Perry County Civil Docket Searches
Indiana MyCase is the statewide doorway to a public Perry County civil docket. You can search by case, party, or attorney. Enter the full cause number when you have it. The opening field 62C01 marks Perry Circuit Court, with the year and month, a civil case code, and a six-digit sequence following it.
Missing results or unlinked documents? Check the case-type access table first. Then reach Joan Hess, Perry County Circuit Court Clerk, by phone or at the counter. Ask how mail, fax, plain copies, and certified copies work. A public-record request can reach eligible older material that MyCase skips. IEFS handles filing and service, not public archives.
- Choose a case, party, or attorney search in MyCase.
- Apply the Perry County court filter when available.
- Enter the full cause number or narrow party terms.
- Compare the code, parties, filing date, and status.
- Ask the clerk for an eligible document not available online.
Perry Civil Codes Explained
The civil codes come from Indiana Administrative Rule 8. A caption alone rarely tells you which access rule applies. Keep the code in every Perry County civil docket note or request you make. Family, probate, mortgage, plenary, and small-claims records each sit at a different remote-access level. So one code never fits all.
- CC and CT
- Civil collection and civil tort classifications.
- DR
- Dissolution of marriage.
- MF
- Mortgage foreclosure.
- PL
- Civil plenary.
- SC
- Small claims.
- EM, ES, EU
- Probate estate classifications.
A code is an index, nothing more. It says nothing about the merits. Give the clerk the full number, never a shortened caption, for the best search key.
Civil Dockets: What They Show
A Perry County civil docket can carry the cause number, style, parties, attorneys, filing date, status, status date, hearing events, motions, orders, judgment entries, and links to eligible documents. Read it with care. A filed motion is only a request, not a ruling. A proposed order does not prove the judge signed it. Check the later dated rows before describing any outcome.
| Cause number | Court, year and month, civil case type, and sequence. |
|---|---|
| Parties | Named plaintiffs, defendants, petitioners, or respondents as public. |
| Filings | Complaints, petitions, answers, affidavits, and motions entered by date. |
| Settings | Hearing type, date, time, status, and location when shown. |
| Orders | Judicial action, dismissal, judgment, or later release when public. |
The Indiana public court-records resource shows the formal access setting.
That source helps you tell a public index entry apart from real access to the full case file.
Perry Small Claims Compared
The Perry County small-claims form uses 62C01-__________-SC-__________. It asks for plaintiff and defendant names and contact fields, the claim amount, court costs, a short statement, service choice, date, and signature. The clerk fills in the notice-to-appear date and time. Those fields show why a small-claims docket looks different from an ordinary civil complaint.
| Point | Small claim | Other civil filing |
|---|---|---|
| Code | SC | Varies, such as CC, CT, MF, or PL |
| County form | Complaint and affidavit-of-debt form available | Depends on the action and filing rule |
| First setting | Usually not a contested trial, except stated situations | Controlled by the case order and event notices |
| Access | Orders may be online | Varies by civil code and document |
A Perry form is not a finished docket. It only starts a filing path. Service, appearance, ruling, dismissal, and judgment events build the chronology afterward.
What Cases Fill the Civil Docket
Perry Circuit Court's civil and family-related classifications include collections, torts, dissolution, eviction, guardianship, mortgage foreclosure, mental health, miscellaneous civil, plenary, protection orders, reciprocal support, trusts, and expungement-related filings. Probate groups cover estates, guardianships, and trusts. Small claims carry the SC code. Access varies sharply even inside this broad civil group.
- Collection, tort, mortgage, and plenary actions.
- Dissolution and other domestic-relations matters.
- Eviction, guardianship, and mental-health matters.
- Probate estates and trusts.
- Small claims and miscellaneous civil filings.
Read the official access matrix before promising anyone an online document. Many civil orders are public, yet dissolution-related and protected categories may require in-person review or stay restricted entirely.
Perry Small Claims Costs
The county's complaint form lists the costs. It states a $97 filing amount plus $28 for sheriff service, or $125 for the first defendant when the sheriff handles service. Each extra defendant adds $10, and the handbook costs $3. The county page caps claims at $10,000 for individuals and $1,500 for corporations. Current clerk instructions control. Verify them before filing or paying anything.
| Form item | Printed amount |
|---|---|
| Filing amount | $97 |
| Sheriff service | $28 |
| First defendant with sheriff service | $125 total |
| Each additional defendant | $10 |
| Handbook | $3 |
The form requires a physical service address. Certified mail is also offered as a service choice. Save the receipt, cause number, and filed copy, because the payment entry and the service event may land on the Perry County civil docket as separate rows.
Hearings on the Civil Docket
Read a setting row for its event type, date, time, location, status, and any linked notice. A file date is not a hearing date. A status date is not always the next setting. Two dates conflict? Call Perry Circuit Court at 812-547-7048. For filing and record questions, the clerk's 812-547-3741 line is the better route.
Small-claims instructions say the first setting is usually not a contested trial unless the matter is an eviction or both sides are ready. A defendant who skips it risks default; a plaintiff who skips it risks dismissal. Continuance requests should come at least five days ahead. Counterclaims should reach the plaintiff at least seven calendar days before trial, and a jury demand may be made within ten days after service with an affidavit. Verify current instructions before relying on any of this.
Perry Civil Document Differences
Dismissal, release, and judgment are three different records. The motion to dismiss asks for dismissal without prejudice and attaches a proposed order. The release-of-judgment form acknowledges payment, asks to terminate garnishment, and includes a judge's release order. A blank form proves nothing. Neither paper takes effect just by existing.
Read the signed entry: Match the filed request to the later signed order and date on the Perry County civil docket before stating that a case ended or a judgment was released.
An affidavit of debt serves its own function. It records the balance, account type, last payment data, fees, interest, ownership, and a military-service declaration. Those fields back up a claim. They are not a court finding, and protected financial details should never be gathered for a sample search.
Who Can See Civil Dockets
Access to a Perry County civil docket hinges on the case type. It also hinges on the document itself. Indiana Access Rule 5 spells out the categories that stay closed: sealed, confidential, excluded, protected, redacted, juvenile, and mental-health records. Some material simply never gets posted. Dissolution cases labeled DC, DN, or DR are not ordinarily open online. Many public civil orders are open that way. Protection-order records carry their own special limits too. So a search that turns up nothing does not prove the case never existed.
Access framework:
Administrative Rule 9 governs electronic, courthouse, calendar, and bulk access.
Access Rule 5 identifies confidential and excluded categories.
Access Rule 9 provides the verified request, notice, hearing, and order path for excluded material.
The official restricted-record categories show why record visibility changes by type.
Restrictions protect defined material while ordinary eligible public records remain available through approved channels.
Perry Civil Clerk Fallbacks
Joan Hess, Circuit Court Clerk, keeps the official Perry County civil dockets and case files. The office sits at 2219 Payne Street in Tell City. Call 812-547-3741. Fax 812-547-9782, but confirm the clerk accepts fax before relying on it. Some eligible nonconfidential papers never show up on MyCase. A counter visit during regular business hours may be the only way to inspect them.
Mail works too. The Indiana judiciary public-record process lays out that route. Copy and certification fees differ from small-claims filing amounts. Ask the clerk rather than guess. A payment drop box does not guarantee you met a filing deadline. For bulk compiled information, go through the Office of Judicial Administration. Do not mass download from MyCase.
For the official starting point on local courts, the Indiana judiciary Perry County page shows what the judiciary publishes for the county.
Check that state page to confirm the current court links before you send a time-sensitive filing or record request.