Santa Clara County Clerk of the Superior Court

California Has Superior Court Clerks, Not a Single Clerk of Court

California unified its trial courts in 1998. The old municipal and justice courts were folded into one countywide Superior Court. That means Santa Clara County does not have a single elected "Clerk of Court" who keeps every case file. The Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, runs its own clerk's office inside each courthouse, and each clerk handles the case types heard in that building. Civil cases have a Civil Clerk at Downtown Superior Court. Criminal cases have a Criminal Clerk at the Hall of Justice. Family and probate each have their own clerk windows.

The Santa Clara County Clerk-Recorder is a different office. It is a county executive office, not a court office. The Clerk-Recorder records deeds, issues marriage licenses, sells birth and death certificates, and files fictitious business names. It does not keep divorce judgments. It does not hold criminal minute orders. It does not sell certified copies of court orders. Many people call it the "Clerk of Court" by mistake, then drive out to the Tasman Drive office and find out the court file they want is back downtown.

The court's telephone and email directory lists each clerk division by record type. Use that page first if you do not know which clerk to call.

Santa Clara Superior Court Clerk Divisions

The Superior Court splits its clerk work by case type and courthouse. Civil, probate, and small claims clerks sit at Downtown Superior Court on North First Street. Family clerks sit across the street at the Family Justice Center. Criminal clerks sit at the Hall of Justice on West Hedding. Outlying courthouses in Palo Alto and Morgan Hill have their own clerk windows too. The phone list below is pulled from the Superior Court's published division directory. Use the division phone for case-specific questions, copy requests, and counter hours.

Each line on the table is a different clerk team. A criminal copy request mailed to the civil clerk will be returned or stalled. Send your check and your letter to the clerk whose division name matches your case type.

Santa Clara County Clerk-Recorder — Separate Office

The Clerk-Recorder is the county's executive record-keeper. Its job is to record real property documents, file business and notary papers, hold the county's vital record index, and issue certified copies of those records. The current Clerk-Recorder is Regina Alcomendras. The office is on the 1st floor of the county building at 110 West Tasman Drive. The Clerk-Recorder is not part of the court. Court orders, judgments, and case files are not stored here. Use this address when you need a birth certificate, a marriage license, a death certificate, or a copy of a recorded deed.

For an overview of the office and its mission, see the Clerk-Recorder office page.

The Clerk-Recorder homepage outlines the office's role as the keeper of the county's vital, business, and official records. The lead-in sentence here links to the Clerk-Recorder home page so the source is one click away.

The home page lists the office's popular services and points users to the online portal, fee schedule, and FAQ sections used throughout the rest of this page.

Clerk-Recorder Services

The Clerk-Recorder runs a wide service menu. Most of it has nothing to do with court files. The list below covers what the office actually does at the Tasman Drive counter, by mail, and through its online tools. Use this list to confirm the office handles your task before you drive over.

• Marriage licenses and on-site marriage ceremonies.
• Certified birth, death, and marriage certificates.
• Fictitious Business Name filings.
• Notary public oath and bond filings.
• Real property recording (deeds, deeds of trust, liens, reconveyances).
• Official record copies, including grantor/grantee index searches.
• CEQA filings for environmental notices under ten pages.
• Paraprofessional registration.
• Translator and interpreter service filings.
• DD-214 certified copy requests for veterans.

Anything not on the list is most likely held by the Superior Court or by another county office. Divorce, custody, criminal, probate, and traffic files all live with the court clerks listed in the division table above. Property tax bills live with the Tax Collector, not the Clerk-Recorder.

Clerk-Recorder Fee Schedule

Clerk-Recorder fees are set by state law and county ordinance. The table below is taken straight from the published Clerk-Recorder fee schedule. Plan for payment by check, money order, or in-person card payment. Mail requests should include the right fee plus a self-addressed stamped envelope.

The full schedule on the Clerk-Recorder site has the latest version.

The official fee schedule page publishes the same numbers with effective dates and notes.

The screenshot shows the same vital, marriage, and notary fees in the order the office prints them, which helps when you fill out a request packet.

Note: Court clerk copy fees are set separately under the state's court fee schedule, not the Clerk-Recorder schedule.

Superior Court Clerk Copy Requests

Court case files are handled by the Superior Court's clerk divisions, not the Clerk-Recorder. To get a copy of a court document, write to the clerk whose division name matches the case type. The clerk needs four things: the case number, the names of the parties, the document name you want, and payment. Mail your request with a check made payable to "Clerk of the Superior Court" and a self-addressed stamped envelope. The Family Records Copy Request Form, fm-1183, is the form to use for family and divorce files.

The Family Records form is published as a court PDF at fm-1183. The fee block on the form lists a $15 search fee when no case number is given, a $15 certification fee for a dissolution judgment, a $40 certification fee for other documents, and $0.50 per page for the copy itself.

For divorce records, the Clerk-Recorder FAQ sends people to the Superior Court Family clerk. More detail on divorce file requests is on the marriage and divorce records page.

How to Request a Certified Copy

Certified copies of court records and recorded records are needed for many real-world tasks: a passport, a name change, an immigration filing, a property sale, or a probate matter. The steps below cover both Superior Court clerk copies and Clerk-Recorder copies. Pick the right office first, then follow the matching steps.

1. Decide which office holds your record. Court case files go through a Superior Court clerk. Vital records and recorded property documents go through the Clerk-Recorder.
2. Find the case number for court files, or the document recording number for recorded files. The Superior Court's Case Information Online portal helps with court case numbers.
3. Pick the right form. Use Family Records Copy Request Form fm-1183 for family/divorce files. Use the Clerk-Recorder request forms for vital records or recorded documents.
4. Fill out every field on the form. Leave nothing blank. Missing info forces the clerk to mail the packet back.
5. Add up the fees. Court certifications run $15 for dissolution or $40 for other court documents, plus $0.50 per page. Vital record copies cost $34 birth, $26 death, $19 marriage.
6. Write the check. Court requests are payable to "Clerk of the Superior Court." Clerk-Recorder requests follow the Clerk-Recorder's payee rule on the form.
7. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope. Use a large enough envelope for the page count and the certified ribbon or seal.
8. Mail the packet to the clerk division at the right courthouse, or to the Clerk-Recorder at 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134.
9. Wait for the response. Vital records by mail take four to six weeks. Court copy turnaround varies by clerk volume.
10. Check the document on arrival. Confirm the seal, the date, and the page count before you file or hand it off.

Office Locations and Hours

The Clerk-Recorder and the Superior Court clerks keep different hours. The Superior Court's building hours are not the same as its clerk counter hours, which is why people sometimes show up at 4 p.m. and find the counter closed even though the doors are open. The table below sets out the published hours.

The court's locations and contact page publishes building hours and the clerk counter rules. Check holiday closures on the same page before you drive out.

Online Services from the Clerk-Recorder

The Clerk-Recorder takes many requests by mail and a smaller set online. Birth, death, and marriage certificate copies can be ordered by mail or through VitalChek; the sworn statement and notary acknowledgment must be filled out before the office will release a certified copy. Marriage license applicants can fill out the online pre-application, but both parties still must visit the office in person to finish the license. Real estate recording by mail is reviewed within ten business days when the packet meets recording rules, and the original is returned within six to eight weeks.

Business filings and certified copies of recorded documents are accepted by mail or email, and the office takes appointments for in-person service. CEQA notices under ten pages can be filed electronically. The online services page lists each tool with the steps it accepts.

Online Limit — Grantor/Grantee Index

One thing the Clerk-Recorder no longer publishes online is the grantor/grantee index of recorded official records. The Clerk-Recorder FAQ states the online official-record index has not been available since November 5, 2018, by County Executive directive. In-office searching at the Tasman Drive counter is still allowed, and the office staff can pull document images for a fee.

The same FAQ also routes divorce record questions to the Superior Court, which is why the divorce path is repeated across this page.

Records the Clerk-Recorder Does Not Maintain

Plenty of records show up at the wrong office every week. Knowing what the Clerk-Recorder will not give you saves time. The list below is short, but it covers the most common mix-ups at the Tasman Drive counter.

• Divorce judgments and family case files. These are Superior Court records. See marriage and divorce records.
• Property tax bills, payoff amounts, and parcel tax records. Those live with the County Tax Collector, not the Clerk-Recorder.
• Blank recording forms or legal templates. Bring your own forms; the office records what is presented.
• Credit reports, background reports, and consumer history files.
• Criminal case files, traffic case files, and probate case files. Those are with the Superior Court clerks listed above. See court records and probate records.

For broader requests across county departments, the public records page covers what the California Public Records Act allows and how to file a request.

Self-Service Portal and Disclaimer

The Clerk-Recorder runs a self-service portal at scccroselfservice.org. Before any search, the user must read and acknowledge the official portal disclaimer. The disclaimer covers the limits of online data, the office's role as record-keeper rather than verifier, and the rule that no certified document is delivered through the web tool. Click through the disclaimer to reach the search menu; without that step the portal will refuse to load the search fields.

Note: The portal is run by the county Clerk-Recorder and is the only official online tool for that office's records.

Related Santa Clara County Resources

For court case files, see court records. For the Superior Court itself, see the Superior Court overview. For probate matters, see probate records. For divorce files held by the family clerk, see marriage and divorce records. Common questions are answered on the FAQ.