Kanawha County Court Records

Kanawha County Court records are official documentation created during all legal proceedings in the County. They include pleas, judgments, motions, and orders and detail various steps of the legal process. Access to West Virginia Court records fosters transparency and accountability within the legal system.

The Kanawha County Circuit Clerk’s Office is responsible for filing, maintaining, and disseminating civil and criminal court records to authorized individuals. Examples of these court records include the following:

• Pleadings
• Motions
• Judgements
• Orders
• Dockets
• Transcripts
• Exhibits
• Testimonies
• Affidavits
• Briefs
• Warrant information
• Court Minutes.

Are Court Records Public in Kanawha County?

Yes, court records are generally public in Kanawha County. Per the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act (WVFIA), all public records, including court records, are free for all persons to inspect and copy unless otherwise restricted by the law. Examples of information contained in court records that can be legally restricted include the following:

• Personal Information
• Law enforcement records
• Trade secrets
• Financial Information
• Information on juvenile cases or minors
• Confidential financial records
• Health Information.

Kanawha County Court Records Search

Individuals who want to obtain Kanawha County Court records can conduct a search using the following avenues:

• An in-person visit to the Kanawha Office of the County Circuit Clerk’s Office
• A mail request
• Third-party service providers
• State and federal online lookup services.

Kanawha County Court Records Search by Name

To conduct a Kanawha County Court Records Search by name, interested individuals can visit the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office and conduct an in-person lookup. They can give administrative staff the names of parties involved and pay applicable service fees.

Individuals can also use the West Virginia Judiciary Magistrate Case Record Search to conduct a name search online. The name search can be done using first, middle, or last names and additional information like the case number or date of birth for more exact results.

Kanawha County Courts

The Kanawha County Court system boasts a Circuit court, a Magistrate court, a Family court, and some Municipal courts. The main courts in Kanawha County and their contact addresses are as follows:

Kanawha County Circuit Court
Kanawha County Judicial Building
111 Court Street
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: (304) 357-0440
Fax: (304) 357-0473

Kanawha County Family Court
Kanawha County Judicial Building
111 Court Street
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: (304) 357-0440
Fax: (304) 357-0473

Kanawha County Magistrate Court
Kanawha County Judicial Building
111 Court Street
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: (304) 357-0400
Fax: (304) 357-0431

Belle Municipal Court
1100 East Dupont Avenue
Belle, WV 25015
Phone: (304) 949-3841
Fax: (304) 949-5616

Cedar Grove Municipal Court
302 Alexander Street
P.O. Box 536
Cedar Grove, WV 25039
Phone: (304) 595-1841

Charleston Municipal Court
501 Virginia Street East
P.O. Box 2749
Charleston, WV 25330
Phone: (304) 348-8079
Fax: (304) 348-6894

Chesapeake Municipal Court
12404 MacCorkle Avenue Southeast
Chesapeake, WV 25315
Phone: (304) 949-1496
Fax: (304) 949-5928

Clendenin Municipal Court
103 1st Street
P.O. Box 694
Clendenin, WV 25045
Phone: (304) 548-4192
Fax: (304) 548-4134

Dunbar Municipal Court
210 12th Street
P.O. Box 483
Dunbar, WV 25064
Phone: (304) 766-0208

East Bank Municipal Court
201 Walnut Street
P.O. Box 307
East Bank, WV 25067
Phone: (304) 595-1605

Glasgow Municipal Court
Drawer 130,
Glasgow, WV 25086
Phone: (304) 595-1015
Fax: (304) 595-2042

Handley Municipal Court
27506 2nd Avenue
P.O. Box 100
Handley, WV 25102
Phone: (304) 442-5100

Marmet Municipal Court
9403 MacCorkle Avenue
P.O. Box 15037
Marmet, WV 25315
Phone: (304) 949-2241
Fax: (304) 949-2671

Nitro Municipal Court
P.O. Box 308
Nitro, WV 25143
Phone: (304) 755-0701
Fax: (304) 204-1470

Pratt Municipal Court
200 Center Street
P.O. Box 128
Pratt, WV 25162
Phone: (304) 442-4731
Fax: (304) 442-5600

South Charleston Municipal Court
401-D Street
P.O. Box 8597
South Charleston, WV 25303
Phone: (304) 744-8321

St. Albans Municipal Court
51 6th Avenue
Saint Albans, WV 25177
Phone: (304) 357-0400

Kanawha County Superior Court Case Search

The Kanawha County Circuit Court is the court of general jurisdiction in the county. It has jurisdiction over all major civil cases, serious criminal cases, felonies, and misdemeanors like other circuit courts in West Virginia. To conduct a circuit court case search, individuals can visit the official record custodian to obtain these records.

The Office of the Kanawha County Circuit Clerk is the official record keeper in Kanawha and has jurisdiction over all public case files. Key details of the case should be known to complete a search such as party names, case numbers, case types, citation IDs, etc. The contact address for obtaining these records is as follows:

Kanawha County Circuit Clerk’s Office
111 Court Street
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: (304) 357-0440
Fax: (304) 357-0473
Email: info@kanawha.us.

Kanawha County District Court Records

The Kanawha County Circuit Court is the only trial court in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. The West Virginia court system does not include district courts.

Kanawha County Criminal Records

Kanawha County criminal records are documents related to a person’s interactions with criminal justice agencies in the state. Persons who wish to obtain criminal records may visit the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office during business hours. The Criminal Records Department of the West Virginia State Police also offers a background check service for individuals to obtain criminal records.

301 Virginia Street East
Charleston WV 25301
Phone: (304) 357-0169
Fax: (304) 357-0516

Note: Public access to Kanawha County arrest records may vary depending on local laws.

Kanawha County Criminal Court Case Lookup

The Kanawha County Circuit Clerk’s Office had jurisdiction over all court records including criminal court records. Interested individuals can conduct a case look-up by visiting the office in person, providing the necessary case details, showing ID, and paying applicable fees for inspecting or copying the record if it is openly available.

To conduct a Kanawha County criminal court case lookup at the state level, interested persons can also visit the Magistrate Case Record Search. To specifically obtain criminal cases, the searcher can select the specific type of criminal case they want to look up under case type. This can include misdemeanors, felonies, etc. Other known details can also be included in the search field for a more refined search.

Get Kanawha County Civil Court Records

The Kanawha Office of the County Circuit Clerk oversees Kanawha County civil court records. To get a copy of a record, requesters can search for a person at the clerk’s office, and contact them by phone or mail. To complete a search, requesters must provide sufficient information about the case and pay applicable fees for copying the record sought. Examples of civil court records include dockets, claims, lawsuits, affidavits, pleadings, information on disputes, etc. The contact address for obtaining civil court records is listed below:

Kanawha County Circuit Clerk’s Office
Court Street
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: (304) 357-0440
Fax: (304) 357-0473

Kanawha County Family Court Records

Kanawha County Family Court is part of the Eleventh Family Court Circuit and handles family-related cases. Examples of these family matter cases include the following:

• Divorce
• Annulment
• Separation
• Child custody and visitation
• Adoption
• Guardianship (of a minor or incapacitated adult)
• Paternity
• Grandparent visitation
• Parental responsibility
• Family support proceedings (excluding incidents of child abuse and neglect)
• Domestic violence civil proceedings.

As the county’s official recorder, the Kanawha County Circuit Court Clerk’s office manages family court records. They can be contacted in person, by mail, or by phone to obtain a copy of a family court record as long as it is publicly available. Examples of information that can be restricted from unauthorized access include the following:

• Adoption records
• Juvenile records
• Confidential medical records
• Personal identifiers (i.e social security numbers, and addresses).

Family court records provide a historical account of family-related legal issues, help individuals understand their family histories, and serve as important sources of evidence for other family-related legal proceedings such as child custody and divorce cases.

Kanawha Dissolution of Marriage Records

The Kanawha County Family Court has jurisdiction over all matters relating to family law including divorce cases. The Kanawha Circuit Clerk's Office oversees dissolution of marriage (divorce) records and makes them available by in-person or written requests only. Divorce information such as the name of the divorcee has to be provided along with a valid ID to complete a record request. Payment of applicable fees may also be required to obtain record copies.

Kanawha County Marriage and Divorce Records

The Office of the Kanawha County Clerk and the Vital Registrations Office provide interested and eligible parties access to certified Kanawha County marriage records. Individuals eligible to access these records include parties involved in the marriage (as named on the marriage certificate), immediate family members, and legal representatives of the parties as they are considered confidential records. Requesters may also be required to show a valid ID and pay applicable fees to obtain a record.

The office of the clerk of the circuit court is responsible for recording and maintaining divorce records and can therefore be contacted to obtain this record. Divorce records are considered confidential in Kanawha County, so they will only be made available to authorized persons. The contact address for obtaining marriage and divorce records from the records custodians is listed below:

Kanawha County Circuit Clerk’s Office
111 Court Street
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: (304) 357-0440
Fax: (304) 357-0473

Kanawha County Clerk
409 Virginia Street East
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: (304) 357-0130
Fax: (304) 357-0585
Email: veramccormick@kanawha.us.

West Virginia Vital Registration Office
350 Capitol Street
Room 165
Charleston, WV 25301-3701
Phone: (304) 558-2931
Email: dhhrvitalreg@wv.gov.
Fax: (304) 558-1051

Kanawha Birth and Death Records

The Office of Kanawha County Clerk is the official custodian of Birth and Death records within Kanawha County. The Vital Registration Office of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources also offers certified copies of birth and death certificates to eligible individuals in person, by mail, and by phone, Internet, or Fax. It costs $12 per copy with additional charges accruable according to the medium of payment used.

To request a certified birth or death certificate, the requester has to fill out the appropriate certificate request form, present a valid form of ID, and be one of the persons eligible to access the vital record. Individuals eligible to request vital records include the person named on the certificate (of legal age), a parent, a spouse, a child of the certificate’s owner, and an authorized representative (with a notarized letter of permission).

Kanawha County Probate Court Records

In Kanawha County, probate matters are overseen by probate clerks in the Kanawha County Circuit Clerk’s office and the Department of Fiduciary and Probate of the Kanawha County Commission. Public probate records can be obtained by contacting these offices or visiting them in person. Examples of probate court records include the following:

• Trusts
• Wills
• Estate Administration
• Guardianship records
• Fiduciary responsibilities
• Inventories and Appraisals of a deceased’s assets

Individuals can inquire further about obtaining Kanawha County Probate Court records by contacting the custodians’ offices using the information below

Kanawha County Commission
Fiduciary & Probate Department
407 Virginia Street East
Charleston, WV 25301
P.O. 3627
Charleston, WV 25336
Phone: (304) 357-0125
Fax: (304) 357-0426
Email: info@kanawha.us.

Kanawha County Circuit Clerk
111 Court Street
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: (304) 357-0440
Fax: (304) 357-0473
Email: cathy.gatson@courtswv.gov.

Kanawha County Property Records

The Kanawha County Assessor's Office is the official custodian of Kanawha County Property records. They maintain and provide access to property records online or in person at their office to interested parties who request public property records. The GIS Department of the Assessor's Office Especially provides digital access to tax maps and parcel maps in the County.

The online resources provided by the Kanawha County Assessor's Office for performing property inquiries include the Land Book Viewer, Property Records Search Tool, and the Map Card Viewer. Requesters can complete searches of these databases for free using key details such as the owner's name, district, address, or legal description of the property.

For in-person property records search, persons can contact the assessor’s office using the following details:

Kanawha County Assessor’s Office
409 Virginia Street East
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: (304) 357-0250 (Administrative Office)
Fax: (304) 357-0551

Examples of information included in Kanawha property records include the following:

• Property Ownership Records
• Deeds records
• Mortgage records
• Assessments
• Property Maps
• Tax Maps
• Legal Descriptions
• Zoning Information.

Kanawha County Court Records Online

Apart from government websites and databases available, interested individuals can also retrieve court records online using third-party databases. Service providers like westvirginiacourtrecords.us allow individuals to search their databases and retrieve various types of public court records. Requesters, however, need information on the case, such as the first and last names of parties involved, the case number, and the location (city), to complete a search on this website.

Third-party websites are beneficial as they offer a single resource pool for looking up court records from various counties around a state at a time. They save requesters the time and effort of going to various county courthouses or the online search tools they provide to search for records. Third-party websites are, however, limited by the completeness and availability of the record. They are not the official government custodian of the record, so they may not be as up-to-date as official sources.