Sherburne County Clerk Office
Minnesota does not split Sherburne County court records between a county clerk and a district clerk. The court-record clerk function is Sherburne County Court Administration, also called the Court Administrator or Clerk of District Court. The county Court Administration page explains that the office of the district court clerk is called court administrator by statute, and the Sherburne County Court Administrator is appointed by judges of the Tenth Judicial District.
The current court administrator listed by the Minnesota Judicial Branch is Katrese Ringham. Court Administration sits inside the Sherburne County Government Center, but it is part of the Minnesota Judicial Branch and is state-funded rather than county-funded. That distinction matters when deciding whether a request should go to Court Administration, the County Recorder, the Sheriff, or the county data practices contact.
Sherburne County Court Administration
Court Administrator: Katrese Ringham
13880 Business Center Dr NW, Suite 100
Elk River, MN 55330
763-284-7140
Fax: 763-441-4177
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Sherburne Clerk Court Duties
Court Administration provides case management for all court cases processed in Sherburne County District Court. Its duties include maintaining court records, scheduling hearings, collecting court fees and fines, handling jury qualification and selection, and serving as the public-facing records contact for local District Court matters. Case categories include criminal, civil, family, probate, juvenile, traffic, and conciliation court.
The same office also helps with courthouse access to records that are public but not available remotely through MCRO. Certified copies, older non-digitized documents, and questions about case status should go to Court Administration. County government data outside the court system, such as sheriff incident records, follow a separate public data request path.
- Maintains Sherburne County District Court case records.
- Schedules hearings and manages public calendar information.
- Collects court fees, fines, and copy fees.
- Handles jury qualification and jury selection duties.
- Provides courthouse access and certified-copy routing for court files.
The Sherburne County Recorder source shows the separate county office that handles land, marriage, passport, notary, and vital statistics work.
The recorder page is important because it routes divorce decrees and probate files back to Minnesota court records instead of treating them as recorder records.
Request Certified Sherburne Copies
Certified copies are needed when an ordinary MCRO download is not enough. Divorce decrees, probate orders, criminal dispositions, judgments, and other official court documents may need certification for agencies, employers, licensing boards, schools, or other courts. MCRO documents are unofficial, so certification must come from Sherburne County Court Administration.
- Identify the case number, party names, case type, and document needed.
- Check MCRO first if the case number or document title is unknown.
- Contact Court Administration at 763-284-7140 or visit the courthouse during business hours.
- Ask for the correct copy type, such as certified, exemplified and certified, or uncertified courthouse-view copy.
- Pay the required fee and confirm pickup, mail, or other delivery options with Court Administration.
Note: Certified copies must come from Court Administration; MCRO document downloads are not certified court copies.
Sherburne Records Request Fields
The county data request guide is useful for non-court county data, while court case requests should be directed to Court Administration. For clearer processing, a requester should describe the record, ask whether they want inspection, copies, or both, and include enough case or party detail for staff to locate the file. A public requester generally does not have to identify themselves or explain why they want public data, but identity proof is required for private data about oneself.
| Field or Item | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Recommended | Best way to locate a court file or document quickly. |
| Party names | Yes if no case number | Include plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, respondent, or decedent names as relevant. |
| Document type | Yes | Examples include decree, order, complaint, judgment, disposition, or probate letters. |
| Copy type | Yes | State whether certified, exemplified, or uncertified copies are needed. |
| Look at data, get copies, or both | Recommended | County guidance says this helps with timely processing. |
| Identity proof | Conditional | Required for private data about yourself, not generally required for public data. |
Sherburne Clerk Fees
Sherburne County clerk fees include copy charges and filing fees from the District Court fee schedule. The fee schedule lists certified copy fees, exemplified copy fees, report copy fees, civil filing fees, conciliation fees, divorce filing fees, probate first-paper fees, and criminal expungement fees. Fee waivers may apply in qualifying cases, but the research file does not list a separate local clerk waiver form.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Certified copy of instrument from civil or criminal proceeding | $14 |
| Exemplified and certified copy | $28 |
| Exemplified and uncertified copy | $14 |
| Uncertified copy or screen print accessible from courthouse view | $0 |
| Case management report copies, 1-50 pages | $5 |
| Case management report copies, 50+ pages | $25 per 50 pages or part |
| Civil first paper filed | $320 |
| Conciliation first paper | $75 |
| Divorce or dissolution first paper | $400 |
| Probate first paper | $320 |
| Criminal expungement | $320 |
The Sherburne County fee schedule source provides the local fee reference used for clerk copy and filing costs.
The schedule is the source to check before budgeting for certified copies, filing a case, or requesting a longer case-management report.
Sherburne Online and Courthouse Access
Online access begins with MCRO for case, document, hearing, and judgment searches. Court Administration is still needed when the online portal does not show the full public record, when an older document predates online availability, when a certified copy is needed, or when a restricted case type requires staff guidance. Courthouse terminals can show public case records that are not available remotely under Minnesota's remote access rules.
Self-help access is limited. Sherburne County Court Administration lists Tuesday walk-in self-help hours from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 3:00 p.m., first come first served and subject to staffing. The listed confirmation phone is 763-760-6699. The page states voicemails are not currently accepted for that confirmation line.
County Data Versus Court Records
Sherburne County public data requests are separate from court case requests. The county data request page allows electronic or written requests to the correct data practices contact, and the sheriff data request page lists details that help staff find law enforcement records, such as incident date, time, location, ICR or complaint number, and party names. Sheriff records staff can be reached at Records@co.sherburne.mn.us or 763-765-3569.
Court records, however, are governed by the Minnesota Judicial Branch public access rules. A request for a divorce decree, probate order, criminal disposition, civil judgment, traffic case file, or court docket should be routed to Sherburne County Court Administration. A request for a sheriff incident report, jail data, or other county administrative record may route through the county or sheriff data process instead.