Ky. Sup. Ct. Order 2026-32 12

to receive and maintain a record on behalf of a court, agency, committee, or

commission of the KCOJ prior to the record’s destruction or accession, including

but not limited to, each circuit court clerk, each appellate court clerk, the AOC

Director, the Chief of Staff to the Chief Justice, Judicial Ethics Commission

executive secretary, Judicial Conduct Commission executive secretary, and the

Office of Bar Admissions Director.

(15) “Records officer” means the AOC employee designated as the KCOJ records

officer by order of the Chief Justice.

SECTION 3. RECORDS

(1) All records shall be the property of the KCOJ and are subject to the exclusive

custody, control, and jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Kentucky without

regard to physical location.

(2) All records custodians, public officers, public agencies, or other persons

having custody, control, or possession of records by statute or otherwise shall

be subject to the direction of the Supreme Court of Kentucky with regard to such

records.

(3) The Chief Justice, or any other KCOJ official or employee designated by the

Chief Justice, shall take such action necessary to compel compliance with any

rule, regulation, standard, procedure, or order issued by the Supreme Court of

Kentucky related to records.

(4) The AOC may, upon appropriate agreement, utilize the technical assistance

and services of the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA) or,

any other vendor with expertise in library and archive services.

SECTION 4. RETENTION OF RECORDS

(1) The retention of records shall be governed by a record retention schedule,

court rule, or other instruction of the Supreme Court of Kentucky and may not

be deviated from except by order of the Supreme Court of Kentucky or as

otherwise permitted under this rule of administrative procedure.

(2) A record retention schedule shall:

(a) Designate any permanent records;

(b) Direct the accession of records when they are no longer administratively

needed by the records custodian;

(c) Establish a minimum period of retention if not designated as a

permanent record; and

(d) Direct the destruction of records not designated as permanent records

when the record no longer serves an administrative, legal, or fiscal need

and there is insufficient historical, informational, or evidentiary value to

warrant the expense of continued preservation.

(4) The AOC shall adopt any and all necessary standards, policies, or procedures

to give effect to this rule of administrative procedure, the record retention

schedules, court rules, or other instruction of the Supreme Court related to

record retention.

(5) The AOC shall provide training and resources to records custodians and their

staff regarding standards, policies, and procedures required for compliance with

the record retention schedules, court rules, or other instruction of the Supreme

Court related to record retention.

SECTION 5. DIGITIZATION AND DISSEMINATION OF RECORDS

(1) Any individual, agency, organization, business, or other entity with

possession of a record shall not generate or cause to be generated a digital image

of the record except for the purpose of publication on a KCOJ webpage or as may

be authorized by court rule, law, or written agreement with the AOC.

(2) Any individual, agency, organization, business, or other entity with

possession of a record shall not disseminate or distribute the record or facsimile

of the record, in any format, for the purpose of creating a searchable database

or research bank without prior authorization of the Supreme Court and written

agreement with the AOC.

(3) Any individual, agency, organization, business, or other entity with

possession of a record shall not sell or otherwise monetize access to the record

in their possession at any time or be permitted to access or use the record for a

commercial purpose, except as otherwise permitted by law.

SECTION 6. ACCESS TO ACCESSIONED RECORDS

An individual, agency, organization, business, or other entity entrusted with

custody, control, or possession of accessioned records, except records

custodians, shall:

(1) Only permit the public to view records in person, even if the records were

accessioned in an electronic format;

(2) Provide physical copies or digital images of records upon request by the

public;

(3) Refer to the AOC Office of Communications any requests made by or on behalf

of a member of the media seeking access to records;

(4) Sign a written agreement with the AOC memorializing terms of access,

confidentiality, security, storage, and use of records;

(5) Limit access to confidential records to only KCOJ employees and officials;

(6) Ensure discovery tools available to the public do not reveal the existence of

any sealed or confidential records; and

(7) Review and remove confidential and/or sealed records prior to providing

access to records to a non-KCOJ employee or official.

SECTION 7. DAMAGED OR DESTROYED RECORDS

(1) In situations where records have been damaged, the records officer shall

assess the records for the purpose of making a recommendation to the AOC

Director as to whether the records should be salvaged.

(2) The records officer assessment and recommendation shall be based on the

following factors:

(a) Nature and extent of damage sustained;

(b) Priority level of effected records, as assigned to the records by the

records officer and approved by the AOC;

(c) Estimated cost of removal, recovery, and restoration;

(d) Feasibility and effectiveness of on-site recovery measures versus off-site;

(e) Consultation with the Chief Judge(s) and Circuit Court Clerk of the

court to which the damaged records belong; and

(f) Any other factor deemed relevant by the records officer and the AOC

Director.

(3) In situations where records have been damaged or destroyed, after

considering the availability of budgetary resources and if applicable, the records

officer’s assessment and recommendation, the AOC Director, in consultation

with the Chief Justice as necessary, may authorize the records officer to:

(a) Authorize the removal and temporary relocation of records in

accordance with the assigned priority levels to mitigate the risk of loss;

(b) Authorize a contracted vendor to remove, recover, treat, and/or

remediate damaged records;

(c) Allocate available resources to undertake any action necessary to assist

with the removal, temporary relocation, destruction, or preservation of

records; and

(d) Deviate from the Retention Schedule, court rule, or other instruction of

the Supreme Court regarding records.

(4) In situations where records are at imminent risk of being damaged or

destroyed and an assessment and recommendation under subsections (1) and

(2) are not feasible, the AOC Director may authorize any action to be taken that

is reasonably necessary to mitigate the anticipated damage or destruction of

records.

SECTION 8. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

(1) AOC

The AOC shall establish standards, policies, and procedures to regulate the

scheduling, tracking, and documentation of requirements in a retention

schedule, court rule, or other instruction of the Supreme Court for the accession

and destruction of records, which shall be applicable to all KCOJ personnel and

officials exercising custody, control, or possession of records.

(2) Records Custodians

(a) All records custodians shall cooperate with and provide any and all

necessary resources to facilitate compliance with a record retention

schedule, court rule, or other instruction by the Supreme Court and the

standards, policies, and procedures established by the AOC.

(b) All records custodians shall cooperate with requests by the records

officer relating to this rule of administrative procedure and any standard,

policy, and procedure of the AOC.

(c) The Chief Justice shall be advised, by the records officer, should any

records custodian fail to cooperate with any requests made by the records

officer relating to this rule of administrative procedure and policies and

procedures of the AOC.

(3) Records Officer

(a) The records officer shall represent the KCOJ in its business with the

Kentucky Division of Archives and Records Management.

(b) The records officer shall assist the Kentucky Division of Archives and

Records Management in inventorying, analyzing, and scheduling

destruction of records.

(c) In addition to those responsibilities expressly stated in this rule of

administrative procedure or elsewhere, the records officer shall:

(i) Make decisions related to storage and destruction for all records

pursuant to and consistent with the records retention schedules,

court rules, and other instructions of by the Supreme Court of

Kentucky;

(ii) Be the custodian of and maintain all records of transmittals for

the transfer of records for off-site storage;

(iii) Be the custodian of and maintain all destruction certificates for

the permanent destruction of records and make an annual report of

these destruction certificates to the AOC and to the State Archivist;

(iv) Supervise and oversee the AOC personnel assigned to perform

the accession and destruction of records;

(v) Propose record retention schedules, court rules, and other

instructions related to records, or revisions thereto for approval by

the Supreme Court of Kentucky;

(vi) Ensure appropriate and timely training is provided for all

personnel and officials responsible for the accession or destruction

of records;

(vii) Perform a regularly scheduled audit of records custodians to

assess local storage space and compliance with record retention

schedules, court rules, and other instructions of the Supreme Court.

Entered this 17th day of September 2026.

All sitting; all concur.

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CHIEF JUSTICE