Perquimans County Clerk Office
The court-record custodian for Perquimans County is the Clerk of Superior Court, not a split county clerk or district clerk. The county page names Todd Tilley as Clerk of Court. The North Carolina Judicial Branch contact directory repeats the clerk phone line and places the office in the Perquimans County Courthouse in Hertford. This office is the practical access point for Superior Court records, District Court records, criminal and civil files, estate matters, special proceedings, judgments, traffic case records, and divorce judgments.
The Perquimans County Clerk of Court page gives the local office and clerk contact information.
That county office listing anchors the Perquimans County Clerk of Superior Court page to the actual Hertford courthouse office, not a generic clerk profile.
Perquimans County Clerk of Superior Court
Clerk: Todd Tilley
128 N Church St
Hertford, NC 27944
Mail: PO Box 33, Hertford, NC 27944
(252) 404-5000
Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Perquimans Clerk Court Duties
The North Carolina court officials page describes the Clerk of Superior Court as responsible for clerical and recordkeeping functions for both Superior Court and District Court. The clerk keeps records under Administrative Office of the Courts rules, collects money owed to the State or parties in cases, and serves as judge of probate for wills and estates. In Perquimans County, those duties meet in one office, so a single clerk counter may be relevant to criminal filings, civil copies, estate questions, judgment records, and traffic payments.
- Maintain Superior Court and District Court case records for Perquimans County.
- Receive filings, preserve case files, and provide public terminal access where allowed.
- Collect court costs, fines, fees, restitution, and other court-ordered money.
- Issue certified court copies when the record and access rules allow it.
- Act as probate judge for estate matters, with assistant clerks holding many estate hearings.
- Keep divorce judgments as court records when the divorce was granted in Perquimans County.
Request Perquimans Certified Copies
Certified court copies are different from online case summaries. A certified copy is issued by the clerk with official authentication for a filed court document, such as a judgment, order, estate paper, or divorce judgment. Perquimans County users should first identify the case or document, then ask the Clerk of Superior Court whether the document is public, whether a certified copy is available, and which current court cost applies.
- Search the NC eCourts Portal or courthouse terminal for the case number, party name, citation number, estate name, or judgment information.
- Confirm the file is assigned to Perquimans County and identify the exact document needed, such as a judgment, order, will filing, or divorce judgment.
- Contact or visit the Clerk of Superior Court at the Hertford courthouse to request the copy and ask whether certification is available.
- Pay using the method the clerk accepts for the request channel. Mail payments use money order or certified check only.
- Pick up the copy or follow the clerk's mailing instructions if the office can process the request by mail.
The current court costs page is the official statewide place to check the latest court-cost publications.
Because those publications were updated for 2026, Perquimans copy and filing costs should be verified there or with the clerk before payment.
Perquimans Records Request Fields
A clear copy request helps the clerk find the right Perquimans County court record. North Carolina's public guidance lists several access paths, including online search, public terminals, mail, and in-person review, but the request still needs enough detail to avoid pulling the wrong case. If the case number is not known, names, record type, approximate filing year, and court division become more important.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number or file number | Best if known | Use the portal or terminal to confirm the Perquimans case number before asking for copies. |
| Party, defendant, decedent, or estate name | Yes if no case number | Use full names and any known spelling variants. |
| Record type | Yes | State whether the request is criminal, civil, estate, special proceeding, traffic, judgment, or divorce judgment. |
| Document requested | Yes | Name the judgment, order, will, letters, inventory, citation record, or other paper. |
| Certified or plain copy | Yes | Certification changes the clerk process and cost. |
| Requester contact and return method | Yes | Include phone or mailing instructions so the clerk can address fees or pickup. |
Perquimans Clerk Fees
Perquimans County court fees and payment options come from the North Carolina Judicial Branch and the clerk's payment rules. The research located payment methods, but exact copy and filing dollar amounts should be checked in the current court-cost PDFs or with the clerk because the official publications can change. The payment method also depends on whether the user is mailing a payment, paying in person, or using an eligible online payment channel.
| Item or payment channel | Amount or method located | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mail payment to clerk | Money order or certified check | No cash and no personal checks by mail. Make payable to Perquimans County Clerk of Superior Court. |
| In-person payment | Cash, credit/debit, money order, certified check | No personal checks. Credit/debit processing fees and restrictions may apply. |
| Online payment | Credit/debit card if eligible | Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover are listed for eligible cases; digital wallet apps are not accepted. |
| Court copy fees | Current court-cost PDFs | Confirm plain copy, certified copy, and certification costs before submitting the request. |
| Estate and special proceeding fees | Current court-cost PDFs | Use the estates and special proceeding schedules for probate-related filings. |
Perquimans Clerk Search Options
Perquimans County is an eCourts county. The Judicial Branch announced that Track 3 counties, including Perquimans, transitioned on February 5, 2024. The portal offers Smart Search, Search Hearings, Make Payments, and NC Judgment Search. Public terminal access remains important because the Judicial Branch says criminal information can be searched at public self-service terminals and that civil, special proceeding, and estate data is available at clerk offices.
| Search option | Best use | Field notes |
|---|---|---|
| Smart Search | Case information and court records | Search by name, attorney, citation, case information, or case number when known. |
| Search Hearings | Court dates and hearing lookup | Use name, county, and date range filters when available. |
| Make Payments | Eligible probation, parole, criminal, and infraction payments | Payment eligibility depends on the case. Some traffic payments can waive rights. |
| NC Judgment Search | Judgment index | Judgment search is tied to the statutory judgment index under G.S. 7A-109(b)(6). |
| Public courthouse terminals | In-person search support | Criminal terminals can search by defendant, case number, victim, or witness. |
| NCAOC Remote Public Access | Licensed statewide data access | Built for subscription and higher-volume users, not ordinary paper file inspection. |
Portal notices matter for Perquimans County searches. JavaScript and cookies must be enabled, current or recent browser versions are expected, and CAPTCHA is required every ten minutes for anonymous, registered, and elevated users. General eCourts questions may go to the statewide eCourts contact, but case-specific questions still route to the clerk in the county where the case is assigned.
Perquimans Clerk Forms
The statewide forms database is the official starting point for many North Carolina court forms used in Perquimans County. Forms are organized by keyword, form number, form type, and language. For expunctions, the official form search includes AOC-CR-284 through AOC-CR-299 and related instructions. The SBI expungement page warns that using the wrong form can delay processing or cause rejection, so form selection should match the statute and case outcome.
Marriage and vital-record forms do not belong to the Clerk of Superior Court. The North Carolina divorce and marriage help topic covers divorce packet resources and explains the state court side of absolute divorce.
That source helps separate divorce judgments held by the clerk from marriage licenses and certificates held by the Register of Deeds.
The official North Carolina absolute divorce packet is a statewide Judicial Branch resource, not a Perquimans-only local form.
For Perquimans divorce records, the filed judgment remains a court record handled through the clerk where the divorce was granted.
Perquimans Clerk vs Register
The Clerk of Superior Court is not the Perquimans County Register of Deeds. This distinction prevents many wrong-office requests. The Register of Deeds, Jackie Frierson, records land transactions, issues marriage licenses, administers notary oaths, retains military discharges, keeps plats and genealogy records, and maintains birth, death, and marriage records. The clerk keeps court files, including divorce judgments, estates, criminal cases, civil cases, traffic cases, judgments, and special proceedings.
The North Carolina marriage requirements page explains the county Register of Deeds role in marriage licensing.
Use that routing rule when a request involves a marriage license or certificate rather than a divorce judgment or court case file.
Note: A divorce judgment is a court record, but a marriage license is a Register of Deeds record.
Perquimans Federal Court Records
Federal cases are separate from the Perquimans County Clerk of Superior Court. Perquimans County is in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Northern Division. Federal criminal cases, federal civil litigation, civil rights cases, bankruptcy-related appeals, and federal filings route through EDNC and PACER or CM/ECF, not through the Hertford clerk's office. The county clerk can help with state court records, but federal case files require the federal court system.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina is the official federal district court source for Perquimans County federal matters.
This separate system is why a Perquimans state court copy request should not be sent to EDNC, and a federal PACER record should not be requested from the county clerk.