Hopkins County Circuit Court Clerk
The Kentucky Court of Justice Hopkins County page identifies Tanya M. Bowman as Circuit Court Clerk and lists the court office at the Hopkins County Justice Center. Kentucky Court of Justice material describes circuit court clerks as elected officers responsible for the custody, control, and safe storage of Circuit Court and District Court records. In Hopkins County, that means felony, major civil, divorce, adoption, District Court civil, misdemeanor, traffic, probate, small claims, and eviction records are tied to one court clerk office, even when different divisions handle calls.
The Hopkins County Circuit Court Clerk is distinct from the Hopkins County Clerk. The Circuit Court Clerk keeps court case records. The County Clerk handles recorded legal instruments, marriage licenses, vehicle licensing, elections, notary commissions, property liens, and some recorded documents after a court process is complete. The County Clerk name appears differently in official sources, so the office name is safer than a person name unless citing a specific source.
Office of Circuit Court Clerk
Clerk: Tanya M. Bowman
120 East Center Street
Madisonville, KY 42431
Main: 270-824-7502
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Hopkins County Court Record Custody
Circuit Court Clerk custody is organized by case function rather than by separate buildings. The Hopkins County court page publishes different phone lines for Circuit Civil, Circuit Criminal, District Civil, District Criminal, and Family Court. That split helps a requester avoid sending a felony case question to the traffic or small-claims line.
| Division | Typical records | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Civil | Major civil cases, appeals, land-title disputes where applicable | 270-824-7503 |
| Circuit Criminal | Felony and capital criminal cases | 270-824-7501 |
| District Civil | Small claims, evictions, probate, limited civil matters | 270-824-7502 |
| District Criminal | Misdemeanors, traffic, violations, ordinance matters | 270-824-7504 |
| Family Court | Divorce, custody, support, and related family matters when assigned | 270-824-7505 |
For statewide online access, start with KYeCourts guest public records, CourtNet 2.0, or the public docket search. Online results may not show every document image, sealed entry, stored file, or certified-copy option. The clerk counter remains the route for certified copies, older files, and questions about what the public system does not display.
Hopkins County Clerk Split
Many Hopkins County record searches fail because the term "clerk" can mean two different offices. Court cases belong to the Circuit Court Clerk. Recorded instruments and marriage licenses belong to the County Clerk. The County Clerk office is at 24 Union Street, Madisonville, KY 42431, with phone 270-821-7361 and posted weekday hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The County Clerk's legal records page says recorded documents can be viewed online through TitleSearcher. It also says wills and name changes are handled through the Deed Room / Probate Department after Probate Court approval and after the document is brought to the County Clerk for recording. That means a Hopkins County estate may have a court file at the Justice Center and a recorded will copy through the County Clerk.
The image below comes from the Hopkins County Clerk legal records and official documents page, which explains the recorded-document side of the clerk split.
That recorded-document source is useful only after the request is aimed at the right office; it should not be treated as the court case file system.
Request Hopkins County Copies
A certified copy is a copy that the record custodian certifies as an official copy. Hopkins County court orders, judgments, dockets, and case documents should be requested from the Circuit Court Clerk when the record is a court file. Recorded deeds, liens, recorded wills, name-change recordings, and marriage records route to the County Clerk instead.
- Identify whether the record is a court case file or a county-recorded document.
- Gather the case number, party names, filing date, document name, and court division if known.
- Use KYeCourts or CourtNet first if the goal is to confirm a public case number.
- Call the matching Hopkins County Circuit Court Clerk division before visiting for certified copies.
- For recorded instruments, contact the County Clerk and ask whether TitleSearcher or an in-person request is better.
- Ask for the current copy fee before ordering, especially when civil filing and copy rules have changed.
Note: Certified copies from the court clerk and certified copies from the County Clerk may use different fee rules and request paths.
Hopkins County Request Fields
The research did not locate a Hopkins County Circuit Court Clerk online copy-request form with fixed field labels. A practical records request should still be complete enough for staff to identify the file without guessing. For County Clerk recorded documents, the research notes that a requester should be prepared to provide document type, party names, recording date or approximate date, book/page or instrument number if known, copy type, return address, contact information, and payment.
| Field | Use it for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Court case records | Best identifier for Circuit or District Court files. |
| Party names | Court and recorded records | Use full names and role if known. |
| Document type | Orders, judgments, wills, deeds, licenses | State whether a certified copy is needed. |
| Filing or recording date | Narrowing the search | An approximate date is better than none. |
| Book, page, or instrument number | County Clerk records | Helpful for TitleSearcher and recorded instruments. |
| Return contact and payment | Copy completion | Ask the office for current accepted payment methods. |
Hopkins County Clerk Fees
The most specific fee data in the research comes from the County Clerk fee pages, not from a current court-copy fee sheet. The Circuit Court Clerk should be contacted for court-file copy and certification fees. County Clerk fees are useful when a will, name change, marriage license, or recorded instrument is the actual target.
The manifest image below comes from the Hopkins County Clerk document fee schedule, the official county source for recorded-document fees and certified-copy notes.
The fee schedule helps distinguish recorded-document charges from court case copy costs, which should still be confirmed with the Circuit Court Clerk.
| County Clerk item | Fee or note |
|---|---|
| Certified copies of documents | $5.00 first three pages and $0.25 each additional page per document |
| Will recording after probate approval | $47 for first five pages, plus $3 each additional page |
| Name change recording | $43 |
| Marriage license | $60 |
| General recording note | Many quoted fees cover three pages, with $3 extra for each page over three |
Hopkins County Marriage Records
Marriage licensing is not a Circuit Court Clerk function in Hopkins County. The County Clerk handles marriage licenses and local marriage-record copy questions. The official marriage page says both parties must appear in person, be age 18 or older, present current government-issued photo ID, and pay the posted $60 fee. The license is for Kentucky only and must be returned within the required time after the ceremony.
The image below comes from the Hopkins County Clerk marriage license page, which is the official local source for marriage-license requirements.
This distinction keeps marriage records out of the court-record request path unless a divorce or related family case has been filed in court.
Older Hopkins County Court Files
Some Hopkins County court records may no longer be held in an active file location at the Justice Center. The Kentucky Court of Justice State Records Center process requires case and file locator numbers. It also states that stored records cannot be searched by name or Social Security number. A requester should first work through the Circuit Court Clerk or available court systems to identify the case and locator data.
Restricted records need extra care. Juvenile court records, adoption files, expunged records, sealed entries, mental-health proceedings, protected personal identifiers, and some family matters may be withheld or redacted. Kentucky open-records law covers many public agencies, but court case access follows court rules and clerk custody practices. For sheriff agency records, use the sheriff records custodian process instead of a court clerk request.