Nicholas County Clerk
The official Nicholas County Clerk page and the standalone Nicholas County Clerk website name Martha Moss as County Clerk. The office is at the historic Nicholas County Courthouse address on East Main Street in Carlisle. The clerk is the county legal depository and a public-facing office for recording, licenses, elections, vehicle title and registration work, and other county services.
The County Clerk is not the Circuit Court Clerk. Court case files, dockets, certified court copies, criminal case records, traffic case files, and District Court probate files are handled by the Circuit Court Clerk at the Nicholas County Judicial Center. County Clerk records are county records. That split is especially important for deeds, mortgages, recorded wills, marriage licenses, and DOC ALERT.
Nicholas County Clerk
Clerk: Martha Moss
125 E. Main Street, P.O. Box 227
Carlisle, KY 40311
859-289-3730
Fax: 859-289-3709
martha.moss@ky.gov; nicholascountyclerk@hotmail.com
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Nicholas County Recorded Instruments
The County Clerk records deeds, mortgages, leases, lis pendens, tax liens, plats, powers of attorney, judgment liens, releases, notary commissions, and other county instruments. The clerk's recordings page states that hundreds of plats and thousands of real estate documents are available for public inspection. These records are different from court case records, although some liens or releases may relate to civil judgments or tax matters.
- Real estate records include deeds, mortgages, releases, leases, easements, plats, and restrictions.
- Lien records include federal tax liens, state tax liens, judgment liens, inheritance tax liens, and releases.
- County records include fiscal court minutes and other county-office materials kept by the clerk.
- Recorded wills are county records, but probate estate administration is a District Court function.
- Notary, election, title, registration, and handicap placard services are also listed by the clerk.
For court judgments, dispositions, traffic cases, or criminal charges, use the Nicholas County Circuit Court Clerk instead.
Nicholas County Clerk Access
The research did not locate a free public county-record search portal for all Nicholas County Clerk records. Access is office-based, by phone, fax, email, in-person public inspection, and vendor-based e-recording for submitters. The clerk's site also publishes DOC ALERT, a notification tool for mortgage or deed filings involving a registered name or business.
| Channel | What it covers | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| In person | County records, recordings, licenses, and inspection | Historic courthouse, 125 E. Main Street, Carlisle. |
| Phone | Questions before visiting or requesting records | 859-289-3730. |
| Fax | Office communications | 859-289-3709. |
| County Clerk contact | martha.moss@ky.gov or nicholascountyclerk@hotmail.com. | |
| E-recording vendors | Electronic submission of recordings | Indecomm, Hopdox, CSC, Simplifile, and ePN. |
| DOC ALERT | Name-based mortgage and deed alerts | Free notice service through Software Management, LLC/eCCLIX. |
Nicholas County DOC ALERT
DOC ALERT is one of the most specific County Clerk features found in the research. It is a free service provided through Software Management, LLC, in partnership with the Nicholas County Clerk's Office. A registrant provides a name and email address. The system sends a notice when a mortgage or deed bearing that registered name or business name is recorded.
This is not the same as a title search or a guarantee that no fraud occurred. It is a notification tool. It helps a property owner, business, or family member learn that a mortgage or deed using a registered name has been filed. The underlying recorded document should still be reviewed through the County Clerk if the notice raises a concern.
Note: DOC ALERT is for mortgage and deed notices, not court warrants, criminal cases, or District Court probate dockets.
Marriage Licenses and Wills
The Nicholas County Clerk handles marriage licenses. The research did not locate a Nicholas County-specific online marriage application form, so applicants should use the clerk's office contact channels before relying on a web form. State vital-record certificates are separate from the local license record. Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics handles marriage and divorce certificates from June 1958 forward, while older or local license questions route to the county office.
Wills need a careful split. The County Clerk recording-fee page lists "Will" with a $47 recording fee, and the county clerk page identifies wills as county records. But opening an estate, admitting the will to probate, and appointing an executor are court actions in Nicholas County District Court probate jurisdiction. The District Court probate file is requested through the Circuit Court Clerk, while a recorded will or related county instrument belongs with the County Clerk.
| Record | Office | Use this route when |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage license | County Clerk | Applying for or searching local license records. |
| Marriage certificate from June 1958 forward | Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics | Requesting a state vital-record certificate. |
| Recorded will | County Clerk | Looking for a county-recorded will instrument. |
| Probate estate file | District Court via Circuit Court Clerk | Looking for petitions, orders, inventories, or estate administration. |
Nicholas County E-Recording
The clerk's recordings page lists e-recording vendors for recorded instruments: Indecomm, Hopdox, CSC, Simplifile, and ePN. E-recording is a submission method for eligible recording customers. It is not a public free search portal and should not be treated as a replacement for County Clerk inspection or a records request.
- Confirm that the document belongs in County Clerk recordings, not the court case file.
- Use an approved vendor if e-recording is available for the submitter and document type.
- Check recording requirements, signatures, acknowledgments, margins, and fees before submission.
- Use the County Clerk contact channels for questions about rejected filings or recorded-document status.
Nicholas County Recording Fees
The County Clerk publishes recording charges for many instruments. The table below preserves the main fees from the research and groups related items without changing the amounts. Because recording rules can depend on document content, page count, indexing, and state requirements, filers should confirm the fee with the clerk before mailing or submitting documents.
| Instrument or service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Deed / condo deed / contract real estate / land deed / easement / lease / land use restrictions / option agreement / power of attorney / plat | $50 |
| Deed of correction / declaration of trust / encumbrance and release / lis pendens and release / marital agreement / mechanic lien and release / mortgage modification / release of mortgage / subordination / revocation of power of attorney | $46 |
| Mortgage | $80 |
| Mortgage with assignment | $126 |
| Fixture filing | $96 |
| Fixture continuation, assignment, amendment, or partial release | $46 |
| Federal tax lien / federal tax lien release / judgment lien | $46 |
| State tax lien, state tax lien release, inheritance tax lien, inheritance tax lien release | $5 |
| Will | $47 |
| Podiatrist registry | $10 |
Nicholas County Record Requests
No county-specific open-records web form for the County Clerk was located in the research. A practical request should identify the document type, names, recording date or approximate date, book/page or instrument number if known, parcel or property description if relevant, and the copy type needed. Kentucky Open Records Act standards may apply to public agency records, but court case records follow the court clerk route instead.
| Request detail | Why it matters | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Document type | Routes the search to the right index or record set. | Deed, mortgage, lien, plat, will, fiscal court minutes. |
| Names | Used for grantor, grantee, party, or registered-name searches. | Owner, business, spouse, estate, lender. |
| Date range | Narrows older records and high-volume indexes. | Exact recording date or estimated year. |
| Property details | Helps distinguish people with similar names. | Address, parcel, farm name, subdivision, or plat reference. |
| Copy need | Determines whether a plain or certified copy is needed. | Personal review, closing, legal filing, agency proof. |
Nicholas County Clerk Services
The official county page describes the County Clerk as a link between business and government, used by Kentucky courts, lending institutions, governmental agencies, automobile dealers, real estate agents, and mineral-leasing agencies. It also says the office operates the taxpayer's bank for taxes collected for the Commonwealth, county, and other taxing entities.
Additional services include vehicle title and registration applications for vehicles and boats, elections, candidate filings, voter registration, candidate reports, ballots, delinquent taxes, tax appeals, hunting licenses, notary applications and certifications, and handicap placards. These services explain why the County Clerk page must be separate from the Circuit Court Clerk page even though both offices are important to record searches in Nicholas County.