About the Stanly County Clerk's Office
North Carolina has a unified county-level court clerk for trial court records. In Stanly County, the office is the Clerk of Superior Court. NCARD lists Clerk Ginger Efird, phone (704) 986-7000. The Judicial Branch contact directory uses the title Clerk of Superior Court and lists the same courthouse main number. The clerk is elected to a four-year term and performs clerical, record-keeping, financial, and limited judicial duties under the state court system.
The clerk is the main local contact for Superior Court and District Court records. That includes criminal court records, civil actions, small claims records after magistrate filing, special proceedings, estates, wills after death, guardianship matters, foreclosures, partitions, judgments, liens, case events, hearings, and certified single-county criminal record searches. Birth, death, and marriage certificates are not clerk records; those are handled by the Register of Deeds or NC Vital Records.
Stanly County Clerk of Superior Court
Clerk: Ginger Efird
Stanly County Courthouse
201 S Second St
Albemarle, NC 28002
(704) 986-7000
Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
The Stanly County court contact directory lists the clerk, judges, District Attorney, magistrates, Family Court, Guardian ad Litem, and court reporter.
Use that official directory when a record question belongs with a judge's office, magistrate, prosecutor, or court reporter rather than the clerk counter.
What the Clerk Does in Stanly County
The Stanly County Clerk of Superior Court maintains court records and supports both main trial divisions. The office receives filings, indexes cases, keeps files and dockets, collects court costs and fees, issues certified copies, manages public terminals, and handles paper files where online access is incomplete. The clerk also performs probate functions as ex officio judge of probate, so estate administration and many guardianship matters begin with the same office.
- Maintains Superior Court and District Court civil, criminal, family, estates, and special proceeding files.
- Provides public terminal access, paper file inspection, and copies when records are public.
- Processes certified single-county criminal record searches submitted on AOC-CR-314.
- Acts as ex officio judge of probate for wills, estates, fiduciary appointments, and related matters.
- Collects eligible payments and court costs under North Carolina court-cost rules.
Note: Police reports, state prison records, federal cases, and marriage certificates are kept by other agencies.
How to Request a Certified Copy
Certified copies prove that the copy came from the court record and is certified by the clerk. They may be needed for a divorce judgment, criminal disposition, civil judgment, estate document, name-change order, appeal record, or agency filing. A portal printout can help identify the case, but it is not the same as a certified copy. If a document is sealed, confidential, not digitized, or part of a paper file, the clerk may need to review access before copying.
- Identify the case number, party names, case type, and document name through the eCourts Portal or the clerk's public terminal.
- Contact or visit the Stanly County Clerk of Superior Court to confirm whether the document is public, available, and certifiable.
- Submit the copy request with enough identifying detail and the required copy or certification fee.
- Use the payment method the clerk accepts for the request type, especially if mailing a request.
- Pick up the certified copy or wait for mail return after the clerk completes the request.
Records Request Form Fields
For ordinary case files, the clerk needs enough information to find the record and identify the exact document. For a certified criminal record search, the official form is AOC-CR-314, Criminal Record Search, submitted to the clerk with the required fee. For existing Judicial Branch public records outside normal case access, use the statewide public-record request process.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Helpful | Use the Portal case number when known to reduce name-match problems. |
| Party names | Yes | Provide full names and role if known, such as defendant, plaintiff, decedent, or petitioner. |
| Document type | Yes | Examples include judgment, order, disposition, letters, will, inventory, or dismissal. |
| Number and type of copies | Yes | State whether plain or certified copies are needed. |
| Requester contact and mailing address | Yes for mail | Needed for return copies, payment questions, or records that cannot be released as requested. |
| Criminal search subject details | Yes for AOC-CR-314 | Use the subject's name, date of birth or other identifying facts, county, and requester information. |
The Judicial Branch public-record request page is the fallback for existing Judicial Branch records outside ordinary case-file access.
Use normal clerk case access first for case records, then the public-record request route for records that do not fit that workflow.
Stanly County Clerk Fees
Stanly County clerk fees follow North Carolina court-cost rules and the statewide current court-costs chart. The research file gives a precise fee for certified single-county criminal record searches and describes copy, certification, audio, mail-payment, in-person-payment, and online-payment rules. If a fee amount is not listed in the research, verify it in the current chart before mailing money.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Certified criminal record search, one county | $25 |
| Court copies | Fee applies; check current court-costs chart |
| Audio recording copy when available | Actual CD cost |
| Mail payment for eligible court/traffic matter | Money order or certified check only; no cash or personal checks |
| In-person payment | Cash, credit/debit card plus processing fee, money order, or certified check; no personal checks |
| Online payment | Credit/debit card plus processing fee; digital wallets not accepted |
Common Clerk Forms
Official North Carolina court forms are maintained through the Judicial Branch forms library. Stanly-specific local forms are posted through the Stanly County local rules and forms page when they exist. Use official forms for criminal record searches, estate filings, family filings, and expunction petitions because local clerk staff cannot accept a substitute when the AOC form is required.
- Judicial Branch forms search - statewide AOC forms, including Criminal Record Search AOC-CR-314.
- Criminal background check help topic - certified single-county search instructions and clerk submission rules.
- Stanly County local rules and forms - District 28 family and civil forms plus Superior Court case-management plans.
The criminal background check help topic explains why certified single-county searches are submitted to the clerk instead of relying on Portal results.
That distinction matters for employment, housing, licensing, or any request that specifically asks for a certified county criminal search.
Mail and Online Filings
Online case information is available through the eCourts Portal, which supports Smart Search, Search Hearings, NC Judgment Search, and eligible payments. Anonymous public users can view public information, while registration can save cases. Elevated access is limited to verified users with statutory or business need, so signing in does not make sealed or confidential records public.
Mail copy requests and filings should use the clerk's mailing address when a form or instruction allows mail submission: Stanly County Courthouse, PO Box 668, Albemarle, NC 28002. For eligible traffic or court payments by mail, the Stanly payment page says to use money order or certified check payable to Stanly County Clerk of Superior Court, and to include the citation number when relevant. Do not mail cash or personal checks.