The office of County Clerk has been in existence in Texas since 1836, superseding the “escribano” of Spanish-Mexican rule. The Texas Constitution, Section 20, Article 5 provides:
“There shall be elected for each county, by qualified voters, a County Clerk, who shall hold his office for four years, who shall be clerk of the County and Commissioners Courts and recorder of the county, whose duties, perquisites and fees of office shall be prescribed by the Legislature and a vacancy in whose office shall be filled by the County Commissioners Court until the next general election; provided that in counties having a population of less than 8,000 there may be an election of a single Clerk who shall perform the duties of District and County Clerks.”
The county clerk serves as the registrar and record keeper for the county, Commissioners Court, and County Court.
Duties of the County Clerk include recording and filing instruments that prove ownership or interest in real property, instruments concerning the identity of persons and commercial activities; misdemeanor criminal cases; civil cases from $200 to $10,000 depending on jurisdictional limits set by statute; probate court; data collection for reporting to several state and local agencies including the County Auditor, County Treasurer, Voter Registrar, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Department of Public Safety, Attorney General, Supreme Court of Texas and Office of Court Administration.
Additional duties include: recording cattle brands, determining wet or dry liquor status for alcoholic beverage sale applications, assumed name applications, records management, filing retired Notary records, Clerk for the Commissioner’s Court, applications for birth certificates, death certificates, and military records.