Otero County Clerk of Court Office
The Colorado Judicial Branch judges and staff page lists Caryl Pearce as Clerk of Court and Probate Registrar for Otero County. The office works through the Otero Combined Court, 13 West Third St., Room 207, La Junta, CO 81050. The court phone is 719-384-4951, and the location page lists fax 719-384-4991. Courthouse hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
This office is different from the Otero County Clerk and Recorder in Room 210. The Clerk of Court handles court records and probate registrar functions. The Clerk and Recorder handles county recorded records, marriage licenses, elections, motor vehicle services, and county clerk functions. Otero County's split clerk structure is one of the most important facts for record requests.
Otero Combined Court Clerk of Court
Clerk: Caryl Pearce
13 West Third St., Room 207
La Junta, CO 81050
719-384-4951
caryl.pearce@judicial.state.co.us
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Otero County Clerk Court Duties
The Clerk of Court is the court record office for Otero County state trial matters. The office receives filings, maintains case records, processes document requests, collects court copy fees, supports docket and hearing functions, and serves as the Probate Registrar. The public-facing work is tied to the Colorado Judicial Branch rather than the county recorder system.
- Maintains district and county court case files for Otero Combined Court.
- Processes court record and document requests through the statewide request form.
- Provides certified or exemplified court copies when the requester selects that option.
- Handles probate registrar record requests for Otero probate matters.
- Routes restricted, suppressed, juvenile, probate, or confidential documents for review.
- Supports dockets, jury, filings, collections, and court service channels listed on the Otero court page.
When the requested record is a marriage license or county recorded document, the correct office is the Clerk and Recorder. For court files, the correct office is the Clerk of Court.
Request Otero County Certified Copies
Certified copies are court-authenticated documents. They are often needed for legal proof, out-of-court filings, benefits, name changes, appellate use, or agency review. In Otero County, certified court copies come from the Clerk of Court through the Colorado Judicial Branch record request path. A plain online docket printout is not the same thing.
- Identify the case number if known, or gather party names, filing year, case type, and date of birth for the primary party if available.
- Open the Judicial Branch record/document request form and choose Otero County as the county or location of records.
- Select the case type and document category, then mark whether a certified or exemplified copy is needed.
- Submit the request with enough contact and mailing information for the court to respond and assess fees.
- Follow any clerk instructions about payment, ID, in-person inspection, older file retrieval, or restricted documents.
The form says responses are normally provided within three business days unless extenuating circumstances apply. Older, restricted, or off-site records can take more time.
Otero County Request Form Fields
The record request form is statewide, but it includes Otero County as a location option. It asks for requester contact data, case identifiers, party information, the record location, document types, and certification needs. Better field detail reduces the chance that staff must ask follow-up questions.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| First, middle, and last name | Unspecified | Requester contact information. |
| Email and phone number | Unspecified | Used for court response and clarification. |
| Mailing address, city, state, ZIP | Address, city, state, ZIP listed as required | Needed for mailed response or billing details. |
| Case number | Optional | Use exact number if known, such as a year, class, and sequence. |
| Case type | Optional | Includes Civil, Divorce, Felony, Juvenile, Misdemeanor, Probate, Small Claims, Traffic, Water, and more. |
| County/location of records | Needed for routing | Choose Otero County when the file is local. |
| Party information | Yes | Names on the case are required. |
| Requested documents | As applicable | Choose family, criminal, civil, probate, Register of Action, or other documents. |
| Certified/exemplified needed | Optional | Mark this when an authenticated copy is required. |
Otero County Clerk Court Fees
The official court form provides the copy and search fee schedule for court record requests. These are court-copy fees, not county recorder fees and not marriage license fees. Parties and their attorneys have a copy-fee maximum that does not apply the same way to non-party requests.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Copy per page | $0.25 |
| Maximum copy fee for parties or their attorneys | $15.00 maximum regardless of page count |
| Transcript of Judgment | $25.00 |
| Certificate of Satisfaction | $20.00 |
| Certified or exemplified copy per document | $20.00 |
| Name search | $5.00 |
| Off-site case file retrieval | Actual cost of retrieval |
| Research or redaction after first hour | $30.00 per hour in 15-minute increments |
Otero County Clerk Search Channels
Not every Otero County court record request needs a certified copy. The official docket search is free and helps with hearing dates or case schedules. CoCourts can return a paid Register of Action for many county and district court records back to 1992, but it excludes juvenile, probate, and sealed cases. The Judicial Branch request form is the route for actual documents, certified copies, older file retrieval, and case types not shown in public portals.
| Channel | Use It For | Key Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado Judicial Branch docket search | Otero hearing dates and docket events | Not a full case file portal. |
| CoCourts Register of Action | Paid case summaries for included case types | No juvenile, probate, sealed, or confidential case types. |
| Record/document request form | Documents, certified copies, probate documents, older files | Fees, ID, or restrictions may apply. |
| Room 207 in person | Local clerk questions and record handling | Call first if the request may be restricted. |
| Phone | Clarify file status, ID needs, or request routing | Staff cannot provide legal advice. |
Restricted Otero County Court Records
The Clerk of Court can restrict access to files or portions of files under Colorado statutes, rules, Supreme Court rules, Chief Justice Directives, local administrative orders and directives, and other legal authority. The form specifically warns that suppressed cases, juvenile and probate records, or documents with confidential or protected information may require a U.S. government-issued photo ID.
CoCourts also leaves out sealed cases and suppresses confidential material. It omits Social Security numbers and street addresses, treats victims, police officers, jurors, and many non-primary parties as non-public, and excludes long narratives. The Clerk of Court is the place to ask how those limits affect a specific Otero County court records request.
Note: A case may exist even when CoCourts or a public docket does not show the document a requester needs.
Otero County and Federal Clerks
The Otero County Clerk of Court handles Colorado state trial court records for Otero Combined Court. Federal court records are separate. Otero County is within the federal jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, and federal case access is handled through federal clerk offices and PACER rather than Room 207.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado contact page is useful when an Otero resident needs a federal case record rather than a state district or county court file.
That federal contact screen should not be confused with the Otero Combined Court clerk window for local Colorado case records.
The PACER portal is the official federal case access system for many federal dockets and filings.
PACER helps distinguish federal records from Otero County court records held by the Colorado Judicial Branch.