How to hire a court clerk

How to hire a court clerk, step by step

Here's a step-by-step court clerk hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a court clerk job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new court clerk
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a court clerk do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your court clerk job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a court clerk for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A court clerk's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, court clerks from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of court clerks.

   Type of Court Clerk	Description	Hourly rate
   Court Clerk	Information clerks perform routine clerical duties such as maintaining records, collecting data, and providing information to customers.	$13-21
   Criminal Justice Internship	In a criminal justice internship, an intern gains industry insights and practical experience by observing how criminal justice theories are put into practice. Although their duties can vary upon the directives given by a supervising criminal justice professional or agency of employment, they are usually responsible for performing support tasks such as conducting research and analysis, organizing files, studying criminal cases, and running errands... Show more	$11-19
   Legal Clerk	A legal clerk is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to legal offices and organizations to ensure smooth legal business operations. Legal clerks sort and distribute documents to the appropriate personnel, update information on the database, schedule appointments, respond to clients' inquiries and concerns, and document meeting objectives... Show more	$11-23

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Data Entry
   • Customer Service
   • Subpoenas
   • Court Dates
   • Bench Warrants
   • Court Orders
   • Management System
   • Court Proceedings
   • District Court
   • Court Dockets
   • Computer System
   • Court Procedures
   • Office Equipment
   • Court System

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage operations and LAN, plus data interchange with other agencies.
   • Receive and record payments of fees or fines, process notary commissions, order files and purge old files for achieves.
   • Answer public inquiries in terms of judicial proceedings, trial dates and witness fees along with preparing probation orders and summonses.
   • Maintain report for NCIC reports.
   • Count ballots and sign summons when necessary.
   • Handle daily operations of filing child support summons.

   More court clerk duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the court clerk job description is a good way to get more applicants. A court clerk salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a court clerk in Louisiana may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level court clerk. Additionally, a court clerk with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average court clerk salary

   $36,328yearly

   $17.47 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level court clerk salary

   $29,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average court clerk salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$54,422	$26
   2	Minnesota	$43,344	$21
   3	Colorado	$39,811	$19
   4	Wisconsin	$38,409	$18
   5	Pennsylvania	$37,774	$18
   6	Michigan	$37,338	$18
   7	New York	$35,709	$17
   8	Montana	$35,269	$17
   9	Idaho	$34,673	$17
   10	Georgia	$34,498	$17
   11	Arizona	$32,959	$16
   12	Texas	$32,835	$16
   13	Kansas	$32,345	$16

   Average court clerk salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Wayne County, Michigan	$51,926	$24.96	4
   2	King County	$50,068	$24.07
   3	City of Seattle	$47,389	$22.78
   4	City of Tucson	$45,693	$21.97	1
   5	City of Topeka	$45,653	$21.95
   6	City of Atlanta	$45,165	$21.71	4
   7	City of Spokane	$45,112	$21.69
   8	Town of Marana	$44,196	$21.25
   9	City of Austin	$44,004	$21.16
   10	City of Laredo	$43,448	$20.89
   11	City of Bozeman	$43,353	$20.84	1
   12	City of Aurora	$42,861	$20.61
   13	City of Ann Arbor	$42,776	$20.57
   14	City Of Willoughby	$42,714	$20.54
   15	City of Garden City	$42,580	$20.47
   16	City of Glendale, CA	$42,238	$20.31
   17	Loveland City Hall	$40,395	$19.42	1
   18	City of Edmonds, Official City Account	$40,151	$19.30
   19	Lincoln Holdings LLC	$39,991	$19.23	1
   20	Oakland County, Michigan Government	$39,890	$19.18	5

4. Writing a court clerk job description

   A good court clerk job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a court clerk job description:

   Court clerk job description example

   
   Job Posted by ApplicantPro
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find court clerks for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your court clerk job on Zippia to find and recruit court clerk candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit court clerks, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new court clerk

   Once you have selected a candidate for the court clerk position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new court clerk. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a court clerk?