How to Search Civil Dockets
Putnam County gives the public two state search layers to work with. WVPASS handles public circuit and family case records. MCR Search covers public civil case information from Magistrate Court. Before you type anything, check which court is listed on your complaint, summons, order, or notice. A party name alone cannot safely route a civil matter. The same name can sit on dockets at more than one court level.
In WVPASS, search by party name, case number, or the filters the official FAQ documents. Browsing case details costs nothing. Eligible documents are pulled separately. With MCR, accept the captcha and terms screen first. Then search by first name, last name, or case number. Results stop at 30 records, and MCR posts no document images, so plan on the clerk for anything beyond the docket entries themselves.
- Identify Circuit, Family, or Magistrate Court.
- Use WVPASS for circuit or family, or MCR for magistrate.
- Match the county, court location, case number, parties, and filing date.
- Read the event schedule and docket rows separately.
- Contact the correct clerk for documents, certification, or a missing record.
Putnam Civil Portals Serve Different Courts
WVPASS and MCR are not rival copies of the same database. Each one serves a different court level in Putnam County and exposes different material. WVPASS can make eligible public electronic circuit and family documents available. MCR gives free magistrate case detail. Document requests there go to the Magistrate Court Clerk rather than the portal.
| Putnam civil route | Court layer | Public result |
|---|---|---|
| WVPASS | Circuit and Family Court | Free case browsing and eligible paid documents |
| MCR Search | Magistrate Court | Free case detail, no online documents |
| Circuit Clerk | Circuit and family files | Inspection, copies, unavailable records, certification |
| Magistrate Clerk | Magistrate files | Copies and case clarification |
Stephanie M. Smith is the Putnam County Circuit Clerk, reachable at 304-586-0203. Her office sits in the Putnam County Judicial Building at 12093 Winfield Road, Winfield, open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except holidays. Magistrate Clerk Darry Casto works out of Suite 15, at 304-586-0234 or 304-586-0270.
What a Civil Docket Shows
A Putnam County civil docket is the case record in chronological order. It is not the full file. The case header identifies the matter, and the event schedule tracks hearings. Docket rows mark actions that were filed or recorded. A judgment section may state an outcome. Keep one caution in mind: the claim amount listed is not necessarily the amount awarded. The official MCR case-detail layout shows the structure used for magistrate cases, using labels rather than any private person's values.
A civil docket result has to be read field by field. One status line alone will not tell the story of a Putnam County case.
| Case ID | The exact court identifier and safest lookup key. |
|---|---|
| Case style | The short caption or description of the civil matter. |
| Filing date | When the initiating paper entered the court record. |
| Parties | Roles, names, and end dates where shown publicly. |
| Claim or amount | The amount field, which is distinct from judgment or balance. |
| Event schedule | Date, time, room, location, judge, event type, and closure reason. |
| Docket entry | A filing date, code, description, and filed-by row. |
| Civil judgment | Outcome information whose exact fields vary by case type. |
Putnam Civil Amounts Need Context
Three money fields sit on a civil docket. Each answers a different question. The claim amount is what a party asked for or put at issue. The judgment amount is what the court actually awarded, once a case reaches that stage. A payment or balance field tracks later collection. Treat them as distinct figures, and never report one as if it were another.
Reading rule: Pair every amount with its field label, date, and related judgment or docket entry before describing the Putnam County civil case.
Money limits shape where a Putnam County civil filing belongs. Circuit Court is the trial court of record for civil matters over $7,500. It also handles other statutory or equitable matters. Magistrates hear civil claims up to $10,000. The overlap in those figures does not give a filer a free choice. Jurisdiction turns on the claim, the remedy, and the governing law, so confirm it before you file.
Types of Civil Cases on the Docket
The Putnam Circuit Clerk’s case-type materials sort general civil matters away from appeals and from protected or specialized proceedings. Pick the precise case type. It helps with portal selection and gets the filing routed to the right clerk.
- General civil and other civil cases
- Administrative agency and magistrate appeals
- Adoption and guardianship or conservatorship
- Mental hygiene proceedings
- Domestic relations and family matters
- Personal safety appeals
Which court has a Putnam County civil case depends on what kind of dispute it is. Divorce, custody, paternity, support, name changes, and infant guardianship all sit in Family Court. The rest of its domestic matters sit there too. Limited civil claims that qualify go to Magistrate Court. Circuit Court carries the general-jurisdiction docket plus appeals that qualify for it. Probate and estate work can bring the County Clerk into the picture. That office is not the custodian of the Circuit Court civil docket, so civil case lookup there goes through the court itself.
Putnam Civil Filings in 2025
How busy was the Putnam County civil docket in 2025? Add up the reported categories in the official annual statistics report. You get 611 new circuit civil-category filings for the year. Treat that number carefully. It counts new filings only, not pending inventory, trials, judgments, or wins. So it measures volume rather than results. For context, the same table puts statewide new civil cases at 21,071.
| Reported Putnam category | 2025 filings |
|---|---|
| Administrative agency appeals | 0 |
| Adoption | 51 |
| General civil | 311 |
| Guardianship | 47 |
| Magistrate appeals | 4 |
| Mental health | 77 |
| Other civil cases | 116 |
| Personal safety appeals | 5 |
One caution on reading those figures. Keep "general civil" and "other civil" separate. Do not fold adoption or guardianship in as generic claims. The official labels matter because they show how the court itself counted the docket. Even then, a filing count only gives a sense of scale. It says nothing about how any individual case turned out.
Settings and Hearings on Civil Dockets
A civil case header can show one appearance date. The event schedule underneath lists several events, each with its own date and status. Trust the details over the headline. Look for the latest event type, time, room, location, judge, and reason closed. A header date is a starting point, not the whole calendar history of the case.
Continuance requests change nothing until the court grants them. After a request lands, check the resulting order or docket entry. Confirm with the clerk whenever the online date conflicts with a notice you received. Some matters may need direct confirmation. Think of newly filed, restricted, or paper-only cases. The Putnam County court calendar walkthrough covers settings and resets in more depth.
A scheduling order can set deadlines and hearings across several docket entries over time. Read those entries in date order so the sequence makes sense. One closed event does not prove the whole case is closed.
Putnam Civil Filing Fees
The Circuit Clerk sets out separate filing fees for each type of Putnam County civil case. The published schedule also lists service additions on top of those base fees. Treat the figures as filing costs only, not copy charges or a forecast of total litigation expense, and confirm the current amount before you file.
| Putnam filing | Published amount |
|---|---|
| Civil petition | $200 plus service; $15 for each additional defendant |
| Counterclaim, crossclaim, third-party complaint, or intervention | $200 |
| Appeal to circuit | $200 |
| Name change, adoption, or infant guardianship | $200 |
| Medical malpractice | $400 plus service |
| Guardianship or conservatorship | $110 plus $25 sheriff service |
| Divorce | $135 plus service; $25 parenting class when children are involved |
| Child custody without divorce | $200 plus service |
| Modification | $85 plus service |
| Expedited support modification | $35 plus service |
Putnam also posts local packets for several kinds of filings. Divorce, custody, support, and parenting-time modification are covered, along with infant guardianship, contempt, continuance, temporary relief, fee waiver, and related matters. The index tells you what exists, but the live form itself controls which fields you must fill out.
Putnam Family Orders and Pleadings
Family access has a hard boundary in Putnam. Domestic-relations orders and indices are public under West Virginia law. Pleadings, exhibits, and transcripts are not. Family Court Rule 6 keeps them confidential, subject to authorized access and judicial orders. The official Family Court rules lay out that split between public orders and confidential files.
That split supports a narrow conclusion about your docket search. A public entry may confirm an order or event. The petition, financial affidavit, parenting exhibit, or transcript may stay closed. So a missing document is not a portal failure. Ask the Circuit Clerk what access the law permits before assuming anything.
Public Access to Civil Dockets
West Virginia law generally lets the public inspect and copy court records. Confidentiality, sealing, and redaction rules still control protected material in any given court. Trial Rule 10.04 sends public requests to the court or the Circuit Clerk. E-filing Rule 15A.26 opens public electronic dockets and unsealed, non-confidential documents to the same public.
Key rules:
W.Va. Code § 51-4-2 provides for inspection and copies of court papers unless a special restriction applies.
W.Va. Code § 29B-1-3 covers specific requests, response timing, electronic copies, and actual reproduction cost.
W.Va. Code § 48-1-303 keeps domestic-relations orders public while protecting pleadings, exhibits, and other documents.
Sealed and juvenile records never show up in a public WVPASS search. A missing result has other explanations too. You may have searched the wrong portal. You may have hit an old paper record, or caught a recent filing before it posted. Verify the court and ask the right clerk. Do not try to get around a legal access limit.
Putnam Civil Documents and Certification
Browsing cases in WVPASS costs nothing. Eligible public documents are $0.25 per page, chosen one at a time, and never certified. The FAQ warns that a wrong-case purchase is not refundable. If a document is unavailable online, request it from the Circuit Clerk.
Putnam charges $1 per page for plain copies and $2 per page by fax. The official fee page does not list certified or exemplified copy fees. Ask the clerk before ordering. Magistrate civil cases are different. MCR supplies no online documents there. Contact the Magistrate Clerk for copies and the nominal statutory fee that applies.
- Case detail
- Searchable metadata and current public status.
- Docket
- The dated register of filings and events.
- Document
- The complaint, answer, motion, order, judgment, or other filed item.
- Certified copy
- A clerk-authenticated record, not a portal download.
Putnam County Civil Appeal Path
A magistrate civil case can move up to Circuit Court through the appeal process. Putnam's local case-type material treats magistrate appeals as their own circuit category. The 2025 report counted four new magistrate appeals in the civil table. That is a count of filings rather than results.
At the circuit level, the Circuit Clerk maintains the appeal record. Keep the lower-court number, judgment, and appeal papers, then search the circuit identifier in WVPASS. The appeal-to-circuit filing fee is $200. The fee alone does not explain the process. Confirm the deadline, eligibility, service, and current steps with the clerks.
Putnam County Civil Search Gaps
A blank portal screen can mean several things. Maybe the search hit the wrong court layer. Maybe the name differs from the filed style, or the number is incomplete. The record itself could be recent, old, paper-only, confidential, sealed, or otherwise restricted. Nothing online is proof that no civil file exists.
Check the county and court first. Try the official case number, then a carefully entered party-name search. After that, call the matching clerk with the filing date and case type. Ask whether a public index entry, paper file, or permitted copy exists. Never ask staff to bypass a restriction. Never read the merits into a hidden result.
Putnam County Civil Record Layers
A civil search in Putnam has three layers. The index or case-detail view identifies the matter. The docket lists dated filings and events. The underlying file holds the complaint, answer, motion, order, exhibits, and everything else the court accepted. Access and cost can differ at each layer.
That distinction prevents a common mistake. A docket row for an order does not make the order image free, public, or certified. MCR offers no document images. WVPASS may sell an eligible image, but the download is not certified. When you need an official record, ask the Putnam clerk for an authenticated copy.
Putnam County Civil Forms Index
The Circuit Clerk's forms page indexes local packets for many needs. Divorce with or without children, answers, child custody, support and parenting-time changes, infant guardianship, contempt, continuance, temporary relief, witness requests, service, address changes, and fee waiver are all listed. The index confirms what Putnam offers. The current PDF still controls the fields and instructions. Match the form to the court and case type before you file.