Starke County Clerk Office
The official Starke County Clerk page identifies Bernadette Manuel as Clerk. The office handles filing and records management for Starke Circuit Court, marriage applications and records, child support information, small-claims contacts, probation contacts, voter registration, certified-record links, and certain online payment paths. That makes the clerk the local fallback when MyCase is not enough.
Starke County does not use a split district-clerk and county-clerk model. For court records, marriage records, certified copies, and probate filings, the same local Clerk's Office is the office documented in the official county material.
Starke County Clerk
Clerk: Bernadette Manuel
PO Box 395
53 East Washington
Knox, IN 46534
(574) 772-9128
Fax: (574) 772-9169
clerk75@starke.in.gov
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. CST
Starke County Clerk Duties
The clerk keeps the official local path for records that begin in Starke Circuit Court. Public search can start with MyCase, but the clerk is the office that can confirm official records, certified copies, older case files, nonlinked public documents, and financial balances that may not be current online. The clerk page also links a certified-record option and an online payment option marked "NOT FOR TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS."
- Filing and records management for Starke Circuit Court cases.
- Marriage applications, marriage information, and marriage records.
- Certified court-record copy guidance and copy fulfillment.
- Child support information through the listed child-support phone line.
- Small claims contact and access to a Small Claims Manual.
- Voter registration contact through the clerk office structure.
Traffic is the major exception. The official Starke Circuit Court traffic page says all traffic tickets go to Knox City Court and warns users not to contact Starke Circuit Court about tickets because Circuit Court has no information about them.
Starke County Clerk Access Channels
Clerk access depends on what record is needed. For a public court case, start with MyCase Indiana Courts Case Search. If the record is not online, if a document link is missing, or if the copy needs certification, use the Starke County Clerk. For marriage records, use the Indiana marriage system or statewide lookup, then confirm certified-copy instructions with the clerk.
| Channel | Use It For | Starke County Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Online case search | Public case data and some documents | Use MyCase, then contact the clerk for official copies. |
| In person | Copy questions, filings, certified-record requests | 53 East Washington, Knox, weekday office hours. |
| Written requests after fee confirmation | PO Box 395, Knox, IN 46534. | |
| Phone | Current instructions and department lines | Main line (574) 772-9128. |
| Initial office contact | clerk75@starke.in.gov, but do not assume email alone completes certified copies. |
Request Starke County Certified Copies
A certified copy is a clerk-issued record that verifies the copy as official. It may be needed for a divorce decree, judgment, probate letter, marriage record, name-change support, agency filing, or other legal use. MyCase can help identify the case number, but Indiana Judiciary warns that MyCase is not the official court record. The official record must come from the court maintaining the record.
- Search MyCase or your papers for the case number, party names, and record type.
- Contact the Starke County Clerk to confirm whether the document is public, available, and certifiable.
- Ask for the current fee, payment method, delivery option, and whether identification is required.
- Submit the request in person or by mail using the clerk's current instructions.
- Review the certified copy when received and keep the receipt or clerk response with your records.
Note: A document can be public but still unavailable online, so a missing MyCase document link should be checked with the clerk.
Starke County Records Request Fields
The official Starke content reviewed did not expose a full certified-record form. The research did identify the practical field set a requester should be ready to provide. A complete request reduces back-and-forth and helps the clerk find the correct case or record.
| Field / Item | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Requester name | Text | Unspecified | Standard copy-request information. |
| Case number | Text | Unspecified | Strongly recommended for court records; MyCase can provide it. |
| Party name | Text | Unspecified | Needed if the case number is unknown. |
| Record type | Selection/text | Unspecified | Examples include divorce decree, probate filing, certified judgment, or marriage record. |
| Contact information | Text | Unspecified | Phone, email, or mailing address for follow-up. |
| Delivery method | Selection/text | Unspecified | In person, mail, or electronic if the clerk allows it. |
| Payment | Payment | Yes if fee applies | Confirm amount and accepted method with the clerk. |
Starke County Clerk Fees
The local Clerk page gives useful office and function details, but the visible official content did not publish a complete local fee schedule for copies, certified copies, small claims, or processing times. The page does link certified records and online payment options. It also warns that the clerk payment path is not for traffic violations.
| Item | Amount / Rule | Source Note |
|---|---|---|
| Certified court records | Fee not located in official Starke sources | Clerk page links certified records, but amount was not visible. |
| Plain court copies | Fee not located in official Starke sources | Contact clerk. |
| Marriage license | $25 resident baseline; $65 nonresident baseline | Statewide marriage source plus clerk confirmation needed. |
| Certified marriage copy | Starke amount not located | Do not rely on amounts from other Indiana counties. |
| Small claims | Fee not located in official Starke source | Small Claims Manual is linked, amount not harvested. |
| Traffic ticket payment | Separate Knox City Court PayGov path | Not the clerk payment link. |
Starke County Clerk Phone Lines
The clerk's official contact block includes several direct lines. Use the main line for general records and certified-copy questions, then use a specific line when the issue clearly fits that service. Probate, divorce, and criminal case copy questions should still be framed as court-record copy questions unless the clerk directs otherwise.
| Service | Phone | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Main Clerk line | (574) 772-9128 | Court records, certified copies, office questions. |
| Child support | (574) 772-6488 | Child-support information listed by the clerk. |
| Probation | (574) 772-9151 | Probation-related clerk contact path. |
| Small claims | (574) 772-9122 | Small claims questions and manual reference. |
| Marriage information | (574) 772-9128 | Marriage applications and records. |
| Voter registration | (574) 772-9160 | Voter registration contact listed by clerk. |
Starke County Clerk Record Limits
The clerk can help with public records, official court copies, and certified copies, but the office cannot make confidential records public. Juvenile, adoption, mental-health, sealed, expunged, and protected-order identifying information can be restricted under Indiana court access rules. Some case documents may require redaction before release.
For trial-court structure, the local court tied to the clerk is the Starke County Circuit Court. For traffic tickets, use Knox City Court unless a traffic matter has become a Circuit Court case. That distinction matters because the official traffic page says Starke Circuit Court has no information about tickets handled by Knox City Court.