Rowan County Clerk in North Carolina

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The Rowan County Clerk’s Office serves a different role than county clerk offices in some jurisdictions.  Outside of North Carolina, county clerks are often in charge of land records in their counties.  In North Carolina, the Register of Deeds is the official in charge of land records.  In North Carolina, the County Clerk is actually the Clerk of Superior Court.  The Rowan County Clerk of Superior Court is responsible for several types of legal matters in the county and actually performs judicial functions in several different areas.  In addition, the County Clerk of Superior Court handles the record-keeping functions for the county’s district and superior courts, as well as collecting and disbursing money from court fees and fines.

Information about Rowan County

Rowan County is a county in North Carolina, with a population of 138,428 at the time of the 2010 Census.  The county seat is Salisbury, and cities, towns, villages and communities in Rowan County include: Kannapolis, Salisbury, China Grove, Cleveland, East Spencer, Faith, Granite Quarry, Landis, Rockwell, Spencer, Enochville, Dogwood Acres, Dukeville, Gold Hill, Atwell, Franklin, Litaker, Locke, Morgan, Mount Ulla, Providence, Scotch Irish, Steele, and Unity.  If you have questions about whether the Rowan County Superior Court has jurisdiction and do not see the name of your city, town, or township on this list, you can contact the Clerk for more information.

Role of the Rowan County Clerk of Superior Court

In Rowan County, the County Clerk of Superior Court is responsible for several judicial functions.  These functions include probate, family law, incompetency proceedings, foreclosures, and condemnation of private land for public use.

The County Clerk of Superior Court is the county’s probate judge.  The probate court has exclusive jurisdiction over matters pertaining to probate affairs and estates, including the probate of wills, the administration of estates, and appointing and overseeing personal representatives for estates.

The County Clerk of Superior Court maintains a child support division.  The family law division also oversees other matters, such as adoption proceedings.

The County Clerk handles incompetency proceedings.  There are several different types of incompetency proceedings.  Incompetency proceedings can result in the Clerk appointing a guardian for an individual and the individual’s assets.  However, incompetency proceedings may also seek treatment and/or institutionalization for an individual deemed incompetent.  Therefore, although they are civil proceedings, the results may have implications that impact the freedom of the individual in question.

The Clerk of the Superior Court also performs record-keeping and clerical functions for the entire Rowan County court system.  One of these function is to handle the receipt of all fines and fees paid into the county court system, as well as being in charge of disbursing those fees.

Selecting a County Clerk

In Rowan County, North Carolina, the County Clerk is an elected position.  Elections are held every four years.  The Clerk must be a resident of Rowan County in order to be eligible for election.

Jeffrey R. Barger, Rowan County Clerk

Jeffrey R. Barger is the current elected County Clerk for Rowan County.  Barger was initially appointed to the position in the early 1990s, was defeated by an opponent in 1994, and then re-elected in 1998.  He has held the position since 1998, with his most recent re-election being in 2014.

Contact the Rowan County Clerk

You can reach the Rowan County Clerk’s Office at:

704-797-3035 Administration
704-797-3002 Bookkeeping
704-797-3003 Civil
704-797-3016 Criminal Superior
704-797-3015 Criminal District
704-797-3005 Estates
704-797-3006 Child Support
704-797-3001 or 704-797-3050 Jeffrey R. Barger
704-797-3009 Small Claims
704-797-3008 Special Proceedings

Rowan County Clerk of Court
210 N. Main Street
Salisbury, NC 28144

Conclusion

Jeffrey R. Barger is the current Rowan County, North Carolina County Clerk of Superior Court.  He is an elected official who has been in office since 1998, and previously served as the Court Clerk before that time.  The Rowan County Clerk performs several judicial functions, in addition to being responsible for record-keeping and other clerical duties for the Rowan County court system.