Daviess County Circuit Clerk Office
The official county officials page names Jennifer Hoppenthaler as Daviess County Circuit Clerk, with an appointed term from May 2026 to August 2026. The Circuit Clerk is reached through the Daviess County courthouse phone system and is the office tied to court case files, certified court copies, filings, court financial entries, probate division records, traffic files, criminal and civil dockets, domestic case records, and divorce decrees granted in Daviess County.
The clerk's role is narrower than many people expect. Marriage licenses and original marriage certificates are recorder records, not Circuit Clerk records. Sheriff incident reports, arrest reports, DVDs, and law-enforcement copy requests go to the Sheriff's Office. County administrative and election records go to the County Clerk. The Circuit Clerk should be used when the record is part of a Missouri court case, a probate division filing, a traffic case, a divorce case, or a court docket.
Daviess County Circuit Clerk
Clerk: Jennifer Hoppenthaler
102 N Main St.
Gallatin, MO 64640
660-663-3300 ext. 2
jennifer.hoppenthaler@courts.mo.gov
Hours not posted in the county sources reviewed; confirm before travel.
Daviess County Court Records Duties
The Daviess County Circuit Clerk keeps court records for the county's circuit court structure. Missouri uses circuit courts as general trial courts, and Daviess County is part of the 43rd Judicial Circuit. That means probate, associate circuit, criminal, civil, domestic, traffic, small claims, juvenile, and municipal division matters are tied to the circuit court system, even when a case is handled in a specific division.
The clerk does not decide what charge to file, whether a person should be released, or whether a record should be sealed. Those choices come from the court, the prosecuting attorney, or Missouri law. The clerk maintains the file and can help with access questions when a public online record does not provide the document needed.
- Maintains Daviess County court case files and docket entries.
- Provides certified court copies when available and allowed by access rules.
- Receives filings in circuit court divisions, including probate and domestic matters.
- Helps locate older or non-digitized court records not fully shown online.
- Handles court financial and copy questions tied to filed court cases.
Case.net and Daviess County Clerk
The first search channel for Daviess County court records is Missouri Case.net. The sheriff's resources menu links to Case.net, and the state portal is the public search path for case numbers, litigant names, filing dates, scheduled hearings, judgments, docket entries, and public case details. Daviess County does not publish a separate local court-record portal in the official county sources reviewed.
Case.net is not a substitute for the Circuit Clerk. It helps a user find a case, review the public docket, and identify the case number. It may not provide certified copies, older files, sealed documents, clerk-reviewed public access, or the full document set needed for legal use. Missouri Courts also blocks automated scraping of Case.net, so public access should be treated as browser-based individual lookup.
Note: Use Case.net to locate the record, then contact the Circuit Clerk for certified copies, missing files, or restricted-access questions.
Request Certified Daviess Court Copies
A certified copy is a court copy issued by the clerk with official certification. It is commonly needed for legal, administrative, title, licensing, name-change, or appeal-related use. The research did not locate a Daviess County online certified-copy request form or a posted court-copy fee table, so the safest process is to identify the case first, then ask the Circuit Clerk for the current charge, acceptable payment, and delivery method.
The request should be specific. A vague request for "all records" can slow the response and may require clerk review. Include the case number if known, party names, case type, approximate filing year, document name, whether certification is needed, requester contact information, and a return mailing address when asking by mail.
- Search Case.net by case number or party name and write down the Daviess County case number.
- Identify the document needed, such as judgment, decree, order, letters, docket sheet, or disposition.
- Call 660-663-3300 ext. 2 or email the current clerk contact to confirm fee, certification, and delivery rules.
- Submit the written request with contact information and wait for the clerk's fee confirmation before mailing payment.
- Review the certified copy when received and keep any receipt or clerk correspondence with the record.
Daviess County Clerk Request Fields
No official Daviess County Circuit Clerk court-record request form was located in the reviewed sources. A written request can still give the clerk the same working details a form would collect. That is useful for divorce decrees, probate copies, criminal dispositions, traffic records, judgment copies, and older case files.
| Field | Needed? | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Best if known | Lets the clerk identify the exact Missouri court file. |
| Party names | Yes | Helps find cases when the number is missing or uncertain. |
| Case type or year | Helpful | Narrows divorce, probate, criminal, traffic, civil, or small claims records. |
| Document requested | Yes | Tells the clerk whether a judgment, decree, docket, order, or certified copy is needed. |
| Certification request | If needed | Certified copies may cost more and must be issued by the clerk. |
| Requester contact | Yes | Allows fee, pickup, mail, or restriction questions to be resolved. |
Daviess County Clerk Fees
The official Daviess County sources reviewed did not publish a Circuit Clerk fee schedule for plain copies, certified copies, probate filings, divorce decrees, or court searches. The county research did locate sheriff copy fees, but those apply to sheriff records and should not be reused for court copies. Confirm court fees with the Circuit Clerk before mailing payment.
Missouri Sunshine Law fee rules are useful for non-court public bodies, and court records follow court access rules and clerk procedures. A court-copy request should ask for the fee total before payment because the amount may depend on page count, certification, search time, postage, and case type.
| Record or Service | Daviess Amount Located? | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Court case certified copy | Fee not located | Confirm with Circuit Clerk. |
| Plain court copies | Fee not located | Ask for page count and payment method. |
| Probate filing or copy | Fee not located | Confirm by case type before filing. |
| Certified divorce decree | Fee not located | Request from the Circuit Clerk if granted in Daviess County. |
| Sheriff report copy | $5 up to 10 pages | Use only for sheriff records, not court copies. |
Recorder and Clerk Boundaries
The Daviess County Recorder, Tiffany Tadlock, is the official listed for recorder functions. The recorder is the local office for marriage licenses and original marriage certificates. Rachel Taylor is listed as County Clerk for county administrative and election functions. Those offices share the courthouse phone system but do not replace the Circuit Clerk for filed court case records.
This split matters for record requests. A marriage license copy should not be sent to the Circuit Clerk unless the clerk instructs otherwise. A divorce decree should not be requested from the recorder because divorce cases are circuit court records. Incident reports and report-copy fees belong with the Sheriff's Office. Asking the right office first reduces delay and prevents the wrong fee from being mailed.
Daviess County Clerk Source Views
The Missouri record-custodian statute is relevant when a request goes to a public body outside the court file system.
For Daviess County court records, the statute helps explain custodian concepts, while the Circuit Clerk remains the practical court-record contact.
The Missouri fee statute gives public-record fee context for non-court records and copy requests.
Because no Daviess County court-copy fee table was located, clerk confirmation is still required for court records.
The Missouri Bureau of Vital Records is useful when a person needs a statewide marriage or divorce statement rather than a court-certified decree.
That distinction keeps Daviess County divorce decrees with the Circuit Clerk and marriage certificates with the Recorder.