In addition to its well-known role in overseeing the county’s legal infrastructure, the Porter County Government’s Clerk’s Office serves as a historical archive of our county’s past.
First and foremost, it is the responsibility of the Porter County Clerk’s office to manage the court documents for the county’s six judges and three magistrates. This work encompasses a broad spectrum of legal matters including but not limited to marriage licenses, name changes, and traffic citations.
“The easiest way to explain the clerk's office is that every court document that goes through the Porter County courts system goes through the clerk's office in some way,” said Porter County Clerk of the Courts Jessica Bailey.
Additionally, Bailey and her team make sure that getting access to any document you may need is also a very easy process to complete.
“To request a form, you simply fill out a request,” said Bailey. “All of our forms are state forms which are all updated and available on the state site – Indiana Legal Help. If you don't have access to print those forms on your own, you can print them off in the kiosk in our office free of charge.”
Maintaining all of these documents and records also means that Bailey and the Clerk’s Office feel a duty to both preserve and share a piece of Porter County history with the community.
In fact, the preservation of historical records is another key function of the office. Through collaborative efforts with volunteers, the Clerk’s Office is working diligently to digitize these records to ensure their accessibility for future generations.
“We operate a blog called The Dash,” said Bailey. “On the blog, we post and go into great detail about all the research that is done to both preserve and capture these archives.”
Gaining more and more followers all the time. collaborators on The Dash work to post monthly and include photos, depositions, and even mug shots of events from Porter County’s past.
“Previously, we had a lot of the paperwork that was stored all over the county,” said Bailey. “Today we have it in one solid location, and we are working to ensure that all of these documents are maintained and saved for generations.”
Going back to the 1800s, some documents are on onion paper and written in calligraphy. In addition to sharing its progress on The Dash, the Porter County Clerk’s office is converting materials to digital archives.
“Once you put the material underneath this scanner it darkens the ink so you can see it a little bit better and are able to read even very faded ink,” said Bailey. “We have volunteers from Ivy Tech who come in three days a week and help clean the documents and put them in order as well.”
Additionally, the Clerk’s Office provides essential services to residents, such as assisting with REAL ID applications and facilitating document updates following significant life changes.
“Because anything that happens in court comes down through the office, the upcoming changes to the identification system may require people to request documents from our office,” said Bailey.
To request changes, Bailey suggests that Porter County residents act sooner rather than later.
“To get a REAL ID, you must have your original name on your birth certificate, which people can receive at the Health Department, and document any legal name changes,” said Bailey. “To request any documents you need aside from a birth certificate, residents can email or come to the office and ask for the documents that you're interested in.”
Although the Clerk’s Office acts as quickly as possible, these requests do take time and require a small fee.
Fulfilling multiple vital roles throughout the government the Porter County Clerk’s office is pivotal to the operation of the Porter County Government.
To learn more about the Porter County Clerk’s office and the Porter County Government, please visit porterco.org.