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What Does a Circuit Clerk Do?

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

A circuit clerk is an administrator for a circuit court. These members of the judicial branch of government act as the keepers of the records for the court. Anything which is seen in court hits the desk of the circuit clerk first, and anyone who wishes to do research about cases which have been seen in court must visit the clerk. Classically, these officials are elected by the voters, for terms of lengths which vary, depending on the region, with four to six year terms being very common.

Anyone who wants to file a case must submit it to the circuit clerk. The clerk inspects civil, criminal, juvenile, and probate filings to confirm that they are complete, and opens up a record on each filing which will be used to track the filing as it moves through the court. These clerks regularly attend court, or send their assistants to court as their representatives, and they keep copies of documents presented in court, final rulings, and other information. Many keep both electronic and paper records, with some clerks also working to convert old handwritten records into electronic form.

Circuit court clerks assist anyone who is researching court documents.
Circuit court clerks assist anyone who is researching court documents.

A circuit clerk is also the financial officer of the court in addition to being an administrator. Circuit clerks handle fees which are paid to the court, and disbursements from the court, keeping records on monies which have moved through the court. They may also act as collections agents, or contract out collection work to companies which specialize in such work so that they can collect past-due fees owed to the court.

In many regions, the circuit clerk also keeps the Seal of the Court, and may be involved in court proceedings such as the reading of the verdict in addition to keeping records. The circuit court clerk is usually assisted by a team of employees, as the work in even a small court can be overwhelming for one person. These court officers also provide information about the court which may be useful to people attending court, ranging from answering questions about court hours to helping people with legal filings.

People who are interested in researching historic court records for any reason work with the circuit clerk to find the documents they need. Some examples of reasons people might want to review old records include: genealogy research, research on historic property lines and boundaries as part of a title search being performed when a piece of real estate being sold, and historical research.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a PracticalAdultInsights researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a PracticalAdultInsights researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

Azuza

@JessicaLynn - It does sound like a circuit clerk has many and varied responsibilities. I think they have people on hand to help them though! Last time I was at my local circuit court I remember walking by the "Office of the Circuit Clerk" and it looked like there were several staff members there.

Monika

@JessicaLynn - After reading this article and your post I got curious, so I googled the qualifications.

It looks like in order to be a circuit clerk of the court you first need to go to law school and get your J.D. (Juris Doctorate). Then you would also need management experience in a related field like law or public service. So it seems like this job might be something a lawyer might work towards.

JessicaLynn

Wow it sounds like a county circuit clerk is something of a jack of all trades! Between inspecting filing, converting paper records, collecting debts, and court proceedings I don't know when they have time to sleep!

I wonder what kind of qualifications a person would need for this job. It seems like since the duties are so varied they would need a lot of different kind of experience.

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    • Circuit court clerks assist anyone who is researching court documents.
      By: Steve Morvay
      Circuit court clerks assist anyone who is researching court documents.