Search Clay County Court Records
Clay County court records begin with Indiana MyCase, the statewide public case search tied to courts that use the Odyssey case management system. MyCase is the main online access point for Clay Circuit Court and Clay Superior Court case summaries. It can show the Chronological Case Summary, court events, parties, attorneys, some documents, balances, and hearing dates. It is free to search, but it is not the same as a certified court file.
The strongest Clay County court records search uses more than one field. A case number is the cleanest path when it is known. A party search can work by last name, business name, first name, middle name, or date of birth, but the public case detail will not display date of birth. Official MyCase help also notes that no search returns more than 1,000 results and that captcha may appear after repeated use.
- Open MyCase through the Indiana courts public portal.
- Choose case, party, or attorney search.
- Enter a case number, citation number, party name, business name, or attorney identifier.
- Limit the search by Clay County, court, case type, or date when the interface allows it.
- Open the case summary, read the CCS entries, and contact the Clay County Clerk for public documents that are not linked online.
The official MyCase search tips explain wildcards, citation-number limits, and case-number searches. The public courts MyCase entry is the alternate state URL for the same public lookup path.
The manifest source for the statewide portal is Indiana MyCase.
For Clay County court records, this portal is the online starting point, while the clerk remains the source for certified and missing documents.
Clay County Circuit and Superior Courts
Clay County is in Indiana Judicial District 19 with Putnam, Sullivan, and Vigo counties. Local trial-court work is handled by Clay Circuit Court and Clay Superior Court, both in the Clay County Courthouse in Brazil. Appeals from final local judgments normally move to the Court of Appeals of Indiana, with Indiana Supreme Court review available in cases accepted for transfer or assigned by law.
The Indiana Judicial Branch Clay County page identifies the local court structure and links court users to MyCase, e-filing, local rules, and court contacts. Clay Circuit Court is led by Judge Dave Thomas for the 2025-2030 term. Clay Superior Court is led by Judge Robert Pell for the same term. The County Clerk, Nichole Keller, is the unified clerk for local case records.
Case flow: Clay Circuit or Superior Court › Court of Appeals of Indiana › Indiana Supreme Court.
| Court or Office | Clay County Role | Main Case Types |
|---|---|---|
| Clay Circuit Court | County trial court | Juvenile, estate, guardianship, trust, adoption, reciprocal support, and shared felony or civil cases |
| Clay Superior Court | County trial court | Misdemeanor, traffic, ordinance violation, small claims, adult protective order, and shared felony or civil cases |
| Clay County Clerk | Unified court clerk | Case records, CCS, judgments, marriage licenses, jury administration, warrants, appeals records, and copy requests |
The manifest source for the court directory is the Indiana Judicial Branch Clay County courts page.
That state page is useful when a Clay County court records search needs court-level confirmation rather than only a case result.
Clay County Courthouse Records Hub
The Clay County Courthouse is at 609 East National Avenue, Brazil, Indiana 47834. It is the practical hub for Clay County court records because the County Clerk, Circuit Court, Superior Court, Prosecutor, Child Support Office, and Juvenile Probation are in the same building. Court records users often start on the second floor at the Clerk's Office in Room 209, then move to Superior Court in Room 203 or Circuit Court in Room 314 when a court appearance or court staff question is involved.
The official county location page provides room-level detail that matters for in-person records work. The second floor has the Clerk's Office, Election Office, Superior Court office, and EMA. The third floor has Circuit Court, Juvenile Probation, Child Support, the Prosecutor, and CASA. The Justice Center at 611 East Jackson Street is nearby for sheriff and jail matters, while Adult Probation and Community Corrections are at 120 South Alabama Street.
Clay Superior Court
Room 203
609 East National Avenue, Brazil, IN 47834
812-448-9031
Clay Circuit Court
Room 314
609 East National Avenue, Brazil, IN 47834
812-448-9036
The manifest source for office layout is the Clay County locations page.
Room numbers help separate a Clerk copy request from a court-date or judge's office question.
Clay County Court Records Clerk
The Clay County Clerk is the unified clerk for local court records. The office administers official court records for all case types within county jurisdiction, including criminal, traffic, civil, small claims, domestic relations, mental health, juvenile, adoption, probate, guardianship, trust, and protective order categories where public access is allowed. The Clerk also maintains the Record of Judgments and Orders, the Judgment Docket, indexes, and the Chronological Case Summary.
Clerk duties include issuing summons, subpoenas, garnishment orders, writs, protective orders, notices, contempt citations, arrest warrants, jailer's releases, commitments, bond forms, transport orders, probate notices, wills, inventories, and appeal records. The office also handles marriage licenses, jury administration, child support payment processing, and several court-related payments.
| Clerk Channel | Clay County Detail |
|---|---|
| In person | Clerk's Office, Room 209, Clay County Courthouse |
| Phone | 812-448-9024 for clerk matters; 812-448-9032 for traffic or jury questionnaire questions |
| Online cases | MyCase public search for public summaries and some linked documents |
| Certified copies | Contact the Clerk when MyCase documents are not enough or are not linked |
Types of Clay County Court Records
Clay County court records cover more than one record family. Criminal files can include charges, hearings, bond, pleas, dispositions, sentencing, warrants, commitments, and restitution. Civil files can include complaints, summons, motions, service returns, judgments, liens, garnishments, collections, foreclosures, and evictions. Family records can include dissolution, custody, paternity, support, contempt, and parenting-program entries.
Probate files include estates, guardianships, trusts, wills, inventories, notices, claims, and final reports. Traffic and ordinance records are assigned to Clay Superior Court and may show citations, pleas, fines, costs, deferral, failure-to-appear activity, and BMV reporting. Juvenile, adoption, mental health, protection-order, sealed, and expunged records are more restricted than ordinary civil or criminal case summaries.
- Criminal court records show the court case after charges are filed.
- Civil court records show lawsuits, judgments, collections, and orders.
- Family records include divorce and related custody or support case activity.
- Probate records cover estates, guardianships, trusts, and related orders.
- Traffic court records are court files and differ from BMV driver records.
What Clay County Court Records Show
A public Clay County case summary usually shows enough to identify the case, court, parties, public events, and current status. The case number follows Indiana Administrative Rule 8. Clay County's county code is 11, and the uniform number includes court identifier, filing year and month, case type, and filing sequence. Case type codes can point to infraction, ordinance violation, estate, guardianship, trust, adoption, small claims, dissolution, protective order, felony, misdemeanor, miscellaneous criminal, and related categories.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | Indiana cause number with Clay County code 11, court identifier, filing period, case type, and filing sequence. |
| Court | Clay Circuit Court or Clay Superior Court, with judge or special judge when listed. |
| Parties | State, plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, respondent, estate, ward, guardian, or attorney names where public. |
| CCS | Chronological Case Summary entries for filings, hearings, orders, judgments, payments, and dispositions. |
| Documents | Some public orders, judgments, criminal final orders, or appellate documents, with many items still requiring Clerk contact. |
| Redactions | Date of birth, protected-person data, juvenile details, adoption records, mental health material, and sealed data may be excluded. |
Clay County Court Records Access
Indiana court-record access is controlled by court rules, statutes, and court orders. Indiana Rules on Access to Court Records make court records public unless excluded by rule, statute, court order, or other authority. The Indiana Access to Public Records Act also frames public agency records access, while court-specific rules decide what MyCase and the Clerk can release.
Key authorities:
Access to Court Records Rule 4 says court records are public unless a specific exclusion applies.
Access to Court Records Rule 5 lists records and information excluded from public access.
Administrative Rule 8 sets the uniform case-number format and Clay County code 11.
Indiana expungement law affects eligible arrest, charge, and conviction records.
Restricted Clay County Court Records
Not all Clay County court records are public online. Rule 5 and related law restrict confidential case types, protected identifiers, juvenile records, adoption files, mental health records, sealed matters, and many expunged records. Protection order cases are not searched in MyCase through the ordinary public case path, and protected-person identifying information is excluded from online public access.
When a record is public but a document is not linked in MyCase, the Indiana Judicial Branch directs users to contact the clerk in the county where the case is heard. In Clay County that means the County Clerk in Room 209. When a record is sealed, expunged, confidential, or juvenile-restricted, ordinary public request methods will not override the access limit.
Note: Online Clay County court records should be treated as a search index and case summary, not as proof that every document is public.
Clay County Jail Records
The Clay County Sheriff's Office and Justice Center are at 611 East Jackson Street in Brazil. Sheriff Brison Swearingen is listed for the 2023-2026 term. Jail and custody questions are separate from court-copy requests, but an arrest can connect to court records when charges are filed in Clay Circuit or Superior Court. The Indiana County Jail Public Portal, Indiana SAVIN, and VINELink are the main public custody and notification channels found in the research.
The sheriff's page advertises an app through a QR code, but the captured official text did not show the app name, store URLs, or features. It is fair to mention the QR code as a sheriff information channel, but not to claim an app-only inmate, warrant, or records request feature. For booking and custody details, use the statewide jail tools and the Justice Center phone path before relying on a court case search alone.
The manifest source for local sheriff information is the Clay County Sheriff's Office page.
Custody tools help show where a person is held, while court records show what was filed after arrest.
Clay County Warrants and Traffic
Clay County warrant information is split between court records and sheriff enforcement records. The Clerk processes arrest warrants, commitments, jailer's releases, bond forms, transport orders, and related criminal documents. The Sheriff's Office handles enforcement and custody questions. No official Clay County Indiana online active-warrant list was found in the research, so a warrant check should include MyCase, the Clerk, the Sheriff, and the court listed in any visible case entry.
Traffic records are more concrete. Clay Superior Court Traffic Division handles traffic infractions and ordinance violations. The traffic PDF says guilty pleas can be made before the appearance date in person or by mail with a signed ticket and money order or cashier's check payable to Traffic Clerk, Clay Superior Court. It also says personal checks are not accepted, a $25 late fee is added if payment is not received by 4:00 p.m. on the due date, and failure to appear or respond may lead to BMV suspension after 30 days.
| Traffic Item | Clay County Amount or Rule |
|---|---|
| Speeding 1-15 mph over | $140.00 total |
| Speeding 31-35 mph over | $180.00 total |
| Seat belt or booster seat | $25.00 total |
| Late fee | $25.00 if unpaid by the 4:00 p.m. due date |
| Traffic Clerk phone | 812-448-9032 |
Clay County Marriage and Probate
Marriage licenses are handled by the Clay County Clerk. The dedicated county marriage page says the current fee is $29 for Clay County applicants and $69 for out-of-state residents marrying in Clay County. Applicants should call the Clerk for an appointment, start the application online if possible, appear together with driver's license or state ID, bring address proof if the ID address is not current, and complete processing before the county's 3:00 p.m. cutoff.
Divorce is a court case, not a state vital certificate. Clay dissolution cases are searched through MyCase and copied through the Clerk when public documents are not online. Probate is handled through the Probate Division of the Clay Circuit Court rather than a separate probate courthouse. Estate, guardianship, trust, and adoption case types are assigned to Circuit Court, with adoption records confidential and guardianship files often containing restricted information.
Clay County Court Programs
Clay County Community Corrections is an important local alternative-sanction channel. Programs include Home Detention, Community Transition, Day Reporting with drug screens, Community Service Restitution, Soberlink, ignition interlock reporting, and COPE for certain school discipline cases. The program describes a mission tied to reentry, positive change, and reduced recidivism through evidence-based practices.
The Prosecutor's Office also affects case outcomes. Pretrial Diversion is described as a prosecutor contract for eligible defendants with little or no criminal history and misdemeanor charges. A typical diversion lasts six months and costs $334. Infraction Deferral is mailed automatically to qualifying speeding defendants, lasts about six months, costs $192.50, and is not available to CDL holders under the traffic PDF.
The manifest source for courthouse history is the Indiana Historical Bureau Clay County Courthouse marker.
The courthouse history reinforces why older records, judgment books, and certified copies still point back to the local Clerk.
Clay County Courthouse History
The present courthouse is the fifth Clay County courthouse. It was designed by John W. Gaddis of Vincennes in Classical Revival style and built from 1912 to 1914 of limestone. The Indiana Historical Bureau marker notes the central rotunda, stained-glass skylight, marble wainscoting, granite columns, inlaid tile floors, four tower clocks installed in 1986, and National Register listing in 1999.
For court-record access, the history matters because Clay County did not move from courthouse records to a portal-only system. The Clerk still preserves permanent historical records, judgment records, indexes, CCS entries, and appeal records. MyCase and Odyssey help users search, but older files, non-linked documents, certified copies, and local record questions still return to the courthouse record counter.
The manifest source for the county home and courthouse address is the official Clay County home page.
That county source anchors the courthouse address used across Clay County court records pages.
Clay County Court Records FAQ
Where are Clay County court records searched online?
Public Clay County case summaries are searched through Indiana MyCase. Use party name, business name, case number, citation number, or attorney search when available. Certified copies and documents not linked online should be requested from the Clay County Clerk.
Which court handles Clay County traffic cases?
Traffic infractions and ordinance violations are assigned to Clay Superior Court. The traffic division uses the Clerk's Room 209 address and the 812-448-9032 traffic phone line for ticket questions, pleas, and payment instructions.
Are Clay County warrants online?
No official Clay County Indiana online active-warrant list was found in the research. Check MyCase for warrant-related case entries, then call the Clerk or Sheriff's Office for the proper next step.
Are Clay County divorce records vital records?
No. Divorce is a court case. Search public Clay County divorce records through MyCase and request certified copies or missing documents from the County Clerk.
Can every Clay County court document be viewed in MyCase?
No. Some documents are linked, but many are not online. Confidential, sealed, juvenile, adoption, mental health, protected-person, and expunged information may be excluded from public access.