Access Stokes County Clerk Records

Stokes Clerk Contact

North Carolina's clerk structure is unified at the county court level. Stokes County uses the Clerk of Superior Court as the central court-record custodian, rather than separate county and district clerks. The NC Judicial Directory filtered to Stokes County identifies Bradley Lankford as Clerk of Superior Court. The official Stokes County contact directory lists the Clerk of Superior Court phone as (336) 593-4400.

The clerk's public counter is at the Stokes County Courthouse, listed by the North Carolina Judicial Branch as Hwy 89 - 1012 Main St, Danbury, NC 27016. The courthouse mailing address is PO Box 250, Danbury, NC 27016. The official payment page also instructs users mailing eligible court payments to use Clerk of Superior Court, Stokes County Courthouse, 1012 Main Street, Danbury, NC 27016. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.

The NC Judicial Branch criminal background-check page explains why a county clerk search is the official route for a single-county criminal record search.

That statewide background-check process applies locally when a person needs an official Stokes County criminal record search from the clerk.

Stokes Clerk Duties

The Clerk of Superior Court keeps the records, files, dockets, and indexes required by state court rules. G.S. 7A-109 says clerk-maintained records are open to public inspection during regular office hours unless another law prohibits access. That makes the clerk the local office for paper case files, public terminals, copies, certified copies, and court-record questions that cannot be solved by an online portal search.

• Maintain Stokes County court records, files, dockets, and indexes for Superior Court and District Court matters.
• Provide access to paper case files and public self-service terminals for eligible court-record searches.
• Issue certified copies of clerk-held court documents when a certified court record is required.
• Process single-county criminal background checks using form AOC-CR-314 and the official county-clerk fee.
• File and maintain divorce judgments, estate files, wills filed after death, judgments, liens, foreclosures, evictions, partitions, condemnations, and other proceedings affecting real property.
• Act as probate judge for Stokes County estate matters because North Carolina does not use a separate county probate court for ordinary estate administration.

The NC Judicial Branch cautions that the Portal can be used for online case information, but people performing background checks should use the county clerk's office rather than a casual Portal search. The same source notes that NCAOC is not the custodian of local court documents and does not fulfill local court-document requests. That custodian distinction is why a certified Stokes County file request returns to the Clerk of Superior Court.

Request Stokes Certified Copies

A certified copy is usually needed when a court document must prove an official filing or court action. In Stokes County, that can include a divorce judgment, criminal disposition, civil judgment, estate letter, filed will, or other clerk-held document. A Portal result, screenshot, or third-party report is not a certified court copy. The certified copy must come from the Clerk of Superior Court that holds the file.

1. Identify the case type: criminal, civil, estate, special proceeding, divorce judgment, judgment, lien, foreclosure, eviction, partition, or another clerk file.
2. Search the NC eCourts Portal or public terminal for the case number, party names, filing date, and case status if those details are not already known.
3. Contact the Stokes County Clerk of Superior Court at (336) 593-4400 or visit the courthouse during regular hours to confirm the file location and copy requirements.
4. State that a certified copy is needed, not a plain copy, and identify the exact document or order.
5. Pay the applicable copy, certification, search, or filing-related fee using the payment method the clerk accepts for that transaction.
6. Pick up the certified copy or follow the clerk's mailing instructions if the office can process the request by mail.

The NCAOC public-records policies page explains statewide public-record procedures and custodian limits.

For local court documents, those statewide policies should be read with the local-custodian rule: Stokes County files are requested through the Stokes clerk.

Records Request Form Fields

The research did not locate a separate Stokes-only court-record request form for every copy request, so the safest request inventory is the information the clerk needs to locate the file and produce the correct document. For single-county criminal background checks, the official route is form AOC-CR-314 submitted to the Clerk of Superior Court. For case-file copies, provide as many search fields as possible before asking staff to certify or copy a document.

Stokes County Clerk Fees

The official research source lists several clerk-related amounts and payment rules. The table below includes only captured amounts, because clerk fees can vary by document type and current North Carolina court-cost schedules. Confirm any case-specific fee with the clerk before mailing payment.

The G.S. 132-6.2 fee statute is the public-record fee reference captured for North Carolina copy and service-charge limits.

That statute matters when a public-record request involves copying, media, or special service work rather than a fixed court-cost item.

Common Clerk Forms

North Carolina court forms are centralized through the Judicial Branch forms search rather than a separate Stokes-only form library. The forms search includes estate, criminal, civil, and other court forms. Stokes County users should still file or submit the completed form with the correct local clerk office when the matter belongs in Stokes County.

• NC Judicial Branch Forms Search - statewide search for court forms by category and keyword.
• AOC-CR-314 - single-county criminal record search submitted to the Clerk of Superior Court.
• AOC-E-201 - application for probate and letters testamentary or administration CTA.
• AOC-E-202 - application for letters of administration.
• AOC-E-203B - affidavit for collection of personal property of decedent for qualifying small estates.

The official NC forms search is the correct starting point for current form versions.

Using the statewide forms search reduces the risk of filing an outdated local copy, but Stokes filing questions still go to the local clerk.

Mail and Online Filings

Online access starts with the NC eCourts Portal. Portal services include Smart Search for court records and case information, Search Hearings for court dates and hearings, Make Payments for eligible matters, and NC Judgment Search for judgments under G.S. 7A-109(b)(6). Portal can help identify a case number, hearing date, payment eligibility, or judgment index entry, but it is not a substitute for the clerk when the user needs a certified copy or the official paper file.

For in-person or paper access, visit the Clerk of Superior Court at the Stokes County Courthouse. For mailed payments that are eligible for mail handling, the Stokes payment page says to make payments payable to Stokes County Clerk of Superior Court and mail them to Clerk of Superior Court, Stokes County Courthouse, 1012 Main Street, Danbury, NC 27016. Mail payments must be money order or certified check only; the page says not to mail cash or personal checks.

For background checks, use the clerk search process and the official statewide background-check options rather than relying on a Portal name search. For remote or bulk data, the Remote Public Access program provides licensed statewide criminal and civil data access with its own setup, user, transaction, and late-fee rules. For law-enforcement records, ask the investigating agency because G.S. 132-1.4 treats criminal investigation and intelligence records differently from ordinary public records.