Contact Morris County Court Clerk

Morris County Clerk of the District Court

Jan Helmer is listed as Clerk of the District Court for Morris County. The 8th Judicial District also lists Jenny Koehler, TCC II, as supervisory staff. The court clerk's office creates and maintains the record of District Court proceedings and provides service to judges, the legal community, and the public. The office is located at 501 W Main Street, Suite 12, Council Grove, KS 66846, with phone 620-767-6838 and fax 620-767-6488. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The manifest image from the District Court phone directory supports the local clerk contact and phone-routing details.

The phone directory matters because it routes callers to the clerk, jury status, court services, community corrections, and transcriptionist options.

Morris County Clerk Duties

The Clerk of the District Court handles court records for adoption, care and treatment, child support, civil cases, criminal cases, domestic relations, fish and game citations, juvenile cases, limited civil matters, marriage licenses, probate, small claims, traffic tickets, and payments for court costs, fines, and fees. Those duties make the office the right local contact for District Court case files and certified court copies.

• Create and maintain the record of District Court proceedings.
• Receive filings and payments for District Court cases.
• Handle marriage-license work through the Kansas court process.
• Support judges, attorneys, self-represented litigants, and public court-record users.
• Answer practical access questions for files not found online.

Request Morris County Certified Copies

Certified copies should be requested from the court that holds the case file. For Morris County District Court records, gather the MR case number, party names, document type, and whether a plain or certified copy is needed. The research did not locate a Morris County court-copy fee schedule, so requesters should call the clerk before mailing payment or appearing in person. The 8th Judicial District notice says the District Court Clerk's office can only accept cash payments in the exact amount effective December 1, 2025.

1. Identify the record type and confirm it is a District Court case.
2. Search CaseSearch or the Morris docket for the MR case number.
3. Call 620-767-6838 option 1 to confirm copy availability and fee.
4. Submit the request in person, by mail, or by the method the clerk confirms.
5. Ask whether the copy will be plain, certified, or restricted by court order.

District Court Clerk vs County Clerk

Morris County has both a Clerk of the District Court and a County Clerk. The court clerk handles court case records. The Morris County Clerk, Chelsey Schmidt, handles county administrative records, serves as County Clerk and Election Officer, and acts as Freedom of Information Officer for county government records. County Clerk records include county minutes, contracts, tax rolls, levies, budgets, election records, special assessments, permits, licenses, claims, maps, public transportation administration, and similar county business.

The manifest image from the Morris County Clerk page documents the separate county administrative office.

That county office is important, but it should not receive District Court case-copy requests merely because it is called the County Clerk.

Morris County Open Records Form

The Morris County Clerk open-records request form is for records filed or available in the County Clerk's office. It is not a universal court-file form. The form lists the County Clerk at 501 W Main Street, Suite 9, Council Grove, KS 66846, phone 620-767-5518, email morris@tctelco.net, and fax 620-767-6789. It asks for requester name, address, signature, printed name, and a specific description of copies sought.

Other Morris County Record Offices

Some records are not court records. The Register of Deeds in Suite 10 handles deeds, mortgages, oil and gas leases, surveys, plats, military discharges, tax liens, UCC fixture filings, and other land instruments. The Register of Deeds page states that office records are open except Kansas Real Estate Validation Questionnaires and military discharges, which are closed by state statute. That is a useful example of why public-record access still has document-specific exceptions.

The manifest image from the Register of Deeds page documents the separate land-record custodian.

Land records should be routed to the Register of Deeds unless they are exhibits or filings inside a court case.

The manifest image from the Register of Deeds recording requirements page adds the recording context.

Recording requirements belong with land records, while judgments, probate filings, and civil case papers remain District Court records.

Morris County Clerk Access Paths

The clerk page also needs a practical access split. Online case information starts with Kansas CaseSearch. Hearing dates can be checked through the 8th Judicial District docket PDF. Certified copies, older files, and records that do not show online go to the Clerk of the District Court. County minutes, budgets, levies, and election records go to the County Clerk. Deeds, mortgages, and plats go to the Register of Deeds. Sheriff reports and jail documents go through sheriff or county public-record channels, depending the record and custodian.

This separation prevents delay. A person seeking a divorce decree, probate order, criminal disposition, traffic case copy, or small-claims judgment should not start with the County Clerk just because that office handles KORA requests for county records. A person seeking a county commission record should not ask the District Court clerk. The courthouse address is shared, but the legal custodian changes by record type.