General Information FAQ

General information

About Forms of Payment:

The Clerk of Courts Title Office accepts through the office only Cash (U.S. money only), personal or certified checks, and credit cards (Convenience fee is 2.5% with $2.00 minimum)

Payments are accepted for title fees and sales tax.

Clerk of Courts Legal Office accepts cash (U.S. money only); personal and/or certified checks-either by mail or in the office; Money Orders and credit cards (Convenience fee is 2.5% with a $2.00 minimum). Access to make payments via credit card is available through the online portal at Wood County Clerk of Courts OH Point and Pay

Payments are accepted for court costs, fines, restitution and bonds.  No credit cards are accepted for bond payments!

Passport Information

The Wood County Clerk of Courts has been an Acceptance agent for the United States Department of State, Passport Agency for many years. This office was the only Acceptance Agency in Wood County until the Local Post Offices also became Acceptance Agent’s across the State of Ohio approximately 15 years ago.

The Clerk of Courts and staff must attend a training to be certified in all aspects of accepting the proper documents (pictures, birth records, name changes, identity of person, and other processes in order to accept an applicant’s passport).

Each year after their original certification an acceptance agent must go through the annual review provided by the U.S. Department of State and pass the test at the stated rate to continue to be a certified public acceptance agent.

Most years a representative from the Passport Acceptance Office visits the Wood County Clerk of Courts office to audit our procedures to verify that we are following the strict guidelines that are direct.

Being a Passport Acceptance Agent is a way that our office can provide additional customer service to our community. Our hours for accepting passport applications are Monday through Friday, 8:30 A.M. to 4:15 P.M. All forms are available in the office or you may visit the Department of State’s website at Travel.state.gov. to download said forms.

• For more information concerning requirements for obtaining a passport, processing times for application process, or travel restrictions/requirements please visit: Travel State Gov

Notary Information:

Ohio Notary Law

Prior to September 19, 2019 the Ohio Notary Law had previously indicated that a person was required to file their “Notary Commission” with the Clerk of Courts office of their county residence before notarizing a document.

On September 19, 2019, the revised Notary Law for the State of Ohio went into effect.  The Wood County Clerk of Courts is no longer able to register Notary Public Commissions or provide verification of a Notary Public that had been registered in this office.

The process of obtaining, registering and/or verification of Notary Publics will now be administered directly through the Ohio Secretary of State’s office in Columbus, OH.   You may contact them at 614-644-4559 or visit their website at https://www.sos.state.oh.us/notary/

Reference Ohio Senate Bill 263

Also listed is the Notary Booklet that the Ohio Clerk of Courts Association has distributed as a “Guidebook for Notarizing Ohio Title Documents”.   Please feel free to review this guide and if you have further questions, you may also review the Clerk of Court-Title Office web pages and or contact the office for specific questions at 419-354-9181.

• Ohio Secretary of State Website
• Notary Booklet

Statutory Required Postings

Per the Ohio Revised Code 149.43 B the public office is required to provide and post a “Public Records Request Policy” along with the Records Retention Schedule for the public office.
2021 Public Records Request Policy

Also required by O.R.C. 149.43 are the Records Retention Schedules.   For all case management documents this office follows Ohio Rules of Superintendence 26 and Local Rule 1.03.

Items specific to the Wood County Clerk of Courts Office-Legal Office, the separate Clerk of Courts Retention –Legal Office Schedules are shown:

Legal Retention Schedule

Additional Legal Retention Schedule

Items specific to the Wood County Clerk of Courts Office-Auto Title Office, the separate Clerk of Courts-Auto Title Office Schedules are shown: Title Retention Schedule

General records that the Wood County Clerk of Courts also maintain such as personnel records and financial records, fall under the Wood County “All County” records retention schedules, those are as shown here: All County Retention Schedule

A listing of all fees that the Wood County Clerk of Courts are entitled is required to be posted per the Ohio Revised Code 2335.30.

• Posting Table of Fees

Coroner’s Reports

According to O.R.C. 313.09 all reports made by the Wood County Coroner are to be maintained by the office of the Clerk of Court of Common Pleas. They are to state the name of the deceased, place where the decedent was found, date of death, cause of death and other available information.

These records have been filed with the Wood County Clerk of Courts since 1884.