Find Records in Franklin County

Franklin County public records are maintained by the county clerk, recorder, and other offices in Brookville, Indiana, covering court cases, land documents, marriage licenses, and other government records. This guide explains where to look, how to request records, and which tools work best for Franklin County searches.

Franklin County Clerk of Courts

Neysa R. Raible is the Franklin County Clerk. The office is at 459 Main Street, Brookville, IN 47012, Room 104. The phone is 765-647-5111 and fax is 765-647-3224. You can also email the clerk at clerk@franklincounty.in.gov. Office hours run Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. The clerk handles all court records in Franklin County, including civil, criminal, small claims, family, and probate matters. Staff can pull files, issue certified copies, and help you locate a specific case.

Indiana's free MyCase portal at public.courts.in.gov/mycase is the easiest way to search Franklin County court records before your visit. Most cases from recent years are indexed there. You can search by name or case number, view case histories, and check party information at no cost. Certified copies and full document pulls still require contacting the clerk, but MyCase is a fast starting point.

Written requests under Indiana's Access to Public Records Act get a seven-day response window. In-person requests at a smaller office like Franklin County tend to get handled quickly. Bring the case number if you have it.

Property and Land Records

The Franklin County Recorder's office is at the courthouse in Brookville. The recorder website is at franklincounty.in.gov/department/recorder. The recorder maintains all recorded land documents for the county, including deeds, mortgages, liens, releases, surveys, and plat maps.

Franklin County has a strong Doxpop index. Deeds are indexed back to 1940, mortgages to 1990, and surveys to 2002. That is a longer historical index than many Indiana counties offer through online platforms. You can search at doxpop.com. Basic name and parcel searches are free. Document images carry a small per-page fee. The platform covers 47 Indiana counties and indexes more than 25 million documents statewide.

The recorder website provides contact details, filing information, and links to the online search tools available for Franklin County property records.

Doxpop also offers a free Property Watch service. Sign up and the system alerts you any time a new document is recorded against your Franklin County property. This helps catch fraudulent transfers or unauthorized liens early, before they become a bigger problem. Registration is free and takes just a few minutes on the Doxpop site.

Vital Records

Birth and death certificates for events in Franklin County are issued by the Indiana Department of Health, not the county. Order at in.gov/health/vital-records by mail, online, or in person. Birth certificates cost $10 and death certificates cost $8 per copy. You will need valid ID and an application form. Processing times vary by method.

Marriage licenses are issued by the Franklin County Clerk. The state's Marriage License Public Lookup at public.courts.in.gov/MLPL covers licenses from 1993 to the present and is free to search. For older records or certified copies, contact the clerk at 765-647-5111 or email clerk@franklincounty.in.gov. Historical marriage records from the 1800s may also be on file with the Franklin County Genealogical Society or the Indiana State Library.

How to Request Public Records

Indiana's Access to Public Records Act at IC 5-14-3-1 and IC 5-14-3-3 allows any person to inspect and copy most government records. No reason is required. Requests can go in by phone, in person, by mail, or by email. A written request is not always mandatory, but it documents the process and starts the seven-day response clock.

If a request is denied or goes unanswered, the Indiana Public Access Counselor offers free assistance. Contact the PAC at in.gov/pac, by phone at 317-234-0906, or by email at pac@opac.in.gov. The PAC can issue advisory opinions and often helps resolve disputes informally. Most issues do not require formal proceedings.

Exemptions exist. Juvenile files, certain law enforcement records, and personal data in agency systems may be withheld. The agency must name the exemption when denying access. You are entitled to any portion of a record that is not exempt, even if part of it is withheld.

Business Records and Other Sources

Indiana business entity records are searchable for free at inbiz.in.gov. Find LLCs, corporations, partnerships, and other registered entities by name or registered agent. This covers all businesses registered in Indiana, including those based in or operating in Franklin County.

For local trade name or assumed business name filings in Franklin County, check with the recorder's office. Some DBA registrations are filed at the county level. The recorder website at franklincounty.in.gov has contact information for those inquiries.

Indiana State Police criminal history records are available through the APRA portal at in.accessgov.com/isp-apra. For statewide court record guidance and appellate records from cases that moved beyond the county level, visit in.gov/courts/public-records.

Court Cases and the Indiana Court System

Franklin County is part of Indiana's unified court system. Cases go to Circuit Court or Superior Court in Brookville depending on the matter type. The MyCase portal covers most case types. For cases not yet indexed, the clerk's office can run manual searches on request.

Copies of filed court documents cost $1 per page at most Indiana county clerks. Certified copies carry an additional certification fee on top of that. Confirm current fees with the Franklin County Clerk at 765-647-5111 before sending a mail request. Include a stamped self-addressed envelope if you want documents returned by mail.

State Vital Records Portal

Indiana's vital records portal covers births and deaths statewide, not just Franklin County. It is a key resource when the county clerk does not hold the record you need.

The vital records office processes requests by mail and online. Standard processing times run several weeks. Expedited processing is available for an additional fee if you need the record quickly.

Cities in Franklin County

Brookville is the county seat and the largest community in Franklin County. Other towns include Batesville (partially in Ripley County), Cedar Grove, and Metamora. None of these towns reach the population threshold for a dedicated city page, so all public records for Franklin County residents are handled through the county offices in Brookville.

Nearby Counties

Franklin County borders Dearborn, Ripley, Union, Fayette, Decatur, and Wayne counties in southeastern Indiana. Each has its own clerk, recorder, and courthouse.