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Boston Career Explorer

Office and Administrative Support

Court, Municipal, and License Clerks

Perform clerical duties for courts of law, municipalities, or governmental licensing agencies and bureaus. May prepare docket of cases to be called; secure information for judges and court; prepare draft agendas or bylaws for town or city council; answer official correspondence; keep fiscal records and accounts; issue licenses or permits; and record data, administer tests, or collect fees.

Also called: City Clerk, City Recorder, City Secretary, Court Clerk, License Clerk, License Specialist

Median pay in Greater Boston
$62,850
$30.22/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
2,580
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+5.6%
300 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
High school diploma or equivalent
plus Long-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$47,860$53,100$62,850$75,060$86,190

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Plan or direct the maintenance, filing, safekeeping, or computerization of all municipal documents.
  • Examine legal documents submitted to courts for adherence to laws or court procedures.
  • Record case dispositions, court orders, or arrangements made for payment of court fees.
  • Answer inquiries from the general public regarding judicial procedures, court appearances, trial dates, adjournments, outstanding warrants, summonses, subpoenas, witness fees, or payment of fines.
  • Perform general office duties, such as taking or transcribing dictation, typing or proofreading correspondence, distributing or filing official forms, or scheduling appointments.
  • Question applicants to obtain required information, such as name, address, or age, and record data on prescribed forms.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Higher exposure86 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 79
  • Language-model AIOE 89
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 91

Observed AI use today: Some (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for court, municipal, and license clerks is higher, though observed AI use is only some so far. AI tools can help with filing, typing, checking documents, and recording case information. Answering questions from the public and handling fees and licenses involve people. Massachusetts is projected to add jobs in this field.

Likely to change

  • Filing and organizing municipal documents
  • Typing, proofreading, and recording case details

Still relies on people

  • Helping the public with court questions
  • Collecting fees and issuing licenses

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

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Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.

Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

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