Daviess Circuit Clerk Office
The primary trial-court record clerk for Daviess County is Jennifer Hardesty Besecker, the elected Daviess County Circuit Court Clerk. The office is in the Morton J. Holbrook Judicial Center. The Kentucky Court of Justice says the Administrative Office of the Courts does not maintain court case records for local cases, and requests for copies or inspection start with the clerk of the court that heard the case.
That makes the Daviess County Circuit Court Clerk the correct office for felony Circuit Court cases, misdemeanor and traffic District Court cases, Family Court divorce and custody matters, civil cases, small claims, probate matters, and docket or bookkeeping questions. The clerk can also explain whether an older record is in the office, at a records facility, or destroyed under retention schedules.
Daviess County Circuit Court Clerk
Clerk: Jennifer Hardesty Besecker
Morton J. Holbrook Judicial Center
100 E. 2nd St.
P.O. Box 277
Owensboro, KY 42302-0277
270-687-7333
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Daviess Court Records Clerk Duties
The Circuit Court Clerk works inside Kentucky's court system, not county government's land-record system. Court users often need the clerk for filed pleadings, copies, payments, court dates, probate filings, traffic and criminal questions, and Family Court records. The office also connects users to the correct division phone when the case type matters more than a general receptionist line.
- Circuit criminal records, including felony files and related court events.
- Circuit civil and Family Court files, including divorce, custody, adoption, and related matters when public access is allowed.
- District traffic, criminal, small-claims, civil, and probate records.
- Copy, certification, payment, bookkeeping, and older-record routing questions.
- Case and file locator numbers needed when a public record has moved to the State Records Center.
The Daviess County Clerk at 212 Saint Ann Street is separate. That office handles marriage licenses, county clerk indexed records, eCCLIX, land/title records, elections, vehicles, passports, tax sale matters, services, and forms. Court case files should not be requested through eCCLIX unless the record sought is a county clerk record rather than a court case record.
Daviess Clerk Division Phones
Daviess court records are easier to request when the caller uses the division tied to the case type. The Kentucky Court of Justice Daviess page lists the Holbrook Judicial Center as the location for Circuit, Family, District, traffic/criminal, civil, probate, small claims, and bookkeeping functions. These phone lines help route the request without treating every file as the same record.
| Division or function | Phone |
|---|---|
| Receptionist and general Circuit Court Clerk contact | 270-687-7333 |
| Circuit Criminal Division 1 | 270-687-7329 |
| Circuit Criminal Division 2 | 270-687-7330 |
| Circuit Civil | 270-687-7220 |
| Family Court and Juvenile | 270-687-7220 |
| District Traffic and Criminal | 270-687-7200 |
| Small Claims and Civil | 270-687-7205 |
| Probate | 270-687-7207 |
| Bookkeeping | 270-687-7209 |
Request Daviess Certified Copies
Certified copies are used when the requester needs a court-stamped copy rather than a plain information printout. A certified divorce decree, probate order, judgment, or other case document should come from the clerk responsible for the case. Online public information may help identify a case, but the clerk's certified copy is the record used for official purposes.
- Identify the court and case type: Circuit, Family, District, probate, small claims, traffic, or criminal. Use KYeCourts or the docket portal only as an aid if the case is public.
- Gather party names, approximate filing or disposition date, case number if known, and the exact document needed. Older files may require clerk research before copies can be made.
- Call the correct Daviess division or visit the Circuit Court Clerk at the Holbrook Judicial Center. Ask whether the file is local, offsite, restricted, or destroyed under retention schedules.
- Pay the copy and certification fees through an accepted method. The Holbrook Judicial Center accepts cash, money order, Daviess resident personal check, certified check, cashier's check, credit or debit card with a fee, and online ePay where available.
- Pick up the certified copy or follow the clerk's mailing instructions. If a State Records Center request is needed, obtain the case and file locator numbers first.
Daviess Court Request Fields
The research file provides a field inventory for the AOC-RU-004 criminal record report form. That form is not the same as a local case-file copy request, but it shows the kind of identifying data AOC needs when producing a statewide criminal record report. Local clerk requests should also be precise enough to identify the correct Daviess case and document.
| Field label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name: first, middle, last | Text | Yes implied | Subject name for the record search. |
| Maiden names or aliases | Text | Optional if applicable | Helps locate records under prior names. |
| Date of birth | Date or text | Yes implied | Used to distinguish people with similar names. |
| Social Security Number or driver license number | Text | Unspecified | Identifier fields on the AOC report form. |
| Street address, city, state, ZIP | Text | Yes implied | Subject address and requester address fields appear on the form. |
| Requestor or contact person | Text | Yes | Requester identity, company if applicable, phone, and email. |
| Purpose | Checkbox | Yes | Employment, investigation, housing screening, juvenile-care volunteer, licensing, or other explained purpose. |
Daviess Circuit Clerk Fees
The fee schedule below uses the court fees and copy charges found in the research file. Some figures are statewide court fees effective July 1, 2026, while others are copy or certification charges. If a filing also requires service, mailing, facility, technology, or other required fees, the clerk can calculate the final amount for the specific case.
| Item | Amount or rule |
|---|---|
| AOC criminal record report | $25, payable to Kentucky State Treasurer. |
| Circuit civil filing fee effective July 1, 2026 | $188. |
| District civil base filing fee effective July 1, 2026 | $94. |
| Probate of estate effective July 1, 2026 | $50. |
| District small claims not over $2,500 effective July 1, 2026 | $38. |
| Court technology fee | $20 where required. |
| Certified mail service effective July 1, 2026 | $35. |
| Circuit or District copy | $0.25 per page. |
| Certification | $5. |
Note: The Daviess marriage license fee belongs to the separate County Clerk process, while court copies and certifications belong to the Circuit Court Clerk.
Daviess Clerk Online Access
Online court case information in Daviess County is statewide, not a county-run database. KYeCourts guest public records is the public gateway for online case information when available. The Kentucky docket portal is separate and shows scheduled court dates, with a visible warning that the docket is not official and is subject to change. For copies, certifications, file review, or older records, the clerk remains the final source.
The manifest includes the Daviess County Clerk page, which is important because it shows the office that many users confuse with the Circuit Court Clerk.
The county clerk page is useful for marriage licenses, land records, vehicles, elections, passports, and eCCLIX, but it is not the official access point for Daviess Circuit, Family, District, traffic, criminal, civil, or probate case files.
The manifest also includes the Daviess County marriage license requirements page, a county clerk service that should stay separate from court case requests.
That page confirms why marriage license questions route to the county clerk, while divorce decrees, probate orders, criminal dispositions, and traffic case records route to the Circuit Court Clerk.
Daviess Clerk Forms and Limits
The Kentucky Court of Justice legal forms library is the state form source for many Daviess court filings. Probate forms include AOC-805 for probate of a will or appointment of an executor or administrator, and AOC-830 for a petition to dispense with estate administration. Divorce forms include petitions, waivers, separation agreements, findings, decrees, and required certificates. AOC-RU-004 is the Records Unit form for a criminal record report.
Restricted records require more than a form request. Juvenile records are confidential under KRS 610.340, and sealed or expunged cases are removed or restricted under the relevant expungement statute. Adoption, child-welfare, some mental-health, and sensitive family records should not be described as open public files. The clerk can explain the public access status of a specific Daviess case, but the office cannot release a record that a statute or court order keeps confidential.