Franklin County Municipal Court Clerk Records

The Franklin County Municipal Court Clerk

The Municipal Court Clerk is Lori M. Tyack. She is elected by voters to a six-year term, so the office is run by an official who answers to the public, not by a court appointee. The Clerk is the legal guardian and keeper of all official records of the Franklin County Municipal Court. That covers criminal and civil case filings, search warrants, subpoenas, pleadings, and the money tied to cases, such as court costs, fines, third-party monies, and garnishments.

The office sits at 375 South High Street, on the 4th Floor, in downtown Columbus. The Municipal Court building is the southernmost building facing High Street in the county complex, just north of Interstate 70. Court records work runs through this floor. Payments, copies, and case lookups all start here or through the Clerk's online tools.

This Clerk handles a different court than the main county office. The Municipal Court hears traffic cases, misdemeanor criminal cases, and civil cases where the amount at issue is $15,000 or less. The court also runs an Environmental Division for local property code matters. Every file from those dockets lands with this Clerk.

Records the Municipal Court Clerk Keeps

This office holds the records most people search after a ticket or a minor charge. Traffic and misdemeanor cases make up a large share. Civil claims under $15,000, small claims, and eviction matters are here too. The Clerk also keeps search warrants, subpoenas, and pleadings filed in the court, along with the financial side of each case.

The main county Clerk of Courts keeps a separate set of records. That office holds Common Pleas felony and large civil files, Domestic Relations, Juvenile, and Tenth District appeals. If your case is a felony or a divorce, it is not here. The list below shows what the Municipal Court Clerk handles.

• Traffic: moving and non-moving violations, citations, and traffic misdemeanors.
• Criminal: misdemeanor charges filed in the Municipal Court.
• Civil: claims up to $15,000, plus small claims and landlord-tenant cases.
• Environmental: local code enforcement on real property, including fire and building codes.
• Court process: search warrants, subpoenas, and pleadings.
• Money: fines, court costs, garnishments, and third-party monies.

For full felony case history or appeals, the main Clerk of Courts is the right office. For a deeper look at the court itself, see the Franklin County Municipal Court page.

Divisions Inside the Clerk's Office

The Clerk's office is split into divisions, and each one handles a slice of the work. This matters when you call. A fines question goes to a different desk than a civil filing question. The structure keeps a high-volume court moving.

The office lists these working divisions. Most public record questions route through Criminal, Civil, or the Traffic Violations Bureau, depending on the case type.

• Administration
• Accounting/Finance
• Audit and Internal Controls
• Civil
• Collections
• Criminal
• Traffic Violations Bureau/Communications
• Courtroom Services
• Information Services

Information Services runs the technology behind the public search. Collections chases unpaid fines and costs. The Traffic Violations Bureau handles the heavy flow of citation matters that come through the court each day.

The Franklin County Municipal Court Records Search

The Clerk runs a free public case search. It lets you look up court dates, the amount due, warrant status, parties, case status, and case type. The tool is the fastest way to check a traffic or misdemeanor case without a trip to the 4th Floor. You do not need an account.

The Franklin County Municipal Court Clerk case search is the official portal for traffic, criminal, and civil Municipal records.

You must start with one of four routes. Pick a case number, a ticket number, a last name plus first name, or a company name. A ticket or case number gives the cleanest result. Without one of those, use a full name and then narrow with extra fields.

Municipal case numbers follow a set shape. They use a four-digit year, a case code, and a sequence. The court's own help examples make the format clear, and the year shown is just a sample.

• Criminal: 2027 CR A 001234 or 2027 CR B 001234
• Traffic: 2027 TR C 123456, 2027 TR D 123456, or 2027 TR P 123456
• Civil: 2027 CVE 001234, 2027 CVF 001234, or 2027 CVG 001234

Ticket numbers include letters, such as REY54321. A closed status does not always mean a case is finished, so open the docket detail and check the amount due and any warrant flag. For broader case research across all county courts, the Franklin County court records page maps each portal to its court.

Municipal Court Clerk Search Fields

The search screen offers several fields, but not all of them are required. The Clerk says to begin with a name, a case number, or a ticket number, then add more only if needed. The table below lists the fields pulled from the live portal.

Note: The search needs one of four routes to run, so a stray middle name or party type alone will not return a result.

How to Search Municipal Court Records

The steps below match the live portal. They work for a traffic ticket, a misdemeanor charge, or a small civil claim. Start with the most exact piece of information you have.

1. Open the Municipal Court Clerk case search from the Clerk's site.
2. Pick one route: case number, ticket number, last name plus first name, or company name.
3. Type the value carefully; case and ticket numbers include letters and a sequence.
4. Add Case Year, Case Type, or Party Type only if a name returns too many results.
5. Run the search and open the matching case from the result list.
6. Review the docket, court date, amount due, case status, and any warrant flag.

If a name brings back a long list, the year filter trims it fast. For traffic matters specifically, the Franklin County traffic court records page walks through citation lookups in more detail.

Scam Alerts and Safe Payment

The Clerk has posted a scam alert. Some people get texts claiming an unpaid parking ticket or a required court appearance. These messages can carry a fake payment link. The court does not collect ticket money this way.

Pay only through official court links. Start from the Clerk's own search and payment pages, or pay in person on the 4th Floor at 375 South High Street. If a message pushes you to a strange site or demands a gift card, treat it as a scam. When in doubt, call the office at 614-645-8006 and confirm the case before you pay anything.

Public Access to Municipal Court Records

Ohio law presumes court records are open. The Ohio Public Records Act, Ohio Revised Code § 149.43, requires prompt inspection and copies within a reasonable time. Court files also follow the Ohio Rules of Superintendence, which set the presumption of public access and the rules for redaction. The Municipal Court Clerk works inside that same framework.

That means you can look up most traffic, misdemeanor, and civil cases without giving a reason. Personal identifiers are redacted from filings. Some records carry limits. Sealed and expunged cases drop out of public view once a court grants the order under Ohio Revised Code § 2953.32, and juvenile matters have their own tighter rules. The Clerk keeps records under a retention schedule, so older files may sit on microfilm or as scanned images rather than in the live database.

When a case is partly confidential, the office releases the open portion and explains the redaction. To seal a Municipal record, you file in this court, not the Common Pleas Clerk, because the two offices keep separate files and forms.

Copies and Certified Municipal Records

There are two kinds of copies. 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. For any Municipal case, this Clerk issues the copy. For a Common Pleas file, you go to the main county Clerk instead.

Copy and certification fees for court cases are quoted at the counter; the official pages reviewed did not publish a fixed court-copy price list. Bring the case or ticket number to speed the request. Older files kept on microfilm or in storage can take longer to pull. Plan for business hours, Monday through Friday.

1. Find the case or ticket number through the online search.
2. Ask the Clerk for a plain or certified copy.
3. Pay the copy or certification fee quoted at the counter.
4. Allow extra time for older or stored files.

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

Two Clerks, Two Sets of Records

Franklin County runs two separate clerk offices, and people mix them up all the time. The split is the single most useful thing to learn before a search. Get it right and you save a phone call or a trip.

The Municipal Court Clerk, Lori M. Tyack, keeps traffic, misdemeanor, and small civil files at 375 South High Street. The main county Clerk of Courts, Maryellen O'Shaughnessy, keeps Common Pleas felony and large civil files plus Tenth District appeals at 373 South High Street, 23rd Floor, phone 614-525-3600. They are different offices on different floors with different search tools.

For the full county Clerk profile, see the Clerk of Courts page. For the court structure behind both offices, the Court of Common Pleas page lays out each division.