About the Douglas County Clerk's Office
Douglas County's court-record office is the Circuit Clerk's Office. Missouri State Auditor materials and other public records identify Kim Hathcock as Douglas County Circuit Clerk. The office serves the Circuit Court in Ava and is the practical contact for civil, criminal, family, probate, traffic, and associate-circuit court files that are filed in Douglas County.
Online case lookup runs through Missouri Case.net. The clerk's counter remains important for certified copies, copy pricing, older paper records, restricted-file questions, and records not available remotely. The Recorder of Deeds is a different office: land records and marriage-license records route to Recorder Jacinda Shepherd/Sheppard and the county's iCounty portal, not to the Circuit Clerk.
Douglas County Circuit Clerk
Clerk: Kim Hathcock
PO Box 249
203 SE 2nd Ave. / 203 E. Lincoln Ave.
Ava, MO 65608
417-683-4713
Kim.Hathcock@courts.mo.gov
County office hours listed by MAC: 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday, closed legal holidays
The address appears in official sources as both 203 SE 2nd Ave. and 203 E. Lincoln Ave. in Ava. Those entries refer to the courthouse area used for county and court offices; visitors should confirm the correct entrance, room, and current counter hours with the Circuit Clerk before traveling.
What the Clerk Does in Douglas County
The Circuit Clerk accepts filings, maintains the official case docket, processes court costs and payments, issues certain notices and process, and provides public copies when access is allowed. The office is not the Sheriff's Office, prosecutor, county recorder, or a legal-advice desk. It can identify clerk procedures and record availability, but it cannot decide legal strategy or change the effect of a court order.
- Civil and small claims: petitions, answers, motions, service returns, judgments, executions, garnishments, and satisfaction entries.
- Criminal and traffic: complaints, informations, indictments, bond entries, warrants when public, charge amendments, pleas, dispositions, sentencing entries, fines, and court costs.
- Family and protection cases: dissolution, paternity, custody, support, modifications, adult abuse, and related filings, with confidential details restricted by law or court rule.
- Probate and associate-circuit matters: estates, wills admitted to probate, letters, guardianships, conservatorships, landlord-tenant, traffic, misdemeanors, and preliminary felony proceedings assigned locally.
The Recorder of Deeds handles deeds, recorded instruments, and marriage licenses. The Recorder's iCounty login lists User ID, password, registration, subscription options, and per-page printing or download charges. Divorce decrees, criminal charges, civil judgments, probate letters, and traffic dispositions are court records, so those questions go back to the Circuit Clerk or Case.net.
How to Request a Certified Copy
A certified court copy is a clerk-authenticated copy used when a plain printout is not enough. Common Douglas County examples include divorce decrees, judgments, probate letters, criminal dispositions, and orders needed for another agency. Case.net can help identify the case number and docket entry, but certification must come from the clerk's office.
- Search Case.net first by case number, party name, filing date, or scheduled hearing to confirm the Douglas County case and the exact document needed.
- Write down the case number, party names, document title, docket date if known, and whether the request is for a plain copy or a certified copy.
- Call the Circuit Clerk at 417-683-4713 or contact Kim.Hathcock@courts.mo.gov to confirm availability, access limits, current copy charges, and accepted payment method.
- Submit the request at the courthouse counter or by the method the clerk confirms. For mailed requests, include return-mail instructions and any payment or self-addressed envelope the office requires.
- Pick up the document or wait for the clerk's return delivery. Restricted, sealed, juvenile, adoption, mental-health, or protected details may require a court order or may not be released to the general public.
For federal court records, Douglas County users should not use the Circuit Clerk. Federal civil, criminal, and bankruptcy records route through the U.S. District Court or Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri and PACER.
Records Request Form Fields
Douglas County did not publish a local court-copy request form in the sources reviewed. A written request should still give the clerk enough information to identify the exact file, screen for access restrictions, calculate cost, and return the document. Leave unknown fields blank rather than guessing, but include at least one reliable identifier such as a case number or complete party name.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case Number | Recommended | Best identifier for Case.net and clerk lookup; avoids false matches for common names. |
| Party Names | Yes | Use full legal names and roles if known, such as plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, respondent, decedent, or estate. |
| Case Type | Recommended | Civil, criminal, family, probate, traffic, small claims, landlord-tenant, or associate-circuit matter. |
| Document Type | Yes | Examples include judgment, divorce decree, disposition, probate letters, docket sheet, order, or certified copy of a filing. |
| Filing or Docket Date | No | Helpful when the case has many entries or the requested order was issued on a known date. |
| Number of Copies | Yes | Say whether each copy should be plain or certified. |
| Requester Contact | Yes | Include name, phone, email, mailing address, and any deadline or pickup preference. |
| Payment and Delivery Method | Confirm first | Ask the clerk which payment methods and mailing options are currently accepted. |
Douglas County Clerk Fees
Douglas County-specific court copy and certification fees were not located in the official local sources reviewed. Do not assume a per-page or certification amount from another Missouri county. Use the Missouri Courts cost schedule as the statewide reference point and call the Circuit Clerk for the local amount before mailing payment.
| Item | Amount / Source |
|---|---|
| Plain court copy | Local amount not located; call the Circuit Clerk at 417-683-4713. |
| Certified court copy | Local amount not located; confirm certification and page charges before ordering. |
| Court filing costs | Use the Missouri Courts cost schedule and confirm local collection details with the clerk. |
| Recorder registered user | $0.00 subscription shown in iCounty; $1.00 per page printing/download charge shown. |
| Recorder single-day subscription | $10.00, with $1.00 per page printing shown. |
| Recorder monthly single user | $50.00, with $1.00 per page printing shown. |
| Recorder monthly sharable | $150.00, with $0.75 per page printing shown. |
| Recorder monthly sharable volume | $250.00, with $0.50 per page printing shown. |
The recorder fees above are included only to show the court-record distinction. They apply to the Douglas County Recorder iCounty system, not to certified court copies from the Circuit Clerk.
Common Clerk Forms
Douglas County court forms are usually state court forms or filings prepared for the local Circuit Court. Missouri Courts maintains public forms and self-help materials, but the clerk cannot choose forms for a party or give legal advice. Use the forms source as a starting point, then confirm filing mechanics with the Douglas County Circuit Clerk.
- Missouri Courts forms and self-help - statewide forms and self-help entry point for litigants.
- Missouri Case.net - public case lookup before requesting copies or checking docket information.
- Douglas County Recorder iCounty - recorded instruments and marriage-license related records, not court case files.
The Western District of Missouri federal court site is a separate system from the Douglas County Circuit Clerk. Its homepage is relevant when a record is federal rather than state court. Federal case access uses federal clerk offices and PACER, while Douglas County state cases use Case.net and the local Circuit Clerk.
Use that distinction when a search result mentions the Western District, federal bankruptcy, a federal prosecutor, or a federal courthouse instead of the Douglas County Circuit Court.
The Springfield/Southern Division page lists the nearest federal divisional courthouse for many Douglas County users. That office is in Springfield and is not a substitute for the Circuit Clerk counter in Ava.
When a case is in Missouri state court, keep using Douglas County Case.net records and the Circuit Clerk. When it is federal, use the Western District and PACER channels instead.
Mail and Online Filings
Many Missouri court filings are handled through Missouri's electronic court systems for attorneys and approved users, while public lookup is handled through Case.net. Self-represented parties, paper filers, and people ordering copies should confirm current filing and payment requirements with the Douglas County Circuit Clerk before mailing anything to PO Box 249 or visiting the courthouse counter.
The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri appears in the manifest because federal criminal prosecutions are separate from Douglas County state prosecutions. State charges filed by the Douglas County Prosecuting Attorney show in Missouri court records when public; federal charges use federal systems.
That separation matters when a person has both local and federal records. The Circuit Clerk can help with Douglas County case-file mechanics, but federal prosecution records must be checked through federal court and federal agency channels.
The U.S. Attorney contact page lists Western District contact locations, including Springfield-area federal contacts. It is useful for identifying federal offices, not for ordering Douglas County certified court copies.
For ordinary Douglas County civil, criminal, family, probate, and traffic files, the local path remains Case.net first and the Circuit Clerk's Office for certified copies and counter assistance.