Clerk of the Circuit Court

The basics

Term

4 years. ^[8]

Term limit

No person may hold the office of clerk, auditor, recorder, treasurer, sheriff or coroner more than eight years in any period of twelve years (Indiana Constitution, Art. 6, Sec. 2). ^{[9, 7]}

Who may stand

Must have resided in the county at least one year before the election (Art. 6, Sec. 4), must keep residing in the county (the officer forfeits office on moving out), and must be registered to vote; candidates file a statement of economic interests. ^{[9, 10]}

Training the law requires

Must complete 5 hours of newly-elected-official training before taking office (first term), then at least 15 hours within one year and 40 hours within three years after each election, using Association of Indiana Counties courses approved by the State Board of Accounts. ^[11]

On the 2026 ballot

62 races in Indiana

What the law puts in this job

• Serves as clerk of all courts in the county; keeps court records and dockets; collects court fees and forwards them to the county auditor within 30 days (state share semiannually). ^{[2, 3]}
• Is an ex officio member of the three-member county election board, which conducts all elections in the county; appoints the two party members. ^{[4, 5]}
• Is the county voter registration officer, except where a board of registration or a board of elections and registration exists (e.g., Marion, Lake, Tippecanoe, Porter). ^{[6, 7]}

What the officeholder decides

• Running the 2027 municipal elections (in most cities and towns), the 2028 presidential primary and general election, and 2030 elections with the election board: polling and early-voting sites, poll worker recruitment, equipment. ^[5]
• Voter list maintenance and new state citizenship-verification procedures. ^[20]
• Budget requests for election equipment and staff (election board and registration departments). ^[1]

Who the officeholder answers to

• The county council fixes the officer's salary and the number and pay of deputies and staff in an annual salary ordinance; an elected officer's pay may not be changed during the year for which it is fixed. ^{[12, 13, 14]}
• Each officer files an itemized budget estimate before the Thursday after the first Monday in August and a positions/compensation statement before July 2; the council adopts the budget by Nov. 1. ^{[15, 16, 17]}
• The officer appoints deputies and staff within the positions the council authorizes, and keeps final authority over discipline of employees under the officer's supervision (new in 2026). ^{[18, 19]}
• As clerk of courts, works under court rules set by the Indiana Supreme Court; election duties are overseen by the Indiana Election Commission and Election Division. ^[7]

What it pays, and who sets that

• Set by the county council in the salary ordinance. ^[12]
• Varies by county.
• In the 45 of 62 counties where a salary line could be identified in the 2026 budget, elected-official pay lines ran from $42,574 to $121,540 (median $59,684). From county budget lines; verify against each county's salary ordinance. ^[1]

Questions worth asking a candidate

Ours, not a questionnaire anyone answered. They come from what the job actually involves.

• How many early-voting sites would you propose, and how would you decide where?
• How do you recruit and train poll workers?
• How do you keep the voter list accurate without removing eligible voters?
• How quickly are court filings processed now, and how would you measure it?

Sources

Office research by Legal Insights (Oct. 13, 2026): Indiana Code 2026 edition, state agencies and county budgets. Nothing here rates an officeholder or candidate.