Cabell County Court Docket Search

How to Search the Cabell County Court Docket

Cabell County splits its court docket search across several systems. For Circuit Court civil and criminal cases filed on or after July 1, 1999, use the public portal. That portal is WVPASS. Magistrate Court case information is free through MCRSearch. Family Court orders and indices can be requested from the Circuit Clerk. Most Family Court pleadings and proceedings stay confidential. A municipal citation belongs to the city court named on the ticket.

Before you search, collect the exact name, filing year, and case number. The court name matters just as much as the party name. A felony may open in Magistrate Court. It can later pick up a Circuit Court case, so part of its history can sit in each system. Name searches also pull in people with similar names. Check the case location, the filing date, the charge or claim type, and the full event list. Only then trust a result as your Cabell County case.

1. Read the paper notice or citation and identify Circuit, Family, Magistrate, or municipal court.
2. Open WVPASS for Circuit Court or MCRSearch for Magistrate Court. Use the municipal clerk for a city case.
3. Search by the full case number when possible. Otherwise, use the party's first and last name and compare details.
4. Review the docket entries and event schedule in date order. Look for a later reset or order.
5. Ask the correct clerk for a certified copy or confirmation when the online record is incomplete.

What if the online search comes up empty? Turn to the clerk rather than bending the name until some unrelated result fits. Circuit requests go to Room 114. Magistrate requests go to Room B-113. Municipal matters belong with the named city. Older Circuit files may predate WVPASS. Family records can stay withheld even where a public index or order exists. Give the clerk precise details. Staff can locate a Cabell County docket but will not research or interpret the case for you.

Cabell Circuit Records in WVPASS

WVPASS is the public layer for Cabell County Circuit Court records. Registration is required. Browsing case details is free. Public documents can be viewed or downloaded for $0.25 per page plus a card-processing charge. Coverage runs to public Circuit civil and criminal records from July 1, 1999. Sealed cases and juvenile records are excluded. A downloaded file is not a certified copy.

The West Virginia Judiciary access page sets WVPASS and MCRSearch side by side because they serve different courts. That split explains a common mistake. A blank WVPASS result does not mean Cabell County has no case. The matter may sit in Magistrate Court, Family Court, a municipal court, or an older paper archive.

The official WVPASS interface displays the Circuit Court search route for Cabell County case information.

Treat the result as a discovery record. Get certification from the Cabell County Circuit Clerk when legal proof is required.

WVPASS holds purchased documents in your purchase history for 30 days. Wrong-case payments are not refunded. So verify the caption and case number before opening a paid document. Attorneys of record can download files in represented cases without the public document charge. General users should not mistake that attorney benefit for free document access.

What a Court Docket Shows

A Cabell County court docket is a chronological index, not always the whole case file. It identifies the case and the court. It also lists the parties, the filings, the settings, and whatever outcome fields are public. Magistrate results use labeled blocks. These include BASIC CASE INFORMATION, CASE CHARGES, DOCKET ENTRY, and CASE EVENT SCHEDULE. Circuit results can add public document images through WVPASS. Read every field in context. One closed hearing event does not mean the case itself is over.

Charge rows and event rows carry dates and statuses of their own. A plea date marks the response to a charge. A disposition date marks the outcome recorded for that charge. An appearance date or scheduled event does something else entirely. Related-case links may point to a different file. A felony transferred from Magistrate may need a fresh Circuit search. These distinctions are why a Cabell County court docket never boils down to one status label.

Read Cabell Magistrate Events Carefully

MCRSearch gives Cabell County Magistrate matters a helpful CASE EVENT SCHEDULE. An entry may list Initial Appearance, Court Hearing, or Bench Trial, along with the date, time, room, location, judge, and a reason-closed field. The word "closed" beside an event may simply mean that hearing has passed. By itself it does not establish that every charge, or the whole case, has been resolved.

The MCRSearch entry screen is the free statewide starting point for Magistrate case information.

Once inside the system, compare all events with the newest docket entry and any written notice you received. Call the Magistrate Clerk when two dates conflict or no future event is clear.

Initial appearance

The first appearance for charge advice and other preliminary action.

Bench trial

A trial decided by a magistrate or judge without a jury.

Continuance or reset

An order moving a scheduled proceeding to a later date.

Disposition

The recorded result of a charge, claim, or case.

MCRSearch also shows basic case information. Related cases, charges, parties, attorneys, judgments, financial entries, and docket text appear where those fields apply. It does not supply the filed Magistrate documents. Need the complaint, a signed order, a judgment, or a certified copy? That means moving from the public screen to the Cabell County Magistrate Clerk. The screen-to-clerk step is part of a complete docket search. It is not a sign the free search failed.

Which Courts Keep Dockets

The right Cabell County docket depends on jurisdiction. Circuit Court is the general-jurisdiction trial court. It hears felonies, major civil claims, equity matters, and appeals from lower courts. Magistrate Court takes misdemeanors, traffic matters, preliminary felony proceedings, and small civil claims. Family Court has its own subject area and access limits. Municipal courts keep city ordinance and city traffic dockets.

The state court-record access directory lays out the separate Circuit and Magistrate search paths that Cabell County cases follow.

Let that official split shape where you look first in Cabell County. Only then call either clerk's office.

Cases also move between levels while leaving records behind at each one. A felony complaint can start before a magistrate. It then heads to Circuit Court once the preliminary stage ends. A Magistrate or municipal judgment may be appealed into Circuit Court. From there, appeals go to the Intermediate Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, depending on the case. The higher docket never erases the lower one. A full history can therefore take more than one case number.

Federal litigation runs on a different track entirely. Cabell County sits in the Huntington Division of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. Those federal dockets live in PACER and CM/ECF, not WVPASS or MCRSearch. Appeals climb to the Fourth Circuit. A state case and a federal case can describe the same events. Yet each court keeps its own docket, and its own clerk certifies its own records.

One Courthouse, Separate Cabell Clerks

Several public offices share 750 Fifth Avenue in Huntington. But no single Cabell County docket ties them together. Circuit Clerk Michael J. Woelfel holds the Circuit and Family Court files in Room 114. Magistrate Clerk Julie G. Callicoat keeps the lower-court record in Room B-113. County Clerk Scott Caserta sits in Suite 108. He handles recorded instruments, probate and estate material, vital indexes, elections, and County Commission records.

The shared address creates real search mistakes. A deed, lien, or probate index in the County Clerk's IDX is not a Circuit Court civil docket. A Magistrate small claim will not surface just because someone ran a WVPASS name search. Start with the issuing court, then pick the right custodian and portal. That one step beats hunting the same name through every Cabell County database.

Family Court offers a further wrinkle. Its offices sit at 402 8th Street. That address is apart from the building that houses the two clerk counters. Even so, the Circuit Clerk stays the records contact. That office covers public Family Court orders and indices. The Family Court file itself gets stronger protection. Ask for a specific public divorce order by name. Avoid requesting confidential pleadings, exhibits, recordings, or transcripts in bulk.

Finding Court Dates and Settings

Magistrate settings show up in the CASE EVENT SCHEDULE. It lists the event type, date and time, courtroom, judge, and status. Circuit settings may appear in WVPASS case details. They may also appear in the most recent notice and order. Cabell County publishes no stand-alone daily trial calendar covering every local court. When an online row is missing or unclear, the clerk is the fallback.

Read any Cabell County docket in order. One notice may set a date. A later continuance moves it, and the old event still sits in the history. Trust the newest signed order or notice over an older calendar row. The full Cabell County court calendar process walks through comparing those sources. It also covers confirming the courtroom and appearance method.

Note: a past event marked closed is not proof the Cabell County case has reached a final disposition.

Paper matters too. West Virginia traffic citations must state when and where the person must answer or appear. Check that paper against the latest electronic event. For a municipal ticket, call the city court, not the Circuit Clerk. When confirming, give the case number. Then ask for the next date, local time, room, assigned judge, and whether the appearance is in person or remote.

Cabell Court Technology Timeline

The Cabell County courthouse went up in 1901, with wings added in 1924 and 1946. That historic building still matters for paper files, certified copies, and clerk help. Digital access arrived in layers. Cabell joined WV E-File for Circuit and Family matters on January 29, 2024. MCRSearch opened statewide public Magistrate information that same month. WVPASS followed statewide in March 2025, opening public Circuit material back to 1999.

Those dates explain uneven coverage. A pre-1999 Circuit Court matter may survive only in paper, archived, or microfilm form. WV E-File is the filing route for authorized users, not a public search page. CourtPLUS manages case data, and Vault stores scanned court files. WVPASS serves as the public-facing tool. In 2026 the Judiciary announced CourtOne. It also announced a daily refreshed statistics dashboard. But without an official notice, that initiative is no replacement for the current Cabell County public portals.

Sealed documents stay outside ordinary electronic access and are paper-filed under the system guidance. Remember that when an online chronology seems to skip an event. It does not entitle a public user to the missing paper. The Cabell County clerk decides. So do the court rule and the sealing order. Together they decide whether anything can be acknowledged or released. Technology changes storage and search tools. It never changes the access limits attached to the record.

Cabell Dockets by the Numbers

One broad Cabell County docket search will not cover the workload. The Judiciary's 2025 annual report splits the counts across courts. Magistrate Court logged 5,755 misdemeanor filings plus 2,066 small claims. Circuit Court added 352 felony filings and 632 general civil filings. Family Court recorded 395 divorce cases. Each figure sits in its own lane. It has its own clerk workflow and access rules.

The annual report stands as the final statistical source. For fresher numbers, use the court statistics dashboard. It updates more often. The Judiciary cautions that the figures shown there are still preliminary.

Other 2025 categories repeat the same split. Cabell Magistrate Court recorded 982 felony-related filings, which usually reflect the lower-court stage rather than the final Circuit felony docket. Its civil table listed 245 personal-safety and 611 domestic-violence filings. Family Court logged 512 domestic-violence cases in a table of its own. Because jurisdiction and confidentiality rules differ, never add counts from separate tables and call them one open docket.

Public Access to Dockets

West Virginia law favors public inspection of court papers. Access has limits, though. The request must reach the clerk or court that actually keeps the record. Nonsealed electronic Circuit docket material can be available through WVPASS. Magistrate case information shows up in MCRSearch. The Magistrate Clerk hands out the documents themselves. The keeper of the record may charge lawful copying costs. Supervision happens during normal business hours.

These authorities cover records that already exist. They do not oblige a Cabell County clerk to build a new report. Nor must the clerk summarize the litigation. Legal advice is also off the menu. A request can be oral or written. Writing it out helps, though, when it names the case, document, format, and date range. Even with a known case, redaction, sealing, juvenile confidentiality, and Family Court Rule 6 can shrink what the public receives.

Restricted Cabell Court Information

A public search result can be narrower than the official Cabell County file. Sealed records leave ordinary public inspection and online display. Juvenile cases stay out of WVPASS. Family Court orders and indices are public, yet the pleadings, exhibits, transcripts, recordings, medical material, and proceedings themselves are generally confidential. Domestic-violence and personal-identifier rules tighten things further.

When a known case fails to appear, check the court and the spelling first. Then ask the responsible clerk whether the matter predates the portal range, belongs to another level, or is nonpublic. A name and date alone do not unlock protected content. West Virginia Code section 53-8-17 does offer a formal motion or subpoena route for some sealed information when a legitimate basis exists.

Personal identifiers get protection too. State e-filing rules bar full Social Security, driver-license, state-ID, passport, bank, card, PIN, and password data from public filings unless disclosure is expressly required. Other safety-sensitive material can also be withheld. A redacted Cabell County docket is still the public version of the record. Treat missing private fields as normal. They are not an error.

The Clerk and Docket Records

The Cabell County Circuit Clerk keeps the official court records for Circuit and Family Court. Contact that office for certified Circuit documents. It also handles public Family orders or indices, older files, and anything that will not download through WVPASS. A clear request names the case number, caption, filing year, and exact document. Add the desired format and contact details too. Circuit paper copies run $1 per page under state law. Ask the office to confirm any certification charge and current payment instructions.

WVPASS downloads carry no clerk certification. The record may be filed with another court or serve as official proof. If so, ask whether a certified or exemplified form is required before ordering. The clerk sets Cabell-specific certification fees, accepted payment forms, and turnaround, so call ahead. A quick phone check can keep a mailed request from coming back. It might otherwise return for the wrong amount or a missing detail.

Cabell Magistrate Clerk Requests

The Cabell County Magistrate Clerk is a separate custodian. MCRSearch gives free case-level information. It covers charges, docket entries, parties, and events. It does not show the document images underneath. Requests for Magistrate complaints, orders, judgments, and certified copies go to Room B-113 in the same courthouse. Call 304-526-8642 or 304-526-8644.

Use the full case number or citation number. Cabell does not post a local certified-copy form, fee, or turnaround schedule. Confirm those points before mailing payment. The statewide court access description says a nominal lawful copy charge may apply. Magistrate Clerk offices also offer public terminals when home access is not practical.

Cabell Docket Versus Case File

The docket tells what happened. The case file holds the documents behind those entries. A line saying an order was entered may be enough to track progress. It does not reveal the complete ruling. WVPASS can sell a public Circuit document image. MCRSearch, by contrast, sends document requests to the Magistrate Clerk. Neither path turns a screen print into a certified copy.

Transcripts live somewhere else entirely. Ask the court reporter for those. Expect West Virginia's set rates: $2.85 per page for the original and $1 per page for a copy.

An abstract of judgment is a different product again. The Circuit Clerk charges a $5 fee for one under state law. That document is not the same thing as printing a docket result page, buying an order through WVPASS, or ordering a transcript. So name the exact product you want when you call the Cabell County office. Clear wording helps the clerk. It lets them tell apart a plain paper copy, an authenticated court record, and a document prepared for another legal purpose.

Cabell Treatment Court Dockets

Cabell County helped pioneer treatment courts in West Virginia. The Sixth Judicial Circuit hosted the state's first juvenile treatment-court pilot in 1999. Cabell Adult Drug Court followed in 2009. Cabell Family Treatment Court was established in 2025. None of these programs publishes a list of participants. Adult cases sit inside an ordinary Circuit criminal docket. Family and juvenile records stay confidential.

So skip the hunt for a participant roster. The public Cabell County docket shows only what the underlying case and access rules allow. For adult matters, use the normal Circuit route. For anything else, ask the Circuit Clerk what may lawfully be inspected. Program pages offer official contacts. They never replace WVPASS or the clerk's record.

Mental-hygiene matters are restricted too. Cabell County's official materials name the mental-hygiene commissioners and the chief Circuit judge. They offer no public participant search. Contact the court directly about a matter you have lawful access to. The missing public page reflects the nature of the proceeding. It is not a gap in the county's general docket tools.

Court Dockets by City in Cabell County

Three incorporated places appear in the 2020 Census table for Cabell County: Huntington, Barboursville, and Milton. Each runs a municipal court for city ordinance and city traffic matters. Those records may never reach WVPASS or MCRSearch. Start with the municipality printed on the citation. If the paper names Cabell Magistrate Court instead, take the state Magistrate route. A municipal appeal can later land on a Circuit Court docket.

Huntington publishes a dedicated Municipal Court clerk phone in its City directory. Barboursville supplies an official contact but no public case-by-case docket portal. Milton posts recurring Municipal Court events at City Hall. Still, an event calendar is not a case search. Each city page covers the local route, the known contacts, and the limits of what officials provide.

Population figures give scale, not caseloads. Huntington counted 46,842 residents in 2020. Barboursville village had 4,456, and Milton town had 2,811. No official annual filing totals exist for the three cities. Their pages stick to confirmed access routes rather than guessing how many Cabell County citations each handles.

Here are the working contacts. Huntington Municipal Court sits at City Hall, 800 Fifth Avenue. Court clerk Teresa Ferguson-Crossan answers at 304-696-4470. Milton Municipal Court meets at 1139 Smith Street. Milton's calendar shows a recurring Tuesday event at 5:30 p.m. Treat that as a schedule clue only. It is never proof of a hearing in a given case. Barboursville's official contact is 304-736-8994 at PO Box 266. None of the three cities offers a public case-by-case municipal docket search.

Read the citation before choosing any payment or search system. A city citation stays with its municipal court unless appealed or transferred. A state-code traffic case filed in Cabell Magistrate Court can appear in MCRSearch. It may also qualify for the Magistrate payment system. That system demands an exact citation ID, case ID, or payment-plan ID, plus a $2 WV.gov charge. It is a payment tool, not a full Cabell County docket.

Paying an eligible state citation can amount to a no-contest plea under West Virginia Code section 50-5-14a. That is reason enough to confirm the court, charge, and case before sending money. Planning to fight the ticket? Follow the appearance instructions and court rules instead of the payment screen. Ignoring proper notice after it arrives can bring a capias or a DMV notice under state law. Always confirm current status with the court named on the citation.

Map and Directions to the Cabell County Courthouse

Circuit and Magistrate Court records are kept at the Cabell County Courthouse, 750 Fifth Avenue, in downtown Huntington. The Circuit Clerk's counter is Room 114; the Magistrate Clerk is in Room B-113 of the same building. Family Court is a separate address at 402 8th Street, second floor, so confirm the building before a family-case visit.

The courthouse was completed in 1901 of Berea sandstone with a copper roof, with wings added in 1924 and 1946. No official parking map or security-screening checklist is published for it, so call the Circuit Clerk or Magistrate Clerk ahead of a visit to confirm access.