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1. What is a Court Clerk?

Formally, “Court Clerks” were classified as 43-4031.01, but that detailed code has been folded into the broader occupation 43-4031.00 – Court, Municipal, and License Clerks.

Within that broader group, court clerks are the specialists who:

“Perform clerical duties in court of law; prepare docket of cases to be called; secure information for judges; and contact witnesses, attorneys, and litigants to obtain information for court.”

They are the administrative backbone of the courtroom, making sure:

• Cases are scheduled and records are accurate
• Files, evidence, and court orders are where they need to be
• Judges, attorneys, and the public can rely on the court’s paperwork and systems

Job titles you’ll see include:

• Court Clerk / Deputy Court Clerk
• Courtroom Clerk / Court Coordinator
• Criminal or Civil Records Clerk
• Judicial Clerk (administrative, not the same as Law Clerk to a judge)

This guide focuses on court-focused roles, not municipal/license clerks—even though the data source is the combined 43-4031 category.

2. What Does a Court Clerk Actually Do?

Exact duties depend on court level (municipal, state, federal) and department (criminal, civil, family, traffic), but most court clerks handle work in three phases:

A. Before Court

• Prepare the docket – Build the list of cases for each day’s session, based on filings and scheduling orders.
• Pull case files – Ensure complete files (pleadings, motions, prior orders) are available.
• Notify parties – Send notices of hearings, trial dates, and required appearances to attorneys, defendants, witnesses, and jurors.
• Coordinate logistics – Confirm interpreters, court reporters, or security if needed.

B. During Court

• Call the docket – Announce cases, parties, and case numbers when court begins.
• Record proceedings – Note appearances, motions, exhibits, and key actions in the case management system.
• Administer oaths – Swear in witnesses, defendants, and sometimes jurors.
• Handle exhibits – Mark and track physical and digital evidence.
• Manage paperwork for the judge – Orders, warrants, judgments, and jury instructions often flow through the clerk’s hands.

C. After Court

• Update case records – Enter outcomes, new hearing dates, fines, or sentencing details.
• Generate orders and notices – Draft or finalize court orders for judge’s signature and distribute them.
• Collect and process payments – Fines, court costs, and fees may be paid at or after hearings.
• Maintain the docket – Close disposed cases, set follow-up hearings, manage continuances.

D. Back-Office Responsibilities

Outside of live courtroom time, court clerks also:

• Receive and file new cases (complaints, petitions, charging documents).
• Respond to records requests from the public, attorneys, and agencies.
• Issue warrants, summonses, and subpoenas according to judge’s orders.
• Maintain indices and archives – both paper and electronic.

In smaller courts, a single clerk may wear many hats. In large courts, roles can be specialized (criminal clerk, traffic clerk, family clerk, records clerk, etc.).

3. Where Court Clerks Work & What the Schedule Looks Like

Most court clerks are employed by local or state government:

• Local government (city/county courts): traffic, municipal, misdemeanor, small claims, housing, family, etc.
• State courts: trial courts, appellate courts, specialty courts (drug court, mental health court).
• Federal courts: U.S. District Courts, Bankruptcy Courts, some specialty tribunals (these often use titles like “deputy clerk” or “case administrator”).

Typical working conditions:

• Environment: Office plus courtroom. You’ll spend time at a desk and at a clerk’s station in court.
• Schedule:
  • Usually full-time, weekday, daytime hours aligned with court sessions.
  • Occasional early mornings, evenings, or overtime during heavy dockets, jury trials, or backlogs.
• Dress: Business or business-casual, appropriate for court.

If you like structure and routine but want more energy than a pure office job, a court clerk role hits a nice middle ground.

4. Salary and Earnings Potential

Because the old Court Clerk code (43-4031.01) is now rolled into Court, Municipal, and License Clerks (43-4031.00), we use that category’s current national data.

National Wages

O*NET’s latest summary (2024) and BLS-related sources report:

• Median annual wage (2024): $47,700 (about $22.93/hour)
• Lowest 10%: around $34,860 or less
• Highest 10%: around $72,370 or more

CareerOneStop’s wage table is consistent, showing a national range roughly $35,290 (entry) – $71,550 (experienced) with a median of about $47,070.

An ECU court-clerk career overview, using BLS data, quotes a similar figure: median annual salary for court clerks of about $48,760 (May 2024).

Differences by Court Level & Location

A recent salary guide synthesizing BLS and other data breaks it down approximately as:

• Municipal court clerks: $30,000–$50,000
• State court clerks: $40,000–$65,000
• Federal court clerks (administrative, not law clerks): $50,000–$80,000+, with senior staff sometimes above $90,000

And by geography, states like New York, Washington, California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Alaska, and Rhode Island often have average court-clerk wages in the low-to-upper $50Ks, while states like Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma cluster closer to the low-to-mid $30Ks.

Benefits and Stability

Because most court clerks work in government, they often receive:

• Pension or defined-benefit/defined-contribution retirement plans
• Health, dental, and vision coverage
• Paid vacation and sick leave
• Paid holidays and, sometimes, union protections

Taken together, total compensation can be quite competitive relative to the raw salary, especially over the long term.

5. Education & Training Requirements

Formal Education

Different courts set different standards, but overall:

• Typical minimum: High school diploma or equivalent (especially in small or municipal courts).
• Common preference: Some college coursework or an associate degree in criminal justice, paralegal studies, public administration, or a related area.
• Increasingly common (especially state & federal): Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, legal studies, or a related field. Many guides now state that “it is generally expected that court clerks have at least an undergraduate-level degree,” particularly for more competitive courts.

CollegeRaptor data on court/municipal/license clerks shows that workers in this field come from varied education levels: roughly 24% high school, 29% some college, 17% associate, 23% bachelor’s, and a small share with graduate degrees.

On-the-Job Training

• BLS/O*NET categorizes training as short- to moderate-term on-the-job training, where you learn court-specific procedures, case management systems, and local rules after you’re hired.
• For courtroom clerks, there is often a shadowing period where you sit with experienced clerks in court before running your own courtroom.

Certifications (Nice-to-Have)

Not mandatory in most places, but helpful:

• Certified Municipal Clerk (CMC)
• Master Municipal Clerk (MMC)

These credentials, offered through professional associations, can support promotion or higher pay, especially in municipal courts.

6. Skills You Need to Succeed

From O*NET and legal-career sources, the most important competencies for court clerks include:

Technical & Knowledge Areas

• Legal/clerical procedures: Basic understanding of court processes, filing rules, deadlines, and legal terminology.
• Record-keeping & data entry: Accurate case management, docket updates, and document indexing.
• Computer proficiency: Working in case management systems, word processors, spreadsheets, and sometimes e-filing systems.
• Basic finance: Handling court fees, fines, deposits, and receipts.

Soft Skills

• Attention to detail: Incorrect dates, case numbers, or orders can have serious consequences.
• Organization & time management: Managing a busy docket, deadlines, and lots of paperwork.
• Communication: Clear, professional interaction with judges, attorneys, defendants, victims, and the public, both in person and by phone/email.
• Emotional resilience: You’ll encounter defendants, victims, and families in stressful situations; you must remain calm and impartial.
• Integrity & confidentiality: You handle sensitive and sometimes sealed records; trustworthiness is non-negotiable.

If you like combining administrative precision with a front-row seat to the legal system, this role fits that niche.

7. A Day in the Life of a Court Clerk

Here’s a snapshot for a clerk in a busy state criminal court.

8:00 a.m. – Pre-court prep

• Log into the case management system and check the day’s calendar.
• Print or pull case files for the morning docket: arraignments, plea hearings, motions, and sentencings.
• Verify that each file has necessary documents (charging info, prior orders, bond paperwork).

9:00 a.m. – Morning docket

• Judge takes the bench. You call the first case: “State v. Smith, 23-CR-1025.”
• You record appearances: prosecutor, defense attorney, defendant.
• Administer oaths to defendants or witnesses as needed.
• When the judge sets a new hearing date, you enter it in the system on the spot and print a notice for the defendant.
• If someone is sentenced and fines or restitution are ordered, you enter the amounts and print paperwork for probation or the jail.

12:00 p.m. – Lunch & catching up

• After court, you update any notes that couldn’t be entered live.
• Send copies of orders to the attorneys via e-filing system or mail, and to jail/probation where relevant.

1:30 p.m. – Back-office work

• File new cases that came in from the prosecutor’s office.
• Respond to public records requests (as allowed by law).
• Answer questions at the clerk’s front counter and by phone, things like “When is my court date?” or “How much is my fine?”

3:30 p.m. – Afternoon session

• Another short docket: bond modifications and probation violations.
• You again handle calling the docket, recording outcomes, and processing orders.

4:45 p.m. – Wrap-up

• Reconcile payments and fines with the financial system.
• Prepare tomorrow’s docket and pull files.
• Make sure your judge’s cases are in good shape before you leave.

It’s a mix of live courtroom action and detailed desk work, with a lot of responsibility for getting details right.

8. Career Stages & Promotional Path

Stage 1 – Entry-Level Court Clerk (0–2 Years)

Titles:

• Court Clerk I / Deputy Court Clerk I
• Judicial Services Representative / Case Clerk

Focus:

• Learning local rules, filing standards, and case management system
• Handling front-counter, phone, and basic filing tasks
• Supporting more experienced courtroom clerks

Stage 2 – Courtroom or Senior Clerk (2–5 Years)

You move into roles like:

• Courtroom Clerk / Court Coordinator
• Court Clerk II / Senior Deputy Clerk

Duties:

• Running a specific judge’s docket (civil, criminal, family, etc.)
• Training new clerks and helping standardize procedures
• Handling more complex orders, warrants, and post-judgment workflows

Stage 3 – Supervisory & Administrative Roles (5–10+ Years)

With solid performance and, often, more education:

• Supervising Clerk / Chief Deputy Clerk – manage teams of clerks, assign work, and ensure docket quality.
• Court Operations Manager / Court Administrator (small courts) – oversee broader court operations.

Stage 4 – Advanced Court & Legal Careers

Court clerk experience is a strong base for:

• Court Administrator (usually requires a bachelor’s/master’s in public administration or related field).
• Paralegal or legal assistant – your familiarity with procedures and documents is valuable in law offices.
• Probation, victim services, or other justice-support roles.
• Further study toward law school, if you find you love legal work and want to practice law.

Your career path can be deep (within the court system) or lateral (into broader justice or public administration roles).

9. Employment Outlook & Trends

Because court clerks are part of the court, municipal, and license clerks grouping, we look at that category and the broader “information clerks” family.

• CollegeRaptor, drawing on BLS projections, reports that employment of Court, Municipal, and License Clerks is projected to grow about 3% from 2022 to 2032, slower than average, but still positive.
• A Kaplan career summary and similar sources cite the same median wage and modest growth outlook.

For the broader Information Clerks group (which includes court clerks), the Occupational Outlook Handbook notes:

• Employment is projected to decline ~3% from 2024–2034, due to automation and self-service systems.
• About 149,200 openings per year, on average, driven almost entirely by replacement needs (retirements, transfers, exits from the labor force).

Court clerks are somewhat shielded from automation compared with some clerical roles because:

• Courts have strict procedural and record-keeping requirements.
• Many tasks require in-person presence, legal judgment, or secure handling.

However, you should still expect:

• More e-filing and digital records instead of paper.
• More reliance on case management software, scheduling tools, and online access for the public.
• Continuous change in how routine tasks are done, tech savvy is a plus.

Overall: slow net growth, but consistent openings and strong stability in the public sector.

10. Pros & Cons of Being a Court Clerk

Advantages

• Stable, mission-driven work – Courts exist in every community and are core government functions.
• Front-row seat to the legal system – You see real cases, real attorneys, and real courtroom dynamics daily.
• Clear structure and routine – Good if you like processes and rules.
• Solid benefits – Government health plans, retirement, and paid leave.
• Platform for advancement – Good step into court administration, paralegal work, or justice-related roles.

Challenges

• Moderate pay ceiling – Unless you move into supervision, administration, or a higher court level, income growth is modest.
• Stressful content – Criminal, family, or civil cases can be emotionally heavy.
• High responsibility for details – Mistakes in orders, warrants, or scheduling can have serious consequences.
• Bureaucracy – Government rules and politics can be slow to change and occasionally frustrating.

11. Is This Career a Good Fit for You?

You’re likely to thrive as a court clerk if you:

• Enjoy structured work with clear rules and procedures
• Are detail-oriented and careful with paperwork and data
• Like the idea of being around the law without being a lawyer
• Can stay calm, respectful, and neutral around people in stressful situations
• Value job stability and public service more than fast money

You may struggle if you:

• Dislike administrative tasks, documentation, or repetitive processes
• Get overwhelmed easily by high-stakes details
• Prefer highly creative, flexible environments
• Are uncomfortable dealing with topics like crime, divorce, or serious disputes

Check Your Fit with the MAPP Assessment

Because this role mixes administrative precision, public service, and exposure to the legal system, it’s smart to see how that lines up with your motivations.

Is this career a good fit for you? Take the MAPP assessment from Assessment.com linked to find out.

The MAPP career assessment at Assessment.com matches your motivation profile to thousands of occupations, including court clerk and related legal support roles. It can help you see whether you’re naturally energized by structured, justice-related, detail-heavy work—or whether another path might fit you better.

12. How to Get Started as a Court Clerk

Step 1 – Build Your Educational Foundation

• At minimum, complete high school or GED.
• For better prospects, pursue some college, an associate, or a bachelor’s in:
  • Criminal justice
  • Legal studies / paralegal
  • Public administration or political science

Step 2 – Gain Relevant Experience

Helpful early jobs:

• Administrative assistant / office clerk
• Front-desk or records roles in government offices, law firms, or police departments
• Internships in courts, legal aid organizations, or city/county offices

Focus on proving:

• Reliability, attention to detail, and customer service
• Comfort with computers and data entry

Step 3 – Learn the Court System

• Follow your state or local court’s website: read about court levels, case types, and local rules.
• Sit in on public hearings to see court clerks in action.
• If possible, talk with a clerk or administrator about hiring paths.

Step 4 – Target Court Clerk Job Postings

Look on:

• County / city / state government job boards
• Federal courts’ “Employment” pages (for deputy clerk/case administrator roles)

Search for titles like:

• Court Clerk / Deputy Court Clerk
• Courtroom Clerk / Court Coordinator
• Judicial Services Representative
• Court, Municipal, and License Clerks (generic government postings)

Step 5 – Tailor Your Resume and Interview Story

Highlight:

• Any legal, government, or records experience
• Strong typing and computer skills
• Examples of handling confidential information
• Times you’ve worked under strict rules and deadlines

In interviews, be ready to show:

• You understand the seriousness and confidentiality of court work
• You can explain complex information clearly and calmly
• You’re comfortable with structure and routine

Step 6 – Plan Your Growth

Once hired:

• Learn your court’s case management system deeply; become the person others ask.
• Volunteer for high-volume or complex dockets to build experience.
• Consider certifications (CMC/MMC) or a degree if you aim for supervision or administration.

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