How to Get Butler Court Records
The Butler County Clerk of the District Court keeps district criminal, civil, domestic, probate, juvenile, traffic, Chapter 61, small-claims, and municipal-appeal files. Start with Kansas CaseSearch for a public index, Events, and permitted images. The courthouse public computer is a second access level. The clerk counter handles inspection, copies, certification, and payment arrangements. Telephone lines route questions by division, while mail, fax, email, the north-entry drop box, and the written KORA form serve specific submission needs.
City ordinance and city traffic records stay with each municipal clerk. The Butler district clerk becomes the custodian only when a district case or municipal appeal is filed. Identify the court before sending a request.
- Find the case number and name the exact event, order, judgment, or hearing.
- Check CaseSearch, then use the public terminal for accessible offline material.
- Choose inspection, plain copies, certification, authentication, or a hearing recording.
- Submit the written form when needed and obtain a fee quote.
- Verify that the delivered copy has the requested clerk certification.
Butler’s Records Form Fields
The current 13th Judicial District public-records form asks for requester name, organization if any, address, telephone or email, signature, date, and a specific description. Include case numbers and say whether inspection, copies, or both are wanted. The K.S.A. 45-230 acknowledgment addresses restrictions on lists of names and addresses. The form directs completed requests to court administration by email.
| Case details | Case name, number, document, and relevant date |
|---|---|
| Access choice | Inspection, copies, or both |
| Contact | Address plus telephone or email for clarification |
| Hearing recording | Separate request with case name, number, hearing date, and recording sought |
The district page says the clerk has three business days to respond. That response may acknowledge, clarify, quote, provide, deny under a rule, or direct the request to another custodian. It is not a guaranteed production date.
Types of Butler Court Records
A docket is the chronological index. The case file holds the documents behind that index. Butler County court records can also include settings, disposition and financial references, recorded hearings, and clerk-certified copies. Public availability is decided item by item. An Events row may be public while its document image is offline or restricted.
- Events or register-of-action entries
- Pleadings, motions, responses, and permitted exhibits
- Signed orders, judgments, and disposition records
- Hearing settings and recorded-hearing copies
- Plain, certified, or authenticated clerk copies
CaseSearch is useful for locating the date and title of an item. Give those facts to the clerk when the complete, older, certified, or authenticated record is needed.
Butler PDFs Are Not Certified
A View Document PDF is an electronic public-access copy. Kansas Supreme Court Rule 106B warns that an electronically available copy is not necessarily the official record. Certification is a clerk act, and authentication can apply to a packet. Do not label a screenshot, browser printout, or downloaded image as certified.
Before ordering: Call 316-322-4370 with the case number and exact document, then confirm certification, authentication, cost, and payment method.
No separate online certified-copy order form, fixed turnaround, or identity-document list was found in the official Butler materials. The clerk should answer those points for the actual order.
What Butler Court Records Contain
Read a Butler record in layers. The header identifies the case. Parties and attorneys show public roles. Events give the dated activity index. Settings track hearings, while documents provide the available text of filings and orders. Disposition and financial fields may appear, but the court docket is separate from a payment account. Cross-references can link a related case or appeal.
| Case Number | BU-YYYY-TT-###### for modern district cases |
|---|---|
| Pleadings | Petitions, complaints, motions, answers, and responses when public |
| Orders & Judgments | Signed rulings and final or interim court decisions |
| Events | Brief dated descriptions in the register of action |
| Exhibits | May be filed yet unavailable under access rules |
Older Butler Court Files
The 13th Judicial District joined the Odyssey eCourt system in November 2021. Earlier Butler files may use a number without the BU- prefix, show fewer web documents, or remain in a converted or clerk-held format. An empty image list therefore does not establish that no filing exists.
Confirm the old number style, search the Events index, and arrange access to the courthouse public computer or file-review room. The terminal can offer public material that is not on the web, but Rule 22 restrictions still control. If the desired item is public and offline, send a specific written request. Broad wording can trigger clarification and research charges.
Butler Counter and Mail Channels
The Butler County Court Clerk’s Office is at 201 W. Pine, Suite 101, El Dorado, Kansas 67042. Public-file and courthouse-computer arrangements begin at 316-322-4370. The building uses the north-side security entrance, and the published clerk schedule includes a Thursday closure from 1:00 to 1:45 p.m. A north-entry drop box accepts documents and payments for the clerk or Court Services Officer, with weekday retrieval at 8:00 a.m.
The drop box is a submission channel, not instant proof of filing or payment. Keep a copy, seek a receipt where possible, and ask staff how a deadline-sensitive item will be marked. Mail requests should name the office, case, document, and desired copy type. Call first for a fee quote and current payment directions. Fax routing is available at 316-321-9486, while the current public-record form specifically directs completed requests to court administration by email.
Division telephone lines help route the record: criminal uses 316-322-4375 or 4374; traffic uses 316-322-4372 or 4377; civil uses 316-322-4332; Chapter 61 and small claims use 316-322-4373; domestic and child support use 316-322-4280; probate and marriage licenses use 316-322-4371; and juvenile or minor matters use 316-322-4369. Staff can identify the proper public channel, but they cannot release a sealed record.
Butler Record Copies and Fees
The official Butler page and form describe several amounts as minimum charges. A large file, long search, or multi-day hearing can cost more, so ask for a quote before work begins. Email records cost nothing when research and compilation take less than one hour; longer work uses the research rate. The recorded-hearing charge applies per hearing for each day conducted, and each hearing needs its own request.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Plain copy | Minimum $0.50 per page |
| Faxed copy | Minimum $1.00 per page |
| Certification | Minimum $1.00 per document |
| Authentication | Minimum $3.00 per packet |
| Research | Minimum $12.00 per hour, one-hour minimum per request |
| Recorded hearing | $50 per hearing for each day conducted |
Butler County Court Clerk’s Office
201 W. Pine, Suite 101
El Dorado, KS 67042
316-322-4370
Butler Records and KORA
The Kansas Open Records Act policy supplies the request framework used by the district form. It does not override court sealing or Rule 22. Requests should identify a case and record, not ask the clerk to create a compiled list.
The successful statute capture shows the Kansas public-record policy behind that process.
The court’s own access rules and the specific case status still decide whether the requested item can be released.
Butler Public and Sealed Records
Rule 22 sets two public levels, the statewide portal and courthouse terminal, while withholding listed sensitive categories. Adoption, juvenile, guardianship, domestic-protection, expunged, grand-jury, and other records can be absent or partial. A public case may contain a nonpublic warrant, affidavit, poverty filing, exhibit, or protected family document. Rule 24 also requires redaction of protected personal information.
Key Rules:
Kansas Supreme Court Rule 22 sets public-access levels and excluded categories.
Kansas Supreme Court Rule 24 governs redaction of protected information.
Kansas Supreme Court Rule 106B defines electronic records and case-by-case public access.
When access is denied, ask the custodian to identify the governing rule or order. A public-record request can reach an accessible offline item, but it cannot lawfully work around a seal.