Sumner County Court Records

Court records document the filings, hearings, and decisions of the Sumner County courts. They include complaints, motions, pleas, summonses, and judgments. Records may exist on paper or electronically (including microfiche or microfilm). The elected Clerk of the District Court—or other state-authorized personnel—files, indexes, and safeguards these materials.

These records serve important educational and oversight functions in Sumner County, Kansas. They help the public understand how the judiciary operates and reinforce transparency in law enforcement and judicial processes.

Are Court Records Public in Sumner County?

Most Sumner County court records are public under the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA), K.S.A. 45-215 et seq. Any person may inspect or obtain copies unless a statute or court order specifically shields the record.

Access may be denied or restricted when records pertain to or contain:

• Guardianship or conservatorship proceedings
• Adoptions
• Juvenile CINC (Child in Need of Care) or juvenile offender matters
• Medical or mental health reports
• Domestic-relations cases (all "DM" case types)
• Any record sealed or declared confidential under K.S.A. 45-221
• Grand-jury materials
• Legacy images converted from the FullCourt system that contain confidential data
• Witness security information
• Care-and-treatment cases
• Protection-from-Abuse or Protection-from-Stalking filings

Sumner County Court Records Search

Sumner County court records search can be conducted via the following channels:

• A visit to the courthouse where the case was filed
• Office of the district/county clerk
• County/state's online official websites
• Third-party websites

Public Access Computer Terminals are also provided at the county's courthouse, allowing easy access to all public court records and case information that may not be available online.

On the other hand, electronic court records are accessible through the Kansas District Court Public Access Portal. This platform is open only to registered users and requires the case numbers, party names, and date ranges to search.

To obtain a Sumner County court record, record seekers generally need to follow a series of steps for easy access to public court records. These include:

• Determining the type of records to be accessed
• Determining the relevant authority responsible for maintaining record
• Confirming eligibility to access such records
• Obtaining relevant request form
• Paying the stipulated fee
• Submitting the request form in-person or via mail/official websites/IKan app
• Waiting for 3-10 business days, depending on the method of search

Note: Request Form for Court Records is required and should be filled out and mailed to the relevant authorities.

Sumner County Courts

The addresses and contact information of Sumner County Courts are as follows:

Sumner County District Court
501 North Washington,
P.O. Box 399,
Wellington, KS 67152
Phone: (620) 326-5936
Fax: (620) 326-5365

Argonia Municipal Court
210 South Main Street,
P.O. Box 35,
Argonia, KS 67004
Phone: (620) 435-6417
Fax: (620) 435-6962

Belle Plaine Municipal Court
401 North Merchant Street,
P.O. Box 157,
Belle Plaine, KS 67013
Phone: (620) 488-3525
Fax: (620) 488-3390

Caldwell Municipal Court
14 West Central Avenue,
Caldwell, KS 67022
Phone: (620) 845-6514
Fax: (620) 845-6524

Conway Springs Municipal Court
208 West Spring Avenue,
P.O. Box 187,
Conway Springs, KS 67031
Phone: (620) 456-2345
Fax: (620) 456-3294

Oxford Municipal Court
115 South Sumner,
P.O. Box 337,
Oxford, KS 67119
Phone: (620) 455-2223
Fax: (620) 455-2917

South Haven Municipal Court
231 South Main Street,
P.O. Box 130,
South Haven, KS 67140
Phone: (620) 892-5292

Wellington Municipal Court
317 South Washington Avenue,
Wellington, KS 67152
Phone: (620) 326-2791
Fax: (620) 326-8506

Sumner County Criminal and Civil Records

Under the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA), most files held by the 30th Judicial District Court are open to public inspection. Persons seeking Sumner County court records may find the following information under these categories:

• Civil cases — personal injury suits, contract disputes, probate matters, and similar filings. Electronic dockets are generally available for cases filed from roughly 1991 forward.
• Criminal cases — felony and misdemeanor complaints, warrants, plea agreements, and sentencing orders. Online coverage began around 1994.
• Traffic and DUI matters—citations, docket notes, and disposition orders—were also available online from about 1994 onward.
• Juvenile cases — delinquency and Child-in-Need-of-Care (CINC) records; many entries are restricted or sealed by law.

Older paper files that pre-date those cut-offs are still stored at the courthouse and can be requested in person.

Inquirers may find these records via the following channels:

• Kansas District Court Public Access Portal—To obtain court records via the KDCPAP, record seekers may create a free user ID and search by case number, party name, or date range.
• Public-access computer terminal – This is located in the records department of the Sumner County Courthouse (open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.–4 p.m.). It includes cases not yet migrated to the statewide portal.
• Clerk of the District Court counter – Staff can retrieve archived paper files and issue certified copies; statutory copy and search fees apply.

Sumner County Marriage Records

Kansas splits the marriage process into two stages, and either record may be obtained thus:

• Marriage license application: The Kansas Judicial Branch handles this via an online form. The license authorizes the marriage ceremony, costs a statewide fee of $85, and remains valid for six months. The license expires if the ceremony does not occur within that window, and both parties must reapply.
• Certified marriage certificate: This is filed with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Office of Vital Statistics (KDHE-OVS) after the ceremony. A certified copy costs $20 for the initial search covering the most recent 5 years. Additional copies ordered at the same time are $20 each.

Optional expedited services add a $13.95 phone surcharge or a $5 IKan mobile app fee. Walk-in orders can be ready in as little as 30 minutes; mail orders usually arrive within about two weeks.

An extra service charge of $13.95 and $5 applies for a telephone and IKAN mobile App request. Marriage licenses may be mailed to the requester's address within two weeks of request and would remain valid for six months from the date.

Interested persons may also request these records by completing the Marriage Application request form and mailing it to the Vital Statistics office.

Sumner County Divorce Records

Kansas divorce certificates dated 1 July 1951 or later are held by the Office of Vital Statistics in Topeka. Access is limited to the person named on the record, an immediate family member, or a legal representative or heir who can demonstrate a direct, tangible interest, and every application must include a photocopy of government-issued photo identification. The statutory fee is $20 for each certified copy; telephone or online orders routed through the department's third-party partner add a $15 expedited-service charge, and requests placed through the IKan mobile application add a $5 convenience fee. Counter service at the Curtis State Office Building (1000 SW Jackson St., 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Monday–Friday) typically produces the certificate within 20 minutes, while telephone, web, and mail orders are mailed within 3 to 10 business days.

Divorce decrees filed before 1 July 1951, or the full text of any decree regardless of date, are preserved in paper form by:

Sumner County District Court Clerk
501 N Washington Avenue,
Wellington, Kansas

Written requests should supply the parties' names and the approximate filing date; inclusion of a case number speeds retrieval. Kansas open-records law considers 25 cents per page as a reasonable copying charge, and clerks may add a modest certification or staff-time fee; advance payment and a self-addressed stamped envelope are normally required before documents are mailed.

Sumner County Birth Records

The Office of Vital Statistics issues certified birth certificates from events occurring on or after 1 July 1911 for a $20 search and copy fee. The same eligibility rules, identification requirements, and convenience surcharges apply to divorce records. Walk-in processing is usually completed in less than half an hour; telephone, internet, mail, and IKan requests are returned in roughly 3 to 10 business days.

Births that took place between 1860 and 1911 but were never registered require filing a delayed birth packet. The packet is obtained from Vital Statistics, notarised, supported by contemporary documentary evidence, and filed through either the county district court or directly with the state office. Kansas regulations set a $30 filing and registration fee for a delayed certificate, payable in addition to the $20 fee for the certified copy; processing time depends on current workload and may extend for several weeks.

County residents may pick up blank request forms, obtain notary service, and forward completed packets through the:

Sumner County Health Department
217 W 8th Street,
Wellington, Kansas

Sumner County Death Records

The Office of Vital Statistics also maintains death certificates from 1 July 1911 to the present. Eligibility mirrors that for birth records, only immediate family members, the legal representative of the decedent's estate, or another party who proves a direct personal or property interest may apply, and a copy of acceptable identification must accompany the request. The statutory fee remains $20 per certified copy, with an additional $15 for telephone or web orders and $5 when the IKan application is used. Walk-in processing averages 15 to 20 minutes, whereas telephone, internet, and mail orders are mailed in approximately 3 to 10 business days.

If an error appears on a registered death record, the Office of Vital Statistics will amend the certificate upon receipt of supporting documentation and the $20 amendment fee; once the correction is complete, a new certified copy may be purchased at the standard rate. Record seekers may request these records using the Kansas death application form.

Sumner County Probate Court Records

Probate matters—estates, wills, guardianships, conservatorships, adult adoptions, minor adoptions, and mental-health cases—are filed in the following:

Probate Division of the 30th Judicial District Court
Sumner County Courthouse,
501 N Washington Avenue,
Wellington, Kansas
Phone: (620) 326-5936

Indexed docket information can be reviewed without charge at a public terminal inside the clerk's office; the duplicate docket entries appear on the Kansas District Court Public Access Portal, which requires a one-time KanAccess registration and currently bills $1.50 for each name search and $1.50 for each case file opened. Adoption, juvenile guardianship, and mental-health files remain permanently sealed under Supreme Court eCourt Rule 22. In contrast, estate and adult guardianship files become public unless a judge issues a sealing order.

When a file is public, the clerk will produce the physical or scanned record on request after the docket number, case caption, and approximate filing year are supplied; copying is performed at the open-records rate posted in the clerk's office (generally $0.25 per page plus $1 for certification, with an hourly research surcharge when extensive staff time is required). Payment in advance and a self-addressed stamped envelope are customary for mailed requests. If the docket indicates off-site storage, a retrieval period of 2 to 3 business days should be anticipated before an inspection can occur.

Sumner County Property Records

Three county offices maintain distinct portions of the land-record chain. Deeds, mortgages, easements, and liens are recorded by the Register of Deeds, Room 103 of the courthouse. Index books dating from statehood forward are available at the public counter; electronic images dating back to 1994 can be searched on in-house workstations. The 2021 fee schedule sets $17 for the first page and $14 for each additional page of a recorded instrument, while plain-paper copies requested by researchers cost $1 per page with certification at $13 per document; Kansas statute K.S.A. 45-219 permits an additional hourly charge when staff perform complex searches.

The County Appraiser provides current ownership, parcel boundaries, and valuation data. The public version of the Appraiser's Parcel Search is refreshed each Wednesday and accepts look-ups by owner name, parcel identification number, or situs address; registration is optional, but registered users may download complete valuation worksheets. The County Treasurer posts tax status, delinquencies, and payment history on a companion Tax Search page indexed by the owner, tax ID, or year and links directly from the parcel screen. Comprehensive historical research begins with the parcel search to capture the legal description and parcel ID, continues to the Register of Deeds for the chronological chain of title, and concludes at the Treasurer's portal for unpaid taxes, special assessments, and tax-sale eligibility.

Sumner County Court Records Online

Sumner County court records online can be accessed remotely through a third-party online source. Third-party aggregators like Kansascourtrecords.us are user-friendly platforms that provide quick/easy access to public court records from any location, saving time and cost. Users can conveniently access multiple counties and court information of an individual at the same time, where it exists electronically. However, third-party websites are not government properties but privately owned and managed by individuals who obtain these records from government sources. Information from these websites may not be current or accurate; hence, data obtained from private sources must be compared with information available on official websites.