Forsyth County Clerk of Superior Court

About the Forsyth County Clerk's Office

North Carolina does not split court records between a district clerk and a county clerk. Each county elects one Clerk of Superior Court instead. That officer keeps the court files for both trial divisions. The role is set by state law, and the North Carolina Superior Court page explains the rule. A clerk of superior court is elected in each county and is responsible for clerical and record-keeping work. For Forsyth County, that office sits in the courthouse in downtown Winston-Salem.

The clerk does more than store paper. The office files new cases, issues process, manages estates, and collects fees and costs. It is also the official-copy office. Online tools can show a case, but a certified document comes from the clerk. The Forsyth directory lists the office on the courthouse main line.

What the Forsyth County Clerk Does

The clerk's office touches almost every type of court record in the county. It files civil complaints, criminal papers, family matters, and special proceedings. It manages estates and probate work through the estates division. It collects court costs and keeps the judgment and lien index. The official help page on obtaining court records describes how to ask for what the clerk holds.

Here are the main duties handled by the office.

• File new civil, criminal, family, and special-proceeding cases.
• Keep and issue copies of court records, judgments, and orders.
• Open and oversee estates, guardianships, and foreclosures.
• Collect court costs, fees, and many payments.
• Maintain the judgment and lien index under state law.

One statute frames the whole job. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-109 directs the clerk to keep records and, except as barred by law, keep them open during office hours. A view of that statute shows the record categories the clerk must maintain, drawn from the North Carolina General Statutes.

That law is the backbone for public access to Forsyth County court records held by the clerk.

Who to Call for What at the Clerk's Office

The Forsyth contact directory breaks the clerk's office into divisions. That makes it easy to route a question to the right desk. Use the main line when no direct division number is listed. The table below maps the common record needs to the right division or contact, based on the official Forsyth County contact directory.

Note: The clerk's office handles court files, while the Register of Deeds handles marriage licenses, land records, and certified copies of birth, death, and marriage certificates.

How to Request a Certified Copy

A certified copy is a court-stamped document the office certifies as a true copy of the file. People need certified copies for legal use, such as proving a divorce, filing in another court, or settling an estate. An uncertified printout from the online portal is not the official record. The clerk issues the certified version. For background on the process, see the help page on obtaining court records.

The steps below outline a typical request to the Forsyth County clerk.

1. Find the case number first. Use the North Carolina eCourts Portal Smart Search, or call the clerk for help locating the file.
2. Identify the exact document you need, such as a judgment, divorce decree, or criminal disposition.
3. Contact the right division, or visit the clerk at 175 N. Chestnut Street with the case details.
4. Pay the required copy and certification cost. Confirm the current amount with the clerk before you pay.
5. Pick up the certified copy in person, or arrange mail delivery to the address you provide.

A look at the Judicial Branch records page shows how the state frames record requests and background checks, from the court records help topic.

That page is a good first stop before deciding between an online search and an in-person clerk request.

Records Request Form Fields

When you ask the clerk for a copy, you give a few key details so staff can pull the right file. The Judicial Branch also runs a separate public-records request service for administrative records, which is not the route for case files. You can review that form at the request a public record service. For case copies, give the clerk the fields below.

A capture of the Judicial Branch public-records request page shows the administrative-records channel, from the request a public record service.

Use that form for Judicial Branch administrative records, but route case-file copies to the Forsyth clerk's divisions instead.

Forsyth County Clerk Fees

Court costs in North Carolina are set by the General Assembly, and courts must collect them. Copy and certification fees follow the statewide court cost chart, so confirm the current amount with the clerk before you rely on it. The fees below mix court costs with related office charges. Marriage and certified vital-record fees are charged by the Register of Deeds, not the clerk, and appear here only to contrast the two offices.

A view of the Judicial Branch court costs publication shows where the official fee charts live, from the current court costs page.

More background on charges and how they are split sits on the court costs help topic.

Common Clerk Forms and Searches

Many record tasks start with a statewide form rather than a county form. The clerk accepts the official Judicial Branch forms for filings, fee waivers, and record searches. One form people ask about most is the criminal record search request used for a county-level check.

• Criminal and Sex Offender Record Search (AOC-CR-314) - for a county-level criminal record search.
• Forsyth County local rules and forms - local orders and county-specific forms.
• Obtaining court records - the official guide to requesting files.

A view of the criminal record search form shows what the AOC-CR-314 covers, from the criminal and sex offender record search form page.

A county record search is not a full statewide background check, and it cannot be used for FCRA-covered purposes.

Online Search and the Clerk's Role

Most Forsyth County case searches now start online. The statewide North Carolina eCourts Portal offers Smart Search for case records, Search Hearings for court dates, Make Payments for eligible fines and fees, and NC Judgment Search. The portal accepts Visa, MasterCard, and Discover, but not Apple Pay, Google Pay, Cash App, or Venmo. Anonymous users clear a CAPTCHA check, and the system reissues that challenge every five minutes.

Still, the portal is not the official record. It shows public docket entries for public case types. For an official or certified document, you go back to the clerk. eCourts finished statewide on October 13, 2025, so Forsyth case data now lives in the same Odyssey system used across North Carolina. Older paper files may not appear online and may need a direct clerk request.

Related Forsyth County Resources

For case lookups, see court records and court dockets. The clerk also serves the trial courts, profiled on the District Court page. For estates and wills, see probate records. For broader access rules, see public records, and for common questions, the FAQ page.