About the Graham County Clerk's Office
North Carolina uses a unified Clerk of Superior Court structure at the county level rather than separate county and district clerks. Graham County's primary court clerk is Tammy Holloway, Clerk of Superior Court. The county page styles the office with an older judicial district reference, while the current North Carolina Judicial Branch county page places Graham County in Superior Court District 43A and District Court District 43. Use the current Judicial Branch district labels for court structure, and use the county clerk page for local contact details.
The Graham County Clerk of Superior Court page lists Tammy Holloway and the courthouse contact information for local court records, filings, and clerk services.
That county page is the local contact anchor, while North Carolina Judicial Branch resources explain the statewide access rules for court files.
Graham County Clerk of Superior Court
Clerk: Tammy Holloway
12 North Main St. / 12 Court St.
Robbinsville, NC 28771
(828) 479-7000
Fax: (828) 479-7001
tammy.h.holloway@nccourts.org
Graham.Clerk@nccourts.org
Mail: PO Box 1179, Robbinsville, NC 28771
What the Clerk Does in Graham County
The Clerk of Superior Court is the record-keeping office for Graham County state court files. Criminal, civil, domestic, special proceeding, and estate records are associated with the clerk even when the courtroom division is District Court or Superior Court. The office accepts filings, maintains dockets and indexes, provides access to public terminals, handles copy requests, administers estates through the clerk's estates function, and processes payments for eligible court costs, fines, and fees.
- Maintains Graham County Superior Court and District Court case files and indexes.
- Provides access to public self-service terminals for criminal, civil, special proceeding, and estates case information.
- Handles full paper file viewing for Graham County cases and provides copies for a fee.
- Issues certified copies of qualifying court records, including divorce judgments granted in Graham County.
- Receives filings for civil, criminal, estates, and special proceeding matters according to North Carolina court rules.
- Processes traffic and criminal payments when the matter is eligible for mail, in-person, or online payment.
Criminal records can be searched at public self-service terminals in any clerk's office by defendant name, case number, or victim/witness name. Paper files must be viewed at the clerk's office in the county where the case is located. Civil, special proceeding, and estates case information can also be accessed on public terminals, while full files must be viewed through the county clerk's office that holds them.
How to Request a Certified Copy
Certified copies are used when the requester needs an official court document rather than a screen print or plain copy. Common examples include divorce judgments, orders, estate letters, or judgments needed for another agency. The clerk provides copies for a fee, but the exact Graham County copy and certification amounts were not located in the local research, so requesters should confirm cost before mailing payment.
- Identify the case type, case number if known, party names, and the document needed.
- Search Portal or a public terminal first if the case number is unknown.
- Contact the Graham County Clerk of Superior Court at (828) 479-7000 to confirm whether the file is held locally and what copy fee applies.
- For mail requests, use Clerk of Superior Court, Graham County Courthouse, PO Box 1179, Robbinsville, NC 28771.
- Pay by an accepted method. Graham County court payment guidance says mail payments must be money order or certified check, not cash or personal check.
- Ask whether pickup, mail return, or another delivery method is available for the certified document.
In-person court payments may be cash, credit or debit card with processing fees, money order, or certified check. Personal checks are not accepted. Online payments are available only for eligible matters through North Carolina online services, and card processing fees may apply.
Records Request Form Fields
Graham County's general public-records policy is important, but it does not replace court-record access through the clerk. The county policy says requests must be directed to the public official in charge of the office where the record is maintained. For county-manager departments, the County Manager is custodian and designates the Clerk to the Board of Commissioners to process requests. Independent offices such as the Sheriff's Office, Register of Deeds, and Board of Elections handle their own records. Court records should be routed through the Judicial Branch, Portal, terminals, and the Clerk of Superior Court.
The Graham County public records page provides the county-government request channel for records outside the court file system.
Use that county channel for county-manager records, but use the clerk for Graham County court files and certified court copies.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name or requestor identity | Likely yes | County policy form uses requestor information so the custodian can respond. |
| Contact information | Likely yes | Provide mailing address, email, or phone for response coordination. |
| Description of records requested | Yes | Describe existing records; the office is not required to create a record that does not exist. |
| Preferred delivery or inspection method | Unspecified | County policy allows written submission by hand delivery, mail, or email. |
| Signature and date | Likely yes | Use the attached county form for county records rather than a phone request. |
| Submission address | Instruction | Graham County, Attn: Public Records Requests, 12 North Main Street, Robbinsville, NC 28771; email publicrecords@grahamcounty.org. |
Graham County Clerk Fees
The research confirms fee categories and payment rules, but it does not provide every clerk copy amount. Use current NC court cost charts and direct clerk confirmation for case-specific costs. Avoid using Register of Deeds fees for court copies; those apply to land and vital-record related work in a separate county office.
| Item | Amount or rule | Source note |
|---|---|---|
| Court copies | Fee applies; confirm with clerk | NC Judicial Branch says copies may be made for a fee. |
| Certified court copy | Confirm with clerk | Exact Graham County amount not located in local research. |
| Current court costs | Varies by case type | NC Judicial Branch publishes 2026 civil, criminal, estates, special proceedings, and miscellaneous charts. |
| Mail court payment | Money order or certified check | Payable to Graham County Clerk of Superior Court; no cash or personal checks by mail. |
| In-person court payment | Cash, card with processing fees, money order, or certified check | Personal checks are not accepted. |
| Marriage license | $60 | Register of Deeds fee, not a clerk court-copy fee. |
Register of Deeds and County Records
The Clerk of Superior Court and Register of Deeds are separate offices. The Register of Deeds handles marriage licenses, recorded land records, deeds of trust, mortgages, satisfactions, excise tax processing, and related recording fees. The Graham County Register of Deeds is Kim D. LeQuire at 12 North Main Street, phone (828) 479-7971. Office hours are Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, closed 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM.
The Graham County Register of Deeds page lists the local hours, contact details, and fee schedule for records that are not clerk-held court files.
That office is the correct destination for marriage and land records, while the Clerk of Superior Court remains the destination for court files and estates.
The NCARD Graham County Register of Deeds listing also identifies the Register of Deeds and notes eRecording, NCDAVE birth and death participation, and fraud alert availability.
Those state association details help separate Register of Deeds services from Clerk of Superior Court services when a request involves property, marriage, or vital-record routing.
Mail, Portal, and Online Access
For court records, the online path is the North Carolina eCourts Portal. Smart Search can be used for case records and case information, Search Hearings can be used for court dates and hearings, Make Payments is available for eligible probation, parole, criminal, and infraction matters, and NC Judgment Search supports judgment index research under N.C.G.S. 7A-109(b)(6). Portal may require JavaScript, cookies, and CAPTCHA. It is a case-information system, not a guarantee that every full document can be downloaded.
For recorded land records, the Graham County Register of Deeds indexed search is the official vendor-hosted indexed search, and the site notice says office-held records are official.
The practical rule is simple: use Portal and the clerk for court cases, use the Register of Deeds search and office for recorded instruments, and use the county public-records process only for county-government records outside those independent offices.
Public Records Boundaries
North Carolina law generally makes clerk-maintained court records open for public inspection unless a law, rule, or court order restricts them. Important limits still apply. Juvenile court records, adoption records, mental health and involuntary commitment matters, sealed records, expunged records, protected addresses, Social Security numbers, financial account information, and other sensitive details may be withheld or redacted. Criminal investigation and intelligence records held by law enforcement are not public records under N.C.G.S. 132-1.4, even if a later criminal court case is public.
For court files, request the record from the Clerk of Superior Court or use Portal and public terminals. For county-manager records, submit a written request by hand delivery, mail, or email to publicrecords@grahamcounty.org. The county policy says phone requests are not accepted for that county process. For sheriff records, Register of Deeds records, or Board of Elections records, contact those independent offices directly.