Clerk of the Circuit Court

The Clerk of the Circuit Court is a Constitutional Official and is elected to serve an 8-year term by the voters of the locality. Every Circuit Court in the Commonwealth of Virginia is a court of record. The Clerk of Court is charged with the custody, safekeeping and proper indexing of legal and quasi-legal papers deposited in his office.

Responsibilities


The Clerk's Office is responsible for:
  • Filing civil suits
  • Docketing and filing of criminal actions
  • Filing divorce suits
  • Filing adoption petitions

Services


Services provided by the Clerk's office include:
  • Recording land records and plats
  • Probating wills
  • Administering various oaths' of office
  • Issuing marriage licenses
  • Recording military discharge forms (DD-214s)
  • Recording assumed business names
Cash registers close at 4:30 p.m., no monetary transactions are available after 4:30 p.m. In most cases, acceptable methods of payment are cash, checks, money orders, or credit cards.



Passport Acceptance Agent


The Clerk is also an acceptance agent for the U. S Department of State and accepts passports applications on its behalf.

Legal Disclaimer


The Clerk and his staff may not give legal advice. In many cases, we do not have nor provide forms. We have no authority to speak for the Judge or to predict or interpret his decisions. We strongly advise all litigants to seek legal advice.

Building Rules


The Suffolk Circuit Court Clerk's Office is located in the Mills E Godwin Courts Building. Cell phones, smart watches, or similar devices are not allowed in the building.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)


In accordance with Virginia Code Sections 2.2-3704.1 and 2.2-3704.2, the following information is provided:
Please review entire Chapter 37 of Title 2.2 of the Code of Virginia for exclusions related to records maintained by the Clerk of Circuit Court especially as it relates to §2.2-3703 5. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the records required by law to be maintained by the clerks of the courts of record, as defined in §1-212, and courts not of record, as defined in §16 1, 1969.5. However, other records maintained by the clerks of such courts shall be public records and subject to the provisions of this chapter.