Jay County Clerk Office
The Jay County Clerk's Office is a unified clerk office for Jay Circuit Court and Jay Superior Court. The county lists Missy Elliott as Clerk, Jay Circuit & Superior Court, with a term expiration of 12/31/2028. The office is located in the Jay County Courthouse in Portland, and it is the local filing and copy counter for court records tied to both courts of record.
The clerk page also identifies deputy clerk contacts: Kylee Garringer, Kristen Miller, Molly Twigg, Denise Culy, and Lorrie Younger. Their listed phone lines help route different office work, but a public record requester usually starts with the main clerk contact or the record-copy instructions. The clerk page links to court record copies, search information, genealogy, marriage licenses, MyCase, small claims, protection and no-contact orders, self-service legal resources, jury duty, voter registration, and elections.
Clerk of the Jay Circuit and Superior Courts
Clerk: Missy Elliott
120 N Court St, Suite 209
Portland, IN 47371
260-726-4951
Fax: 260-726-6922
melliott@jaycounty.in.gov
Jay County Clerk Duties
The clerk's Jay County work is broader than handing out copies. The office receives filings, maintains case records, issues and certifies copies, collects court fees, supports marriage licensing, helps route small claims and protection-order materials, and provides historical search guidance. Because the same office serves both Jay Circuit Court and Jay Superior Court, a requester does not need to pick a separate clerk based on which of those two courts handled the case.
- Maintains records for Jay Circuit Court and Jay Superior Court.
- Processes court-record copy and certification requests.
- Handles Jay County marriage license service and marriage-record copies.
- Provides historical search information for civil, criminal, probate, and marriage records.
- Links the public to MyCase, small claims, protection orders, jury duty, and elections resources.
Note: Jay County probate originals from 1840 through 1899 are at Jay County History & Genealogy, not at the courthouse.
Request Jay County Certified Copies
The clerk's court-record copy request form is the main access channel for certified copies. It is titled "Request for Copies of a Court Record" and can be printed, completed, and sent to the clerk by mail or fax. The research also confirms that a requester can order by email when the same information is included. Certified copies should be requested when a court record must be used for legal, title, benefits, licensing, or identity purposes.
- Search Indiana MyCase or personal papers for the court case number.
- Identify the exact document, such as decree, order, judgment, filing, or certified marriage copy.
- Complete the clerk's copy request fields, including contact details and party names.
- Mark whether a certified copy is needed, since certification adds a separate fee.
- Send the request by mail, fax, or email, or visit the clerk in person.
- For mail requests, include payment and a self-addressed stamped envelope.
Jay County Request Form Fields
A precise request saves time. The clerk form does not require a long legal memo. It asks for enough information to locate the file, identify the document, calculate copies and certification, and return the record. A case number is listed as optional in the research, but it is very helpful when MyCase or a prior court notice provides it.
| Field label | Type | Jay County use |
|---|---|---|
| Your Name/Person to Contact | Text | Requester or contact person. |
| Street Address | Text | Mailing address for return copies. |
| City, State, and Zip Code | Text | Mailing address continuation. |
| Phone Number | Text | Used if the clerk needs to clarify the request. |
| Type of Document, Date, Order/Decree, Number of Copies | Repeated lines | Lines numbered 1 through 5 for document-specific requests. |
| Certified Copy | Checkbox | Yes or No. |
| Names of Parties Involved | Text | Case-party names, spouses, decedent, or litigants. |
| Court Case Number | Text | Optional but useful for locating the right file. |
| Other Information | Text | Extra locating details, date range, or record series. |
Jay County Clerk Fees
Jay County's confirmed copy fees are clear in the clerk research. Plain copies are charged per page. Certification is charged per document in addition to copy charges. The form cites Indiana court-fee statutes for those amounts, and the same fee pattern appears in the clerk search information. Transcript costs are separate because the local court-reporter rule sets a maximum per-page amount for private, state indigent, and county indigent transcripts.
| Item | Fee or instruction |
|---|---|
| Plain copy | $1.00 per page |
| Certification | Additional $3.00 per document |
| Mail payment | Check or money order payable to Clerk of Jay Circuit Court |
| Return envelope | Self-addressed stamped envelope requested for mail copies |
| Court payment portal | Bridge Payment link appears on court and clerk pages |
| Transcript maximum | $3.50 per page under Jay local court-reporter rule |
Jay County Clerk Access Channels
Jay County clerk records have several access paths. MyCase is the first public online route for non-confidential case information and some documents. The clerk is the fallback for records not online, certified copies, older civil and criminal files, probate records from 1900 to date, marriage records, and copy requests by mail, fax, email, or counter visit. The local rules also allow non-confidential court information to be posted through state-sanctioned systems, but a certified copy still comes from the clerk.
Older records need special care. The clerk's search information says civil and criminal records start in the early 1840s. It also says all marriage records back to 1844 have been scanned to computer for easy access. Probate originals from 1840 through 1899 are at Jay County History & Genealogy, while later probate originals remain with the clerk. That split affects any Jay County clerk records search for estates, wills, and old family files.
The Indiana correctional statutes portal appears in the manifest for the clerk page because Jay local rules reference correctional and custody-related law.
Those local-rule references show why clerk records sometimes connect to jail, community transition, court costs, and case-status orders.
Jay County Clerk Forms
The clerk page links the public to several practical forms and state court resources. The court-record copy form is used for copies and certification. The marriage license instructions explain residency, required documents, fees, online pre-application, and the 60-day license period. The search information sheet explains how older civil, criminal, probate, and marriage records are organized. The clerk page also links protection orders, no-contact order material, small claims, jury duty, and voter registration.
For a court record, the most important choice is whether the requester needs a public online view, a plain paper copy, or a certified copy. A MyCase printout may help identify the file, but it does not replace clerk certification. For marriage and divorce records, the Jay County marriage and divorce records page gives the license and decree path in more detail.