Bear Lake County Clerk Office
The Bear Lake County Clerk page identifies Amy Bishop as the local clerk. The same office is also the recorder and is housed with court functions at the county courthouse in Paris. That unified structure matters for records work. A person asking for a judgment lien, deed, marriage license, or recorded survey uses the clerk and recorder side. A person asking for a criminal case filing, traffic citation record, probate file, court minutes, or hearing entry uses the court clerk channel.
The county court page names deputy court clerks Paul Christiansen, Leslie Lloyd, and Becky Solum for court work. The clerk page names Chief Deputy Clerk Mindy Williamson, Deputy Clerks Kellie Messerly and Sarah Cottle, and Records Technician/Deputy Clerk Cindy Garner for clerk and recorder work. Both lists are useful because Bear Lake County users often start with one main courthouse phone system and then ask for the correct extension.
Bear Lake County Clerk and Recorder
Clerk: Amy Bishop
30 N Main, P.O. Box 190
Paris, ID 83261
(208) 945-2155 ext. 5
8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday
Bear Lake County Court Clerk Channel
District Court and Magistrate Court records
30 N Main St., P.O. Box 190
Paris, ID 83261
(208) 945-2155 ext. 6
Court filings, minutes, citations, fines, and fees
Bear Lake County Clerk Sources
The county's official clerk page is the main source for Bear Lake County Clerk of the District Court / County Clerk and Recorder hours, recording fees, copy fees, and marriage license details.
That source separates recorded instruments and marriage licenses from court case channels, which prevents users from treating every record as a court file.
The Bear Lake County elected officials page confirms the local clerk name and helps verify that the office is county-specific rather than a state call center.
For people checking who signs or maintains local records, the elected-official listing supports the same clerk identity used in request instructions.
The county departments directory is also useful when a Bear Lake County clerk record question crosses into courts, sheriff records, probation, or prosecution.
The directory is a practical backstop when the record type is unclear and a caller needs the right courthouse or public-safety office.
Bear Lake County Clerk Duties
The clerk and recorder side records land transactions, mortgages, liens, judgments, marriages, licenses, elections, accounts payable, and related county records. The court side maintains and files court documents, enters citations, collects fines and fees, records court proceedings, and takes minutes of court proceedings. Those functions sound close, but they lead to different request paths and sometimes different kinds of copies.
- Recorded county instruments include deeds, mortgages, powers of attorney, surveys, subdivision plats, liens, and judgments.
- Court case records include pleadings, orders, minutes, citations, fine records, hearing records, and docket events.
- Marriage licenses are issued and recorded through the clerk and recorder, while certified certificates from later years come from Idaho Vital Records.
- Law-enforcement reports, jail records, media, and 911 records use the Bear Lake County Sheriff's Office request form, not the clerk counter.
When a record mixes categories, start with the file's source. A judgment recorded as a lien can be a recorder document, while the lawsuit that produced it remains a court file. A traffic citation may be entered and paid through the court, while the officer's narrative remains with the investigating agency.
Request Bear Lake County Certified Copies
Certified copies are used when a plain printout is not enough. A court-certified decree, judgment, order, or recorded instrument may be needed for filing with another agency, proving a case outcome, transferring property, or showing marital status. Bear Lake County's research does not list a separate online certified-copy form for court records, so the practical path is to identify the record, call the right courthouse extension, and confirm the fee and delivery method before sending payment.
- Identify the record type first. Use the iCourt Portal for court case numbers, or use the clerk and recorder details when the item is a recorded county instrument.
- Call the Bear Lake County court clerk at ext. 6 for court copies or the clerk and recorder at ext. 5 for recorded instruments and marriage license records.
- Provide party names, case number or recording details, filing date if known, document title, and the number of certified or plain copies needed.
- Ask whether the office requires prepayment, a written request, return postage, or pickup at the Paris courthouse.
- Keep the receipt and the certified copy together, because the seal or certification language is what makes the copy official.
Bear Lake County Request Fields
Bear Lake County court records do not use the sheriff request form unless the desired item is a sheriff, jail, 911, media, or law-enforcement record. For court and clerk requests, the same identifying details still matter. Better detail reduces delay, especially when a common name appears in multiple case types or a recorded document has no obvious case number.
| Field | Required in practice | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number or recording reference | Recommended | Use the exact iCourt case number, citation number, book/page, instrument details, or other identifier if known. |
| Party or grantor/grantee names | Yes | Use full names and any prior names that may appear on older marriage, court, or recorded documents. |
| Document type | Yes | Examples include decree, judgment, order, minutes, deed, mortgage, survey, marriage license, or citation record. |
| Approximate date | Recommended | Filing, recording, marriage, divorce, hearing, or judgment dates help staff narrow the search. |
| Copy type | Yes | State whether a plain copy, certified copy, recorded copy, or search only is needed. |
| Delivery method | Yes | Ask whether pickup, mail, or another method is available for that record type. |
For sheriff records, the BLCSO form includes requester contact fields, incident date and location, incarceration date and time, record categories, fee warnings, delay notices, denial language, and an appeal notice tied to District Court.
Bear Lake County Clerk Fees
The Bear Lake County Clerk page publishes a detailed recorder fee table. These are recorder and clerk fees from the county page, not a substitute for state court filing fees. Court filing, certification, and copy fees can change or depend on case type, so court-record users should confirm current court-copy costs before mailing a request.
| Record or service | Fee or note |
|---|---|
| Deeds | $15.00 |
| Deed of Trust or Mortgage | $45.00 for first 30 pages, then $3.00 each additional page |
| Reconveyances | $15.00 |
| Powers of Attorney | $25.00 |
| All other documents | $10.00 first page, $3.00 each additional page, letter and legal sizes |
| Copies | $1.00 per page |
| Surveys recording | $5.00 per survey |
| Recorded survey copies | $4.00 per survey page |
| Marriage license | $28.00, with no county waiting period listed |
Note: Do not use recorder fees as probate, divorce, or civil filing fees unless the clerk confirms the charge applies to that filing.
Bear Lake County Recorded Details
Bear Lake County publishes unusually specific survey and subdivision plat requirements. Surveys use one mylar and one paper copy. The page size is 18 by 27 inches, with at least 3.5 inches on the left and 0.5 inch on the other sides. Subdivision plats use two mylars, the same size and margin rules, and require county engineering plus Planning and Zoning fees before recording.
The clerk page also gives a local vital-record note. Bear Lake County has birth and death records for 1907 through 1911. Later birth and death records go through Idaho Vital Records in Boise. Marriage licenses are handled locally, but certified marriage and divorce certificates from May 1947 forward are issued through Idaho Department of Health and Welfare when the requester qualifies under Idaho's vital-record rules.