Franklin County Clerk of Courts Records

The Franklin County Clerk of Courts

Maryellen O'Shaughnessy serves as the Franklin County Clerk of Courts. The office is the custodian for the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas and the Court of Appeals, Tenth Appellate District of Ohio. That covers a wide span of files. Civil and criminal cases in the General Division, Domestic Relations matters, Juvenile cases, Juvenile Traffic, and appeals all flow through this office.

The Clerk does more than store paper. Staff accept new filings, take payments, keep the docket current, and issue copies the public and the courts can rely on. The office also keeps fiscal records and runs the county's Auto Title operation. The Administration office sits on the 23rd Floor of the courthouse at 373 South High Street in Columbus.

You can reach the main line at 614-525-3600. Hours run Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. One quirk worth noting: on Wednesdays the office opens to the public at 8:15 a.m. rather than 8:00. The Clerk's official homepage links the search tool, forms, and division pages in one place.

The Franklin County Clerk of Courts homepage is the front door to records, payments, and contact details.

From there you can jump to Case Information Online or open the public records policy. The site groups each legal division so you land in the right spot.

Franklin County Clerk of Courts Contact

The Clerk runs several service points, not one counter. Administration handles general questions and the broad public records function. Each legal division keeps its own desk and phone for the case types it manages. The card below gives the main office, and the table that follows lists each division so you call the right floor.

Division phone numbers come straight from the Clerk's contact page. Match the case type to the right desk before you call.

The full directory, with addresses and hours, lives on the Clerk's contact page.

The Franklin County Clerk of Courts contact page lists each division address and phone number.

Use that page to confirm a floor before you visit, since some divisions sit in different buildings.

What the Franklin County Clerk Keeps

The Clerk holds a defined set of records. Knowing the list saves a wasted call. The office keeps Common Pleas General Division civil and criminal files, Domestic Relations cases, Juvenile and Juvenile Traffic cases, and Tenth District Court of Appeals records. It also keeps fiscal records tied to those courts and the county's Auto Title records.

What the Clerk does not keep matters just as much. Traffic tickets and misdemeanor cases go to the Municipal Court Clerk. Estates, guardianships, name changes, and marriage records go to the Probate Court. If your case is a felony or a larger civil dispute, the Clerk of Courts is almost always the right office.

• Civil Common Pleas - Complaints, motions, judgments, liens, and foreclosure filings.
• Criminal Common Pleas - Felony indictments, pleas, and sentencing entries.
• Domestic Relations - Divorce, dissolution, custody, and support files.
• Juvenile and Juvenile Traffic - Youth cases, with tight access limits.
• Tenth District Appeals - Appellate filings and records.
• Fiscal and Auto Title - Court money records and vehicle title work.

For a deeper look at each family of records, see the Franklin County court records page.

Case Information Online From the Clerk

The Clerk runs Case Information Online, known as CIO. It is the free public search for Common Pleas records. The tool covers General Division civil and criminal cases, Domestic Relations cases, and Tenth District appeals. You can search by name or by case number on one screen. A case number returns the cleanest result.

Set the Court dropdown to All, Appeals, Civil, Criminal, or Domestic to focus a name search. CIO spells out the case-type codes too. AP is Appeals, CV is Civil, CR is Criminal, DM is Domestic Dissolution, and DR is Domestic Divorce, among others. The docket lists each filing in date order once the file loads.

1. Open Case Information Online from the Clerk of Courts.
2. Pick a name search or a case-number search.
3. Set the Court dropdown to the right division.
4. Add a Filed From and Filed To date range to trim a common name.
5. Open the docket and ask for a certified copy if you need proof.

Note: A case number gives the fastest result, but a last name plus a court type and date range works when the number is not on hand.

Franklin County Clerk Public Records Policy

Ohio treats court records as open by default. The Ohio Public Records Act, Ohio Revised Code § 149.43, requires prompt inspection and copies within a reasonable time. Court files also follow the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio, which set the presumption of access and the redaction rules.

The Clerk's policy is friendly to the public. You can inspect records during regular business hours for free. You do not have to put the request in writing. You do not have to give your name, prove who you are, or say why you want the record. Staff may ask for more detail only when a request is too vague to fill. The request must describe the records well enough for staff to find them.

Records are released promptly, and copies follow within a reasonable period. Time depends on volume, where the file is stored, and any legal review. If part of a file is exempt, the office gives the public portion and explains the redaction with its legal basis. A denied request can move to the Ohio Court of Claims under Ohio Revised Code § 2743.75, a faster path than a lawsuit.

Clerk Records Request Form Fields

Because the Clerk does not require a written form, there is no long application to fill out. The office still tracks a few details to fill a request well. The table below lists the fields the policy describes. Only one truly matters in practice, and that is a clear description of the records you want.

The full policy is posted by the Clerk and worth a quick read before a large request. You can also handle many basic lookups yourself through Franklin County public records tools without filing any request at all.

Franklin County Clerk Fees and Copies

Inspection costs nothing. You pay only when you want copies or a certification. A plain copy is fine for reference. A certified copy carries the Clerk's seal and is the version courts, agencies, and other states accept as proof. The fee schedule below pulls the published figures and flags the one gap.

The Clerk has not published a flat court copy or certification rate online, so staff quote that fee at the counter when you place the order. For Auto Title payments, the office takes cash, personal, business, or certified checks, and money orders. A credit card works too, with a 3% processing fee added.

Note: Certified copies are needed for most legal and out-of-state uses, while a plain printout from the online docket is not accepted as proof.

How to Request a Certified Copy

A certified copy is the official version of a record. You will need one for many legal filings, license matters, and out-of-state uses. The steps below work for a Common Pleas file held by the Clerk of Courts. Have the case number ready if you can, since it speeds the search.

1. Find the case in Case Information Online and write down the case number.
2. Confirm the Clerk of Courts is the right custodian, not the Municipal or Probate office.
3. Visit the matching division desk, such as General Civil/Criminal on the 1st Floor at 345 South High Street.
4. Ask staff for a certified copy and name the documents you need.
5. Pay the copy and certification fee quoted at the counter.
6. Allow extra time for older files kept on microfilm or in storage.

For larger civil and felony matters, you may also want the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas page, which explains the divisions that generate these records.

Auto Title Records at the Clerk

The Clerk of Courts also runs the county's Auto Title function. That is unusual for a court clerk, but it is part of the Ohio system. The office keeps vehicle title records and issues copies. A copy of a title record costs $5.00.

This work sits apart from court case files. If you need a title record, ask for the Auto Title side of the office rather than a legal division. Payment options match the rest of the office, with the 3% card fee noted above.

Clerk of Courts vs Municipal Court Clerk

Franklin County splits its court records between two clerks. This trips up a lot of people. The Clerk of Courts keeps Common Pleas and appeals records. The Franklin County Municipal Court Clerk of Court, led by Lori M. Tyack, keeps the Municipal Court files. Those are the traffic tickets, misdemeanors, evictions, and small civil claims up to $15,000.

If you got a speeding ticket or a minor misdemeanor in Columbus, your record is with the Municipal Court Clerk, not the Clerk of Courts. The Municipal Clerk runs its own case search and its own contact page. The two offices sit close together but are not the same. Sending a request to the wrong one slows you down.

The Municipal Court Clerk overview page describes that office, its divisions, and the records it keeps.

That office holds the high-volume traffic and misdemeanor docket, which is why it operates as a separate clerk.

The Municipal Court Clerk contact page gives its address and phone for record requests.

For the full breakdown of which clerk holds what, see the Franklin County Municipal Court Clerk page. It covers the Municipal case search and the records Tyack's office keeps.

Related Franklin County Clerk Resources

You may also need Franklin County court records, the Municipal Court Clerk, the Court of Common Pleas, or county public records tools.