St. Mary's County Clerk Office
Maryland uses a unified Clerk of the Circuit Court structure for St. Mary's County. The primary clerk is the Clerk of the Circuit Court for St. Mary's County, not a separate county clerk and district clerk model. The current Clerk is Debra J. "Debbie" Burch, listed by the Maryland Judiciary as Clerk of Court. The office is part of the Circuit Court courthouse at 41605 Courthouse Drive in Leonardtown.
The Clerk files, processes, and maintains civil, criminal, and juvenile actions. The office records land deeds, mortgages, plats, conveyances, and other important documents; administers oaths to notaries, public officials, and judiciary appointees; issues business and marriage licenses; performs civil marriage ceremonies; and commissions notaries. The Clerk is also the practical access point for local Circuit Court file questions, certified copies, marriage licenses, jury, juvenile matters, adoptions, land records, and related court services.
Clerk of the Circuit Court for St. Mary's County
Clerk: Debra J. Burch, Clerk of Court, ext. 74567
41605 Courthouse Drive
Leonardtown, MD 20650
Mailing: PO Box 676, 41605 Courthouse Drive, Leonardtown, MD 20650
301-475-7844
TTY: Maryland Relay 711
Hours: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
St. Mary's County Clerk Record Duties
The Clerk's Office handles different record lines through department extensions. Civil and adoption questions use extension 74562. Criminal case questions use extension 74564. Juvenile contacts are extensions 74587 and 74590. Land records use extensions 74579, 74586, and 74563. Marriage licenses use extensions 74563 and 74580. Jury clerk contacts are extensions 74560 and 74566, with jury recordings at 301-475-3550, 301-475-3507, and 1-866-SMC-JURY.
- Maintain St. Mary's County Circuit Court civil, criminal, family, juvenile, and adoption files.
- Issue and record St. Mary's County marriage licenses and perform civil marriage ceremonies.
- Record land deeds, mortgages, plats, conveyances, and related land instruments.
- Administer oaths and support notary, public official, and judiciary appointment functions.
- Provide public counter access, file lookup help, copies, and certification where Maryland rules allow release.
Probate estate administration is nearby but separate. St. Mary's County estates are handled by the Register of Wills and Orphans' Court. Traffic citations, landlord-tenant cases, misdemeanors, small civil claims, and District Court matters go through the District Court of Maryland location at 23110 Leonard Hall Drive, not the Circuit Clerk's counter.
Request St. Mary's County Certified Copies
A certified copy is a court copy with official certification. It is different from a public online case summary. Certified copies may be needed for agencies, appeals, legal filings, property matters, name changes, benefits, or proof of a court disposition. The requester should identify the court, case type, case number if known, party names, document needed, and whether plain or certified copies are required.
- Start with the case number when available. If it is unknown, gather party names, case type, court location, and approximate filing year.
- Use Maryland Judiciary Case Search for a public summary when the case is not restricted and appears online.
- Contact the correct St. Mary's Clerk department by phone, mail, or in person for the full file or certified copy.
- State the exact document requested, such as decree, order, docket sheet, complaint, judgment, or certified marriage copy.
- Confirm the fee, copy type, payment method, and return method before mailing payment or visiting the counter.
- Use a judicial-record request to the custodian for records not available through routine online access.
For marriage copies by mail, include the names at marriage, date of marriage, fee, return address, and telephone number. The Clerk can certify only marriages that occurred in St. Mary's County. Checks or money orders for marriage copies are payable to the Clerk of the Circuit Court for St. Mary's County.
St. Mary's County Records Request Fields
The Maryland Judiciary does not list a single St. Mary's web form for every court record. Court-record help directs users to the courthouse where the case was heard and to the clerk of that court. Public judicial-record requests may be made in writing to the custodian or in person during normal business hours under Maryland Rules 16-901 et seq.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | No, but best if known | Fastest way to identify the correct Circuit Court or District Court file. |
| Party names | Yes | Include full names and any prior names when relevant. |
| Court location | Yes if known | Circuit Court, District Court, or Orphans' Court/Register of Wills. |
| Case type | Yes | Civil, criminal, family, juvenile, land, marriage, or other type. |
| Filing date or year | Helpful | Use an approximate year if exact date is unknown. |
| Document type | Yes | Order, judgment, decree, docket sheet, license, land instrument, or other paper. |
| Copy type | Yes | Plain, certified, or exemplified where available. |
| Requester contact and return address | Yes | Needed for follow-up and mailed copies. |
St. Mary's County Clerk Fees
Some Clerk fees are fixed in the local research, while broader court fees are controlled by Maryland Judiciary schedules. The Maryland court fee schedule hub should be checked for current filing, District Court, Circuit Court, and copy charges beyond the local marriage and divorce examples.
| Item | Amount or rule | Source note |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage license | $35 | Cash or money order. |
| Civil ceremony | $25 | Cash or money order, appointment required. |
| Certified marriage copy | $5.50 each | St. Mary's County marriages only. |
| Plain marriage copy | $0.50 each | Non-certified marriage copy. |
| Circuit Court divorce complaint | $165 | Complaint for limited or absolute divorce. |
| Circuit Court fee schedules | Varies | Use the current Judiciary fee schedule PDF. |
| District Court fees | Varies | District Court cost, fee, and fine schedule listed by Judiciary. |
Note: Fee schedules can change, so confirm current totals with the department before mailing a payment.
St. Mary's County Clerk Online Access
The main public online court-summary channel for St. Mary's County is Maryland Judiciary Case Search. It covers public summary information for Circuit Court and District Court matters where online display is allowed. Case Search is not the complete case file and should not be used as a criminal background check. Complete files, certified copies, paper exhibits, restricted materials, and documents not available online stay with the clerk of the court that heard the case.
Practical Case Search fields include last name or company name, first name, middle name, case number, court system, county, case type, filing date range, and party type. The official FAQ notes a 500-result limit, a two-minute inactivity timeout, and several categories of public criminal information that no longer display online. St. Mary's Circuit Court historical coverage listed in the FAQ includes civil records from 07/01/1997 and criminal records from 03/06/2000.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland is a federal court channel, not the St. Mary's County Circuit Clerk.
Federal case access belongs in PACER or the federal clerk system when the case was filed in federal court rather than St. Mary's County Circuit Court.
Federal Records Near St. Mary's
Some record searches that look local at first are actually federal. The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland describes the federal district and its divisions. Federal civil, criminal, bankruptcy, appellate, and nationwide party searches do not come from the St. Mary's County Clerk of the Circuit Court. They use federal court clerks and PACER tools.
Federal access sources mark a different fallback path when the case is not a Maryland Circuit Court or District Court matter.
The federal District of Maryland information page is a separate access point for federal court structure.
Use this distinction before asking the St. Mary's Clerk for a record the local Circuit Court never created.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland is another separate federal records source.
Bankruptcy files are not land records, probate records, or Circuit Court civil files, even when a St. Mary's County address appears in the case.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is the federal appellate court source for cases outside the Maryland county court system.
Federal appeals are searched through federal systems, while Maryland Circuit Court and Orphans' Court appeals follow Maryland appellate channels.
The PACER portal is the federal registration and search gateway.
PACER may require an account and may charge fees, unlike free Maryland public summary searches.
The PACER Case Locator searches federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy indexes.
Case Locator helps identify the federal court before a user requests records from the wrong clerk.
Restricted St. Mary's County Clerk Records
Maryland public access has important limits. The St. Mary's records page and Judiciary guidance identify juvenile records, adoption records, guardianship terminating parental rights, medical information, Social Security numbers, underage abuse-victim information, certain family financial records, and sealed or expunged records as restricted or not available through ordinary public access. Some files may require a court order or special authority.
Case Search also has online-display limits. Some criminal records no longer appear online even when courthouse access may still exist. Examples in the Judiciary help material include certain charges ending in nolle prosequi, dismissal, acquittal or not guilty; stet charges after three years; sole cannabis possession charges disposed before July 1, 2023; and pardoned cannabis possession convictions. That is an online-display rule, not always the same as full expungement.
For restricted files, the right channel is the clerk of the court where the case was heard. For St. Mary's Circuit Court, use 41605 Courthouse Drive and the relevant department extension. For District Court, use 23110 Leonard Hall Drive and 301-880-2700. For estates, use the Register of Wills and Orphans' Court at Room G008.