Clerk of Court
Location:
Washington County Courthouse (Offices 1st floor & Courtroom 2nd floor)
120 Adams Street
Plymouth NC 27962
Mailing Address:
PO Box 901
Plymouth, NC 27962
Phone:
Ph. (252) 791-4000
Fax (252) 791-4001
E-mail brian.k.phelps@nccourts.org
Hours of Operations:
8–5 Monday – Friday, except during state holidays
Personnel
| Brian Phelps Clerk of Court brian.k.phelps@nccourts.org | Jean Warren Assistant Clerk |
| Brenda Sawyer Assistant Clerk | Aimee Daniel Assistant Clerk |
| Alan Smith Magistrate | Maurice Perry Magistrate |
| Micki Dail Magistrate | Wendy White Deputy |
| Mirna Ramirez Deputy |
Who We Are & What We Do
There are 100 Clerks of Court in the state of North Carolina—each elected from one of the 100 counties. The Clerk of Court’s term of office is four years.
The Clerk is a judicial official whose primary responsibility is to maintain the official court records in both the District and Superior courts as well as implement the laws passed by the North Carolina General Assembly. The office is guided by the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) in Raleigh who supply all necessary forms, office supplies and equipments for the Clerk’s office. the County must furnish the office space and the furniture for the Clerk and staff members.
The Clerk’s office is the official record keeper for the courts. All lawsuits, civil actions, criminal, proceedings or other matters brought before the Court are filed in the Clerk’s office. These records must be secured and maintained in a safe place not only for current use but for reference purposes and future examinations of all proceedings involving a person or persons. Maintaining a criminal history on someone is one purpose while having records available for genealogical study is another. No matter what the purpose, all records must be exact and factual when processed and filed by the Clerk.
The Clerk is the Judge of Probate and has exclusive jurisdiction in the probate of wills and settlement of a deceased person’s estate. The Clerk also receives and invests money on behalf of a minor who has no parent or guardian or when instructed by the Court to receive money on behalf on the minor due to a court settlement or litigation.
The Clerk’s office provides a depository for people to place their will for safekeeping at no charge. Also, many Clerk’s offices are the official passport office for their county.
Their are many services provided to the citizens of each county by their Clerk of Court. I have attempted to to list some of the more frequently used services below. For additional information about the court system and its operations, visit the State of North Carolina’s official Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) website listed in the Links section below.
Filing of all civil actions, issuance of warrants, orders for arrest, summonses, show cause orders, and subpoenas. Probate of wills, adoptions, name changes, guardianships, trusts, foreclosures, condemnations, boundary disputes, incompetency determinations, partition of land, estate administration and many other proceedings.
Fees/Schedules
Please contact Clerk’s office for current court schedules.
All Fees and costs related to the Clerk’s office are set by the N.C. General Assembly and can be ascertained by contacting the Clerk’s office prior to filing any papers or documents.Links