Civil Division

The Clerk is the Record Keeper for the Court of Common Pleas and is responsible for processing all Motions, pleadings, and, judgment entries, etc.; along with maintaining the docket and retaining all of the documents that are filed in the Clerk’s office according to the Ohio Revised Code, Rules of Superintendence and the Clerk of Courts retention scheduled.

This division also processes post judgment matters such as Garnishments, Debtor Exams, Executions, Foreign Judgments, Judgment Liens for judgements granted from Guernsey County Common Pleas Court and judgments granted from other courts, along with State Tax Liens filed by the Ohio Department of Taxation.  All releases on the above type of liens are filed in the filing case.

The Guernsey County Prosecuting Attorney files Land Foreclosure’s along with Mobile Home Foreclosures – both for the owner’s lack of paying property/trailer taxes.

The Clerk is responsible for issuing all Writs upon direction from the party/attorney of record, the Court and the Ohio Civil Rules,  including Summons, warrants for arrest, Notice to Serve (which gives direction to the Sheriff on whom to serve and at what address), Order of Sales, Order of Appraisement, Writ of Execution, along with a few others.

Parties may have legal representation or may represent themselves but in both situations all parties/attorneys of record must follow the Ohio Revised Code, Ohio Civil Rules and the Local Rules.

Please note that Guernsey County Clerk of Courts deputies are not attorneys, nor can they practice law.  Clerk of Courts staff can provide you with responses to your procedure questions.

Most of the case actions do require a filing deposit, however the deposits may be waived if you are declared indigent by the Court.  Required deposits can be found in the Menu on the Left.  Court costs are addressed at the end of each case action per the court order or the Local Court Rule and follow Ohio Revised Code 2303.20 for assessing throughout the case.

Personal identification information must be carefully maintained according to the Ohio Revised Code and the Ohio Rules of Superintendence.   However, it is the filer’s responsibility for redacting pertinent information out of the documents prior to submitting them to the Clerk’s Office for filing per the Ohio Rule of Superintendence 45 (D)

All information regarding felony cases is open to the public except for information relating to Grand Jury proceedings, records that have been expunged, and the content of law enforcement and probation department investigative files.

Other Common Forms

• Local Court Rule 9 –  CV-1 Case Designation Form
• CV-2 Pretrial Statement Progress Sheet

PERSONAL IDENTIFIERS
PUBLIC NOTICE
Effective July 1, 2009

The Supreme Court of Ohio Commission on the Rules of Superintendence has developed

Public Access Rules 44 through 47
with the intent to “Strike a balance between the fundamental principal of openness of Court records and the importance of privacy rights of individuals”.

SUPERINTENDENCE RULE 45
Requires the filing party to omit “Personal identifiers” when filing a case document with the court. These identifiers include:
1. Social security numbers, except last 4 digits
2. Financial account numbers
3. Employer and employee identification numbers
4. Juvenile’s name in abuse, neglect and dependency cases

THE COURT OR CLERK OF COURTS
1. Are not required to review documents to find personal identifiers.
2. May not refuse to file a document because personal identifiers are contained in said document.
3. May provide a form for placement of personal identifiers which will be confidential.

Any person may request access to documents that have been restricted or redacted through written Motion to the Court.