Miami-Dade County Clerk in Florida

About Miami-Dade County

Miami-Dade County is located in the southeastern part of Florida and is the southeastern-most county on the American mainland with its county seat in Miami.

The 2017 U.S. Census estimated the county’s population at 2,751,796, which makes Miami-Dade County the state’s most populous county as well as the seventh-most populous county in the country today. In addition, with 1,946 square miles, Miami-Dade County is state’s third largest county in terms of the amount land area. Besides significant population growth, business is also booming in Miami-Dade County and its south, eastern and central regions, including South Florida’s central business district, are major commercial hubs. By contrast, commercial agriculture predominates in the southernmost regions of the county including the Redland and Homestead areas. In addition, besides thousands of world-class entertainment and recreational venues, Miami-Dade County also boasts portions of two national parks (i.e., the Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park).

Voters in the county changed its name from Dade County in 1997 to Miami-Dade County in recognition of the principal city’s global reputation, and this initiative, together with numerous others on the part of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau and the county hosted nearly 16.3 million tourists in 2017. Interestingly, tourists from Canada, Colombia, Germany and Argentina are flocking to Miami-Dade County in record numbers – and for good reason. As noted above, Miami-Dade County features eight major zoos and aquaria including Zoo Miami, the Safari “Edventure” and the highly popular Monkey Jungle.

In fact, the list of fun things to see and do in Miami-Dade County goes on and on, but you get the picture. People are drawn to this region of Florida because it’s not only scenic, it also offers every possible culinary, adventure, cultural and recreational opportunity available, as well as numerous investment opportunities in its burgeoning real estate market. As a result, many Miami-Dade County residents and businesses frequently need to contact the Clerk of the Courts for various types of assistance using the contact information provided below.

Contact Information

Physical Address

Clerk of Courts Office
73 West Flagler Street
Miami, Florida 33130

Mailing Address

The Honorable Harvey Ruvin
Clerk of Courts Office
73 West Flagler Street
Miami, Florida 33130
Hours of operation:
Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Other County Clerk Offices

Role of the Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts

Given its increasing population, the importance of role of the Miami-Dade County Clerk to residents cannot be overstated. As a duly elected constitutional officer pursuant to Article V, Section 16 of the Florida state constitution, the Miami-Dade County Clerk serves a 4-year term with the current incumbent being the Honorable Harvey Ruvin, who was elected in November 1992 and has been re elected in every election since that time. The Clerk’s Office provides support to all of the county’s court divisions as follows:

• Civil Court
• Criminal Court
• Family Court Division
• Juvenile Services
• Probate and Mental Health Court
• Small Claims Court
• Traffic Court

The various mandated responsibilities of the Miami-Dade Clerk are set in the Florida state constitution, the state statutes, county ordinances and regulations and order from courts of competent jurisdiction. Besides any special duties assigned through these documents from time to time, the Clerk also serves as the Ex-Officio Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners, County Recorder, County Auditor, custodian of all county funds and all records filed with the county’s courts.

To help fulfill these several important responsibilities, the Clerk is assisted by Senior Deputy Clerks, Division Chiefs, and more than 1,400 full- and part-time staff members with the overarching mission of providing highly professional and efficient services to its constituents, including county residents, the Miami-Dade County Commission, the courts and other members of the county’s legal community.

To its credit, the Miami-Dade Clerk’s Office has continuously sought to implement more efficient approaches to the provision of this support, including the integration of new computer-based technologies wherever possible. In recognition of these efforts, the Miami-Dade Clerk has been the recipient of two 2016 National Association of Counties awards for information technology organizational initiatives: (1) Online Case Search –Public Access to Court Document Images and (2) Civil Court – Paperless Operations with Odyssey Implementation.

Conclusion

Tens of millions of U.S. and international tourists visit Miami-Dade County each year because of thousands of fun things to see and do, and current trends indicate tourism rates will continue to increase well into the foreseeable future. Against this backdrop, the broad based nature of the responsibilities of the Clerk of the Court’s Office means that most residents of and many visitors to Miami-Dade County will require these services at some point, and they are fortunate to have the experience of the Honorable Harvey Ruvin who has served in this capacity for almost 3 decades.