Alachua County Clerk of the Court & Comptroller

The Alachua County Clerk of Court

The Clerk of the Court and Comptroller is an elected office with both court and county duties. On the court side, the Clerk keeps the trial-court records for the circuit and county courts, manages official records and recording, and processes filings. On the county side, the office handles financial reports, the value adjustment board, and unclaimed funds. J.K. "Jess" Irby leads the office. The Clerk's home page lists its full service menu, from court records and marriage to probate, guardianship, and tax deed sales.

This dual role matters when you request records. A court record, an official record like a deed, and a county financial report all sit under the same office, but they are pulled in different ways. The Clerk can provide records, forms, copies, and procedural information, yet it cannot give legal advice, which is a line the office draws clearly.

The breadth of the office shows in its menu. Beyond court records, the Clerk handles child support, domestic violence injunctions, foreclosure sales, foreign judgments, marriage licenses, mental health filings, passports, probate, recording, small claims, tax deed sales, traffic citations, and unclaimed funds. That is a wide span for one office. It also explains why a visitor should call the right division line rather than the general switchboard, since each area has its own staff and process.

Alachua County Clerk Contact Information

The Clerk's main office is downtown at the Family and Civil Justice Center. The switchboard routes calls to the right division. Hours run Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. The contact card below lists the main office details.

Different divisions have their own lines. The table lists the most-used numbers from the Clerk's contact page.

Court Records and Official Records

Court records are searched through the Clerk's online court records system, which is gated by a CAPTCHA and covers civil, criminal, family, probate, and traffic cases. Official records, such as deeds, mortgages, and liens, are searched through a separate Official Records portal. The two systems answer different needs, so it helps to know which one holds your record before you start.

Court and official records are public unless a law makes them confidential. The Clerk limits some document images under Florida Supreme Court access rules and Rule 2.420. The court records page covers the search fields, and the public records page covers official records and the request process.

The Clerk's online tools cover a long span of history. The court case index reaches back to a case filed in 1928, while document images start later, in 2001 for civil and 2005 for criminal. Recorded official records also go back decades, with older books indexed even when an image is not online. So the office sits at the center of both current filings and the county's historical record, which is part of why the comptroller side keeps such careful custody.

Alachua County Clerk Fees and Copies

The Clerk charges set fees for copies, certified copies, searches, and recording. Online viewing of the index is free, but paper and certified copies cost money. Recording a document carries a first-page fee plus a per-page fee after that. The service-charge statute authorizes these fees, so they are not set at random.

The Clerk's service charges come from Florida Statutes § 28.24 shown above. The recording and service fee schedule lists the detail.

The recording and service fee schedule shown above lists copy, certification, and recording fees. The table sums up the common ones.

How to Request a Certified Copy

A certified copy is the version courts and agencies usually accept. It carries the Clerk's certification, unlike a plain printout. Getting one is a short process, whether the record is online or pulled from the file.

1. Find the record by case number or party name in the Clerk's search.
2. If it is online, note the case and document details; if not, contact the Records Department.
3. Request the copy by email to osr@alachuaclerk.org, by mail, or in person.
4. Pay $1.00 per page plus $2.00 per document for certification.
5. Receive the certified copy by mail or pickup.

Marriage, Passports, and Traffic Services

The Clerk does more than records. It issues marriage licenses, accepts passport applications, and manages traffic citations. Marriage services run at the Family and Civil Justice Center, and the marriage line is 352-374-3623. Traffic citation questions go to the Traffic Bureau at 352-374-3609. These services overlap with other pages on this site, since the Clerk is the common thread across them.

The marriage and divorce records page covers license steps and fees, and the traffic court records page covers citation options. The Clerk's role is intake and processing, not legal advice on which option fits. The office also has separate addresses for some functions, with finance and accounting on Southeast First Street and criminal and appeals tied to the Criminal Courthouse on South Main Street. So a quick check of which building handles your matter can save a trip downtown.

Alachua County Jury Service

The Clerk manages jury service for the county. Jurors are summoned from residents and are generally notified four to eight weeks before service. Florida uses a one-day or one-trial system, so a juror not selected at the end of the first day usually does not report again. The Clerk's jury page explains pay, parking, and excusal basics.

The jury service page shown above covers the basics. The reporting page adds security and dress-code rules for the day you serve.

The jury reporting page shown above explains where to park and what not to bring. Free parking is available by tag validation in a set zone, so bring your license plate number to check-in with Clerk staff.

Forms and Self-Help

The Clerk's forms library is organized by workflow. It provides Florida Supreme Court approved forms and many county court and small claims forms. Because most circuit court cases are complex, only family-law forms are approved for distribution for that court. The library includes confidential-filing notices, family-law forms, civil forms, criminal and traffic forms, child support forms, and guardianship forms.

A rule of court requires most documents to be served by email, though a party without email or regular internet access may ask to be excused. The court records page and the public records page point to related tools, and the Clerk's self-help resources help self-represented filers. The forms page also warns that any fees tied to filing a form appear on the fee schedule, so a filer should check the cost before submitting. For complex matters, the office still recommends counsel, since staff cannot tell a person which form or option to choose.

Request to Redact Confidential Numbers

One common Clerk form lets a person remove sensitive numbers from a court file. The holder of a Social Security number or a full bank, debit, charge, or credit-card number, or that person's attorney or legal guardian, can ask the Clerk to redact it. The form fields are listed below, drawn from the Clerk's fillable form.

The completed form is delivered or mailed to the Clerk, or e-filed through the state portal. The Clerk processes the redaction but does not give legal advice on it.

Related Alachua County Record Searches

From here, see court records, public records and official records, the Circuit Court, or probate records for estates and guardianship.