Montgomery County Circuit Court Clerk
The Kentucky Court of Justice lists Tanya P. Terry as Montgomery County Circuit Court Clerk. Circuit Court Clerks manage the records of Kentucky Circuit, Family, District, and Business courts. In Montgomery County, that makes the Circuit Court Clerk the public access point for trial-court case files, including Circuit Court civil and felony matters, District Court misdemeanors, traffic, probate, small claims, juvenile matters, domestic violence matters, and local docket questions.
The office is located at the Montgomery County Courthouse in downtown Mount Sterling. Public court business uses phone 859-498-5966 or 859-498-5991, with fax 859-498-9341. Official court hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday are closed. Court access and copy questions should go to this office unless the record is a County Clerk record such as a deed, mortgage, marriage license, vehicle record, election record, or recorded lien.
Office of Circuit Court Clerk
Clerk: Tanya P. Terry
One Court St., P.O. Box 327
Mt. Sterling, KY 40353
859-498-5966 / 859-498-5991
Fax: 859-498-9341
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Montgomery Circuit Clerk Duties
The Circuit Court Clerk keeps the court file and helps the public navigate the official record path. The clerk does not prosecute cases, give legal advice, decide access disputes, or replace a judge's order. The office is the place to verify case numbers, filing status, hearing information, certified-copy procedures, payment methods, and record-storage instructions.
- Maintains Circuit Court, District Court, and related trial-court records for Montgomery County.
- Provides the local route for requesting court case copies and certified records.
- Helps identify older records and provides record facility, case, and file locator information when needed.
- Receives payments accepted by the court, including eligible ePay obligations.
- Supports public docket and court-date verification for Circuit and District Court matters.
For land documents and marriage licenses, use the Montgomery County County Clerk instead.
Request Certified Montgomery Court Copies
Certified court copies are often needed when a person must prove the official filing, order, judgment, disposition, divorce decree, probate appointment, or case outcome. Online search results and public docket screens should not be treated as certified court records. The clerk can tell a requester whether the file is available in the office, stored at another record facility, restricted, sealed, or available only to authorized parties.
- Identify the court, case number, party names, record type, and approximate filing or disposition date.
- Search KYeCourts or docket search first if a public case number or hearing date is needed.
- Call the Circuit Court Clerk to confirm the file location, copy method, certification process, and current fee.
- Submit the request by the method the clerk approves for that file, such as in person or mail when instructed.
- Pay accepted fees and postage before copies are released if advance payment is required.
- Review the certified copy when received to confirm that the court, case number, and document type match the request.
Montgomery Court Request Fields
The Kentucky Court of Justice record-request guidance says county Circuit Court Clerks are the starting point for copies of trial-court records from that county. The Montgomery research did not identify a county-specific Circuit Clerk form with fixed fields. The practical request should give enough detail for clerk staff to identify the file without guessing.
| Field | Required | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | If known | Fastest way to identify the court file. |
| Party names | Yes | Needed when the case number is unknown. |
| Court or division | If known | Distinguishes Circuit, District, domestic, traffic, probate, and other matters. |
| Document type | Yes | Examples include decree, judgment, order, disposition, docket sheet, or certified copy. |
| Approximate filing or hearing date | If known | Helps locate older or common-name records. |
| Requester contact and delivery method | Yes | Needed for fee totals, pickup, mail, or follow-up. |
Montgomery Circuit Clerk Payments
The research did not confirm a Montgomery County court-copy fee table for the Circuit Court Clerk. It did confirm local court payment options: cash, money order, check, credit and debit cards, and ePay where eligible. Checks are held 10 days to clear the bank, and credit or debit card payments carry a fee. Always ask the clerk for the current copy or certification charge before mailing a request.
| Item | Amount or rule |
|---|---|
| Plain court copy | Verify current amount with Circuit Court Clerk. |
| Certified court copy | Verify current amount with Circuit Court Clerk. |
| Civil filing fees | Verify current fee; KYeCourts posted July 1, 2026 increases. |
| Checks | Accepted but held 10 days to clear bank. |
| Credit or debit card payments | Accepted with a fee. |
| ePay | Available for eligible fines, fees, or costs through KYeCourts. |
Note: County Clerk copy charges for land or marriage records are separate and should not be used for court files.
Search Before Contacting the Clerk
For public case information, start with KYeCourts Public Court Records guest access. The guest page says it provides free access to public case information throughout Kentucky, but entry requires CAPTCHA and live post-CAPTCHA record screens were not inspected. KYeCourts is useful for locating public case information, but the official file and certified records still come through the clerk.
For hearing dates, use the Kentucky docket search. Select Montgomery County, choose Circuit or District, enter the date, and narrow by courtroom or subdivision if applicable. The docket page says results are not the official docket and are subject to change. For payable court obligations, use KYeCourts Easy Pay when the case is eligible.
| Access path | Use it for | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| KYeCourts guest access | Public court case information | CAPTCHA-gated and not a certified copy. |
| KCOJ docket search | Hearing date, division, courtroom, and subdivision checks | Not the official docket and subject to change. |
| KYeCourts ePay | Eligible fines, fees, and costs | Not every case is payable online. |
| Circuit Court Clerk | Certified copies, official file status, older records | May require fee, proof of authority, or in-person follow-up. |
Montgomery Circuit Clerk Docket Help
The clerk's office is also the best place to verify local motion schedules before relying on a public docket screen. Circuit Division 1 lists domestic motion day on the first Friday at 9 a.m., civil motion day on the fourth Friday at 9 a.m., criminal motion day on the fourth Friday at 10:30 a.m., and grand jury at 2 p.m. Division 2 lists domestic motion day on the third Friday at 1 p.m., civil motion day on the third Friday at 9 a.m., and criminal motion day on the second Friday at 9 a.m.
District Court has a different schedule: civil motion days Monday and Thursday at 9 a.m.; traffic Monday and Thursday at 9 a.m.; misdemeanor and felony arraignments Monday and Thursday at 9:30 a.m.; juvenile Wednesday at 9 a.m.; domestic violence Monday at 1:30 p.m.; small claims first Friday at 9 a.m.; probate petitions Wednesday and Thursday at 8:30 a.m.; and probate motions fourth Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.
Older Montgomery Court Records
KCOJ record-request guidance says that if a trial-court case is older or stored away from the clerk's office, the clerk identifies the record facility and provides case and file locator numbers so the requester can seek access or copies. That is why a direct clerk call is important when an online search is blank, incomplete, or too recent to show final entries.
Some records will not be available to ordinary public searchers. Juvenile records, sealed cases, expunged matters, adoption records, mental-health proceedings, personal identifiers, financial-account numbers, and some domestic-violence safety information can be restricted or redacted. Official background checks and expungement certifications are separate Kentucky Court of Justice processes and should not be confused with a single Montgomery County case search.