About the Warren County Clerk's Office
The Warren County Clerk is Lynette Yates. The office materials use the historic courthouse address at 429 East 10th Street, Suite 100, and P.O. Box 478, Bowling Green, KY 42102. Research materials list 270-843-5306 for open-records policy contact, 270-842-9416 for general clerk questions, 270-843-5307 for land-record copies, and 270-843-5315 as the open-records fax. The County Clerk's website carries legal-records, recording-fee, marriage, forms, and open-records materials.
This office is not the Warren County Circuit Court Clerk. The Circuit Court Clerk maintains Circuit, Family, and District Court case records at the Justice Center. The County Clerk maintains county legal records and county clerk records, including deeds, mortgages, powers of attorney, liens, releases, name changes, corporations, tax liens, military discharges, trademarks, assignments, delinquent property tax records, marriages, and wills. That split is central for records work in Warren County.
Warren County Clerk
Clerk: Lynette Yates
429 East 10th Street, Suite 100
P.O. Box 478
Bowling Green, KY 42102
270-842-9416
Open records: 270-843-5306
Land-record copies: 270-843-5307
Open-records fax: 270-843-5315
What the County Clerk Does in Warren County
The Warren County Clerk legal-records department is responsible for public legal documents filed with the county. The legal-records page says most document images are available in the office, online for most instrument filings from January 2004 forward, and on microfilm. Some records date to the 1700s. Deeds are indexed and scanned in CCLIX back to 1966, mortgages are indexed in CCLIX back to 1966, and marriages and wills are indexed and scanned in CCLIX back to 1797.
County Clerk records are often connected to property, family history, probate research, and identity documentation rather than court litigation. A deed, mortgage, release, will, marriage license, or power of attorney may be a public county legal record even though it is not a court case. A divorce decree, felony judgment, civil lawsuit, traffic case, or District Court probate file is different and belongs with the Circuit Court Clerk.
| Record Type | County Clerk Role | Access Note |
|---|---|---|
| Legal records | Accepts and maintains filed public legal documents | Includes deeds, mortgages, liens, releases, and powers of attorney. |
| Marriage licenses | Processes local marriage-license applications and recorded licenses | Marriage records are indexed and scanned back to 1797 in CCLIX. |
| Wills | Maintains recorded and indexed will records in the legal-records system | Wills are indexed and scanned back to 1797 in CCLIX. |
| Open records | Processes written requests for County Clerk records | Policy uses KRS 61.870 to 61.884 and a five-working-day determination period. |
| Doc Alert | Property-fraud notification for mortgages and deeds | Free Software Management LLC alert when a matching name or business name is recorded. |
| Forms | Provides legal-records, marriage, and open-records forms | Forms page includes the marriage application and open-records materials. |
How to Request a Certified Copy
Certified copies from the County Clerk are most often needed for recorded instruments, marriage records, wills, and legal-record documents. Before requesting a copy, identify whether the document is truly a County Clerk record. If the document is a court order, judgment, divorce decree, District Court probate order, or criminal disposition, contact the Circuit Court Clerk instead.
- Identify the record type: deed, mortgage, release, marriage, will, lien, power of attorney, or another County Clerk legal record.
- Search the index in the Warren County Clerk's office for free or use eCCLIX/CCLIX if remote paid access is appropriate.
- Collect names, approximate recording date, instrument type, book/page or instrument number, and whether certification is needed.
- Contact the County Clerk office, land-record copy line, or open-records contact depending on the request.
- Confirm the copy cost, certification process, postage, and advance-payment requirement before submitting payment.
- Use a written open-records request when the record is not found through ordinary index viewing or when the office requires a formal request.
Open Records Form Fields
The Warren County Clerk open-records request form is based on Kentucky Attorney General OAG-01. The policy says open-records requests can be delivered by hand, mail, fax, or email to Lynette Yates at lynette.yates@ky.gov. The office makes a written determination within five working days after receiving an application, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. Exempt information under KRS 61.878 may be excluded in whole or in part.
| Field Label | Required | Options / Format Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Required by form context | Requester's contact information. |
| Mailing Address | Required by form context | Kentucky residency is certified separately. |
| E-mail Address, if applicable | Optional | Policy says phone or email may help process the request. |
| Records to be inspected | Required | Describe the records sought with enough detail for the clerk to locate them. |
| Commercial-purpose statement | Required | Choose not for a commercial purpose or for a commercial purpose. |
| Residency statement | Required | Options include Kentucky resident, domestic business, registered foreign business, Kentucky employee, Kentucky real-property owner, authorized representative, or news-gathering organization under KRS 189.635. |
| Signature | Required | Signed certification by the requester. |
| Date | Required | Date the request is signed. |
Warren County Clerk Fee Schedule
The County Clerk fee schedule is strongest for legal-record recording and open-records copies. Fees can vary when a document has extra pages, cross references, taxes, or statutory add-ons, so verify the current fee before recording. eCCLIX pricing comes from the central eCCLIX page and should also be verified before subscribing or buying access.
| Record / Service | Fee / Note |
|---|---|
| Non-commercial open-records document copies | $0.50 per copy under Clerk open-records policy. |
| Non-commercial recordings, computer discs, tapes | $5.00 per copy under Clerk open-records policy. |
| Open-records postage / all fees | Must be paid in advance if necessary. |
| Deed | $50 minimum on recording-fee schedule. |
| Mortgage | $80 minimum on recording-fee schedule. |
| Mortgage with assignment | $126 minimum. |
| Will | $47 minimum. |
| Judgment lien | $46 minimum. |
| Mechanic lien | $46 minimum. |
| Power of attorney | $50 minimum. |
| Release of mortgage | $46 minimum. |
| Plat | $50 minimum. |
| eCCLIX monthly subscription | Central page lists setup, monthly county, and additional-user fees; verify directly before subscribing. |
| eCCLIX single-day access | Central page lists setup and 24-hour county access fees; verify directly before purchase. |
Common County Clerk Forms
The Warren County Clerk forms page links legal-records forms, the fillable marriage-license application, the open-records request form, and the open-records policy. The marriage application asks each applicant to provide role selection, full legal name, address, date and place of birth, parent names, race, gender, occupation, marital status, number of previous marriages, and a certified-copy mailing address if one is wanted. It states that the license must be used within 30 days of issuance and references Kentucky's relationship restriction in KRS 402.010.
- Warren County Clerk forms page - local forms hub for marriage, legal records, and open-records materials.
- Marriage License Application - local fillable application for Warren County marriage licensing.
- Open Records Request Form - written request form for County Clerk records.
- Open Records Policy - delivery channels, five-working-day determination, copy fees, and exemption notes.
eCCLIX, Free Office Viewing, and Doc Alert
Warren County uses eCCLIX/CCLIX for online legal-record indexes and images. The County Clerk explains that eCCLIX record indices and document images are available from the website, but an account and password must be assigned by Software Management, the website administrator. Special software may be needed to view images, and access fees are charged for using data and images. That paid remote access should not be confused with public inspection in the office. The County Clerk states that all public records and indexes are available for viewing in the Warren County Clerk's office free of charge.
For recording, the Clerk legal-records page lists e-recording vendors including Indecomm, Hopdox, CSC, Simplifile, and ePN. Those vendors are for submitting documents for recording, not for searching court cases. The office also offers Doc Alert through Software Management LLC. Doc Alert is a free property-fraud notification feature that alerts registrants when a mortgage or deed bearing their name or business name is recorded. It is a County Clerk property-record feature, not a criminal, traffic, or court-docket service.
When to Use the Circuit Court Clerk Instead
Use the Circuit Court Clerk for court records from Circuit Court, Family Court, and District Court. That includes felony files, civil lawsuits, divorce decrees, custody cases, traffic citations, misdemeanor cases, District Court probate files, small claims, case dockets, bonds, jury service, and certified court copies. Use the County Clerk for recorded legal instruments, property records, marriage licenses, recorded wills, and County Clerk open records. A historical will may be visible through CCLIX, while the related estate case may still require District Court probate records through the court clerk. For marriage and divorce work, the split is similar: a marriage license belongs with the County Clerk, while a divorce decree belongs with the court clerk through Family Court.