File Clerks
File correspondence, cards, invoices, receipts, and other records in alphabetical or numerical order or according to the filing system used. Locate and remove material from file when requested.
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Service Orientation
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
Key knowledge
- Administrative
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Law and Government
- Computers and Electronics
- Telecommunications
- Mathematics
- Public Safety and Security
What the work involves
- Add new material to file records or create new records as necessary.
- Gather materials to be filed from departments or employees.
- Sort or classify information according to guidelines, such as content, purpose, user criteria, or chronological, alphabetical, or numerical order.
- Scan or read incoming materials to determine how and where they should be classified or filed.
- Place materials into storage receptacles, such as file cabinets, boxes, bins, or drawers, according to classification and identification information.
- Assign and record or stamp identification numbers or codes to index materials for filing.
- Answer questions about records or files.
- Modify or improve filing systems or implement new filing systems.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Conventional, Realistic, Social.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree (38.4% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (42.3%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (33.9%)
- 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 File 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 73% of occupations compared | 70% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 69% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 63% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 90% of occupations compared | 33% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 73% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Higher on conflict situations than 51% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 56% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Lower on consequence of error than 54% of occupations compared | 25% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- 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: 0.19%
- Contact with others about half the time: 5.18%
- Contact with others most of the time: 24.44%
- Constant contact with others: 70.18%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 13.62%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very important: 19.75%
- Extremely important: 48.1%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2025
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 16.64%
- Important: 8.57%
- Very important: 21.55%
- Extremely important: 53.23%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2025
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 25.02%
- Limited freedom: 24.44%
- Some freedom: 33.39%
- A lot of freedom: 17.14%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2025
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 9.31%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 0.19%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 56.3%
- Every day: 34.2%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2025
Conflict situations
- Never: 22.12%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 3.63%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 47.73%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 18.81%
- Every day: 7.72%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a year or more but not every month: 9.94%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 40.47%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 23.24%
- Every day: 6.81%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 25.06%
- Fairly serious: 20.02%
- Serious: 13.64%
- Very serious: 20.92%
- Extremely serious: 20.36%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
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O*NET-SOC 43-4071.00 · SOC 43-4071 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8