Kent County Clerk Office
Maryland uses a unified Clerk of the Circuit Court model for county Circuit Court records. Kent County does not have a separate district clerk or county clerk for Circuit Court files. The local office is the Circuit Court for Kent County Clerk's Office, and the current Clerk of the Circuit Court is Sherise L. Kennard. The office is the practical stop for complete Circuit Court files, certified copies, older files, licensing records, and questions that cannot be answered from a public case-summary screen.
The Clerk's Office is inside the courthouse used by the Circuit Court, District Court, Register of Wills, and Orphans' Court records channels. That matters because many Kent County court records users start with the same Chestertown address but need a different counter or phone line depending on whether the file is a Circuit Court case, a District Court traffic or misdemeanor case, or an estate matter handled through probate offices.
Clerk of the Circuit Court for Kent County
Clerk: Sherise L. Kennard
103 N. Cross Street
Chestertown, MD 21620
410-778-7460
kentcc@mdcourts.gov
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Kent County Clerk Duties
The Clerk of the Circuit Court files, processes, and maintains civil, criminal, and juvenile actions for Kent County Circuit Court. The office also records land deeds, mortgages, plats, conveyances, and related land instruments. Other non-case duties are part of the same public counter system: the Clerk administers oaths to county officials, judges, and gubernatorial appointees, issues business and marriage licenses, performs civil marriage ceremonies, and commissions Notaries Public after approval from the Secretary of State process.
For business-license questions, the Kent County Clerk business license page tells new business owners to contact the Clerk's Office to determine whether a Clerk-issued business license is required. The official business-license source also shows how Kent County Clerk services reach beyond courtroom filings.
The business-license page shows how the Clerk's Office reaches beyond courtroom files into licensing records. Kent County Clerk records users should separate court case copy requests from land, license, marriage, and notary matters before calling.
- Civil and pro se filings are routed through the Civil/Pro Se department at 410-778-7461.
- Criminal and juvenile record questions are routed through the Criminal/Juvenile department at 410-778-7477.
- Jury and civil assignment questions use 410-778-2512, a separate line from general Clerk service.
- Paternity and child support matters use 410-778-2853 when the file is in that Clerk department.
- Land and license records use 410-778-7460, 410-778-7415, or 410-778-2080, depending on the counter need.
Note: Land instruments and liens are Clerk records, but they are not the same as court case files or criminal case summaries.
Kent County Clerk Record Access
Most Kent County Clerk record access starts with the Maryland Judiciary Case Search and Record Portal. The portal gives public summaries for Circuit Court and District Court cases, including case numbers, court location, party names, trial dates where set, charges, and dispositions when those fields are public. It does not provide the complete official file. Maryland court guidance states that the clerk's office is where a person views the complete case file, obtains certified copies, and resolves older or restricted-access questions.
MDEC access adds another route for Kent County court records. Self-represented litigants and parties may use public kiosks in MDEC courthouses, and remote party document access requires an application and identity verification. Public users still rely on Case Search for ordinary summaries, then the Clerk's Office for documents, certification, and files that must be inspected in person.
| Channel | Best Use | Kent County Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Case Search | Public case summaries | Search Maryland Circuit and District case summaries online. |
| Clerk counter | Complete Circuit Court file review | Use 103 N. Cross Street for full files and certified copies. |
| Department phone | Routing and file status | Call Civil/Pro Se, Criminal/Juvenile, land/license, or jury lines by topic. |
| Mail request | Copies when travel is not practical | Confirm fee, case number, and payment instructions before mailing. |
| MDEC kiosk or party access | Electronic court records | Use courthouse kiosk access or approved remote party access where available. |
Kent County Certified Copies
Certified copies are used when a copy must show that it came from the court record. A plain printout from Case Search is not the same thing. Kent County Clerk certified copies may be needed for legal filings, appeals, name or family-law proof, criminal disposition proof, agency requests, and other uses where an ordinary copy is not enough.
- Identify the case or record. Use the case number if known, or gather party names, case type, approximate filing date, and court level.
- Confirm the department. Civil and family files, criminal and juvenile files, land records, license records, and marriage records can route to different Clerk staff.
- Ask whether the file is available now. Older Kent County records may require retrieval, and some records may be restricted, sealed, expunged, or redacted.
- State the copy type. Say whether the request is for a plain copy, certified copy, true test copy, or exemplified copy.
- Confirm the total fee. Certification, exemplification, and per-page copy charges are separate in the Circuit Court fee schedule.
- Submit the request by the channel the Clerk confirms. Bring or mail payment as instructed, and include return contact information for mailed copies.
Important: Certified copies are priced differently from plain copies because the Clerk certifies the copy as an official court record.
Kent County Records Request Fields
No Kent-specific court-record request form was located on the Clerk page. The working request inventory comes from Maryland court access guidance and the Kent County Clerk department structure. A strong request should give staff enough information to identify the right file, determine whether public access is allowed, calculate the copy charge, and contact the requester if the file is older, restricted, or held by a different office.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number or instrument reference | Preferred | Fastest way to locate a Circuit Court case, judgment, lien, or land/license record. |
| Party names | Yes if no case number | Include plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, respondent, business name, or record holder as applicable. |
| Case type or record type | Yes | State civil, criminal, juvenile, family, land, marriage, business license, notary, or other category. |
| Approximate filing or record date | Helpful | Useful for older files and common names. |
| Document requested | Yes | Examples include docket, judgment, order, disposition, deed, license record, or complete file review. |
| Copy format | Yes | Plain, certified, true test, or exemplified copy. |
| Requester contact and delivery | Yes | Include phone, email, mailing address, pickup preference, and payment instructions after fee confirmation. |
Kent County Clerk Fees
The Kent County Clerk uses Maryland statewide Circuit Court fee schedules for many filings, copy charges, certifications, and recordation-related services. The Circuit Court fee schedule page links the controlling fee documents. The fee table below preserves the specific amounts located in the research file and should be confirmed with the Clerk before payment, especially when a request combines filing fees, copy pages, certification, and retrieval work.
| Service or Filing | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| General Circuit Court civil filing | $165 | Statewide Circuit Court fee schedule amount. |
| Arbitration award confirmation, correction, or modification filing | $95 | Listed Circuit Court filing category. |
| Motion to hold in contempt or modify alimony, custody, support, or visitation | $31 | Family and post-judgment fee category. |
| Foreign judgment or similar listed filing | $110 | Applies to listed foreign judgment or custody filing types. |
| Residential foreclosure order to docket or complaint surcharge | $300 | In addition to other required filing fees. |
| Foreclosure mediation request | $50 | For owner-occupied residential foreclosure mediation. |
| Petition for expungement after guilty finding | $30 | Criminal case fee schedule category. |
| General copies or true test copy | $0.50 per page | Clerk or customer-made copy rate. |
| Certified copy certification | $5 plus copy fee | Certification is added to per-page copy cost. |
| Exemplified copy | $10 plus copy fee | Exemplification is added to per-page copy cost. |
Kent County Clerk Forms
Kent County Clerk form needs vary by service. Court case forms may come through Maryland Judiciary form libraries or through case-specific Clerk instructions. Marriage work uses the marriage-license process, including the non-resident affidavit path when applicable. Notary applicants obtain application materials from the Clerk's Office or the Secretary of State, then appear before the Clerk after approval to take the oath and receive the commission.
The Kent County marriage page is the clearest local form-field source in the research. It requires full names, ages, states of birth, addresses including county, Social Security numbers, and prior-marriage divorce or death details. For recordable instruments, the Kent County records page flags the continued recordable-instrument surcharge after July 1, 2020.
- True test copy
- A Clerk copy type listed in the copy fee schedule, priced by page.
- Certified copy
- A copy bearing Clerk certification that it is an official court record copy.
- Exemplified copy
- A higher-authentication copy type used when a record must be proved outside the ordinary local court setting.
- Recordable instrument
- A land or financing document accepted for recording by the Clerk, such as a deed or mortgage.
Kent County Mail And Online Access
Online access and mail requests serve different roles. Online Case Search is useful for a first look at Kent County Circuit Court and District Court case summaries, but the official file remains with the court. Mail can work for copies after the requester confirms the department, fee, and delivery instructions. Phone confirmation is useful before mailing because older files may need retrieval, juvenile records are restricted, and some criminal outcomes may be missing from remote display while still available at the courthouse under Maryland access rules.
The courthouse directions published by the Clerk route visitors through the Route 50/301 and Route 213 corridor from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, or from the north through Route 896, Route 301, Route 290, and Route 213. The official page notes curbside parking along Cross Street. Visitors seeking Clerk records should allow time for courthouse screening and should bring only what they need for court-record review.