Gray County Clerk Case Files
The primary court-record clerk in Gray County is Angela Bowlin, Clerk of the District Court. The Gray County staff directory lists her with the District Court phone number, and the District Court page places her office within the 16th Judicial District. That office is the point of contact for Gray County District Court case files, certified court copies, courthouse terminal access, and questions about civil, criminal, domestic, probate, juvenile, small claims, and eligible traffic case records.
Kansas does not use the same county clerk and district clerk split found in some states. In Gray County, the court case file sits with the Clerk of the District Court. The County Clerk is a separate elected office with board records, budgets, tax roll functions, accounts payable, payroll, election duties, and Freedom of Information Officer responsibilities. The Register of Deeds is also separate and handles land documents such as deeds, mortgages, easements, oil and gas leases, affidavits, liens, UCCs, and plats.
Clerk of the District Court
Clerk: Angela Bowlin
Gray County Courthouse
300 S. Main Street, P.O. Box 487
Cimarron, KS 67835
620-855-3812
Fax: 620-855-7037
Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Gray County directory identifies Angela Bowlin as Clerk of the District Court and lists judges and other county officials.
Use that directory to confirm official names before addressing a records request, motion, payment, or copy inquiry to Gray County District Court.
What Gray County Clerk Handles
The Clerk of the District Court is the court-file office, not the general county records office. When a person asks for Gray County court records, the clerk can help identify whether the request belongs in the District Court case file, a municipal court, a statewide court portal, or a different county department. Kansas CaseSearch may show public case information online, but the clerk remains important for certified copies, paper records, older files, courthouse terminal access, and documents that are not posted online.
- District Court case-file questions for civil, criminal, domestic, probate, juvenile, traffic, and small claims matters
- Certified copies of eligible court records and orders
- Courthouse terminal or in-person record inspection questions
- Filing and docket questions tied to Gray County District Court cases
- Routing help when a citation belongs to Cimarron or Ingalls Municipal Court instead of District Court
- Fee, case number, and document-identification questions for copy requests
County Attorney records, sheriff records, and county administrative files do not become District Court files unless they are filed in a case. Sheriff Jeff Sharp and the Gray County Sheriff's Office are relevant for law-enforcement records, arrests, warrants, accident reports, and civil process, but the court record after filing belongs with the District Court clerk.
The Gray County County Attorney page identifies Michael Giardine as County Attorney, which helps separate prosecution contacts from clerk contacts.
The prosecutor may file or amend charges, but the filed case record and certified court copies are handled through the court clerk.
County Clerk Is Separate
The Gray County County Clerk is not a second court clerk page in this project because the State Court Structure Map gives no secondary clerk filename. The office is still important for non-court records. Gray County's County Clerk page says the office serves as office of record for the Board of County Commissioners, preserves board proceedings, maintains minutes, records resolutions, and handles budget, tax, accounts-payable, payroll, and other administrative functions. The staff page identifies Ashley Rogers as County Clerk/Election Officer, with office hours from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The County Clerk also acts as Public Information Officer and Freedom of Information Officer for local KORA routing. The local open-records page tells requesters to check with Records Information Management or the Local Freedom of Information Officer to determine whether information is available. A written request on an office-provided form may be required. Most county records are produced within three business days from receipt, or a written denial is provided.
| Office | Records Kept | Not the Right Place For |
|---|---|---|
| Clerk of the District Court | District Court case files, filings, certified court copies, probate court files | Board minutes, land deeds, sheriff accident reports |
| County Clerk / FOI Officer | Board records, county administrative records, KORA routing, elections, budget and tax-roll duties | Certified district-court case copies |
| Register of Deeds | Deeds, mortgages, easements, oil and gas leases, liens, plats, index records | Court pleadings, criminal case dockets, probate orders |
| Sheriff's Office | Law-enforcement records, accident reports, civil process, CRIMEWATCH posts, warrants channel | Certified court judgments or probate letters |
The Gray County Register of Deeds page explains land records and copy fees.
That split matters for probate, divorce, civil judgment, and lien research because the case order may be in court while the land instrument is in the Register of Deeds records.
Certified Gray County Court Copies
A certified court copy is a copy issued by the court clerk with official certification that it is a true copy from the court file. It may be needed for probate authority, name change proof, divorce documentation, judgment enforcement, appeal records, agency filings, or legal transactions. A printout from an online search is useful for research, but it is not the same as a certified copy from the Gray County Clerk of the District Court.
- Identify the court. Confirm that the record is a Gray County District Court matter, not a Cimarron or Ingalls municipal case, land record, sheriff record, or KDHE vital record.
- Find the strongest case identifier. Use a case number when possible, or provide party names, case type, approximate filing date, and the document title.
- Call Angela Bowlin's office at 620-855-3812 to confirm the file location, copy availability, certification process, fee, and accepted payment method.
- Submit the request in the manner the clerk allows. Older, restricted, sealed, or paper-only records may require in-person inspection or extra processing time.
- Check the certification before using the document. Make sure the copy carries the needed seal or certification language for the agency or proceeding requiring it.
Kansas Judicial Branch materials state that court record requests are acted on by the end of the third business day after receipt. That timing does not mean every document is produced within three business days. It means the court must respond, produce, deny, or explain the status under the applicable process.
Gray County Request Fields
No accessible Gray County court-record PDF field list was located in the research, so a request should include the practical fields the clerk needs to locate the file and decide whether it can be released. For county administrative records, the Gray County Open Records page says a written request may be required on the office-provided form. For court case records, call the District Court clerk before mailing payment or assuming a form is enough.
| Field or Element | Required? | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Best if known | Speeds lookup and reduces name-match errors. |
| Party names | Yes when no case number | Needed for civil, criminal, domestic, probate, and small claims searches. |
| Case type | Strongly recommended | Helps separate probate, criminal, civil, traffic, domestic, and juvenile records. |
| Document title | Yes for copy requests | Examples include judgment, order, letters, decree, docket sheet, or filing. |
| Date range | Recommended | Useful for older files and common names. |
| Certified or plain copy | Yes | Certification changes the process and may change the fee. |
| Requester contact information | Yes | Needed for response, fee estimate, pickup, mail, or denial explanation. |
| Fee agreement and delivery method | Ask clerk | Payment and delivery options were not fully published in the research. |
The Gray County DMS document-search page belongs to the Register of Deeds, not the court clerk.
Use DMS for land-document research after confirming that a deed, lien, affidavit, or similar instrument is the record you need.
Gray County Clerk Fees
The research located several filing, response, and copy fees tied to court, county, and land-record work. It did not locate a complete Gray County District Court certified-copy fee schedule, so copy certification charges should be confirmed with the Clerk of the District Court before ordering. Filing fees may also change, and separate service, publication, or copying charges can apply.
| Item | Fee or Timing | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Gray County Open Records response | Most records produced within 3 business days or written denial | County Clerk / FOI Officer |
| Court record request response | Court acts by end of third business day after receipt | District Court / Kansas Judicial Branch |
| Civil filing | $195.00 | District Court fee sources |
| Probate of estate or will | $131.50 | District Court fee sources |
| Conservatorship or guardianship | $91.50 | Kansas Self-Help / fee chart |
| Filing will and affidavit | $70.50 | 16th Judicial District docket fee chart |
| Register of Deeds document copy | $1.00 per page | Register of Deeds |
| Register of Deeds index-page copy | $3.00 per page | Register of Deeds |
| DMS online search | Available for a charge, contact office | Register of Deeds |
| Sheriff civil service within Kansas | $15.00 per address | Sheriff's Office |
| Sheriff out-of-state service | $50.00 per defendant | Sheriff's Office |
The Register of Deeds remote-access page explains that DMS online search is available for a charge and that most Register records are open under KORA.
Fee routing should match the record holder: court copies through the court clerk, administrative requests through the County Clerk, and deed copies through the Register of Deeds.
Note: If a certified copy is needed for a court, agency, title company, or estate matter, confirm the exact certification fee with the District Court clerk first.
Online and In-Person Access
For public district-court case information, start with Kansas CaseSearch, then use the courthouse terminal or Clerk of the District Court when the record is older, restricted, sealed, paper-only, or not online. Expanded access may require registration or role approval under Kansas court access rules. County administrative records use Gray County's KORA process through the County Clerk. Land records use Register of Deeds tools and in-office copies.
Traffic and ordinance records require a routing check. Citations outside Cimarron city limits can route to District Court if not paid before court, while citations inside Cimarron city limits may route to Cimarron Municipal Court. Ingalls also has a municipal court. A municipal citation is not automatically a Gray County District Court case unless an appeal or later filing brings it into the district-court system.
For criminal case files, the court clerk holds the filed case record after charges are filed. Sheriff's Office and CRIMEWATCH material can show arrest, warrant, civil-process, or report information, but those records are not certified court records. When a user needs the court outcome, disposition, sentence, or certified order, the request belongs with the Clerk of the District Court.