Find Clay County Clerk Records

Clay County County Clerk Office

The Clay County Clerk is Beverly Craft. The official county clerk site lists the office as the local point for official documents, property tax bills, elections, voter registration, and motor vehicle services. The Clay County Fiscal Court department page also identifies Beverly Craft as county clerk. This office is located in the Richmond Road county office cluster, not at the court-record counter inside the Justice Center.

That office split is important in Clay County. The County Clerk does not replace the Circuit Court Clerk for court case files. Divorce decrees, criminal dispositions, traffic court records, probate orders, and civil judgments are court records handled through Leslie Phillips and the Office of Circuit Court Clerk. Marriage licenses, county recording work, election services, vehicle titles, vehicle registration, property tax bill support, and county clerk fee questions belong with Beverly Craft's office.

Clay County Clerk Records

The County Clerk office handles a mix of records and transactions. The official site names official documents, property tax bills, voter registration and elections, and motor vehicle titling and registration. The research also confirms that marriage licenses are issued by the County Clerk, while statewide certified marriage and divorce certificates from June 1958 forward are available through Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics. The local record source and the state certificate source are not the same.

For a county clerk request, the first question is the record category. A marriage license request needs both parties and the license process. A recorded-document question may need names, recording date, book/page or instrument data if known, and the document type. Election and voter registration requests should identify the election or voter service involved. Motor vehicle work often requires title, registration, owner, vehicle, or tax-bill information that is not part of the court system.

Clay County Marriage Licenses

The Clay County Clerk marriage license page states that marriage licenses are issued in the County Clerk's office. Both parties must appear together. The license is valid for 30 days from issuance, the license must be used within Kentucky, and the fee is non-refundable. The page cites KRS 402.210 for marriage-license issuance requirements.

The official Clay County Clerk marriage page did not publish the exact local marriage-license fee in the research captured for this build. Because the page states only that the fee is non-refundable, the current amount should be confirmed by phone before both parties travel to the office. The Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics certificate fee is separate from the local license fee and should not be treated as the cost to obtain a Clay County marriage license.

1. Confirm that both parties can appear together at the Clay County Clerk office.
2. Bring proof of age and identity consistent with Kentucky marriage-license requirements.
3. Apply at the County Clerk office on Richmond Road in Manchester.
4. Call ahead for the current Clay County marriage-license fee because the official source located did not state the amount.
5. Use the license within 30 days and within Kentucky.
6. After the ceremony, make sure the completed license is returned and recorded through the clerk process.

Clay County Marriage Certificates

A marriage license and a certified marriage certificate are different records. The County Clerk issues the license and is the local contact for licenses issued in Clay County. The Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics keeps certified marriage and divorce certificate records from June 1958 to the present. For a pre-June 1958 marriage record, Kentucky OVS directs users back to the county clerk where the license was issued.

For divorce, the split changes. A divorce decree is a court record through Clay Circuit or Family Court, while a certified divorce certificate from June 1958 forward comes from OVS. Earlier divorce decree records should be requested from the circuit court clerk where the decree was granted. OVS states that it does not issue photocopies, faxed copies, non-certified copies, or electronic copies.

Clay County Recording Requests

The County Clerk site states that the office is responsible for recording and administering many official documents. The research located a Clay County Clerk fee page for recording and county clerk services, but no full official searchable recording portal was confirmed. That means a person seeking a recorded county document should contact Beverly Craft's office with document details rather than assuming that a county-built online index contains the complete answer.

Useful request details include the names on the document, the document type, the approximate recording date, and any book, page, instrument, or recording reference known to the requester. A deed, lien, release, mortgage-related record, or other recorded instrument may require a different fee from a plain court copy. The fee page should be used for current recording service amounts, and the office should confirm totals before mail or in-person payment.

Clay County Clerk Fee Notes

County clerk fees are not the same as court-copy fees. The County Clerk fee page should be used for recording and clerk service fees. The research did not locate the official Clay County marriage-license amount, so that amount should remain a gap rather than filled from a third-party source. Kentucky OVS certificate fees are clear in the research: marriage and divorce certificates cost $6 per certificate or search, with mail payment by check or money order payable to Kentucky State Treasurer.

Note: The County Clerk fee gap is limited to the Clay marriage-license amount found in official captured sources.

Clay County Elections And Vehicles

The County Clerk site lists voter registration, elections, motor vehicles, and property tax bills among office duties. These are county administrative services rather than court records. A voter registration or election question should be directed to Beverly Craft's office. A motor vehicle title or registration question also belongs with the County Clerk, while driver history records and license points are Kentucky Transportation Cabinet records, and traffic citations filed in court are District Court records.

The office split is practical. A traffic ticket may create a Clay District Court case, a court fine, and a possible KYTC driver history entry. The County Clerk may handle vehicle title or registration work for the same person, but it does not maintain the court traffic case file or driver points record. A property tax bill question may also involve the sheriff's tax-collection role, so users should follow the county site's office links when the tax-bill issue is not a clerk recording or motor vehicle transaction.

Request County Clerk Copies

A county clerk copy request should start by identifying whether the record is a marriage-license record, recorded instrument, election record, motor vehicle record, or another county clerk service. The office can then confirm whether the item is public, what fee applies, and whether the request can be handled by phone, mail, or in person. Do not send court case requests to the County Clerk; the Clay County Circuit Court Clerk handles court copies.

1. Identify the record category before calling: marriage, recording, elections, motor vehicle, or tax-bill support.
2. Gather names, dates, document type, and any recording or license details already known.
3. Call the County Clerk to confirm access, fee, payment method, and whether an in-person visit is needed.
4. For marriage certificates from June 1958 forward, use Kentucky OVS instead of asking the county clerk for a state certificate.
5. For court files, contact the Circuit Court Clerk because those records are outside the County Clerk's duties.