Barton County Clerk Contact
Court records in Barton County are primarily handled by the Clerk of the District Court. The official county court contact page identifies Martha Rivas as Clerk of the District Court. The office is inside the Barton County Courthouse at 1400 Main, Suite 306, Great Bend, KS 67530. The phone number is 620-793-1856, fax is 620-793-1860, and email is Martha.Rivas@kscourts.gov.
This office supports court case filings and court record access for the district court. The research file identifies the clerk as the local point for civil cases, criminal cases, probates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, and sheriff or Highway Patrol traffic tickets. Kansas CaseSearch is useful for public online lookup, but the clerk remains the fallback when a document is not online, a certified copy is needed, or a case is old, sealed, expunged, or partly restricted.
Barton County Clerk of the District Court
Clerk: Martha Rivas
1400 Main, Suite 306
Great Bend, KS 67530
620-793-1856
Fax: 620-793-1860
Martha.Rivas@kscourts.gov
Barton County Clerk Duties
The Barton County Clerk of the District Court is different from the Barton County Clerk. The court clerk works with district court files and court business. The County Clerk works with county administration, elections, commission minutes, budgets, levies, tax roll certification, and KORA request routing for county records. A divorce decree, probate file, criminal case, or certified court copy belongs with the district court clerk, while commission minutes or county budget records belong with the County Clerk.
- Maintains Barton County District Court case records and public access channels.
- Handles probate, estate administration, guardianship, conservatorship, and related district court files.
- Supports marriage license records and divorce decree access.
- Routes sheriff and Highway Patrol traffic tickets filed in district court.
- Provides clerk assistance when online Kansas CaseSearch records are incomplete or document access is restricted.
The Barton County Clerk duties page is assigned to this page because it shows the separate county administrative clerk role.
That distinction is central: court copies go to the district court clerk, while county administrative records go to the County Clerk.
Barton County Clerk Difference
The Barton County Clerk is Bev Schmeidler, Barton County Clerk and Election Officer. That office is at 1400 Main Suite 202, Great Bend, KS 67530. Phone is 620-793-1835, fax is 620-793-1990, and email is clerk@bartoncounty.org. The research lists staff for accounts payable, voter registration, voting equipment, and general ledger or real estate work. Regular hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The County Clerk's duties include commission minutes, fish and game licenses or large game permits, township and special district annual reports, budgets, valuation certification, levy certification, tax roll certification, tax statement adjustments, mail and copy-center work, homestead forms, public income tax forms, and financial reports to Kansas. Those duties are important public records work, but they are not the same as filed district court cases.
The Barton County Clerk contact page provides the county administrative clerk contact details used to separate the two offices.
County Clerk contact details are useful for KORA and county records, not for certified district court copies.
Request Certified Court Copies
A certified copy is a court copy bearing certification from the clerk, often needed for legal, licensing, benefit, name-change, estate, or out-of-county filing purposes. Kansas CaseSearch may help locate a case number or public docket entry, but certification is a clerk function. Barton County users should confirm the exact document name and copy fee before sending payment because official local court copy fees were not located in the source material reviewed.
- Search Kansas CaseSearch or a courthouse terminal for the Barton County case number, party names, and document title.
- Call the Clerk of the District Court at 620-793-1856 to confirm that the document can be copied and certified.
- Ask for the current fee, payment method, pickup option, and whether the record is onsite or archived.
- Submit the request with enough detail to identify the file, then pick up the copy or ask for mailing instructions.
Note: Sealed, expunged, juvenile, adoption, and protected personal information may be unavailable or redacted.
Barton County Request Fields
The source material did not locate a public Barton County District Court copy request form with exact fields. The practical field list below follows the documented court record access channels and the Kansas CaseSearch field inventory. A complete request helps the clerk distinguish people with similar names and prevents delay when a case spans civil, criminal, domestic, probate, or traffic records.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Helpful when known | Use the exact Kansas district court case number from CaseSearch or a notice. |
| Party names | Yes | Include plaintiff, petitioner, defendant, respondent, decedent, or ward names as relevant. |
| Case type | Helpful | Civil, criminal, domestic, probate, juvenile, traffic, or small claims. |
| Document type | Yes | Order, decree, judgment, journal entry, letters, complaint, or docket sheet. |
| Copy type | Yes | Plain copy or certified copy. |
| Requester contact | Yes | Phone, email, and mailing address if a mailed response is requested. |
Barton County Clerk Fees
The Barton County research file contains several documented fees, but not a court certified-copy fee schedule for the District Court clerk. The table keeps those categories separate. For court copies, ask the clerk for the current local charge. For county administrative KORA requests, the County Clerk's KORA page says fees may include staff time and copying or reproduction costs, may be required in advance, and not all records are open for public inspection.
| Item | Official fee or status |
|---|---|
| District court plain copy | Fee not located in official Barton District Court source. |
| District court certified copy | Fee not located in official Barton District Court source. |
| County KORA records | May include staff time and copy or reproduction costs, possibly in advance. |
| Commission meeting audio CD | $5 estimated cost in official commission minutes source. |
| Sheriff report copies | $5 per report through the Records Division. |
| Marriage or divorce certificates from KDHE | $20 search/certified copy base fee, plus method-based service fees. |
Barton County KORA Portal
Barton County uses NextRequest for county public records requests. The KORA route is useful for county administrative records, such as minutes, resolutions, budgets, and other public agency records. It is not the main route for district court copies, divorce decrees, probate files, or criminal case documents. Kansas court records are handled by court access systems and the court clerk.
The county KORA page warns that exceptions can include records restricted by state or federal law, personnel information, medical treatment records, test and examination materials, attorney work product, privileged records, certain private correspondence, administrative or civil investigation records in some circumstances, criminal investigation records, and personal-nature records whose disclosure would be a clearly unwanted invasion of privacy.
| Portal field | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Search | Search link/page | Portal shows public request search access. |
| Make Request | Action button/link | Starts a new public records request. |
| FAQs | Help link | Portal help area. |
| Help | CivicPlus help link | General portal support. |
| Request form fields after login | Web form | Exact post-click fields were not exposed in the fetched landing page. |
The Barton County KORA page explains county open-records fees and exceptions.
KORA is important for county records, but district court record requests still route through court channels.
The Barton County NextRequest portal is the direct county administrative request portal.
NextRequest should be used for county administrative records when the request is not a court case file.
Barton County Records Offices
Some records that sound court-related are held by other Barton County offices. Sheriff report copies, fingerprinting, civil process, and offender registration updates route through the Records Division at the detention facility. Real estate recording and passport services route through the Register of Deeds. County Attorney charging decisions and diversion questions route through the prosecutor. The district court clerk remains the local court file and certified court copy office.
The Barton County Register of Deeds page is assigned to this page to reinforce that deed and real estate records are not district court clerk records.
Separating court, county, sheriff, and land records keeps requests pointed at the custodian that can legally provide the file.