About the Beckham County Court Clerk
Donna Howell serves as the Beckham County Court Clerk. She has held the office since 2009. The Court Clerk works at the county courthouse in Sayre, the county seat. This is an elected county office. The clerk and her staff keep the day to day records of the District Court and help the public reach them.
The Court Clerk is the legal custodian of all District Court case files in the county. That covers civil suits, criminal cases, probate matters, family and divorce cases, traffic tickets, and small claims. The office files new pleadings, logs each case event, and keeps the paper and digital record current. Staff also collect fines and court costs, set up payment plans, issue marriage licenses, process passport applications, and answer questions about sealed or expunged files. The official county page links its "Court Records" search to ODCR and points to OSCN for District Judge information.
People often want to see the office before they call. The lead photo on the official Beckham County Court Clerk page shows the office and its court record links.
That page names Donna Howell as the clerk and routes visitors to the county court record search tools. It confirms the office is the front door for District Court files.
Beckham County Court Clerk
Court Clerk: Donna Howell
104 S. 3rd St.
Sayre, OK 73662
580-928-3330
Fax: 580-928-9278
donna.howell@oscn.net
Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., open noon
What the Beckham County Court Clerk Does
The Court Clerk keeps the court running on the records side. Every case that opens in the District Court flows through this office. Staff accept filings, stamp them, and place them in the right case. They also track each hearing, order, and judgment as the case moves. When a fine is due, the office collects it. When a person cannot pay all at once, the office can set up a plan.
The duties reach well past simple filing. The office serves the public, lawyers, and other agencies every day. Key tasks handled by the Beckham County Court Clerk include the following.
- Filing and storing civil, criminal, probate, family, traffic, and small claims case records
- Issuing certified copies of court orders, decrees, and case documents
- Collecting fines, court costs, and restitution, and setting up payment plans
- Issuing marriage licenses and filing marriage and divorce records
- Processing passport applications for county residents
- Answering questions about sealed, expunged, or restricted case files
Note: The Court Clerk keeps court case files, while warrants served and jail custody are handled by the Beckham County Sheriff at a separate office.
Court Clerk vs County Clerk in Beckham County
Beckham County has two clerk offices, and they are easy to mix up. The Court Clerk keeps court case files. The County Clerk keeps land records and recorded instruments. Both sit at the courthouse at 104 S. 3rd St. in Sayre, but they serve different needs. A person who wants a divorce decree goes to the Court Clerk. A person who wants a deed or mortgage goes to the County Clerk. Julie Swaner is the current County Clerk, working from Room 102.
The split matters most when a record could live in either place. A recorded judgment or a recorded divorce decree may show up in the land records, while the live court case stays with the Court Clerk. The table below shows who holds what.
| Feature | Court Clerk (Donna Howell) | County Clerk (Julie Swaner) |
|---|---|---|
| Main role | Custodian of District Court case files | Recorder of land and instrument records |
| Records held | Civil, criminal, probate, family, traffic, small claims | Deeds, mortgages, liens, recorded judgments |
| Search tools | ODCR and OSCN online dockets | okcountyrecords land record search |
| Location | 104 S. 3rd St., Sayre | 104 S. 3rd St. Room 102, Sayre |
| Phone | 580-928-3330 | 580-928-3383 |
| donna.howell@oscn.net | landrecords@beckhamcountyok.gov |
The County Clerk land record portal indexes data and images from September 1988, with new records added in real time. Property owners can e-record through Simplifile, CSC, and ePN. The County Clerk also keeps a published recorded-document fee schedule that sets recording and copy costs. Those amounts are listed in full further down. For the County Clerk office itself, see the county-clerk office page.
How to Request a Certified Copy from the Beckham County Court Clerk
A certified copy is a court document the clerk marks as a true and exact copy. Banks, schools, and other courts often will not accept a plain printout. They want the clerk's stamp and signature. Common needs include divorce decrees, probate orders, name change orders, and proof of a court outcome. The steps below outline the request.
- Find the case number first. Search ODCR or OSCN by party name, or call the office, so staff can pull the right file fast.
- Tell the Court Clerk which document you need and how many certified copies you want. Be exact about the order or decree.
- Submit the request in person at 104 S. 3rd St., by mail, or by phone to confirm what the office will accept.
- Pay the copy and certification fee. The Court Clerk sets these amounts and will confirm the current cost when you ask.
- Pick up the certified copy at the counter, or have it mailed back to you once the office completes it.
Note: Online dockets from ODCR and OSCN are useful for searching, but a screen printout is not a certified copy and may be rejected for legal use.
How to Reach the Beckham County Court Clerk
The office offers several ways to make a request. You can visit the counter, call, mail a letter, or send an email. Hours run from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the office stays open through the noon hour. The phone line is the fastest way to confirm fees, hours, and what a file holds before you drive in. The county contact page lists the office details and the official search links.
The county also publishes a full contact directory. The image below comes from the official Beckham County contact page.
That directory gives the courthouse address, room locations, phone numbers, hours, and emails for each county office. It is the strongest single source for reaching the Court Clerk. Use these channels based on what you need.
- In person at the courthouse counter for same day copies and quick questions
- By phone at 580-928-3330 for fees, file status, and payment plan setup
- By mail to 104 S. 3rd St., Sayre, OK 73662 for court record requests
- By email at donna.howell@oscn.net for general clerk questions
- By fax at 580-928-9278 for documents the office accepts that way
Searching Beckham County Court Records Online
Most case lookups can start online before you contact the clerk. The county links its court record search to ODCR, which lets the public search dockets for free. OSCN also lists the Beckham County District Court in its county dropdown. Both tools show case numbers, parties, filing dates, judges, and event histories. The Court Clerk remains the place for certified copies and files that are not online.
ODCR offers free name and case number searches across all participating courts. Its advanced tools cost extra and add filters such as an outstanding warrant filter and date of birth month and year. Full District Court image access is a separate paid product limited mostly to active bar members. The fields below show what an ODCR court search accepts.
| Field | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Court group | Dropdown | All Courts, Oklahoma District Courts, or Tribal Courts |
| Court | Dropdown | Select Beckham or another listed county |
| Party name | Text | Format Last, First; partial names allowed |
| Party type | Dropdown | Plaintiffs and Defendants, or All Parties |
| Type of case | Dropdown | Civil, criminal, probate, traffic, small claims, and more |
| Full case number | Text | Prefixes such as CF, CM, PB, SC, TR, FD with year |
| Filed date range | Date fields | To and from range to narrow results |
To search, open ODCR or the OSCN docket portal, pick Beckham County, and enter a name or case number. Review the ODCR pricing page if you need image access. The county's broader court records overview walks through both tools in more detail.
Beckham County Clerk Fee Schedule
Court record copy and certification fees are set by the Court Clerk. The county does not publish these amounts online, so confirm them by phone before you visit. Oklahoma law allows records custodians to charge lawful fees for copies under the Open Records Act. The amounts vary by document length and copy type, so it is best to ask staff for the current total when you place a request.
The County Clerk, by contrast, publishes a full recorded-document fee schedule. The table below lists those County Clerk recording and copy fees. These are the County Clerk's land record fees, not the Court Clerk's court record fees, but they help show what the separate office charges. The source is the official County Clerk fee schedule.
| Item (County Clerk recorded documents) | Fee |
|---|---|
| First page of deeds, mortgages, and other instruments, including preservation fee | $8.00 |
| Each additional page of same instrument | $2.00 |
| Additional preservation fee for each filed document | $10.00 |
| Photographic copies of records, per page | $1.00 |
| Certification to a copy, per page | $1.00 |
| Plat of one block or less | $10.00 |
| Plat of more than one block | $25.00 |
| Mechanics' or materialmen's liens including release | $10.00 |
| Documentary stamp tax | $0.75 per $500 consideration |
The Open Records Act, at 51 O.S. §24A.5, lets a custodian allow inspection and copying subject to lawful fees. The broad policy of open access sits in 51 O.S. §24A.2, which you can read through the Official Oklahoma Statutes. For court file copies, the Beckham County Court Clerk will quote the current charge when you ask.
Payments, Marriage Licenses, and E-Filing
The Court Clerk handles money matters on court cases. Fines, court costs, and restitution are paid through the office. People who cannot pay in full may ask about a payment plan. Some fully disposed cases and eligible traffic citations can be paid online through OSCN e-Payments. That system warns that a payment does not recall a warrant on its own, so you must contact the Court Clerk after paying if a warrant has issued.
The office also serves families and filers in other ways. Marriage licenses are issued here, since Oklahoma marriage and divorce records are court clerk records. Certified divorce copies come from the Court Clerk, not the state health office. People filing new cases can use the statewide e-filing portal, while the public can still search dockets without an account. The links below cover these tasks.
- OSCN e-Payments for eligible fines, court costs, and traffic citations
- Oklahoma e-filing portal for attorneys and parties filing court documents
- Marriage license applications and filed marriage records through the Court Clerk counter
Divorce and family cases run through the District Court and its clerk, and the county's marriage and divorce records page covers the request steps. Note: Online payments made after midnight are not applied until the next business day, and new cases may take 24 to 48 hours to appear.
Restricted and Sealed Court Records
Public access to court records is broad but not total. Oklahoma law keeps some files private. Juvenile cases fall under confidentiality rules in 10A O.S. Sealed and expunged records are pulled from ordinary public view by court order. Adoption and certain mental health files are also restricted. The Court Clerk can confirm whether a file is open, sealed, or expunged.
Expungement seals eligible criminal records under 22 O.S. §18. The OSBI cannot pre-approve eligibility, so a person must check the exact case history first, then petition the court. A successful order is served on the agencies that hold the record, including the Court Clerk. If an online docket still shows a case after an order, the office should be contacted with a certified copy of that order.
Note: Personal identifiers such as Social Security numbers and financial account data should be absent or redacted from public court files under state record rules.
Federal Court Records Are a Separate Clerk System
The Beckham County Court Clerk keeps state District Court files only. Federal cases are not part of this office. Beckham County sits in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. Federal civil suits, federal crimes, and bankruptcy cases are kept by federal court clerks. Those records are reached through PACER and the CM/ECF system, not ODCR or OSCN.
Bankruptcy filings are handled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. The image below comes from the PACER court lookup for that bankruptcy court.
That lookup shows the federal court code and access details for bankruptcy filings. It is a useful reminder that federal clerks and the county Court Clerk are wholly separate systems. For most county matters, the Beckham County Court Clerk remains the right office to call.