| Trial Court Clerk | Clerk's Office, Alaska Court System — Fourth Judicial District (Bethel) |
|---|---|
| Clerk address | 204 Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway, Bethel, AK 99559 (mailing: Box 130, Bethel, AK 99559) |
| Phone | (907) 543-2298 |
| Hours | Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; clerk's office closed Wednesdays 8:00–9:00 a.m. |
| Earliest records noted | 1990 |
| Plain copy fee | $5 for the first page, $3 for each additional page |
| Certified copy fee | $10 for the first page, $3 for each additional page |
The Bethel Census Area is not a borough at all. It is one of the statistical divisions the Census Bureau draws inside Alaska's "unorganized borough," a region with no borough government, no borough clerk, and no local office of any kind that keeps court files. That makes the usual county-records question easy to answer: every case from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is held by the Alaska Court System's Bethel courthouse, part of the Fourth Judicial District, on the Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway in the hub town of Bethel.
Bethel is one of the busier rural courthouses in the state. The court's judges directory lists Superior Court judges and a magistrate judge based there, so felony cases, divorces, custody, guardianships, and probate are heard locally rather than sent to Fairbanks, the district's headquarters. Smaller Fourth District court locations in the region, including Emmonak, Hooper Bay, and Aniak, are staffed by magistrate judges and handle minor matters for their villages, but the files for cases that reach a Superior Court judge live in Bethel.
Because most of the delta's roughly fifty villages are reachable only by air or river, the Bethel court leans heavily on remote tools. Agencies and attorneys file through the TrueFiling e-filing system, the clerk accepts email filings at a court mailbox address, and many hearings are held by phone. For someone looking up a record, the practical result is that CourtView and a mailed or emailed records request do almost all of the work; a trip to Bethel is rarely necessary.
Search Bethel Census Area court records online
Trial Court Clerk
Clerk's Office, Alaska Court System — Fourth Judicial District (Bethel)
- Cost
- Free to search case dockets on CourtView; statewide copy fees apply for documents requested from the clerk
- Coverage
- Superior and District Court cases filed in the Bethel Census Area, including felony and misdemeanor criminal, civil, small claims, family, guardianship, and probate matters
- Records
- Civil, Criminal, Family, Probate, Traffic
Bethel is a Fourth Judicial District court; the district is headquartered in Fairbanks, but Superior Court judges sit in Bethel, so files are kept locally. Email filings go to 4BEmailbox@akcourts.gov and most agency and attorney filings go through TrueFiling.
What is available online
CourtView covers Bethel Superior and District Court cases in the same statewide search as every other Alaska courthouse, with no comprehensive coverage before 1990. Cases heard by magistrate judges in the smaller Fourth District village courts of the region are indexed in the same system. Confidential case types (adoption, Child in Need of Aid, delinquency, guardianship, conservatorship, and mental commitment) never appear, which matters in a region where a large share of the docket is family and child-protection work. Document images are limited online; copies come from the clerk.
Which clerk has your record
In Alaska, the clerk who keeps a file depends on which court heard the case. Check the court name on the case notice, citation, or order, then use the office and coverage details above to identify the record holder. Court names and responsibilities differ by state; a county clerk may not keep court case files. For federal cases, see the PACER guide. The full court structure is on the Alaska page.
| Court | Typical cases | Records kept by |
|---|---|---|
| Superior Court | Felony criminal cases; Civil cases over $100,000; Divorce, custody, and other family cases | Clerk of the Superior Court at the courthouse where the case was filed |
| District Court | Misdemeanor criminal cases; Civil claims up to $100,000; Small claims (up to $10,000) | Clerk of the District Court at the courthouse where the case was filed |
| Magistrate Court | Municipal ordinance violations; Traffic infractions; Minor criminal offenses | Clerk of the Magistrate Court (same clerk's office as District Court in most locations) |
Request records in person or by mail
Bethel Census Area clerk offices
204 Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway, Bethel, AK 99559 (mailing: Box 130, Bethel, AK 99559)
Phone: (907) 543-2298
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; clerk's office closed Wednesdays 8:00–9:00 a.m.
Online. Start with CourtView to confirm the case number and which court location holds the file. The court system's records form warns that a request without a case number is charged an hourly research fee with a one-hour minimum, so the free search is worth doing first.
By mail or email. Complete Form TF-311 ("Instructions and Request for Records") and send it to the clerk at Box 130, Bethel, AK 99559, or by email to the court's mailbox address listed on the Bethel directory page. State the case number, the documents you need, and whether you want plain or certified copies; certified and exemplified copies must be mailed. Normal turnaround is about two weeks, and the clerk may require prepayment. Payment can be made online by invoice, or by check or money order.
In person. The clerk's window at 204 Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except Wednesdays from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. Parties requesting confidential records must show photo ID and sign the oath section of the form in front of a clerk or notary.
Fees. Under the statewide schedule in Administrative Rule 9, a plain copy is $5 for the first page and $3 for each additional page; a certified copy is $10 for the first page and $3 per additional page.
Fees
| Item | Typical cost in Alaska |
|---|---|
| Plain copy | $5 for the first page, $3 for each additional page |
| Certified copy | $10 for the first page, $3 for each additional page |
Fees are set statewide by Administrative Rule 9 (the court system's fee schedule) and apply at every courthouse, unlike states where each county sets its own copy fee. Confirm with the clerk's office before sending payment, since the schedule is amended from time to time by supreme court order.
Need a copy an agency will accept? See how to get certified copies of court records.
Sealed and restricted records
Alaska does not have a general expungement statute that erases a conviction from every record. Instead, it uses two narrower tools:
The Alaska guide lists every category of sealed and restricted record, and our guide to expunging or sealing a criminal record explains how to remove one from public view.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a Bethel Census Area clerk who keeps court records?
No. The Bethel Census Area is a Census Bureau statistical area inside Alaska's unorganized borough, so it has no borough government or clerk. All court records for the region are kept by the Alaska Court System's Bethel courthouse, a state office in the Fourth Judicial District.
Are felony cases from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta heard in Bethel or Fairbanks?
In Bethel. Although the Fourth Judicial District is headquartered in Fairbanks, the court's judges directory lists Superior Court judges based in Bethel, so felony, family, and probate cases from the region are filed and kept there.
Can I request a Bethel court record without traveling to Bethel?
Yes. Search CourtView for the case number, then send Form TF-311 by mail to Box 130, Bethel, AK 99559, or by email to the court mailbox listed on the Bethel directory page. Copies can be delivered by email, mail, or fax, and the invoice can be paid online.
What are the Bethel clerk's office hours?
Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with the clerk's office closed Wednesdays from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. for internal processing.
Sources
- Alaska Court System — Bethel Court Directory — https://courts.alaska.gov/courtdir/4be.htm
- Alaska Court System — Judges by Location — https://courts.alaska.gov/judges/index.htm
- Alaska Court System — Trial Courts and Judicial Districts — https://courts.alaska.gov/trialcourts/index.htm
- Alaska Court System — Form TF-311, Instructions and Request for Records — https://public.courts.alaska.gov/web/forms/docs/tf-311.pdf
- Alaska Court System — Search Cases — https://courts.alaska.gov/main/search-cases.htm
- Alaska Court System — Court System Information — https://courts.alaska.gov/main/ctinfo.htm
- Alaska Court System — CourtView Online Information — https://courts.alaska.gov/trialcourts/cvinfo.htm
- Alaska Court System — Court Directory — https://courts.alaska.gov/courtdir/
- Alaska Court System — Filing Fees & Fee Waiver — https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/courtfees.htm
- Alaska Department of Public Safety — Background Checks — https://dps.alaska.gov/statewide/background-checks/
- District of Alaska (U.S. District Court) — https://www.akd.uscourts.gov/
- Alaska Statutes AS 12.55 — Sentencing (incl. 12.55.085, setting aside conviction) — https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp?media=print&secStart=12.55&secEnd=12.55.185
- Alaska Statutes AS 12.62 — Criminal Justice Information and Records Checks (incl. 12.62.180, sealing) — https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp?media=print&secStart=12.62&secEnd=12.62.180
- PACER — Federal court records — https://pacer.uscourts.gov/
See also: all Alaska counties.