Find Fayette County Court Records
The main online search path for Fayette County court records is Indiana MyCase, with the direct public search application at public.courts.in.gov/mycase. The Indiana Judicial Branch Fayette County page links to MyCase and identifies Fayette County as part of Judicial District 18. Fayette does not run a separate county-only court-record search site. Public case data is searched through the state portal because Fayette Circuit Court and Fayette Superior Court use the statewide Odyssey/MyCase access path.
Before searching, gather the party name, business name, attorney name, case number, citation number, or filing year. A cause number is the strongest search key because Indiana names may be duplicated or entered in different forms. Name searches work, but they may need a date of birth, county filter, case type, or court filter to avoid mixing Fayette County cases with statewide matches. MyCase can show public case summaries and selected documents, but official certified copies still come from the Fayette County Clerk.
- Open the Indiana Judicial Branch Fayette County page or go directly to MyCase.
- Choose a name, case number, attorney, or citation-style search path based on what you know.
- Enter Fayette County as the county filter when that option is available.
- Open the matching case and review the court, case type, filing date, status, parties, hearings, and chronological case summary.
- Use any public document links shown in the case summary, then contact the clerk for certified copies, missing documents, or older files.
The official MyCase help page notes that public users may see public cases and many documents, while party and attorney accounts can have different access levels. If a document is not online, the public record path moves from MyCase to the clerk's counter, phone, email, or mail request.
The Indiana court public-records gateway lists the court record tools used for Fayette County court records and related lookups.
That statewide gateway matters because Fayette County court records, protection-order information, traffic payments, marriage lookups, jail custody tools, and BMV records are split across different official systems.
Fayette County Search Fields
MyCase search fields are designed for statewide access, so a Fayette County court records search works best when the query combines a name or cause number with local filters. The court filter may show Fayette Circuit Court or Fayette Superior Court. The case type filter helps separate criminal cases from civil, family, probate, small claims, and traffic matters. Repeated broad searches may trigger CAPTCHA, and older or non-digitized documents may require clerk contact even when the case summary appears online.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search type | Tab or radio | Yes | Name, Case, and Attorney searches are supported; citation or payment searches may appear in related workflows. |
| Last Name / Business Name | Text | Conditional | Use exact spelling where possible. Add first name or date of birth to narrow common names. |
| First Name | Text | No | Useful for person searches, especially criminal, traffic, and family cases. |
| Date of Birth | Date | No | Helps distinguish defendants or parties when the field is available to the public. |
| Case Number / Cause Number | Text | Conditional | Best exact-match path for Indiana court records. |
| Attorney Name / Number | Text | Conditional | Searches for cases tied to an attorney of record. |
| County | Dropdown | No | Select Fayette to avoid statewide duplicate results. |
| Court | Dropdown | No | Use Fayette Circuit Court or Fayette Superior Court if shown. |
| Case Type | Dropdown | No | Filters civil, criminal, family, probate, small claims, traffic, and other public case groups. |
| Date range | Date range | No | Narrows filings or events when a name search is too broad. |
Fayette County Record Types
Fayette County court records come from the local trial-court system. Indiana does not use a county-level District Court for Fayette County. The practical local courts are Fayette Circuit Court and Fayette Superior Court, both housed at the courthouse in Connersville. The Fayette County Clerk, Dawn Hughes, is the unified local record custodian for filings, dockets, fees, judgments, copy access, marriage-license links, child support, and guardianship-related clerk services.
Each case type has its own public-access limits. A traffic record is not the same as a BMV driver record. A jail booking is not the same as a criminal court case. A divorce decree is a court record, while a marriage license lookup uses a separate statewide marriage tool. Probate and guardianship records may show public estate events but can also contain protected medical or personal data.
- Civil records: civil plenary, tort, foreclosure, collections, contract, landlord and tenant, small claims, replevin, name change, judgment, and garnishment cases.
- Criminal records: adult misdemeanor and felony case files with charges, hearings, pleas, dispositions, sentencing, warrants, and financial entries.
- Family records: divorce, custody, child support, paternity, and related domestic matters, with sensitive child and financial data limited by rule.
- Probate and guardianship: estates, wills, accountings, guardianship petitions, inventories, orders, and final reports.
- Traffic and infraction: citations, violation details, court dates, dispositions, fines, costs, and payment status after the ticket is filed with the court.
What Fayette Court Records Show
A Fayette County court record usually begins with the case number and case caption. The case caption names the sides, such as State of Indiana v. a defendant, plaintiff v. defendant, petitioner v. respondent, or an estate or guardianship caption. The case summary can also identify the court, case type, filing date, current status, attorneys, hearings, financial entries, and chronological case summary entries. Criminal and traffic records may include charges, statute citations, severity levels, pleas, dispositions, fines, fees, probation, and sentencing events.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The Indiana cause number, often showing county, court, year, case type, and sequence. |
| Court | Fayette Circuit Court or Fayette Superior Court for local trial-court matters. |
| Case Type | Codes such as criminal felony, criminal misdemeanor, infraction, civil plenary, domestic relations, estate, guardianship, or small claims. |
| Parties | Public names and roles unless a rule excludes juvenile, protected-person, or confidential data. |
| Chronological Case Summary | Docket entries for filings, orders, hearings, notices, continuances, warrants, judgments, payments, and sentence events. |
| Documents | Public orders, judgments, and selected filings when online document links are available. |
| Financials | Fines, costs, restitution, bond, payments, balances, and payment eligibility where entered. |
The Indiana Rules on Access to Court Records index is the main rule gateway for deciding whether a Fayette County court record should be public, excluded, sealed, or available only by court order.
The rule index helps explain why some Fayette County court records appear online in full, some show only a case summary, and some do not appear in public search at all.
Fayette County Public Access
Indiana's Access to Public Records Act, IC 5-14-3, gives the broad public-records backdrop, but court records also follow court-specific rules. Indiana Administrative Rule 9 states that public court records are available at the courthouse during regular hours, while remote electronic access depends on court systems and policy. For Fayette County, that means MyCase is the first search path and the clerk is the source for official copies and documents that are not posted online.
No Fayette-specific online certified-copy request form was located in the official county sources reviewed. Practical mail or email requests should identify the requester, contact details, case number if known, party names, approximate filing year, court if known, requested document, copy type, and preferred delivery method. The clerk should be asked for current fees and payment instructions before money is mailed. Photo identification may be needed for restricted records only if the clerk or court requires it.
Indiana Administrative Rule 9 is the court-record rule that ties courthouse access to remote access policy for Fayette County records.
That rule is why a Fayette County case can be public at the courthouse even when a document is not downloadable from MyCase.
Note: Financial balances in MyCase may not include recent payments, interest, charges, or complete fee details.
Restricted Fayette County Records
Some Fayette County court records are excluded from public view or redacted before release. Indiana Access to Court Records Rule 5 lists categories excluded from public access, including medical records and confidential information. Juvenile delinquency, CHINS, termination, many adoption or child-welfare matters, and some juvenile paternity records are confidential or limited. Mental-health material, financial account numbers, Social Security numbers, protected addresses, protected-person information, and sealed or expunged records should not be expected in public MyCase results.
A person seeking access to an excluded court record may need to use the procedure in Indiana Access to Court Records Rule 9. That process is distinct from a normal copy request. The person should identify the record, explain the basis for access, and expect a judge or court process to control release. For Fayette County cases, filings and copy questions still route through the local court and clerk office.
Indiana Access to Court Records Rule 5 is the public source for the main excluded-record categories.
Rule 5 is especially important for Fayette County court records involving juveniles, medical data, protected people, and sealed or expunged criminal matters.
Fayette County Clerk Requests
The Fayette County Clerk is the practical fallback office for official court records that are not complete in MyCase. The official local clerk page names Dawn Hughes as County Clerk and places the office in the courthouse on the second floor north end. The clerk handles local trial-court filings, copy access, court-payment routing, marriage-license links, child support, and adult guardianship links. For official copies, certified copies, older files, or documents without a public link, contact the clerk before visiting or mailing a request.
Fayette County Clerk
401 N. Central Ave., 2nd Floor North End
Connersville, IN 47331
765-825-1813
Weekdays 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.; Wednesday until 5:00 p.m.; Thursday until 12:30 p.m.; closed 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.