County Clerk
A county clerk, or court clerk, is the individual who is responsible for filing vital records and other official documents, as well as maintaining public records and records of all governing body transactions for a specific county.
The county clerk position is one of the oldest known local government positions. Some counties appoint their clerks, while others elect them. The county clerk is primarily responsible for filing birth, death, and marriage certificates. However, depending on the size of the county, the county clerk may also do things like overseeing local elections.
In general, a county clerk can have some or all of the following responsibilities:
- Maintaining records of births, deaths, assumed names, marriages, and domestic partnerships
- Issuing and filing marriage licenses, gun permits, and notary bonds
- Processing passports
- Filing, keeping and sealing court documents
- Administering electoral functions, tabulating ballots for elections, and training election workers
- Maintaining expenditure records and providing budget reports for county departments and preparing the county’s books for auditing
- Keeping personnel files on all county employees and processing payroll, health and life insurance, workman’s compensation, unemployment, and liability insurance
