Randolph County Court Record Requests
Pick the custodian first. Circuit Clerk Phil Riggleman holds circuit civil and criminal records, family orders and indices, appeals, and several special case categories. Magistrate Clerk Rezena Roth handles magistrate civil and criminal files, citations, judgments, and payment records. City matters belong to the municipal clerks.
- Identify the court, case number, caption, filing year, and exact document.
- Search WVPASS for a public circuit docket or MCR Search for magistrate case information.
- Choose in-person inspection, phone coordination, or a confirmed mail, fax, or email route with the proper clerk.
- State whether a plain copy, certified copy, or family recording is required.
- Ask for page, certification, processing, and payment details before ordering.
The county pages list phone and fax lines. But the clerks publish no standalone certified-copy request form. A general County Commission contact form is not a safe route unless you confirm it first.
Circuit Clerk Phil Riggleman answers at 304-636-2765. The main courthouse address is 2 Randolph Avenue, Elkins, WV 26241. The county office page also shows a 4 Randolph Avenue, Suite 207 block. So confirm the counter before you go. Magistrate Clerk Rezena Roth takes magistrate record questions at 304-636-5885, 11 Randolph Avenue, Elkins, WV 26241.
When you mail a request, skip vague phrases like "all records." Name the public item, the case, and the date range. Ask whether the office wants payment in advance and how the certification will appear. If a file is restricted, ask for the rule or order that controls access. Then ask the procedure for seeking court authorization.
Online access and certification are different things. WVPASS may sell a public image. But the download is not certified. MCR can return case information with no document image at all. Some copies must carry the court seal or an official certification statement. The clerk is the right route for those.
How you get the record changes the request too. In person, you can inspect a public file at the proper counter. Ask staff to point out available pages. A mailed request needs a return address and the payment method that office accepts. A phone call confirms custody and cost. The clerk may still want a written request before copying a large or certified file.
Public does not mean every page. Family orders and indices may be open while pleadings, exhibits, transcripts, and recordings stay confidential. Juvenile, abuse and neglect, mental-hygiene, adoption, guardianship, domestic-violence, sealed, and expunged records may be withheld or indexed apart. Ask the Randolph County custodian to name the controlling rule or order. A blank portal result does not mean no file exists.
Keep the clerk's estimate and receipt with your copy, since certification or mailed delivery can change the final charge.
Randolph County Clerk Custodians
Four custodial tracks keep many wrong requests from ever happening. A portal can locate a record, yet the clerk holding the original file is the one who supplies the authoritative copy.
| Custodian | Records | Access Route |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Clerk | Circuit civil/criminal, family public orders and indices, appeals | WVPASS, counter, phone, confirmed mail or fax |
| Magistrate Clerk | Magistrate cases, citations, judgments, payments | MCR Search, public terminal, counter, phone |
| Municipal clerk | City ordinance, parking, and traffic files | Each town or city court |
| Federal clerk | Northern District of West Virginia cases | PACER or federal clerk |
The official Randolph County judiciary directory helps route a request to the right place. It does not replace the case file held by the correct clerk.
Kinds of Randolph County Court Records
Type matters, since access and certification differ by record. A requester might want a docket sheet, complaint, petition, order, judgment, transcript, exhibit, or recording. They might simply need proof the clerk certified a disposition.
- Circuit civil and criminal docket entries and public filed documents
- Magistrate civil, misdemeanor, preliminary felony, traffic, and judgment files
- Public family orders and indices, with confidential pleadings kept apart
- Municipal ordinance, parking, traffic, plea, and payment records
- Federal district or bankruptcy dockets held in separate federal systems
Juvenile, abuse and neglect, mental-hygiene, domestic-violence, guardianship, and expunged matters may carry added restrictions. Ask the custodian what public component, if any, can be released.
Three Randolph County Record Layers
A portal match, a docket, and a filed document answer three different questions. Treating them as one record causes avoidable errors.
- Search result
- A possible case match with limited public facts.
- Docket
- The dated register of filings, service, hearings, orders, and outcome.
- Filed document
- The petition, complaint, order, judgment, transcript, exhibit, or other paper behind an entry.
- Certified copy
- A copy authenticated by the custodian, not by a screenshot or portal download.
WVPASS offers public circuit documents, but downloads are not certified. MCR Search gives no document images online. Use the full Randolph County docket search to locate the case before requesting a copy.
Court Records: What They Contain
Exact fields depend on the court and the case. The clerk file is the authoritative source for a full inventory. These confirmed categories describe the public record layers without promising every portal shows each one.
| Identity | Case number, court, filed date, caption, and public party roles. |
|---|---|
| Case subject | Public charge, offense, claim, cause, or case category. |
| Docket activity | Filings, service, motions, hearings, continuances, orders, and disposition. |
| Financial entries | Costs, fees, judgments, satisfaction, or payment information when public. |
| Documents | Public petitions, complaints, orders, judgments, and other filed papers. |
| Certification | Clerk authentication requested separately from online access. |
A judgment entry says judgment happened. The judgment document supplies its terms. A document-list indicator in MCR only tells you papers exist.
Randolph County CourtPLUS Boundary
CourtPLUS E-File serves registered filing users. It is not a public case-search system, and it does not replace the Circuit Clerk's record counter. Randolph entered circuit and family e-filing on September 26, 2022, and the statewide system went live on July 15, 2024.
The official filing program page gives the program's context. The 2026 FAQ notes a 10 MB limit per uploaded document. It also adds a Vault repository. Sealed documents get paper handling. Public access still follows clerk and court-record rules.
Filing History lets registered users track submissions, receipts, documents, notices, and status values. It is not a public search for someone else's Randolph County case.
Copy Fees and Certification
Ask for an estimate. The county site posts no complete current schedule for every plain or certified copy, so cite the exact document and page range where you can.
| Item | Researched Amount or Rule |
|---|---|
| WVPASS docket browsing | Free |
| WVPASS public document | $0.25 per page plus credit or debit processing |
| MCR Search | Free search; no documents online |
| Magistrate paper copy | Nominal statutory fee; confirm current total |
| Family recording duplication | Up to $0.10 per page or $10 total in the Rule 5(b) context |
| Randolph plain or certified copy | Confirm page and certification charges with the clerk |
Fee amounts come from West Virginia Code §59-1-11 plus the 2026 Circuit Clerk manual. Certified copies cost more than plain ones. A WVPASS download, by contrast, never counts as certified.
Randolph County Magistrate Copies
The MCR Search results give you case information and, at most, a list of documents in the file. For the actual magistrate record, go to Magistrate Clerk Rezena Roth at 11 Randolph Avenue, Elkins, or call 304-636-5885. Magistrate clerk offices also keep public terminals you can use on site.
Randolph County Family Recordings
Recordings of family court hearings follow a separate path under Family Court Rule 5(b). You write to the Circuit Clerk and name the case style and date. Pay the cost that applies. Within ten days the family court supplies the recording. Some material stays back, such as a child's testimony. An independent reporter can prepare a transcript if you need one. The cost is yours.
Do not confuse this with ordering a certified order. Under Family Rule 6 and West Virginia Code §48-1-303, pleadings and their supporting material are generally confidential. Orders and indices stay public. So ask for the order by date and case number instead of the whole file.
Access Rules for Court Records
Two rules anchor public access to Randolph County court records. West Virginia Code §51-4-2 covers inspection and copying of court records. Trial Court Rule 10 backs that access as well, subject to court rules and restrictions. And the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act does not override sealing or confidentiality rules. Its §29B-1-4 exemptions do not change that.
Public does not mean every file is open. Sealed, juvenile, expunged, confidential family, and other protected records can be withheld from portals and inspection.
A clerk can identify the public procedure, but only the court can change a sealing or access order.
Randolph County Circuit Clerk
Phil Riggleman, Circuit Clerk
Randolph County Courthouse
2 Randolph Avenue, Elkins WV 26241
304-636-2765
Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The office page also lists 4 Randolph Avenue, Suite 207, so confirm the destination.
Randolph County Clerk Record Role
The Circuit Clerk holds the computerized court records for Randolph County. The office also manages the computerized docket as the constitutional custodian. It collects filing fees, fines, costs, bonds, and restitution. It pays witness fees, runs jury administration, hands out forms, and gives procedural help. Legal advice is the one thing it cannot offer.
The official Circuit Clerk page sets out the office's own description of these duties.
The Randolph County Clerk page lists its record categories and office hours. It posts no standalone certified-copy form, so phone the clerk first with the case number, the document name, and the certification you need.