Josephine Court Clerk Office
The Josephine County Circuit Court is part of the Oregon Judicial Department. The local Trial Court Administrator and court clerk function handle case-file access, court registers, certified copies, audio requests, filing counters, and public terminal access for cases filed in Josephine County Circuit Court. The main court phone is 541-476-2309.
Use the Josephine court records and audio requests page for local records request guidance. The county Clerk and Recorder pages are still important because they show the non-court side of the split records structure.
The Josephine County Clerk and Recorder page states that the county Clerk's Office is not part of the Oregon State Court System.
That distinction keeps court users from ordering a divorce decree, criminal judgment, or probate file from the county recorder by mistake.
Josephine County Circuit Court
510 NW 5th Street
Grants Pass, OR 97526
541-476-2309
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Josephine Court Clerk Duties
The court clerk side of Josephine County records work differs from the county recorder side. Circuit Court records include civil, criminal, family, probate, small claims, landlord-tenant, traffic, and violation cases. The clerk/court administrator keeps the case register required by Oregon law and manages public access that is allowed by court rules and privacy limits.
The County Clerk contact page is useful as a contrast point because it gives the recorder office address, mailing address, phone, and fax.
The contact split is local and practical: the court phone is used for case files, while the county clerk phone is used for marriage and recorded-document questions.
- Maintains the court register and case events for Circuit Court cases.
- Processes certified copy, document copy, and audio requests through court records channels.
- Provides counter help and public access terminal access for public case information.
- Directs restricted, sealed, juvenile, adoption, mental health, and VAWA records away from ordinary public access.
For marriage licenses or recorded land documents, use the Josephine County Clerk and Recorder instead of the court clerk.
The County Recording Division page lists recorder duties such as deeds, mortgages, liens, plats, easements, land sale contracts, military discharges, mining records, powers of attorney, and Commissioners' Journal documents.
Those recorder duties can be court-adjacent, but they are not the court register or a Circuit Court case file.
Request Josephine Certified Copies
Certified court copies are needed when an agency, employer, court, or other official recipient requires a court seal or certification. The free OJD search can show basic case information, but it does not provide documents. More complete records may require OJCIN access, a public terminal, or a clerk request.
- Identify the case type, party names, and case number if known.
- Use the OJD search or courthouse terminal to confirm the Josephine County Circuit Court case.
- Contact the court records desk or use the local records and audio request instructions.
- Ask whether the record is public, restricted, sealed, or available only by court order.
- Pay any fee required under the current statewide OJD fee schedule and request mailing or pickup instructions.
Josephine Records Request Fields
The research did not locate a fully exposed Josephine court copy-request web form field list. A practical court-copy request should still include enough detail for staff to locate the right file and determine whether it may be released.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Helpful when known | Use the Oregon eCourt case number if available. |
| Party names | Yes | Free OJD results limit party details to first and last name. |
| Document or audio requested | Yes | State whether a certified copy, plain copy, judgment, decree, docket entry, or audio is needed. |
| Case type | Helpful | Criminal, civil, family, probate, traffic, small claims, or landlord-tenant. |
| Requester contact | Yes | Include phone, email, and mailing address for fee and delivery follow-up. |
Josephine Court Clerk Fees
Court filing and copy fees are set statewide by the Oregon Judicial Department, not by the Josephine County Clerk and Recorder. The 2026 circuit court fee schedule controls current statewide fees, and court staff can confirm what applies before a request is processed.
County recorder and marriage-license fees should not be used as court-copy fees. Josephine's county fee examples include a $60 marriage license, certified marriage copy amounts, and county public records copy charges. Circuit Court filing fees, copy fees, and audio costs use OJD court fee authority and local court records request instructions instead.
| Item | Amount or rule |
|---|---|
| Court filing fees | Use the current OJD circuit court fee schedule |
| Certified court copies | Confirm current OJD copy and certification fee before ordering |
| Audio requests | Use local Josephine records/audio request instructions |
| County public records copies | Not a court fee; county records copies are listed at $0.25 per copy with $1 minimum |
Note: County recorder copy fees and marriage-license copy fees are separate from Circuit Court fees.
Josephine Court Forms
The Josephine local and statewide forms page points users to court forms for Circuit Court case types. The same court system handles divorce forms, probate forms, protective-order resources, set-aside resources, and local family-program requirements.
The County Digital Research Room page shows the separate recorder search route for county documents and certified marriage-license copies.
Digital Research Room records can help with deeds or marriage-license copies, but court forms and case filings remain with the Circuit Court system.
- Use OJD statewide forms when they are available for the case type.
- Check Josephine local forms and supplementary local rules before filing.
- For adult set-asides, Josephine directs users to Circuit Court forms and ORS 137.225.
- For juvenile expunction, Josephine points applicants to the Juvenile Department.
Online and Counter Access
Josephine County Circuit Court records can be reached through several OJD channels. Free records and calendar search gives basic public case and hearing information. OECI is the official ORS 7.020 register for circuit and tax courts. OJCIN Online is the subscription route for broader register and judgment information, and local circuit courts also provide public access terminals.
Protected records do not become public because they are requested at the counter. Juvenile, adoption, mental health, VAWA, sealed, and set-aside records may be unavailable online and may require a court order or another authorized process.
For older or non-digitized court files, the clerk counter is often the fallback after the online search path is exhausted. A requester should bring party names, case number if known, case type, approximate filing year, and the reason a certified copy is needed. If the result is a divorce decree, probate order, criminal judgment, or traffic disposition, staff can identify the court copy path rather than the recorder path.
If the case involves a recent hearing, check the court calendar first and then the register. Calendar entries can move faster than copy requests, while certified documents require staff review, fees, and release checks.