Owen County Clerk of the Circuit Court
Owen County uses a unified Clerk of the Circuit Court rather than a split district clerk and county clerk structure. Diane Stutsman is listed by the county directory as County Clerk and by the Clerk page as Owen County Clerk of the Circuit Court. The office is a constitutional office limited to two consecutive four-year terms. It is the official record keeper for Owen County civil, criminal, traffic, probate, and juvenile court matters.
The Clerk's public mailing address is P.O. Box 146, Spencer, IN 47460. The public courthouse address is 60 S. Main Street, Spencer, IN 47460. County courthouse hours in the official footer are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, closed 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM for lunch, weekends, and federal holidays.
Owen County Clerk of the Circuit Court
Clerk: Diane Stutsman
P.O. Box 146
Spencer, IN 47460
(812) 829-5015
Courthouse: 60 S. Main Street, Spencer, IN 47460
The Owen County Clerk page is the local source for the office's court-record duties, payment links, copy fees, and marriage-license rules.
That office page is the best starting point when the search needs a local Clerk service rather than just an online case result.
What Owen County Clerk Handles
The Clerk's duties cover more than public case lookup. The office maintains judicial records, manages court financial transactions, issues marriage licenses, records judicial liens and State Tax Warrants, notifies parties in court-related cases, and provides several filing services. The Clerk also serves as Secretary to the Election Board and County Records Commission, and handles local election duties, candidate filings, and campaign finance.
- Maintains court records for civil, criminal, traffic, probate, and juvenile cases.
- Collects and distributes filing fees, fines, restitution, probation fees, and child support.
- Issues marriage licenses and processes local marriage-license applications.
- Records judicial liens and State Tax Warrants.
- Provides filing services for evictions, protective orders, wills, small claims, and vehicle title matters.
Owen County Clerk Record Search
The Clerk links public case searches to Indiana MyCase. MyCase is the statewide public-facing court system for many Indiana courts using Odyssey. It can show non-confidential case information and some documents. The official warning still applies: online information is not the official court record and may contain errors or omissions. Official records must come from the court or Clerk that maintains the file.
For Owen County Clerk records, MyCase is the first lookup channel for public court case data. The Clerk is the fallback for certified pages, older records, documents not linked online, balances that need to be official, and written public-record requests. If a searcher only has party names, filing dates, or an approximate record type, those details should be gathered before contacting the office.
The Indiana Judicial Branch public-record request page is a statewide fallback when a public document is not available online.
For county-maintained court files, the statewide guidance points back to the Clerk in the county where the case is heard.
Request Owen County Certified Copies
A certified copy is a Clerk-authenticated copy used for official purposes. It may be needed for court filings, employment or licensing paperwork, estate administration, title work, name changes, and other transactions where a plain online printout is not accepted. Owen County lists a copy charge for plain pages and a separate charge for certified pages.
- Identify the case number, party names, filing date, court, and document type if those facts are known.
- Search MyCase first to confirm the case exists and to gather the case number or filing details.
- Contact the Clerk at (812) 829-5015 or use the Owen County public-record request form when a written request is needed.
- State whether a plain copy or certified copy is required, and provide the number of copies requested.
- Pay any copy, certification, scanning, or postage fees in advance when the county requires payment before release.
Owen County Records Request Fields
Owen County's Access to Public Records Act process requires written requests to the office that maintains the record. The request must ask for a specific existing record or document and identify it with reasonable particularity. The county says requests that simply ask questions will be denied. Helpful names, addresses, dates, case numbers, and document descriptions make a Clerk request easier to process.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Options / Format Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Requester/contact information | PDF form fields | Unspecified | Use the official county form linked from the APRA page. |
| Description of requested records | PDF form field | Yes by APRA guidance | Must identify records with reasonable particularity. |
| Department or office receiving request | PDF or in-person routing | Yes | Deliver to the specific Owen County office that maintains the record. |
| Fees and payment acknowledgment | PDF/instructions | Conditional | County requires advance payment for copies. |
The Owen County APRA public-records page gives the local written-request process and the special sheriff-record rule.
That local process matters because a Clerk record request must be routed to the office that maintains the court file, not treated as a general question.
Owen County Clerk Fees
The Clerk's listed fees include copy prices, marriage-license fees, and public-record request rules. Public-record inspection is free. Copies, scans, and postage may carry charges, and Owen County requires advance payment before providing copies. Traffic defendants should also call the Clerk before paying online through PayGov.US so the correct traffic amount is confirmed.
| Item | Amount or rule |
|---|---|
| Plain copy from Clerk | $1.00 per page. |
| Certified copy from Clerk | $2.00 per certified page. |
| Marriage license, Owen County resident | $25.00. |
| Marriage license, out-of-state residents | $65.00. |
| Certified marriage license copy | $4.00 under the state marriage page. |
| Public-record inspection | No fee. |
| Public-record copies, scans, postage | Fee may apply; advance payment required. |
Owen County Clerk Forms and Payments
The Clerk page lists limited legal forms and asks users to contact the office with questions. It also links an Owen Circuit Small Claims Manual, the Indiana online Marriage License Application, MyCase, PayGov.US for court fees and fines, and child support payment services. The child support note says cash-only payments are accepted in the office. Court staff and clerks can answer procedural questions, but cannot give legal advice.
Payment channels should match the record type. Traffic citations, court fees, judgments, and fines may route through PayGov.US after the Clerk confirms the correct amount. Child support payments use the child support payment channel. Certified copies and written records requests may involve copy, certification, scanning, or postage fees collected through the Clerk.
Traffic payment rule: The Owen County Clerk instructs traffic defendants to call before paying online so the correct amount is paid.
Owen County Clerk Access Rules
Indiana Code 5-14-3, the Access to Public Records Act, is the statewide public-record law reflected in Owen County's APRA process. Indiana Code 5-14-3-8 is the fee section cited by the county for copy and payment rules. Court records also follow Indiana Administrative Rule 9 and the Rules on Access to Court Records, Rule 9, which control courthouse and remote access plus records excluded from public access.
The Indiana Access to Public Records Act source supplies the state law behind Owen County's written-request process.
The law sets the general access framework, while the Clerk and court rules decide what can be released from a specific Owen County court file.