About the Kiowa County Court Clerk's Office
The Kiowa County Court Clerk is Aimee Vance. The Court Clerk is an elected Kiowa County officer who runs the record office for the Kiowa County District Court. In Oklahoma, the Court Clerk records, files, and maintains District Court case files, marriage licenses, probate matters, and divorce cases. The Kiowa County office works from the county courthouse in Hobart and takes both walk-in and mailed requests.
Most contact with the Kiowa County Court Clerk is by phone or at the counter. Kiowa County is small, and its single-courthouse model means many record requests are handled directly by staff rather than through a large web portal. Calling first saves a trip. The official department page for the Kiowa County office appears on the county website.
Kiowa County Court Clerk
Clerk: Aimee Vance
316 S. Main St. / P.O. Box 854
Hobart, OK 73651
580-726-5125
Fax: 580-726-4249
Mon-Fri, call to confirm
What the Kiowa County Court Clerk Does
The Court Clerk is the official keeper of District Court papers in Kiowa County. When a Kiowa County case is filed, amended, set for hearing, or closed, the clerk's office logs it and stores the file. Staff also collect court costs, fines, and fees, and they issue process such as summons and writs. The Kiowa County Court Clerk supports the court in civil, criminal, family, probate, and small-claims matters.
- Receive and file Kiowa County District Court petitions, charges, motions, and orders.
- Issue and record marriage licenses for Kiowa County.
- Maintain Kiowa County probate, guardianship, and estate case files.
- Keep divorce and other family-law case records.
- Collect filing fees, fines, court costs, and restitution.
- Produce certified copies of Kiowa County court documents on request.
Because the clerk holds the official case file, the Kiowa County office is the place to confirm what a docket shows, to view older paper records that were never scanned, and to obtain copies a court will accept.
Court Clerk vs. County Clerk in Kiowa County
Two different Kiowa County offices are easy to confuse. The Kiowa County Court Clerk, Aimee Vance, keeps court case records. The County Clerk, Nikki Dodd, keeps land and county records. A person looking for a deed or lien needs the County Clerk, while a person looking for a lawsuit or probate file needs the Court Clerk. Sending a request to the wrong Kiowa County office is the most common delay.
| Court Clerk | County Clerk |
|---|---|
| Aimee Vance | Nikki Dodd |
| District Court case files | Land records, deeds, mortgages, plats |
| Marriage licenses, divorce, probate | Liens, judgments recorded as land instruments |
| Court fines, costs, and certified court copies | Commissioner minutes and county records |
| P.O. Box 854, Hobart; 580-726-5125 | P.O. Box 73, Hobart; 580-726-5286 |
For recorded land instruments, plats, and other filings held by the recorder of deeds, use the Kiowa County Clerk office instead. The rest of this page covers only the records the Kiowa County Court Clerk handles.
Search Kiowa County Court Records First
Before asking the Kiowa County Court Clerk for a copy, it helps to find the case online. Oklahoma posts District Court dockets through the Oklahoma State Courts Network and through On Demand Court Records. Both let you look up a Kiowa County case by name or case number at no charge. The Kiowa County clerk's counter is then used for certified copies, older files, and anything the portals do not show.
Start a known case number at OSCN dockets, choose Kiowa County District Court from the court list, and enter the number. For broader name searches, use ODCR, set the court group to Oklahoma District Courts, and pick Kiowa from the county menu. Keep in mind that Court of Criminal Appeals Rule 2.6 treats these online dockets as a public convenience; the official case-management record stays with the court.
Kiowa County publishes map resources for Hobart, Snyder, Gotebo, Lone Wolf, Mountain Park, Mountain View, and Roosevelt, which helps when you need to confirm where a party or property sits in the county.
The maps page is a county service rather than a court tool, so a location lookup still points back to the Kiowa County Court Clerk when an official court file is what you need.
Once the case is identified online, the certified-copy request to the Kiowa County Court Clerk moves quickly because staff can locate the Kiowa County file by number.
How to Request a Certified Copy From the Kiowa County Court Clerk
A certified copy is a court document the clerk stamps and signs to prove it is a true copy of the original. Courts, agencies, and other states accept certified copies when a plain printout will not do. Divorce decrees, probate orders, and judgments are common examples. The step-by-step below outlines the usual path for a Kiowa County Court Clerk request.
- Identify the case. Search OSCN or ODCR for the Kiowa County District Court case number, or call the Kiowa County clerk for help locating it.
- Contact the Court Clerk. Reach the Kiowa County office at 580-726-5125 to confirm the document exists and is available for copying.
- Ask for the request method. Confirm whether the Kiowa County office wants a written request, a form, or an in-person visit, and what details to include.
- Confirm the fee. Ask the Kiowa County clerk for the current certified-copy and certification charges and accepted payment methods before you send anything.
- Submit the request with payment. Provide the case number, document type, and your contact information by mail or at the counter.
- Receive the copy. Pick it up at the Kiowa County courthouse or have it mailed to the address you provide.
Note: A signed Kiowa County court order, not a portal listing, is the controlling document, so always obtain a certified copy when a record is needed for legal use.
Records Request Details for the Court Clerk
Whether the Kiowa County office uses a printed form or takes a written letter, a complete request moves faster. Include enough detail for staff to pull the exact file. The fields below are the information the Kiowa County Court Clerk typically needs to fill a Kiowa County court records request.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case Number | No | Speeds the search; find it on OSCN or ODCR if you do not have it. |
| Party Names | Yes | Full legal names of the people or entities in the case. |
| Document Type | Yes | Decree, order, judgment, marriage license, probate filing, or full file. |
| Number of Copies | Yes | State how many, and whether each must be certified. |
| Requester Contact | Yes | Name, mailing address, and phone for return and follow-up. |
If a record is sealed, juvenile, or expunged, the Kiowa County clerk cannot release it without legal authority, so the request may be declined or limited.
Kiowa County Court Clerk Copy Fees
Court Clerk fees in Oklahoma include charges for certified copies, plain copies, and record searches, and they can change. Specific Kiowa County Court Clerk copy and certification amounts were not published in the sources reviewed, so the Kiowa County office should be asked directly. Do not assume the County Clerk land-record fees apply here; those belong to a different Kiowa County office and a different record set.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Plain copy per page | Call 580-726-5125 to confirm |
| Certified copy | Call 580-726-5125 to confirm |
| Certification fee | Call 580-726-5125 to confirm |
| Record search fee | Call 580-726-5125 to confirm |
| Court filing fees | Set by case type; ask the clerk |
Confirming the charge and the accepted payment method with the Kiowa County Court Clerk before mailing a request avoids a returned or underpaid order.
Marriage, Divorce, and Probate Files
In Oklahoma, the Court Clerk issues marriage licenses, not the land-records office. Couples usually apply in person at the Kiowa County Court Clerk, show proof of identity and age, and pay the license fee. An Oklahoma license can be used to marry anywhere in the state, but the completed license returns to the county that issued it. Detailed steps and the marriage license process appear on the Kiowa County marriage and divorce records page.
Divorce cases are District Court files kept by the Court Clerk. A Kiowa County divorce file may hold the petition, summons, temporary orders, a parenting plan when children are involved, the decree, and any later motions. Search the case in OSCN or ODCR by party name, then ask the Kiowa County Court Clerk for certified copies of the decree or the full file.
Probate is handled in the Probate Division of the Kiowa County District Court, with filing and record access through the Court Clerk. Probate files cover wills, estate administration, appointment of personal representatives, inventories, creditor notices, guardianships, and conservatorships. Older estate files, certified copies, and non-digitized papers come from the Kiowa County clerk's office. Online probate docket searches start with OSCN or ODCR under Kiowa County District Court, often under the PB case prefix.
Public Access and Restricted Records
Most Kiowa County court records are open under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, found at 51 O.S. Section 24A.1 and following. The law presumes public access to Kiowa County government records unless a statute makes a record confidential. Under 51 O.S. Section 24A.5, public records are open for inspection and copying during regular business hours, subject to those confidentiality limits.
Some Kiowa County records are not public. Juvenile delinquency and deprived cases, adoption records, mental health matters, and sealed or expunged criminal files are restricted. Personal identifiers such as Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, and victim addresses may be redacted. Expungement and sealing run through the courts under 22 O.S. Sections 18 and 19, and a signed order controls what stays public.
The full text of Title 51 is available in the Oklahoma Senate Title 51 PDF, which also covers law-enforcement and jail-register access under Section 24A.8. When an online docket is incomplete, blocked, old, or restricted, the Kiowa County Court Clerk at 580-726-5125 is the office that confirms what can be released.
The Kiowa County Courthouse in Hobart
The Kiowa County Court Clerk works from the Kiowa County Courthouse at 316 S. Main St. in Hobart. The building was finished in 1905 and is one of the oldest operating courthouses in Oklahoma. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The Oklahoma National Register record describes it as a three-story brick building with Classical Revival details.
Kiowa County traces its local history to 1901, when the area was opened and named for the Kiowa people, with Hobart as the county seat. That long timeline means Kiowa County court and county recordkeeping has been centered in Hobart for more than a century.
The county's early decades included a fight over the proposed Swanson County, which the Oklahoma Supreme Court ultimately voided. The Oklahoma Historical Society entry for Kiowa County records that dispute along with other local landmarks listed on the National Register.
Official sources do not publish parking, security, or accessibility details for the courthouse, so confirm entry rules and any accommodation needs with the Kiowa County Court Clerk at 580-726-5125 before visiting. The Kiowa County Courthouse sits near the Main Street square in central Hobart, with U.S. Highways 62 and 183 serving the city.