Public Access To Computerized Records Brought to you by Maureen G. Kelly

Lake County Clerk of Courts
"Keeper of the Records"

The office of the Clerk of the Courts of Common Pleas traces its origin to the medieval cleric. A cleric maintained records, was responsible for correspondence and had various powers to issue writs or other processes ordered by the Court. The cleric was generally one of the few educated persons in the community. Many prominent Ohioans have served as Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, including William Henry Harrison, ninth President of the United States.

There are two distinctly different divisions within the Clerk of Courts office - the Legal Division and the Motor Vehicle Title Division.

Lake County Clerk of Courts Legal Division
The Clerk of Courts office plays a vital role in serving the interests of justice. This includes filing, docketing, indexing and preserving all court pleadings for civil, felony criminal and domestic relations cases. The Clerk of Courts must also follow procedure required by law and issue writs to carry out Court orders. Some of these writs include summons, subpoenas, warrants to arrest and to convey to penal institutions and the signing of the death warrant in capital cases.

In addition to processing all Court paperwork, the Clerk of Courts must preserve the records for use by future generations. A computer system has been in use since 1990 to record the index and docket of court cases allowing faster access to the information.

Older court casefiles are kept on microfilm. By reducing the files to microfilm, the amount of space needed to permanently retain casefiles is manageable and the files are safer. The master microfilm is kept offsite and a copy is available for use in the office.

The Clerk's office collects court costs on the approximately 12,000 new cases each year. Nearly $1.4 million dollars in fees and costs were collected last year.

A labeling and tracking system for casefiles was instituted in 1999. Color-coded labels with a bar code are printed for each file folder and jacket. A scanner is used to record the location of each file.

The Clerk's office is located in the lower level of the Courthouse West Annex. The location has space for public research and a better layout to serve the residents of Lake County.

Lake County Clerk of Courts Title Division

The Title Bureau issues a certificate to document ownership of motor vehicles including automobiles, watercraft and all terrain vehicles.  An Automated Title Processing System (ATPS) links all 88 counties into a common database allowing for "cross county" processing of titles.

The Title Division in Lake County has two locations.  The main office located in a ONE STOP SHOP in Perry combining the Title Bureau, License Bureau and Highway Patrol Testing Station into one facility.  We also operate a branch office in Wickliffe adjacent to the License Bureau. This allows the citizens of Lake County to transfer titles and abtain license plates conveniently. 

The Title Division collects approximately $36 million each year in sales tax for the State.

Both Title Offices are open from 8:00am - 4:30pm Monday through Friday. 

Wickliffe and Perry have extended hours until 6:30 pm on Tuesdays.

Perry is open on Saturdays from 8:00am - 12:00 noon ONLY.

The Clerk of Courts also serves as a member of Lake County's:

• Data Board
  
• Records Commission
  
• Microfilm Board
  
• Courthouse Committee
  
• Courthouse Security Committee