About the McCracken County Circuit Court Clerk
Anita Turner is listed by the Kentucky Court of Justice as the McCracken County Circuit Court Clerk. Kentucky circuit court clerks are elected officials, one in each of the state's 120 counties, and KCOJ describes them as responsible for the custody, control, and safe storage of Circuit Court and District Court records. In McCracken County, that role includes records for Circuit Court, Family Court, and District Court divisions operating from the courthouse in Paducah.
The Kentucky Court of Justice McCracken County court page is the official source for the court clerk, division phone numbers, hours, payment notes, parking, and court location.
The state court page is the best starting point when a request belongs to court records rather than County Clerk records because it lists the Circuit, Civil Circuit, District, Criminal District, Traffic, Probate, Juvenile, and bookkeeping numbers separately.
Office of Circuit Court Clerk
Clerk: Anita Turner
McCracken County Courthouse
300 Clarence Gaines Street
Paducah, KY 42003
Circuit: 270-575-7280
District: 270-575-7270
State court hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
What the Clerk Does in McCracken County
The Circuit Court Clerk receives lawsuits and court documents, maintains the official trial-court record, appears during trials, supports jury scheduling, receives fines and fees, and handles bond money. The office is not a general county records office. Its core work is tied to Kentucky Court of Justice cases in McCracken Circuit Court, McCracken Family Court, and McCracken District Court.
- Maintains Circuit Court records, including felonies, civil cases over $5,000, real property disputes, contested probate, injunctions, and appeals from District Court.
- Maintains Family Court records for divorce, custody, support, paternity, adoption, domestic violence, dependency, neglect, abuse, termination of parental rights, truancy, and runaway matters.
- Maintains District Court records for misdemeanors, traffic, violations, county or city ordinances, small claims, civil cases up to $5,000, probate, arraignments, and felony preliminary hearings.
- Processes payments accepted by the court clerk, with KCOJ listing cash, check, and money order, no two-party checks, and cash required for bond.
- Routes older or off-site records when a file is stored at a record facility and provides case or file locator details if public access is available.
Court Division Phone Directory
McCracken County court questions often need the division-specific number rather than one general line. A probate caller, traffic ticket caller, civil Circuit caller, and criminal District caller may all be dealing with the same elected Circuit Court Clerk's office, but the KCOJ county page separates those functions by docket type.
| Division or function | Phone | Common record use |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit | 270-575-7280 | Circuit civil and felony case routing, certified court files |
| Civil Circuit | 270-575-7281 | Circuit civil case questions and filings |
| District | 270-575-7270 | District civil, misdemeanor, small claims, and general District matters |
| Criminal District | 270-575-7272 | Misdemeanors, initial felony appearances, and criminal District docket questions |
| Traffic District | 270-575-7271 | Traffic citations, court traffic records, and payment routing |
| Probate | 270-575-7273 | Estate files, wills offered for probate, guardianship and conservatorship route |
| Juvenile | 270-575-7274 | Juvenile matters, subject to confidentiality limits |
| Paternity | 270-575-7275 | Paternity and related family matters |
| CDL | 270-575-7277 | Commercial driver license related court questions |
| Bookkeeping | 270-575-7383 | Fines, fees, costs, and payment accounting |
How to Request a Certified Copy
Certified copies are most often needed to prove a final disposition, divorce decree, judgment, order, sentence, probate appointment, or other court action. Online docket data can help locate a case, but a docket screen is not the same as a certified court document. The KCOJ request-court-records process says people should call or visit the circuit court clerk for case records, and the clerk can explain whether the record is local, stored at a record facility, restricted, or unavailable under retention rules.
- Identify the court and division: Circuit, Family, District, Criminal District, Traffic, Probate, Juvenile, or Paternity.
- Gather the case number if known, party names, approximate filing or hearing date, document type, and whether a plain or certified copy is needed.
- Search KYeCourts or the Kentucky docket portal if a case number or court date is not already known.
- Call the correct McCracken division or visit the courthouse at 300 Clarence Gaines Street during posted state court office hours.
- Ask about payment method, certification cost, pickup or mail options, and whether the file is sealed, off-site, or subject to retention limits.
Records Request Form Fields
The research did not locate a McCracken-specific court-record request form with a fixed field list. A complete court-record request should still include enough information for the Circuit Court Clerk to identify the file without guessing. County open-records fields are not a substitute for court case record details, but they show the level of specificity Kentucky agencies expect from a written request.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Requester name and contact information | Yes | Include phone or mailing details so the clerk can respond about fees, pickup, or file location. |
| Case number | Best if known | Use the full Kentucky case number when available. |
| Party names | Yes | List full names and any business names. For common names, add date ranges or court type. |
| Court division | Yes if known | Circuit, Family, District, Criminal District, Traffic, Probate, Juvenile, or Paternity. |
| Document type | Yes | Examples: decree, judgment, disposition, order, sentence, docket sheet, probate order, or certified copy. |
| Approximate filing or hearing date | Helpful | Useful when the case number is unknown or the record may be older. |
| Copy type | Yes | State whether plain copies, certified copies, or inspection are requested. |
McCracken County Clerk and Court Fees
KCOJ lists payment methods for the court clerk as cash, check, and money order, with no two-party checks, and cash required for bond. The state page also links ePay for eligible fines and fees. Local research did not locate a complete official court-copy fee schedule for McCracken Circuit Court Clerk copies, so requesters should confirm copy and certification costs with the division handling the file. County Clerk copy and certification fees are separately published for recorded county documents.
| Item | Amount / note |
|---|---|
| Court case plain or certified copy | Confirm with the Circuit Court Clerk division before ordering |
| Court fine, fee, or eligible traffic payment | May be payable through Kentucky ePay |
| Bond | Cash required by KCOJ payment notes |
| County Clerk plain copy | $0.50 per copy |
| County Clerk full-page plat copy | $5.00 |
| County Clerk certification | $5.00 to certify a page plus $0.50 for each page after that |
Circuit Clerk vs County Clerk
Kentucky's split clerk structure matters in McCracken County. The Circuit Court Clerk handles court cases. County Clerk Jamie Huskey handles county clerk records, including marriage licenses, recorded land records, liens, plats, power of attorney filings, UCC fixture filings, wills recorded with the clerk, county open-records forms, vehicle functions, and election functions. A divorce decree, felony disposition, misdemeanor docket, or traffic court record goes to the Circuit Court Clerk. A marriage license, deed, mortgage, lien, or recorded will document goes to the County Clerk.
The McCracken County Clerk records page is a separate official records source for non-court recorded documents.
The county leadership source helps confirm the local officials involved in the split: Anita Turner for the Circuit Court Clerk function and Jamie Huskey for the County Clerk function.
The County Clerk marriage and notary license page is the official route for marriage license requirements, not court case records.
That distinction prevents a common wrong turn: marriage licenses begin with the County Clerk, while divorce decrees are Family Court and Circuit Court Clerk records.
Common Clerk Forms and Online Tools
Court users looking for statewide court forms should use the Kentucky Court of Justice legal forms page. Case access and docket research use KYeCourts and the Kentucky docket portal. County Clerk records use eCCLIX, which is the internet version of CCLIX, County Clerk Indexing, and is not a court case search.
- Kentucky Court of Justice legal forms - statewide court forms and self-help forms.
- KYeCourts public case access - online case access route for public court case information where available.
- Kentucky Court Date / Docket Search - court-date and docket lookup, not a complete case file.
- Kentucky ePay - eligible fines, fees, and traffic payments.
The eCCLIX commercial subscription page serves title, legal, surveying, and real estate users who need county clerk records access.
Commercial eCCLIX access can help with recorded documents, but it should not be used as a substitute for KYeCourts, court dockets, or direct Circuit Court Clerk requests for court case files.
The McCracken residential eCCLIX signup is the separate no-charge private-citizen route for personal, noncommercial county clerk record searches.
The residential signup is limited to McCracken County records, five searches per day, and no charge, which makes it useful for deed, mortgage, lien, and recorded-document research rather than court files.
Mail, Online Access, and Fraud Alerts
For court records, the online path starts with KYeCourts or the docket search, then moves to the Circuit Court Clerk for certified copies or files that are not available online. The in-person path is the courthouse at 300 Clarence Gaines Street. The KCOJ page gives court office hours as Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the courthouse parking note identifies the lot at Seventh and Washington Street.
The County Clerk has a different online records ecosystem. The records page links eCCLIX, open-records policy materials, a request form, and DOC Alert. DOC Alert is a free deed and mortgage fraud-notification service that sends an email when a mortgage or deed with a registered name or business name is recorded in the County Clerk's Office.
The DOC Alert McCracken signup page is the official fraud-notification route advertised by the County Clerk.
DOC Alert is not a lawsuit, divorce, criminal, traffic, or probate case search. It is a useful County Clerk notice tool for recorded deed and mortgage activity.