Wicomico County Clerk Of The Circuit Court
Wicomico County uses Maryland's unified Circuit Court clerk model. The local clerk is James "Bo" McAllister, listed by the Maryland Judiciary as James B. McAllister. The official biography states that he was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court in November 2018, previously served four years as an Assistant State's Attorney for Wicomico County, graduated from James M. Bennett High School in Salisbury, and resides in Wicomico County with his wife and children.
The Wicomico Circuit Court general information page lists the clerk, chief deputy, department extensions, judges, court offices, and related court agencies. It is the main local office page for contact routing, because the clerk's work is split among criminal, civil, recording, licensing, marriage, and other service areas. Ajene M. Turnbull is listed as Chief Deputy, and the research identifies department options for recording and licensing, criminal, and civil matters.
Clerk of the Circuit Court
Clerk: James "Bo" McAllister
101 North Division Street, Courthouse, Room 105
Salisbury, MD 21801
Mailing: P.O. Box 198, Courthouse, Room 105, Salisbury, MD 21803-0198
410-543-6551
Fax 410-546-8590; email wicomico.clerk@mdcourts.gov
8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; TTY through Maryland Relay 711
Wicomico County Clerk Duties
The Maryland Courts page describes the Office of Clerk of the Circuit Court as one of Maryland's oldest public institutions, with clerks providing public services since 1658. In Wicomico County, the clerk files, processes, and maintains civil, criminal, and juvenile actions. The office also records land deeds, mortgages, plats, conveyances, and other documents; administers oaths to notaries, county officials, judges, and gubernatorial appointees; issues business and marriage licenses; and performs civil marriage ceremonies.
Revenue collected by clerks is distributed to city, county, and state governments. That broad role is why the clerk page is not limited to case dockets. A request might involve a Circuit Court complaint, a criminal case file, a recorded deed, a business license, a marriage license, or a certified copy. Estate files, however, route through the Register of Wills and Wicomico County Orphans' Court, not the clerk's civil or criminal counter.
- Civil, criminal, and juvenile Circuit Court filings and case records.
- Land deeds, mortgages, plats, conveyances, and related recorded documents.
- Marriage licenses, certified marriage copies, and civil marriage ceremonies.
- Business licenses, oaths of office, and notary-related services.
- Recorded liens and judgments, including several tax, hospital, civil, and federal judgment categories identified in the research.
Request Wicomico County Clerk Records
Clerk record access has several channels. Public case index and docket information may be available through Maryland Judiciary Case Search or JPortal. The Maryland Judiciary judicial records page says a person may request access to judicial records by submitting a written request to the custodian or by appearing in person during normal business hours. Older records, non-digitized files, full document access, and certified copies often require a direct clerk request.
County agency records are different. The Wicomico County Form Center public-records form is useful for county executive, corrections, finance, public works, and similar county records, but it is not the usual path for Circuit Court case files. If a request is for a judicial record, send it to the court custodian. If the request is for a county department record, use the county public-records form and select the relevant department.
The Maryland Public Information Act definitions page is one successful manifest source assigned to Wicomico County clerk records.
That source is relevant because county agency requests use Public Information Act concepts, while judicial records are governed by Maryland court-access rules.
Certified Wicomico County Clerk Copies
Certified copies are used when a requester needs proof that a copy came from the official record custodian. Examples include certified marriage copies, certified divorce decrees, certified case orders, and recorded-document copies. The exact path depends on the record type. Marriage certified copies have a published local process, while general court document copy pricing was not found in a county-specific HTML fee schedule during the research pass.
- Identify the record type first. Decide whether the request is for a marriage record, divorce decree, civil case document, criminal case document, land record, or another clerk-held record.
- Gather the strongest identifiers available. Use case number, party names, marriage party names, marriage date or approximate year, filing date, record type, and desired number of certified copies.
- Contact the clerk's office or the correct department line before mailing payment if the fee is not one of the published marriage amounts.
- For certified marriage copies, mail the request to Clerk of the Circuit Court, P.O. Box 198, Salisbury, MD 21803-0198, with the parties' names, date or approximate year, and payment payable to Clerk of the Court.
- For court-file copies, follow the clerk's current instructions for pickup, mail return, certification, and any document-access limits that apply under court rules.
Note: Online docket access is not the same as a certified copy from the official court record.
Wicomico Public Records Form Fields
The Wicomico County online Request for Public Records form is the county-agency fallback, not the main route for judicial case files. It is still important because some corrections, county executive, finance, community development, emergency services, parks, public works, and other county records do not live in the Circuit Court clerk's case system. The research captured the form's field inventory and the 30-day response note.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Name / Last Name | text | yes | Requester identity fields. |
| Address, City, State, Zip | text | yes | Mailing or street address details, with ZIP validation. |
| Phone Number | text | yes | Requester contact phone. |
| Email Address | text | yes | Email format validation applies. |
| Commercial request | radio | yes | Yes or No. |
| Records | long answer | yes | Describe records specifically; county need not create a record that does not exist. |
| Department | checkboxes | yes | Administration, Finance, Community Development, Corrections, Emergency Services, Parks, Recreation and Tourism, Public Works, or Other. |
| Signature / agreement | text and checkbox | agreement yes | Electronic signature acknowledgement; form notes a 30-day response period from receipt. |
Wicomico County Clerk Fees Found
The official fee amounts located in the Wicomico research were marriage-related. No county-specific HTML fee schedule was located for general plain copies, certified court copies, certification fees, search fees, or civil filing fees. Those amounts should be confirmed directly with the Clerk of the Circuit Court before submitting payment.
| Item | Amount / Research Status |
|---|---|
| Marriage license | $35 |
| Clerk civil ceremony | $25 paid at the ceremony |
| Certified marriage copy | $5.50 by check or money order payable to Clerk of the Court |
| General court document copies | No Wicomico-specific amount located in the research; ask the clerk. |
| Divorce decree certified copy | No Wicomico-specific amount located in the research; ask the clerk. |
Wicomico County Clerk Access Limits
The clerk maintains many public records, but public access is not unlimited. The Wicomico records research identifies juvenile records and adoption records as accessible only by court order. Military discharge records are voluntarily recorded for safekeeping and are available to the public only under certain circumstances. Sealed, shielded, expunged, and confidential filings are restricted by court rule or court order.
The Maryland law-enforcement records exemption is also assigned to the clerk page through the image manifest.
That statute source helps explain why some investigatory, judicial, correctional, and prosecution records may be denied or withheld even when other records are open.
For judicial records, Maryland Rules on access to court records and the court custodian process control inspection. For county agency records, the Public Information Act defines terms such as applicant and custodian, and exemptions may apply. A careful request should name the record type, office, case number if known, and whether a certified copy is needed. For local trial-court structure and judge contacts, the Wicomico County Circuit Court page gives the court-office context around the clerk.