46 judgment, mechanic's and federal liens, $5 state liens and $96 fixture filings, with $3 page additions beyond the stated allowance. Do not replace a type-specific image date with the later general date when planning an older deed or mortgage search.

Owen County

Owen's records body combines its local personal-account terms and recording categories. County residents receive five daily searches of Owen records for personal purposes without commercial gain or charge. The table lists $46 judgment and mechanic's liens, $5 state liens, $46 federal liens, $96 initial fixtures and $46 for the listed later fixture instruments. A bond releasing a mechanic's lien is $60. The returned material does not establish a universal first year for online encumbrance images; a failed older name query should be followed by the appropriate county index inquiry.

Owsley County

The Owsley online-records service offers a no-charge account to residents seeking their own county's records for personal, noncommercial reasons, limited to five searches daily. Commercial subscriptions follow a separate route. The substantive account description does not give a historical lien-image boundary. Older hunting and licensing text appended to the returned body has no bearing on a land-record search or a judgment's lifespan.

Pendleton County

Pendleton's document-fee table lists judgment and mechanic's liens at $46, fixtures at $96 or $142 with an assignment, mortgages at $80 or $126 with an assignment, state liens at $5 and federal liens at $46. Its regular-copy row says $2 for the first three pages and $0.25 for added pages, with certified copies at $5. Some labels refer to another clerk's forms, so confirm the actual counter product before payment. The recording explanation also conflicts internally over extra-reference charges, using $4 for a release and $3 in its IRS-release passage. Keep that discrepancy attached to the particular document rather than declaring either amount universal.

Perry County

Perry's recording FAQ contains incompatible remote-access statements: it says records are not online, then supplies dates for remote indexes and images, and includes references to Georgetown and another county's PVA. Those passages do not verify Perry's historical coverage. The actual portal landing establishes a county-authorized route without resolving the conflicting dates. The current contact footer uses Suite 102 rather than the association's Suite 101 and lists weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the FAQ's later hours should be checked before a visit.

The request instructions ask for identifiers such as book/page, instrument type, parties and loan information and require prepayment for copies. Staff do not provide a title opinion. Perry's recording table lists $46 judgment, mechanic's and federal liens, $5 state liens and $96 fixtures. The stated page additions are $3 after five pages, or after thirty for a mortgage. A precise request can seek the original lien, amendments and release together without asking the clerk to decide their legal priority.

Pike County

Pike's fee table lists its judgment, mechanic's, tax-lien and fixture categories, but its certified-copy calculation is unusual: $5 with $0.25 after five pages. That differs from the current statutory first-three-page and $0.50 formula. Obtain a product-specific calculation before ordering. The local lien explanation also discusses vehicle-related records; a title-lien continuation is not the renewal of a real-estate judgment lien under the 2023 statute. Use the county's written request route for identifiable existing records rather than assuming a vehicle lien screen covers all recorded encumbrances.

Powell County

Powell's records service permits county residents five daily personal searches of Powell records without charge or commercial gain. Its table prices judgment, mechanic's and federal tax liens at $46, state liens at $5, fixtures at $96 and mechanic's-lien release bonds at $60. Listed later fixture instruments are $46. The reviewed material provides no complete remote lien-history starting point. For a document appearing only as an index entry, request its recorded image and the instrument referenced by any later release.

Pulaski County

Pulaski's land-record description distinguishes courthouse holdings dating roughly to 1799 from online records beginning in 1990. The office's actual county search entry redirects into the provider's account system; keep the county-specific entry instead of substituting the generic authorization address. Its copy instructions quote $0.50 per page, certification at $5 for the first three pages plus $0.50 afterward, and $2 handling/postage for mailed copies. The request destination is 100 North Main Street, Somerset, KY 42501. Separate towing, storage and vehicle-repair lien instructions should not be used to calculate a real-estate judgment's expiry.

Robertson County

Robertson's private account is for residents researching Robertson records for personal reasons, with five searches daily and no charge. The published hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday 8 a.m. to noon and Saturday 9 a.m. to noon, subject to holiday closures. That midweek noon closing matters for a planned counter search. No document-specific earliest judgment-image date was established from the account description.

Rockcastle County

Rockcastle's land-records body contains a modern fee table and older explanatory text. The table gives judgment and mechanic's liens at $46, state liens at $5, federal liens at $46, mortgages at $80 through thirty pages, and certification at $5 through three pages plus $0.50 afterward. A lower deed paragraph retains a three-page recording basis and an apparent transfer-tax typo. Use the current table and governing statute for the selected document; do not calculate a lien filing from an obsolete deed example. A release should be matched to its recorded reference, including any later assignment in the chain.

Rowan County

Rowan's recording table gives $46 judgment and mechanic's liens, $96 fixtures or $142 with an assignment, and $80 mortgages. Its certified-copy addition is printed as "$50cents," which is ambiguous typography rather than a reliable standalone figure. Resolve the certification calculation under current KRS 64.012 with the clerk. The general request policy separately provides $0.50 noncommercial paper copies and $5 for other media where a specific statutory fee does not apply. Those general policy charges do not determine the recording cost of a new encumbrance.

Russell County

The Russell clerk's online-records body gives 410 Monument Square, Suite 203, Jamestown, KY 42629. It lists weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the first and third Saturdays 8 a.m. to noon. Residents can use a no-charge personal account for Russell records, five daily searches without commercial gain. The body does not supply a complete earliest year for judgment or tax-lien images. Preserve the date range actually searched when reporting a result.

Scott County

Scott's public-records instructions organize searches by party names and document type and link the county's own PVA for property identifiers. The clerk does not provide a title opinion. The county-specific resident signup route displayed account and address fields but no public historical coverage table or plan count in its returned body. An unselected statewide signup placeholder should not be treated as Scott's search limit. Use the office's actual account route, and ask for the series boundary when the desired lien precedes the visible images.

Shelby County

Shelby's Legal Records inventory describes courthouse custody from 1792, most indexes from 1960, encumbrance indexes from 1955 and plat indexes from 1958. Images generally begin in May 1995, with earlier series listed separately. Its linked availability inventory identifies deed images from Book D149 in October 1959, mortgage images from M90 in December 1959, encumbrances from E1 in January 1978 and mechanic's liens from ML1 in January 1974. A separate ML1A series covers February 1973 through December 1977. That overlap is a reason to check the actual book label, not to combine the dates into one undifferentiated range. Security-agreement, UCC and title-lien indexes are available, while their images are expressly excluded by the main inventory. Counter inspection is free; remote access requires an account.

Simpson County

Simpson's 2020 recording table distinguishes $46 judgment and mechanic's liens from $5 state tax liens and $46 federal tax liens. Initial fixtures are $96, listed later fixture instruments $46, and a mechanic's-lien release bond $60. The table adds $3 for each page beyond five on starred documents or beyond thirty on mortgages. Its reviewed records material did not establish a complete historical lien-image start. A specific book/page request remains useful when the online account cannot resolve an older filing.

Spencer County

The Spencer schedule, marked effective January 1, 2020, lists judgment and mechanic's liens at $46, federal liens at $46, state liens at $5 and fixtures at $96. A later fixture continuation, assignment, amendment or partial release is $46; a mechanic's-lien release bond is $60. The table's page additions are $3 after five pages or thirty for a mortgage. The online-records route supplies access instructions but the reviewed body did not establish a type-specific historic starting point. Confirm the actual index and image range before relying on an older name search.

Taylor County

Taylor's recording department operates weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It permits Saturday records searches from 9 a.m. to noon but performs no Saturday recording. The office links Taylor's land and tax record service, whose current registration body offers access without cost, subject to its agreement and prohibition on systematic downloads. It does not give a historical starting date. The clerk's current-linked recording-fee PDF remained image-only during review, so its tariff was not inferred. The main office is 203 North Court Street, Campbellsville, KY 42718, at 270-465-6677; the recording body's shortened telephone entry should be confirmed instead of inventing its missing area code.

Todd County

Todd's private-search terms provide five daily searches of Todd records for residents acting for personal, noncommercial reasons, without charge. Its weekday hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with the weekend closed. Those account terms establish eligibility and quantity, but no complete date range for lien images. A county-specific older-book request is appropriate when a name search reaches the system's boundary.

Trigg County

The Trigg court-record office is in the Justice Center, 41 Main Street, P.O. Box 673, Cadiz, KY 42211. Circuit Court uses 270-522-6270 and District Court 270-522-7070. Those numbers retrieve the judicial file rather than the county recording department's lien image.

The current Trigg clerk office gives real-estate recording at 270-522-6661, distinct from the motor-vehicle number 270-522-0217. Its legal-record fee table lists $46 judgment, mechanic's and federal liens, $5 state liens, $80 mortgages through thirty pages and $3 extra pages as stated. Certification is $5 through three pages and $0.50 afterward. A mechanic's-lien release bond is $60. Other bond entries use different amounts and labels; property-surety bonds should not be merged with the mechanic's-lien release product. Use the real-estate department for a filing or historical-record question.

Trimble County

Trimble's records description publishes deed images from April 2002 and mortgage images from September 2006, sending earlier documents to the office. These are type-specific dates and do not supply a first year for judgment-lien images. The listed name-alert service concerns deeds and mortgages. Its 2020 recording-fee material appears as an image rather than a readable table, so no local tariff was extracted from that image. Older tax-sale dates retained on the body are not a 2026 sale calendar.

Warren County

Warren's public-records instructions support searches by party names and document types and link the county PVA; staff do not supply title opinions. The current fee parent links a July 2026 upload labeled effective January 1, 2020. The readable two-page schedule lists judgment, mechanic's and federal tax liens at $46, state liens at $5, fixtures at $96 and mortgages at $80. Its ordinary additional-page note is $3 after five pages, but the mortgage footnote prints $5 after thirty pages, conflicting with the current statutory $3 provision. Confirm that specific discrepancy before paying for a long mortgage. The request policy uses $0.50 noncommercial paper copies and $5 for other media where statutory fees do not control.

Washington County

Washington's records inventory describes most courthouse holdings from 1792, most indexes from 1960 and images from January 1960 with exceptions. The qualifications matter: this is not a guarantee that every encumbrance series has a January 1960 image. The current fee material shares space with older election information, so the election year should not be treated as the effective date of the recording tariff. Use the clerk's request-policy route to ask for an identified record or the relevant series boundary.

Webster County

Webster's Records Online inventory says its free service launched August 1, 2010. It identifies deed images from Book 1 in 1860, mortgages from 1972, encumbrances from 1974, miscellaneous records from Book 20 in 1939, all fixture filings and all plats. Those series dates give a firmer basis for selecting an older lien search than the portal's launch year. The county-linked American Land Records application returned a shell without individual search results, so no successful name search is claimed. Its vehicle-lien material belongs to a separate statutory and indexing system.

The Webster records policy accepts written, signed, precise requests stating residence and commercial purpose, with no telephone requests. It provides hand delivery at 25 U.S. Highway 41 North, Dixon, KY 42409, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., mail to P.O. Box 19, or Valerie.Franklin@ky.gov. The stated decision period is five business days. Paper copies are $0.50, with actual costs for other media and postage and advance payment. The policy mixes older custodian names and contains an incorrect statute-range reference, so use the current clerk directory for identity and the actual KRS sections above for legal authority. No paper-to-digital conversion is promised.

Whitley County

Whitley's schedule effective January 1, 2020 quotes $46 judgment, mechanic's and federal liens, $5 state liens and $96 initial fixtures. The listed later fixture documents are $46 and a mechanic's-lien release bond $60. Added pages cost $3 after five for designated instruments or after thirty for mortgages. The reviewed records headings do not establish an online historical range. An office closure notice is also distinct from a statutory filing or appeal deadline.

Wolfe County

Wolfe's recording table lists judgment, mechanic's and federal liens at $46, state liens at $5, fixtures at $96, mortgages at $80 or $126 with an assignment, and mechanic's-lien release bonds at $60. It specifies $3 per extra page after five or thirty as marked, plus $4 per additional PIDN or reference. The office is at 10 Court Street, P.O. Box 400, Campton, KY 41301-0400, telephone 606-668-3515. Its request instructions call for a precise written request or the Attorney General's form. Vehicle continuation language elsewhere in the local materials should not replace the current statutory rules for a judgment-lien extension.

Woodford County

Woodford's resident access terms permit five daily searches of Woodford records for personal reasons without commercial gain or a charge. Commercial researchers follow the subscription route. The body later includes old vehicle-lien continuation information; it does not establish a current seven-year real-estate judgment term. The reviewed account description supplies no complete beginning date for lien images. A report should identify the actual records and date range examined rather than treating a portal account as a county-wide title clearance.