St. Joseph County Phone Directory Search

The St. Joseph County phone directory covers all major government offices across South Bend and Mishawaka. You can look up in the phone directory phone numbers for the clerk, recorder, assessor, auditor, and treasurer from one place. The county seat is in South Bend, where most departments keep their main offices along Jefferson Boulevard and Main Street. St. Joseph County also runs a branch office in Mishawaka for some court services. This page lists the key contacts, addresses, hours, and fees you need to reach the right office in St. Joseph County. Use the search tool below or scroll down to find direct phone directory listings for each department.

St Joseph Clerk Phone Directory

The clerk's office is the main hub for court records and phone directory lookups in St. Joseph County. Their main office sits at 101 S Main Street in South Bend, IN 46601. Call the St Joseph phone directory at 574-235-9635 to reach the front desk. Fax goes to 574-235-9838. Hours run Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. The St. Joseph County contact page has the full list of departments and email addresses you can use to reach specific divisions.

St. Joseph County also keeps a branch office at 219 Lincolnway West in Mishawaka, IN 46544. That branch shares the same main phone line at 574-235-9635. If you live closer to Mishawaka, this branch can save you a trip to South Bend for some services. Not all divisions are at the branch, so call first to check.

The clerk handles several divisions, each with its own email. Child support questions go to sbchildsupportclerk@sjcindiana.gov. Traffic and misdemeanor matters use T&M@sjcindiana.gov. The felony division is at Felony@sjcindiana.gov, and the probate division uses probateclerks@sjcindiana.gov. These emails are a good way to get answers when the phone lines are busy. Most staff reply within one or two business days.

Under Indiana's Access to Public Records Act (IC 5-14-3), the clerk must let any person inspect and copy public court records during regular hours. You can walk in, ask to see a file, and view it for free. Copies cost a small fee. The law says agencies must respond to in-person or phone requests within 24 hours. Written requests get a seven-day window. This applies to all phone directory and court record requests at the St. Joseph County clerk's office.

St Joseph Phone Directory

St. Joseph County runs an Archives and Records Center at 1140 S Lafayette Blvd in South Bend, IN 46601. The phone number is 574-235-9091. Hours are the same as most county offices: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. They prefer research visits between 8:30 AM and 4:00 PM so staff can help you before closing.

The archives hold marriage licenses from South Bend going back to 1832, plus Mishawaka licenses from 1980 to 1998. Divorce indexes cover 1832 to 1984 for South Bend and 1980 to 1990 for Mishawaka. Estate indexes are there too. Copies cost just $0.05 per page, which is far less than most county offices charge. Research is first-come, first-served, and most requests wrap up within seven days. If you need old records for a phone directory search or a family history project, the archives are the place to start in St. Joseph County.

St Joseph Phone Directory

The St. Joseph County Recorder is at 227 W Jefferson Blvd, Room 321, South Bend, IN 46601. Call 574-235-9525 or email recorder@sjcindiana.gov. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Recording stops at 4:00 PM and public computers shut down at 4:20 PM. Plan to arrive well before those cutoff times if you need to file or search.

The recorder handles deeds, mortgages, liens, plats, and UCC filings for St. Joseph County. You can submit documents by mail or through eFile. Payment must be in guaranteed funds only. In St Joseph, that means cash, money orders, or bank checks. They do not take personal checks. If you call the phone directory line and ask about fees, the staff can walk you through what you owe before you come in.

The fee schedule has been in place since July 2017. Mortgages cost $55 to record. Deeds and other standard documents run $25. Each extra oversized page adds $5. Mechanics liens with mailing are $25, plus $2 for each additional mailing. Copies from the St Joseph recorder cost $1 per page, or $5 per page for oversized copies. Certification adds $5 per document. UCC filings, amendments, and searches each cost $25. These fees are set by state law and apply across all Indiana counties, though St. Joseph County posts them clearly on their site.

If you want to use the public computers in the recorder's office, you must call 574-235-9525 to set up an appointment. Sessions last one hour. No appointments are given between noon and 2 PM. This is useful for phone directory searches, deed lookups, and lien checks when you need to view records on screen.

Note: The recorder only accepts guaranteed funds, so leave your personal checkbook at home.

St Joseph Phone Directory

The St. Joseph County Assessor sits on Floor 3 at 127 W Jefferson Blvd, South Bend, IN 46601. The main phone number is 574-235-9523. For personal property questions, email personalproperty@sjcindiana.gov. Penn Township has its own assessor line at 574-256-6204.

The assessor's office handles property valuations, appeals, and reassessments for all parcels in St. Joseph County. You can search property records online using the Property Record Card Search tool on their site. Search by parcel number or address. The GIS basemap lets you search by parcel ID or owner name and click on a parcel for a detailed popup. Your parcel number shows up on your Form 11 assessment notice, your property record card, or your tax bill. St Joseph residents can also type your address into the search bar to find it.

St. Joseph County reassesses 25% of all parcels each year on a four-year cycle. An inspector comes to your property, tries to make contact, and asks a few questions about the interior. They take photos and check the outside. If nobody is home, they leave a door hanger. All inspectors wear ID badges. After reassessment, you get a Form 11 in the mail. If you think the value is wrong, you can file Form 130 with the St Joseph assessor to start an appeal. The process goes through an informal conference first, then to the PTABOA board if the assessor denies your request, and then to the Indiana Board of Tax Review if needed.

Personal property is self-assessed. Business owners must report all tangible personal property by May 15 each year. Late filing costs a $25 penalty, plus another 20% of taxes if you still have not filed within 30 days. Under SEA 233-2019, business owners with under $80,000 in acquisition costs may qualify for an exemption and skip the filing.

St. Joseph County Auditor and Treasurer

The auditor's office is at 227 West Jefferson Blvd, Suite 722, South Bend, IN 46601. Call 574-235-9668 or email propertytax@sjcindiana.gov. The auditor handles property tax deductions, homestead filings, and transfer fees. All deductions can be filed online now. That includes the homestead deduction, the over 65 deduction, the over 65 circuit breaker credit, and the over 55+ tax credit. No annual re-application is needed once you file. You only have to re-apply if you sell the property or the title changes.

The treasurer handles tax payments. Their mailing address is P.O. Box 4758, South Bend, IN 46634. Call 1-574-586-5540 for phone payments. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. You can pay in person with check, cash, or credit. Mail payments go to the P.O. Box with your coupon. One important thing: St. Joseph County only mails one tax bill in the spring. There is no fall mailing. If you miss it, you still owe. Failure to get a bill does not relieve your responsibility to pay on time.

The auditor transfer fee is $10 per parcel when property changes hands. The process starts with a sales disclosure at the assessor's office (574-235-9523), then goes to the St Joseph auditor, and finally to the recorder (574-235-9525 ext. 9). Keep these phone directory numbers handy if you are buying or selling real estate in St. Joseph County.

Note: All property tax deductions in St. Joseph County can now be filed online, so you do not need to visit the St Joseph office in person.

St Joseph Phone Directory

The City of South Bend has its own records request process. City Clerk Bianca Tirado runs the St Joseph office at City Hall, 215 S. Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd., Suite 300. Her phone number is 574-235-9221. The email is sbcityclerk@southbendin.gov. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. South Bend sits inside St. Joseph County and uses St Joseph County court system for most legal filings, but the city keeps its own set of municipal records.

Since June 2024, South Bend only accepts public records requests through their electronic APRA portal. Paper and walk-in requests are no longer accepted. The city must acknowledge in-person requests within 24 hours and mail or email requests within seven days, per IC 5-14-3. Audio and video files may take longer. The APRA contact line is 574-235-9241, and the email is apra@southbendin.gov. Use the portal for any phone directory or records request tied to the City of South Bend.

If you need records from St Joseph County level (court cases, property, vital records), those go through the St. Joseph County clerk or recorder instead. The city APRA portal is only for city-level records like council minutes, city contracts, police reports, and municipal correspondence. Knowing which office to call saves time. For city matters, call 574-235-9221. For county matters, call 574-235-9635.

St Joseph Phone Directory

Mishawaka is the second largest city in St. The St Joseph phone directory covers this office. Joseph County. City Clerk Deborah Block runs the office at 600 E. Third Street, Mishawaka, IN 46544. Her phone is 574-258-1616. Fax is 574-258-1728. Email goes to webmaster@mishawaka.in.gov. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

The Mishawaka Police Department handles its own records requests. Director Brad Haney oversees the records division at 200 N. Church Street, Mishawaka, IN 46544. The phone number is 574-258-1681, and the email is mpdrecords@mishawaka.in.gov. Accident reports cost $5. Case reports are $5. Case report DVDs run $10. Manual fingerprints are $5 per card. Local background checks cost $10, and VIN checks are $5. They accept credit, debit, cash, money orders, and checks for in-person visits. These are common phone directory requests in the Mishawaka area.

Mishawaka St Joseph residents who need a firearm permit must apply online through in.gov/isp and schedule fingerprinting by calling 844-321-2421. Bring your ID, application number, and receipt to the police department. The county clerk in South Bend handles the court side of things, so firearm-related court records would go through the St. Joseph County phone directory at 574-235-9635.

St. Joseph County Records Access

Indiana law makes it straightforward. Under IC 5-14-3, any person can inspect and copy public records during regular business hours. You do not have to be an Indiana resident. You do not have to give a reason. Walk into any St. Joseph County office, ask to see a record, and they must let you look at it for free. Copies cost a fee, but viewing is always free.

For phone requests, agencies must respond within 24 hours. For written requests, the window is seven days. The law also says agencies cannot charge more than the actual cost of making copies. In St. Joseph County, copy fees range from $0.05 per page at the archives to $1 per page at the recorder. Certification is $5 at most offices. If an agency denies your request, you can contact the Indiana Public Access Counselor at 317-234-0906 for help.

• Clerk main office: 574-235-9635
• Recorder: 574-235-9525
• Assessor: 574-235-9523
• Auditor: 574-235-9668
• Treasurer: 1-574-586-5540
• Archives: 574-235-9091
• South Bend City Clerk: 574-235-9221

Keep this phone directory list handy. Most offices are open 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM on weekdays. South Bend and Mishawaka city offices stay open until 5:00 PM. Call before you visit to confirm hours, especially around holidays.

Cities in St. Joseph County

St. Joseph County has two major cities with their own phone directory pages. Pick a city below to find St Joseph government contacts and records resources.

Nearby County Phone Directory

Elkhart County borders St. Joseph County to the east. If you need contacts or records from that area, use the link below.

View All Indiana Counties