Alameda Superior Court Clerk

How California Splits Court and Clerk-Recorder Functions in Alameda County

In California, two offices hold what other states call "clerk" records. The Superior Court Clerk has the case files, orders, judgments, sealed material, and certified court copies. The Clerk-Recorder has birth, death, marriage, fictitious business name, deed, lien, and notary records.

The Superior Court of California, County of Alameda runs the Court Records Office in Room 209 at the Davidson Courthouse in Oakland. The phone line is 510-891-6005. Civil, family, probate, mental health, and adoption case records sit in the eCourt Public Portal. Criminal records sit in the Odyssey Criminal Online Records Search, linked from the court's public portals page.

The Auditor-Controller/Clerk-Recorder is a separate county department with offices at 1106 Madison Street, Oakland and 7600 Dublin Boulevard, Suite 160, Dublin. The Clerk-Recorder main page lists hours, cut-off times, and online services.

Note: A divorce decree, criminal minute order, or probate order goes to the court clerk; a birth, death, or marriage certificate goes to the Clerk-Recorder.

Alameda Superior Court Records Office

The Records Office is the public face of the Clerk of the Superior Court. It sits inside the René C. Davidson Courthouse in Room 209. Walk-in requests, mail-in requests, and certified copy pickups all run through this office. Staff cannot give legal advice. They can confirm a case number, accept a request form, take payment, and release public copies.

The office is the right contact for old case files, sealed or confidential cases that need a court order, adoption files, juvenile files, and any case eCourt or Odyssey does not show. The office also handles written requests for judicial administrative records under California Rules of Court rule 10.500. Those go to a separate judicial administrative records page.

For records held at branch locations, call the courthouse that hears the case type. Probate sits only at Berkeley. Traffic clerk work runs at Wiley W. Manuel, Fremont, and East County in Dublin. Unlawful detainer cases land at Hayward in Department 511. Juvenile files stay at the San Leandro Juvenile Justice Center. The locations directory lists every site.

Court Records Office Contacts by Division

The Clerk of the Superior Court splits public phone lines by division. Each case-type clerk has its own number for case questions, hearing dates, and division forms. The court publishes the full phone and fax directory on its website.

The main court line at 510-891-6000 helps when the right division is not clear. Self-Help at 510-272-1393 is the call for a person filing without an attorney.

Alameda County Clerk-Recorder Overview

The Alameda County Auditor-Controller/Clerk-Recorder runs the county's vital records, marriage license, and recorded document work. The current officeholder was not confirmed in the source pages used to build this site, so use the department contact page rather than a named bio. The main office is 1106 Madison Street, Oakland; the second site is 7600 Dublin Boulevard, Suite 160, Dublin. The Dublin site is select-service, has free parking, sits within walking distance of West Dublin BART, and does not accept mail.

Hours at both sites are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, except holidays. The office tells the public to avoid noon to 2:00 PM at the Oakland counter. Customer service is 1-888-280-7708 or local 510-272-6362; TDD is 510-444-1396. The Clerk-Recorder contact page lists the mail address and email categories.

Clerk-Recorder Services and Records

The Clerk-Recorder holds a wide list of records that the court clerk does not. The Clerk-Recorder forms page hosts the order forms and registration forms for each service area.

• Vital records - certified birth, death, and marriage certificates can be ordered online and picked up in Oakland or Dublin. Only the applicant on the order can pick up a certificate.
• Marriage licenses - public and confidential licenses are issued in person at Oakland and Dublin. See the marriage and divorce records page.
• Recorded land documents - deeds, deeds of trust, liens, releases, and maps are recorded here. The public record index at rechart1.acgov.org is the search entry point.
• Fictitious business names - FBN filings, renewals, and abandonments.
• Notary public - bond and oath filings.
• Other registrations - process server, professional photocopier, legal document assistant, and unlawful detainer assistant.

The FAQ page covers each service area. Government Code § 7928.215 keeps recorded document images off the at-home public web, so the index can be searched from home but images must be viewed in the office.

How to Request a Certified Court Copy

A certified court copy is the version a judge, a licensing board, or a federal agency will accept. A printout from eCourt or the calendar tool is not certified. The Clerk of the Superior Court issues certified copies through the Records Office using the Civil Records Request Form.

1. Find the case number. Use the eCourt Public Portal for civil, family, probate, mental health, and adoption cases; the Odyssey Criminal Online Records Search for criminal cases. The Find Your Court Date tool helps confirm a case is active.
2. Download the Civil Records Request Form and fill in the requester name, address, phone, and email.
3. Enter the case caption, case number, type of request (search, plain copy, certified copy, exemplified copy), and a short document description with filing date.
4. Pick the delivery method. Mail-in requests must include a check or money order payable to Clerk of the Court.
5. Confirm the fee on the court's Fee and Bail Schedules page.
6. Send the form to the Records Office at 1225 Fallon Street, Room 209, Oakland, CA 94612, or take it to the counter. Call 510-891-6005 first for sealed, juvenile, or old files.
7. Pick up the certified copy at the Davidson Courthouse counter or wait for mail delivery.

Records Request Form Field Inventory

The Civil Records Request Form is the standard request form used by the Clerk of the Superior Court. Gather these fields before walking into Room 209 or mailing a packet.

Searches and copies carry fees, so list every document needed. The court records page covers the search portals in more depth.

How to Order Vital Records and Recorded Documents

Vital records and recorded documents live with the Clerk-Recorder. Birth, death, and marriage certificates can be ordered online and picked up in Oakland or Dublin, or ordered by mail. Only the applicant on the order can pick up a certificate.

For recorded documents, search starts with names. The Clerk-Recorder index is not searchable by APN or property address. Users must search by grantor or grantee name, instrument number, recording date, or document type. The real property research page notes that pre-1969 records are on microfilm and need an in-office hand search; records from 1969 forward are electronic.

1. Pick the record type: birth, death, marriage, deed, lien, FBN, notary, or map.
2. Decide on online, mail, or in-person. Online and mail orders need ID for unrestricted vital record copies.
3. Search the public index at rechart1.acgov.org for recorded documents and note the instrument number.
4. Use the Clerk-Recorder forms page for the order form that matches the record type.
5. Pay the fee and pick up or wait for mail. Only Oakland accepts mail.

The public records page covers the California Public Records Act path for agency records. Court records do not move through that channel.

Fee Schedule

Fees split into two buckets. Court fees follow the statewide Judicial Council uniform schedule and the court's Fee and Bail Schedules page. Clerk-Recorder fees follow the county's services pages.

Fee waivers for low-income filers are allowed under Government Code § 68631 for court filings. The Clerk-Recorder does not waive vital record or recording fees the same way.

Cut-Off Times and Service Windows

The Clerk-Recorder runs strict daily cut-offs. A late arrival can mean a wasted trip. The Oakland office cuts off marriage license issuance, express marriage ceremonies, environmental impact reports, and para-professional registrations at 4:00 PM. Document recording cuts off at 4:30 PM. The Dublin office uses the same pattern.

The Clerk-Recorder FAQ tells applicants to arrive by 3:45 PM for marriage license service. Court records office hours follow the court's public-counter schedule. Call 510-891-6005 if a record is needed by a fixed deadline so staff can confirm the file is accessible before arrival.

Payment Methods

Payment rules vary by office and by service. In-person card payments add a 2.3% transaction fee at both offices. Mail-in requests do not take cash.

• In person at Clerk-Recorder - cash, debit/ATM, MasterCard, Visa, Discover, American Express, personal check, bank check payable to Alameda County Clerk Recorder, money order, cashier's check, traveler's check.
• Mail to Clerk-Recorder - check, money order, cashier's check, or traveler's check; no cash.
• Online to Clerk-Recorder - debit/ATM and major credit cards.
• Court Records Office - cash, credit card, check, or money order in person; mail-in checks payable to Clerk of the Court.

Locations and Hours

The Clerk of the Superior Court and the Clerk-Recorder run from different buildings. The court's records work centers on the Davidson Courthouse in Oakland, with division clerks at branch courthouses. The Clerk-Recorder runs from 1106 Madison Street, Oakland and 7600 Dublin Boulevard, Dublin.

For case files, the Superior Court page lists every courthouse address. Probate filings only land at Berkeley, and the probate clerk takes filings no later than two court days before the hearing. Juvenile files stay in San Leandro. CARE Act hearings sit in Department 103 at Wiley W. Manuel. Unlawful detainer cases go to Department 511 at Hayward.

For probate procedure, see the probate records page. For divorce and family law records, see the marriage and divorce records page. For the Public Records Act path, see the public records page.