Searching Knox County Civil Dockets
The county offers no civil docket search of its own on its official pages. So pull the court and cause number off a petition, citation, notice, or order first. Then run the re:SearchTX portal by cause number or party name. Knox County data appears there. The portal splits results into Cases, Filings, Text in Documents, and Hearings. Still, no single Texas portal covers every trial-court matter.
If the docket search comes up empty, call the right Knox County clerk. The combined County & District Clerk keeps both district and county case records. The Justice of the Peace clerk keeps JP matters. Ask for the public docket or register. Then name the exact petition, return, motion, order, judgment, or certified copy you need.
- Identify the court and copy the cause number with exact punctuation.
- Search re:SearchTX by cause number first, then by party name.
- Compare the case style, court, filing date, and case type.
- Review available filings and hearings without assuming the index is complete.
- Confirm the record and copy options with the correct clerk.
Knox County Civil Clerk Route
Knox County runs one combined County & District Clerk office. That matters. The 50th District Court and the Constitutional County Court remain separate courts even though a single local office performs both clerk functions. You will find the office on the first floor of the courthouse at 100 W Cedar St., Benjamin, TX 79505. It lists (940) 459-2441, fax (940) 459-2005, cdclerk@knoxcountytexas.org, and P.O. Box 196, Benjamin, TX 79505-0196.
County hours run 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. A written request should name the "50th District Court" or "County Court," give the cause number and style, and say whether you want a plain or certified copy. Mail works as a request route. Fax and email are office contacts, though, so call before relying on either for a civil record request. Ask about payment, delivery, and current turnaround too.
Inside a Knox County Civil Docket
The Texas Civil Case Information Sheet is a model, not a live Knox County docket. It shows the kind of data that identifies a case: the court, cause number, styled parties, counsel or self-represented status, and a case-type selection. After filing, the docket records what happens next.
| Cause number | The exact court-assigned identifier, shown as cause number as filed. |
|---|---|
| Style and court | Plaintiff or petitioner v. defendant or respondent, with the court named. |
| Opening events | Petition or complaint, filing date, citation, and return of service. |
| Case activity | Answer, motions, responses, discovery-related entries, and signed orders. |
| Settings | Scheduling conference, mediation, submission, pretrial, trial, or special setting. |
| Result | Judgment, dismissal, nonsuit, other disposition, and appeal notice if indexed. |
A filing entry only proves the paper reached the record. It does not show that the judge granted anything. Read the signed order and the disposition date. Even where a public case-level docket exists, a document link can still be missing.
Knox County Civil Court Map
Big-ticket civil matters go to the 50th District Court. The court serves Baylor, Cottle, King, and Knox Counties. Texas Government Code Section 24.007 anchors that jurisdiction. The Constitutional County Court draws its jurisdiction from Chapter 26. Tell the combined clerk which court holds your matter. That way the request lands on the right file.
Lower-dollar civil disputes, plus eviction or forcible-entry proceedings, may belong to the countywide Justice of the Peace under Government Code Section 27.031. That office sits on the courthouse second floor and lists (940) 459-3181, P.O. Box 76, Benjamin, TX 79505, fax (940) 459-4191, and knoxjp@knoxcountytexas.org. City limits do not change this. Never send a JP request to a municipal court just because the parties live in town.
Civil Case Types on the Docket
Knox County civil records span several clerk categories, but a category alone does not decide who can see a file. The OCA clerk verification lists civil, family, probate, mental-health, and juvenile coverage for the combined office. Where a specific case belongs still turns on district, county, and JP jurisdiction.
| Matter | Likely starting route | Access note |
|---|---|---|
| Major civil or family case | 50th District Court and combined clerk | Check the exact court on the filing. |
| County civil or probate matter | County Court and combined clerk | Some records may have statutory limits. |
| Eligible small civil claim | Countywide Justice of the Peace | Contact the JP clerk directly. |
| Eviction or forcible entry | Countywide Justice of the Peace | Use the case notice and cause number. |
Do not treat the state case-information sheet as a Knox County search form. Its case-type boxes help explain how a filing gets classified. The clerk's docket and the court assignment control the actual search.
Knox County Civil Scheduling Rules
The 50th District Court local rules let a pretrial scheduling conference set deadlines for discovery, pleadings, summary judgment, final pretrial, trial, mediation, and other steps. After that, the scheduling order controls. A Knox County docket can pile up deadline and setting entries long before any merits trial appears.
The rules also require alternative dispute resolution before a civil jury merits trial, unless ADR failed or fit the case poorly. Discovery is abated during ADR under the local rule. Summary judgment moves by submission. That holds unless the court grants a hearing. "Submission" means the judge weighs the filed papers with no routine live hearing, so a motion can edge toward decision without a courtroom date. Management targets in the rules give other civil jury cases 18 months and non-jury cases 12 months. Family targets run shorter. Treat these as aims, not promises.
Civil Docket Settings and Hearings
The 50th District Court's regular Knox non-jury day is the second Tuesday. That habit does not replace the setting notice in your case. Jury trials and special settings may follow separate orders. So may submissions, mediation dates, pretrial conferences, and resets. The court posts no public live civil calendar.
The case notice controls. Confirm the newest order or notice with the clerk or court coordinator when a Knox County civil setting seems to conflict with a recurring calendar day.
Hearing dates show up in re:SearchTX when they are available. Is an entry missing or murky? Phone the combined clerk for district and county matters. Justice cases? Call the JP clerk instead. Keep in mind that a reset request, a party agreement, or a filed motion does not mean the court moved the date, so rely only on a signed order or direct confirmation from the court.
Knox County Civil Copy Choices
Know what you are ordering before you request anything from the Knox County clerk. A docket index points you to the case and its public events. A plain copy just reproduces the document. A certified copy carries the clerk's certification, so ask for it by that name.
The Knox County clerk page lists many filing and county-record charges, but no single civil docket-copy price covers every situation. The fee depends on the document, its page count, certification, and delivery method. Confirm the current cost when you order. The clerk offers no online copy-request form, no public terminal, and no court-record drop box. It publishes no processing time. Include the cause number, court, and style. Add the item you want, the copy type, and a way to reach you.
Civil Docket Access Rules
Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 76a treats openness as the default. Civil court records sit open. A judge must seal them to close the record. Sealing takes real work. It demands a motion, specific findings, public notice, and a hearing. The rule does not touch separate confidentiality laws. Juvenile, family, probate, and mental-health material can stay protected regardless. And a public case caption never makes every attached filing public.
Public access has defined limits. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 76a governs sealing of civil court records, while Family Code Chapter 58 restricts juvenile records.
Texas Rule of Judicial Administration 12 sets up a written-request process. It covers judicial records within its scope. The Texas Public Information Act fits better for non-judicial county records. It does not cover every court case file. Aim a case-record request at the clerk who actually holds it. Name the record precisely.
Incomplete Knox County Civil Indexes
A dead-end docket search can mean several things. The case may sit in another court, the name or cause number may differ, or the filing is too recent for the source to show. Restrictions can hide a record too. OCA notes that Texas has no single official statewide trial-court search capturing every case, and Knox County's Local Government Solutions system does not change that warning.
Work the problem in three steps. First, check the court and cause number on the newest paper you hold. Next, search re:SearchTX under the most useful category. Open Case Details, filings, and hearings when present. Finally, ask the proper Knox clerk for the public docket and any signed document you need. The broader Knox County case lookup walks through name and number searches, but the clerk holding the record gives the only official confirmation.
One caution on the combined clerk's name. The county webpage displays Jeannie Clark. The May 2025 OCA directory and recent official county documents identify Lisa Cypert instead. The office address and phone match either way. Before you address a request to a person, verify the current name with the office itself.