Court, Municipal, and License Clerks
Perform clerical duties for courts of law, municipalities, or governmental licensing agencies and bureaus. May prepare docket of cases to be called; secure information for judges and court; prepare draft agendas or bylaws for town or city council; answer official correspondence; keep fiscal records and accounts; issue licenses or permits; and record data, administer tests, or collect fees.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
- Coordination
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administrative
- English Language
- Law and Government
- Computers and Electronics
- Mathematics
- Public Safety and Security
- Administration and Management
What the work involves
- Question applicants to obtain required information, such as name, address, or age, and record data on prescribed forms.
- Record case dispositions, court orders, or arrangements made for payment of court fees.
- Examine legal documents submitted to courts for adherence to laws or court procedures.
- Perform general office duties, such as taking or transcribing dictation, typing or proofreading correspondence, distributing or filing official forms, or scheduling appointments.
- Perform administrative tasks, such as answering telephone calls, filing court documents, or maintaining office supplies or equipment.
- Respond to requests for information from the public, other municipalities, state officials, or state and federal legislative offices.
- Coordinate or maintain office tracking systems for correspondence or follow-up actions.
- Answer inquiries from the general public regarding judicial procedures, court appearances, trial dates, adjournments, outstanding warrants, summonses, subpoenas, witness fees, or payment of fines.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Conventional, Enterprising, Social.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (50.4% of expert ratings)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (31.9%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (59.2%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Court, Municipal, and License Clerks is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 71% of occupations compared | 82% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very high | Higher on dealing with the public than 95% of occupations compared | 76% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 90% of occupations compared | 82% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 86% of occupations compared | 30% of surveyed respondents chose “Limited freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 87% of occupations compared | 60% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 61% of occupations compared | 28% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 79% of occupations compared | 29% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Lower on consequence of error than 55% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: moderate
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 18.28%
- Contact with others most of the time: 0.17%
- Constant contact with others: 81.55%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 6.84%
- Very important: 17.14%
- Extremely important: 76.01%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 8.89%
- Very important: 9.56%
- Extremely important: 81.55%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0.18%
- Very little freedom: 18.28%
- Limited freedom: 30.35%
- Some freedom: 28.75%
- A lot of freedom: 22.43%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 19.18%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 20.36%
- Every day: 60.45%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 9.35%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 27.4%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 26.17%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 27.58%
- Every day: 9.5%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0.46%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 26.78%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 24.49%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 29.2%
- Every day: 19.06%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 11.58%
- Fairly serious: 35.65%
- Serious: 24.48%
- Very serious: 9.68%
- Extremely serious: 18.61%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
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O*NET-SOC 43-4031.00 · SOC 43-4031 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8