Public Records

The major roles of the office of the Clerk of Court revolve around records, public records.  We keep a large volume of records, in the areas we refer to as Official Records, Court Records, and BOCC records.

As an independent elected county officer authorized by the Florida constitution, our office plays a role in the check-and-balance function in local government.  We keep the court files, records, and evidence in lieu of prosecutors, defense attorneys, or judges having that responsibility.

We play an even more significant role in County Government in our Clerk to the Board role, being both the keeper of the official minutes of all Board meetings, and the custodian of all ordinances, resolutions, and contracts for the BOCC.

This Clerk to the Board role is extended into the finance function of local government, paying the bills and keeping the books for the BOCC.  We are charged with signing the checks for county disbursements only when we have determined that the expenditure is legal.  We keep all of the financial documents and records and these are public records, available for your inspection.  After all, this is your business, the public business!

Our future goals include plans to put other BOCC information on the internet, and we will let you know as that becomes a reality.

Finally, we fill the role of County recorder, by keeping the “Official Record” of various documents that have to do with land ownership, such as deeds, mortgages, liens, etc.

We take these responsibilities very seriously and attempt to make all records available for public inspection.  You may view the last 18 years of Official Records on the internet, where they have been posted since 2005.  We also have subdivision plat maps on-line, and we are working on getting more of this type of record on-line and accessible, such as old tax roll books, pre-1990 Official Records, and certain other record series.

We are pleased to announce that we have redacted certain private information that is included in the official record which is available on the web to help in protecting your privacy while facilitating access to these records.

Our official Records department also oversees functions such as tax deeds, marriage licenses, and passport applications.

We are not presently allowed to put court records on the internet, but have limited summary court information available from our web site (link to public court search).  We are however, scanning in all court documents and when the time comes for these to be put on-line, we will have them in proper format.