County court records include documents filed or stored in the county courthouse and are generally records open to the public. Files you might find kept by a county clerk include vital records information (birth certificate, death certificate, marriage and divorce records), sheriff’s reports and, of course, the archives of what actually goes on in the courtroom.
Figuring out how to access county court records is a cinch. Finding the correct archival source is mainly a matter of calling around the county until you find the clerk or office which can help you. Generally speaking, you should be able to narrow it down to one phone call by reading the following how-to info.
These days, many county courthouses have their own websites where access to court records is free. Not only does this put them in compliance with local freedom of information laws, but it also saves county employees time (and county taxpayers money) by letting you see the county court records you want to see without having to talk to anyone.
There are several locations you should look at for county record information, because several differenet county officials might maintain their own records site. Keep these names in mind for later, if you have to pay these offices a visit.
If you aren’t lucky enough to live in a county which has gone online with its records database, then you’re going to have to pay the county courthouse a live visit. When you get inside the courthouse, search for the “records office”.
Prepare to show your identification, because many county clerks will want to see some form of id. Call ahead and ask if that’s going to be a problem for you. You might also ask if seeing or obtaining a copy of a county court record is free or not.
Most of the time, seeing court files is free. In the case you need a copy, you might need to pay 10 cents or so for the copy, or 10 cents per copy. Occasionally, there is a clerk fee, presumably to pay the county for the clerk’s time. That’s generally rare.
If you don’t have luck with the county recordkeepers themselves, you can always pay a subscription to a genealogy website to look up vital records information like birth records, death records, divorce records or marriage records. You might be able to find vital information online for free, but if this is something that isn’t readily available in your local county court, or it’s halfway across the country and their website doesn’t offer the information, pay the monthly subscription and find the county court information that way.
The same can be said for recent arrest and conviction records, though these should be a matter of public record. Remember, if you decide to buy a 1-month membership, make certain to be prepared to get all your research done in that one-month span. Otherwise, you’ll double the cost of your ancestry search.
If you can’t find the files you’re looking for, you might ask your local librarian if they have a hard copy of the files you’re looking for. Libraries often carry county court records.
Municipal Court Records
Obtaining Birth Certificates
Public Birth Records
How To Find a Person’s Date of Birth
How To Find Your Birth Parents
This entry was posted on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 9:17 pm and is filed under Criminal Records, Public Records. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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[...] County Court Records – So many of the background records you’ll want to look at are housed at the county level that I wanted to include specific information on how to search records at the county “clerk of courts” office. [...]