Fresno County Clerk of the Superior Court and County Clerk

The Fresno County Court Clerk vs the County Clerk

California has a unified trial court. Each of the 58 counties runs one Superior Court, and the Clerk of the Superior Court of California, County of Fresno keeps the court's case files. That same court issues certified copies, accepts new filings, and runs the public case portal.

The Fresno County Clerk is a separate county office. James A. Kus serves as both County Clerk and Registrar of Voters. His staff issue marriage licenses, file fictitious business names, swear in notaries, and run elections. They do not hold court case files. They also do not sell copies of public marriage certificates; those come from the Fresno County Recorder. Because both jobs share the word "clerk," people mail the wrong forms to the wrong office every week.

Court Clerk of the Superior Court

The Court Clerk is the records arm of the Superior Court. Staff accept new filings, file-stamp papers, set hearing dates, and pull case files for the public. They process certified copies and seal restricted records when court orders apply. The clerk does not give legal advice; self-help staff handle that role.

Criminal filings, juvenile dependency, and ACTION Center business run from the Downtown courthouse. Civil, family, probate, small claims, and unlawful detainer business run from the B. F. Sisk courthouse. Traffic and minor criminal infractions move through the M Street clerk counter.

The image above shows the County Clerk/Registrar service page. That site lists marriage, elections, and business filings, none of which touch a court case file. For court files you would go to the Fresno Superior Court site instead.

Fresno County Clerk Services

James A. Kus runs the County Clerk and the Registrar of Voters. The office page sets out two broad service branches: Elections and Clerk Services. Clerk Services is the side that touches records most often used by the public.

• Public and confidential marriage licenses, by online appointment only
• Civil marriage ceremonies, by appointment
• Fictitious business name filings for sole proprietors and partnerships
• Notary public oaths, bond filings, and certified notary copies
• Process server, professional photocopier, and unlawful detainer assistant registrations
• Environmental filings on behalf of state and county agencies

The County Clerk does not file lawsuits, accept court papers, or issue subpoenas. Court filings always go to the Superior Court clerk counter at Van Ness, O Street, or M Street, depending on case type. See court records for the full case-type breakdown.

Filing a Document with the Court Clerk

Most filings are paper or e-file. Civil unlimited cases, family law, and probate use eFile through the Tyler portal listed on the court site. Criminal cases are filed by the District Attorney or counsel at Van Ness. Pro se parties can file paper at the right counter. Bring the original and two copies, plus the filing fee or a fee waiver request on form FW-001.

The clerk file-stamps the original, returns conformed copies, and routes the case for assignment. For small claims, the clerk schedules a hearing at filing. For unlawful detainer, expect a 60-day delay before the case shows on the public portal.

Requesting Certified Court Records

Online portal screens are not the official record. Anything used in court, sent to an agency, or filed with another state needs a certified copy from the Clerk. Common uses include passports, immigration, licensing, and out-of-state custody enforcement.

1. Find the case number on the public portal at publicportal.fresno.courts.ca.gov. For civil cases, drop the trailing three judge initials. Example: 03CECG00001 SJK becomes 03CECG00001.
2. Pick the right courthouse. Civil, family, probate, and small claims go to B. F. Sisk at 1130 O Street. Criminal goes to 1100 Van Ness Avenue. Traffic goes to M Street.
3. Fill out the records request at the clerk counter. List the case number, party names, document type, and number of copies. A written letter request also works.
4. Pay the per-page copy fee plus the certification fee. The clerk staff will tell you the page count before you pay.
5. Wait for the staff to pull the file, copy the pages, and apply the court seal. Pick up at the counter or wait for mail return.

For older files, the clerk routes the request to the Archives Facility on E Street. Archive pulls take longer.

Records Request Form Fields

The Case Index Order Form is the main written request the court uses for bulk index work. The same fields show up on most counter request slips, so the list below is useful for any certified copy request.

Bulk Case Index Orders

Bulk case index orders sit under California Rules of Court rule 2.503 for distribution and rule 2.507 for index field limits. Fresno limits each index to one month of data and one case-management report at a time. The field set is fixed by rule, and the court must strip sensitive data from every index before it leaves the building.

Mail the order form and a $70 check per monthly report to Fresno County Superior Court Accounting Department, 4th Floor, Attn: Case Index Request, 1100 Van Ness Avenue, Fresno, CA 93724-0002. Questions: CaseIndexReports@fresno.courts.ca.gov.

The index lists case number, case style or party names, case type, filing date, status date, current status, and (for criminal and traffic) the offenses. Rule 2.507 excludes Social Security numbers, financial data, warrant information, victim and witness data, ethnicity, age, gender, government ID numbers, driver's license numbers, and dates of birth. No document images come with the index.

Marriage License (Appointment Only)

Marriage licenses run through the County Clerk, not the court. Couples book the appointment online through the Clerk's appointment system. Both parties must come in together. Both must show a valid government photo ID with proof of age. Cell phone pictures and photocopies will not be accepted.

The Clerk asks for names, addresses, dates of birth, parents' full names and states of birth, and dissolution dates if either party was married before. If a divorce closed in the last 12 months, bring a copy of the judgment. The license is issued the same day after staff review. The ceremony must take place within 90 days of issuance.

Public licenses allow copies through the Recorder. Confidential licenses ask both parties to live together at the same address. Certified copies of a confidential marriage go only to the parties or by court order under Health and Safety Code section 103526. See marriage and divorce records for the public copy path.

Recorder vs Clerk for Marriage Certificate Copies

Public marriage certificate copies do not come from the County Clerk. They come from the Fresno County Recorder at (559) 600-3471. Confidential marriage certificate copies do come from the County Clerk, but only when the requester is a party to the marriage or holds a court order. People often mix this up and mail $17 to the wrong office.

The Superior Court fee schedule shown above lists the per-page copy and certification fees for court records. Note that this schedule covers court files. It does not cover marriage certificates, which sit on the Recorder fee schedule instead. The two fee lists look similar but apply to different records.

Fresno County Clerk Fees

Fees change. Check the current fee schedule before mailing a check. The values below come from the Superior Court case index page, the County Clerk marriage page, and the Recorder fee schedule.

Fresno Superior Court Archives Facility

Closed and older case files move from the active courthouses to the Archives Facility at 1963 E Street, Fresno, CA 93706. The phone is (559) 457-4903. The Archives stores court case files, manages destruction under court retention rules, and microfilms judgments and records before destruction.

The Archives does not sell copies at the door. Requests still go through the Clerk of the Superior Court at the right courthouse, and the Archives ships the file to that counter. For a closed criminal case, route through 1100 Van Ness Avenue. For a closed civil, family, or probate case, route through 1130 O Street.

Related Fresno County Resources

For the case search portal, see court records. For hearing pulls, see court dockets. For probate forms, see probate records. For the trial court overview, see Superior Court. For the CPRA portal, see public records. For common questions, see FAQ.