What does a Court Clerk do?
A court clerk is responsible for supporting court procedures and civil justice systems by performing administrative and clerical duties for law enforcement personnel and court officers. Court clerks perform data processing procedures, sorting documents, storing court records, maintaining confidentiality on clients' information, managing internal communications, scheduling meetings, and assisting in court investigations. They also respond to the visitors' inquiries and concerns, verify their appointments, and direct them to the appropriate personnel and department. A court clerk must be highly communicative and organizational, especially when maintaining records during court procedures and processing court fines.
Court clerk responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real court clerk resumes:
- Manage operations and LAN, plus data interchange with other agencies.
- Receive and record payments of fees or fines, process notary commissions, order files and purge old files for achieves.
- Answer public inquiries in terms of judicial proceedings, trial dates and witness fees along with preparing probation orders and summonses.
- Maintain report for NCIC reports.
- Count ballots and sign summons when necessary.
- Handle daily operations of filing child support summons.
- Take payments and assist customers at front windows.
- Draft or proofread judicial opinions, decisions, or citations.
- Recommend the scheduling of probate hearings if issues require judge's intervention.
- Proofread legal documents prior to submitting for judge's signature, filing and mailing.
- Process files in probate, child protection, conciliation, criminal, juvenile, civil and family cases.
- Accept payments for fines and bonds from overnight jail defendants and from the counter as needed and report as balanced.
- Sign and file warrants, subpoenas, and all documents with attorneys and the judges' chambers from the court rooms.
- Prepare subpoenas and process all case dispositions including sentencing hearings.
- Assist public in complaint/intake forms, magistrate appeals & extradition documentation.
Court clerk skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Court Clerks are proficient in Data Entry, Customer Service, and Subpoenas. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Integrity, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Court Clerks that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Data Entry, 10%
Performed data entry updates and public relations assignments.
- Customer Service, 9%
Provided quality customer service* Operated a variety of standard and specialized office equipment and performed other clerical duties.
- Subpoenas, 5%
Prepared subpoenas and processed all case dispositions including sentencing hearings.
- Court Dates, 5%
Set court dates and handled official notifications to appear in court by way of certified mail or use of bailiff service.
- Bench Warrants, 4%
Handled confidential documentation, including arrest warrants and bench warrants.
- Court Orders, 4%
Utilized data processing equipment to accurately prepare marriage licenses, court ordered judgments and orders.
Common skills that a court clerk uses to do their job include "data entry," "customer service," and "subpoenas." You can find details on the most important court clerk responsibilities below.
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a court clerk to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "information clerks must be able to explain policies and procedures clearly to customers and the public." Court clerks often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "operate a variety of public safety telecommunications equipment, cad, records management system, alarm boards and other miscellaneous equipment. "
Integrity. Another essential skill to perform court clerk duties is integrity. Court clerks responsibilities require that "information clerks, particularly human resources assistants, have access to confidential information." Court clerks also use integrity in their role according to a real resume snippet: "do probate, guardianships, conservatorships, trusts, divorces, juvenile cases, paternity and child support cases. "
Interpersonal skills. This is an important skill for court clerks to perform their duties. For an example of how court clerk responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "information clerks who work with the public and customers must understand and communicate information effectively to establish positive relationships." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a court clerk: "trained to use all office equipment and computer software, developed my strong interpersonal skills. ".
Organizational skills. court clerk responsibilities often require "organizational skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "information clerks must be able to retrieve files and other important information quickly and efficiently." This resume example shows what court clerks do with organizational skills on a typical day: "utilized accounting and organizational skills by handling all money received into the district court and maintaining accurate accounting records. "
The three companies that hire the most court clerks are:
- FFestival Foods8 court clerks jobs
- AAda County3 court clerks jobs
- TTravis County3 court clerks jobs
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Compare different court clerks
Court clerk vs. Clerk of superior court
In a criminal justice internship, an intern gains industry insights and practical experience by observing how criminal justice theories are put into practice. Although their duties can vary upon the directives given by a supervising criminal justice professional or agency of employment, they are usually responsible for performing support tasks such as conducting research and analysis, organizing files, studying criminal cases, and running errands. Some interns may also participate in shadowing police officers, gathering and analyzing evidence, attending hearings, or facilitating public service programs.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between court clerks and clerk of superior court. For instance, court clerk responsibilities require skills such as "customer service," "bench warrants," "court orders," and "court dockets." Whereas a clerk of superior court is skilled in "criminal justice," "real estate," "multi-line phone system," and "legal issues." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Clerks of superior court tend to reach similar levels of education than court clerks. In fact, clerks of superior court are 3.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 15.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Court clerk vs. Criminal justice internship
Each career also uses different skills, according to real court clerk resumes. While court clerk responsibilities can utilize skills like "data entry," "customer service," "court dates," and "bench warrants," criminal justice interns use skills like "criminal justice," "pre-trial conferences," "intake interviews," and "child abuse."
In general, criminal justice interns achieve similar levels of education than court clerks. They're 1.8% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 15.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Court clerk vs. Process server
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from court clerk resumes include skills like "data entry," "customer service," "court dates," and "bench warrants," whereas a process server is more likely to list skills in "affidavits," "legal papers," "legal process," and "law firm. "
Process servers earn the best pay in the retail industry, where they command an average salary of $67,773. Court clerks earn the highest pay from the government industry, with an average salary of $39,296.process servers typically earn similar educational levels compared to court clerks. Specifically, they're 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Court clerk vs. Court assistant
Types of court clerk
Updated January 8, 2025
