Bracken County Marriage Licenses
Marriage licenses in Bracken County are handled by the Bracken County Clerk marriage license office. The county clerk is Jennifer Free, and the main clerk office is at 116 W. Miami St., Brooksville, KY 41004. The office phone is 606-735-2952, the fax is 606-735-2687, and the published email is jennifer.free@ky.gov. The clerk page lists main-office hours as Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Wednesday and Saturday 8 a.m. to noon; and Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The official Bracken County marriage-license page says both applicants must appear together in the County Clerk office. The license is valid for 30 days from issuance and must be used within Kentucky. The fee is non-refundable, but the Bracken research did not locate a verified Bracken County dollar amount. Applicants should confirm the current fee and accepted payment methods with the clerk before visiting.
The County Clerk also lists an Augusta office at 219 Main St., Augusta, KY 41002, open Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with phone 606-756-2183. Anyone using the Augusta office should confirm that the marriage-license service needed is available there on the planned date.
Bracken County Clerk
County Clerk: Jennifer Free
116 W. Miami St.
Brooksville, KY 41004
606-735-2952
jennifer.free@ky.gov
Mon., Tue., Thu. 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; Wed. and Sat. 8 a.m.-noon; Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
The Bracken County Clerk marriage-license page is the official county source for license instructions.
That county source is the best first check before an in-person license visit because it states the joint appearance rule and the 30-day Kentucky-use window.
Apply for a Bracken Marriage License
The Bracken County marriage license process is in person. The clerk-hosted application should be treated as a preparation tool, not a substitute for clerk review. Kentucky license rules and age rules can change, and the research file specifically cautions against publishing underage instructions without a current legal check. Adult applicants should plan around verified clerk instructions: appear together, bring identification, complete the application, pay the fee, and use the license in Kentucky within 30 days.
- Review the Bracken County Clerk marriage-license page and call 606-735-2952 if the current fee, acceptable payment type, or document need is unclear.
- Both applicants appear together at the County Clerk office. Bring government-issued identification and any papers the clerk requests for prior marriage or name issues.
- Complete the clerk application. Do not sign or omit fields until the clerk tells you how to finish the form.
- Pay the non-refundable license fee. The research confirms the fee is non-refundable, but no verified Bracken County amount was located.
- Use the license for a Kentucky ceremony within 30 days. After the ceremony, the completed license is returned for recording.
- Request certified marriage copies from the County Clerk that issued and recorded the license.
Note: A Kentucky marriage license from Bracken County is not a national license; the clerk page says it must be used within Kentucky.
Bracken Marriage Application Fields
The Bracken County Clerk hosts a marriage license application PDF, but the research pass found that it was image-scanned and could not be fully verified through local OCR. For that reason, the field inventory below is cautious. It separates what the Bracken clerk page verifies from fields that are common on Kentucky marriage forms but were not confirmed from the scanned Bracken PDF. Applicants should let the clerk resolve any field, spelling, prior-marriage, or age issue at the counter.
| Information area | Status from research | Use at the clerk counter |
|---|---|---|
| Applicant identification | Verified need to appear and bring identification | Bring government-issued ID for both applicants. |
| Applicant names and dates of birth | Expected, not verified from the scanned PDF | Prepare legal names exactly as they should appear on the license. |
| Residences and prior-marriage status | Expected, not verified from the scanned PDF | Ask the clerk what proof is needed if a prior marriage ended. |
| Parent or family information | Expected on many Kentucky forms, not verified from the scanned PDF | Do not rely on a guessed field list for legal completeness. |
| Officiant or ceremony details | Possible, not verified from the scanned PDF | The completed license is returned after the ceremony for recording. |
This approach avoids treating unverified scanned-form fields as fact. It also matches the Bracken research note to confirm application details with the clerk.
Bracken Marriage and Divorce Fees
Only verified fees should be used when planning a record request. The Bracken marriage-license research confirms that the marriage license fee is non-refundable, but it did not locate an official Bracken amount. The divorce research confirms that divorce is filed with Circuit Court and that filing fees or poor-person procedures may apply, but it did not provide exact copy or filing fees. Contact the correct office before mailing payment.
| Item | Verified amount | Office to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage license | Non-refundable fee, amount not verified | Bracken County Clerk, 606-735-2952 |
| Certified marriage copy | Not located in research | Bracken County Clerk |
| Divorce filing | Not located in research | Bracken Circuit Court Clerk, 606-735-3328 |
| Certified divorce decree copy | Not located in research | Bracken Circuit Court Clerk |
Search Bracken County Marriage Records
Certified Bracken County marriage records start with the County Clerk that issued and recorded the license. For a recent license, call or visit the Brooksville clerk office with the spouses' names and the approximate marriage date. For county-clerk document searches, the Bracken County Clerk records page points users to eCCLIX, and the research notes that Bracken County Clerk documents are available there from 1980 to current. Older county-clerk documents should be requested from the office by phone, mail, email, fax, or in person.
Marriage records are not the same as divorce case files. A marriage license and a certified marriage copy are county-clerk records. A divorce petition, hearing history, decree, custody order, or support order is a court record. Keeping that office split clear saves time in Bracken County because both offices are near West Miami Street but handle different record systems.
Find Bracken County Divorce Records
Divorce records in Bracken County are Circuit Court records. Kentucky Court of Justice material says Circuit Court hears dissolution of marriage cases, and KRS 403.140 allows a dissolution decree when the Kentucky residency or military-presence requirement has been maintained for 180 days before filing. Bracken divorce files are therefore requested through the Bracken Circuit Court Clerk at the Judicial Center, not through the County Clerk.
The public search path can include KYeCourts public case access and the KCOJ docket search, but official copies and availability questions go to the court clerk that heard the case. A divorce file may contain a petition, summons, financial material, temporary orders, child-related pleadings, final decree, custody terms, support orders, or property orders. Sensitive identifiers and some family matters can be redacted, sealed, or restricted.
| Divorce form area | Research source | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Petitioner and respondent information | AOC-252A accessible text | Identifies the spouses and starts the court case. |
| Age, date of birth, occupation, and address | AOC-252A accessible text | Used for party and venue information. |
| Residency statement | AOC-252A and KRS 403.140 | Connects the case to Kentucky's 180-day rule. |
| Family and case-specific facts | AOC-252A accessible text | May affect custody, support, property, and decree terms. |
Certified Copies in Bracken County
Certified marriage copies come from the Bracken County Clerk because that office issues and records the local marriage license. Certified divorce decree copies come from the Bracken Circuit Court Clerk because the decree is part of the Circuit Court case file. The Kentucky Court of Justice record-request page says the Administrative Office of the Courts is not the custodian for court case files; requests go to the clerk of the court that heard the case.
For a marriage copy, contact Jennifer Free's office with the spouse names, approximate date, and return-mail needs. For a divorce copy, contact Crystal Dunn's court clerk office with the party names, case number if known, document name, and whether certification is required. If the divorce file is older or off site, the clerk can explain whether a record facility or State Records Center route is needed.