Oklahoma County Court Information

There are a total of 77 counties in the state of Oklahoma. Each and every county has a county seat, which is usually a centrally located or populous area where the headquarters of the county government is located. Counties are state government extensions and are primarily administrative bodies which possess executive and limited judicial powers, but they lack legislative powers. The primary functions of a county are related to planning, managing and governing all unincorporated land within that respective county's border. The county government also undertakes police service, planning and other legal activities.

Functions of Oklahoma County Court

The counties keep track of death records, births, marriages, property ownership, divorces and court activities within its jurisdiction. The counties also maintain a system of courts, law enforcement, voter registration, roads and bridge construction. The counties which are the extensions of state government deal with some major services which include:

-    Providing protection and peace to life and property
-    Collection and assessment of taxes to run the county in a smooth manner
-    To maintain property rights these courts compile, record and preserve public records.
-    Caring for the aged, needy, and orphaned children
-    Providing administration of justice through the district court system

The offices of a county are divided into those of a county clerk, district court clerk, county assessor and county treasurer.

Oklahoma County Clerk Functions

A county clerk is the county’s official record keeper and also acts as the secretary for the county commission. The county clerk is the bookkeeper of all the auditing, salary payments and claims for the county. The clerks thus have the rights to allocate funds to the local government. All tax deeds, records and medical licenses are filled with the county clerk. The clerk is also the county’s official registrar of deeds.

District Court Clerk Duties

The district court clerk does all the recording, filing and maintaining the records of all criminal and civil cases that are brought before the district courts. These clerks are also responsible for collecting all the court fines and costs. A district court clerk also maintains the court schedules and keeps the records of all the jurors and witnesses and professional licenses.

Assessor and Treasurer Functions

Each county assessor is the center of the Oklahoma property tax system. The assessors are required to establish the taxable and market value of all real and business property in their respective counties.

The county treasurer is charged with the collection of these county assessor certified taxes.

Oklahoma County Court Divisions and Records

The primary duty of any county clerk in Oklahoma is to record and maintain court records which are filed in their respective Oklahoma county. The other important function of the court clerk is to account and collect all funds that are deposited in connection with court proceedings.

These county clerk offices annually receive more than $20 million in fines, bond forfeitures, court costs, child support and other such payments. Record maintenance and financial accounting are the primary legal duties of this office. Other services that are provided by the Oklahoma county courts clerks offices consists of passport processing, marriage licenses and licensing of private process servers.

The division of county clerks offices are as follows:

Wills for safekeeping- the court clerks office stores wills for safekeeping as provided by law.

Probates of estate – forms are provided at the court clerk office for $179.30 plus publication charges as applicable.

Judicial determination of death – forms may be obtained from the court clerk’s office at $95.00 plus publication as applicable.

Guardianship of a person who is incompetent or for a minor child- these records are confidential. The records of the attorney, guardians, or the ward can be reviewed without a court order. The fee for guardianship filing is $179.30 and $111.00 for conservatorship.

Adoption-  the records of adoptions are confidential and thus require a court order to access, barring adoption records that have not been finalized. Such records can be viewed by attorneys for the petitioners. Information regarding adoption is not given over the telephone. Once the final decree has been filed, records for adoptions cannot be accessed without a court order. The fee for adoption services is $151.30.

Mental health- cases related to mental records are confidential. Court orders are required to view these files.

If you want access to more records, contact the probate department at 405-713-1728 or you can visit http://www.oklahomacounty.org/ . You can also visit

Oklahoma County Annex Building,
320, Robert S. Kerr. Ave.
Oklahoma City, Ok 73102
Phone: (405) 270-0082