County & District Clerk

The Martin County Clerk is one of a few clerks in Texas that operates a combination office, not only does the clerk handle the record keeping of the county, the clerk also serves as the District Clerk for the 118th District Court in Martin County.

Purpose and Responsibilities of the County and District Clerk

County Clerk:

• The county clerk administers all the county and state elections unless the Commissioners court has transferred those duties to the tax assessor-collector or a county election administrator. The county clerk also serves as clerk of both the Constitutional county court and the Commissioner’s court, and it is the clerk that maintains the official records of both the county court and the Commissioner’s court. As clerk of the county court, the county clerk also receives and is responsible for money paid in fines and fees and for the payment of juror fees.
• The county clerk also is the custodian of a variety of other important public records, such as deeds and other instruments and birth and death certificates. The county clerk also issues marriage licenses and records probate thru county court proceedings.
• In Texas counties with a population of less than 8,000, unless there has been a special election, the county clerk also serves as the district clerk, assuming all constitutional and statutory duties of the district clerk, along with those of county clerk.
• As with all elected county officials, both the county clerk and the district clerk have ultimate authority over the operations of the office, including the authority to hire and fire personnel and direct their daily activities. Both the county clerk and district clerk also have authority to determine how to use all other resources allocated to the office during the budget process.

District Clerk:

• The district clerk has a duty to keep the records of the district court safe and properly arranged.
• The district clerk must, among other things record the acts and proceedings of the district court, enter all judgments of the court under the direction of the judge, record all executions issued and the returns issued on the executions, administer trust accounts for minors ordered by the courts keep an index of the parties to all suits filed in the court, and make reference to any judgment made in the case and keep an account of all funds collected by the office, including fines and fees, and determine the amount due to citizens who serve on a jury in district court.