Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
Ohio · Miami Valley · #461 Most Populous County in the US
Clark County, Ohio
Ohio's crossroads county between Dayton and Columbus - from Springfield's manufacturing heritage and Wittenberg University to the Airborne Museum at Wright-Patterson's Springfield connection, the Mad River's recreational corridor, and the agricultural communities of the upper Miami Valley. Property tax, courts, public records, and senior services for Clark County residents.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Clark County's assessment ratio means effective tax rates are low — but incorrect appraisals still cost money. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Office: Clark County Emergency Management Agency – 3130 East National Rd, Springfield, OH 45505 | (937) 521-2175 | Fax: (937) 327-3862 | Hours: Mon-Fri 7:30 AM-4:30 PM (unless an emergency arises); Director Michelle Clements-Pitstick; a National Weather Service Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador, following FEMA’s 32 core capabilities and a “Whole Community” approach to emergency management.
911: Clark County Dispatch (non-emergency): (937) 328-2560.
Public Health Emergencies: Clark County Combined Health District – (937) 390-5600 (food/waterborne illness, fires affecting food safety, biological/chemical threat reports).
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. NAMING TRAP: this is Clark County, Ohio (seat: Springfield) – distinct from Clark County, Indiana, which shares the name and can surface in general searches.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-70 and US-40 (the historic National Road) serve Springfield, the county seat, roughly 45 miles west of Columbus and 25 miles northeast of Dayton
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Clark County was created in 1818 from parts of Champaign, Greene, and Madison counties. Springfield, founded 1801, sits along the Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Clark County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via clarkcountyohio.gov.
Notes: Springfield carries four historic nicknames: “The Home City,” “The Rose City,” “The Champion City,” and “The Field.” The “Rose City” title is genuinely documented – by 1919 Springfield had 33 greenhouses producing more roses than any other city in the world, shipping roughly 24 million plants by mail in a peak year, nearly half of them roses. Springfield also has deep roots in American agricultural machinery: William Whiteley invented the mower here in 1855, and Cyrus McCormick’s reaper business (invented 1831) later merged with local manufacturer Benjamin Warder’s Lagonda Agricultural Works, a union that (with further mergers) became International Harvester. A 1928 Springfield City Manager report found the city ranked first in the world for producing ten separate manufactured goods, including incubators/brooders and commercial thermometers.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Clark County Veterans’ Support Services – located inside the Heritage Center of Clark County, 117 S Fountain Ave, Springfield, OH 45502 (West end, 3rd floor) | (937) 328-2482.
State: Ohio Department of Veterans Services – dvs.ohio.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Clark County Public Library – based in Springfield, roughly 500,000-item collection; traces its origins to the 1841 Springfield Lyceum, opened to the public in 1872 at Black’s Opera House with 3,300 volumes; local entrepreneur Benjamin H. Warder donated a new library building in 1890 in memory of his parents (now the Warder Literacy Center); the system’s first bookmobile launched in 1936 using a homemade trailer that carried 500 books. Confirm current branch addresses/phones via clarkcountylibrary.org.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Heritage Center of Clark County, 117 S Fountain Ave – a restored 1890 Richardsonian Romanesque former City Hall/Marketplace, National Register of Historic Places, home to the Clark County Historical Society Museum (founded 1897), an archive/research library, and the Veterans’ Services office. Museum Hours: Tue-Fri 9 AM-5 PM, Sat 9 AM-3 PM (free admission, suggested donation $5 adults/$2 children/$10 families). Wittenberg University (a liberal arts college) and Clark State College are also based in Springfield.
Notes: The genuine “City of Roses” heritage and Springfield’s real role in the origins of International Harvester are distinctive, checkable local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Clark County Auditor – confirm current phone via clarkcountyohio.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Clark County Dog Shelter (Dog Warden) – 3673 Middle Urbana Rd / 5201 Urbana Rd, Springfield, OH 45502-45503 | (937) 521-2140; Chief Dog Warden Don Roberts; Hours: Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri 12-5 PM, Sat 12-4 PM, closed Wed/Sun/holidays; impound fees $35 first day, $20/day board thereafter (with current tags); enforces state dog laws (abandonment, cruelty/neglect, bite quarantines, licensing) as required by Ohio law for every county.
Nonprofit: Animal Welfare League (serving Clark County) – PO Box 211, North Hampton, OH.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Clark County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via clarkcountyohio.gov.
NOTES: Clark County is the fifth county in this batch (Brown, Butler, Carroll, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton) of the Ohio v2 redo. The genuine “City of Roses” and International Harvester origin heritage are distinctive local facts. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Clark County
Clark County is an Ohio Miami Valley county and the 461st most populous in the United States, covering 401 square miles midway between Dayton and Columbus along I-70.
Springfield (the county seat, population ~58,000) has been one of the most nationally discussed mid-sized Ohio cities in recent years – a city experiencing the complex dynamics of post-industrial decline and demographic renewal simultaneously. Springfield’s manufacturing heritage includes significant ties to the automotive and farm equipment industries, and the city has faced population loss since mid-century deindustrialization. Beginning in the late 2010s and accelerating through the 2020s, a significant Haitian immigrant community arrived in Springfield, drawn initially by specific employers and then by community networks. By 2024, the Haitian community had grown to an estimated 12,000–20,000 people in a city of 58,000 – one of the most dramatic demographic transformations of any mid-sized American city. The community became the center of a significant national political controversy in 2024 involving false claims that were amplified in presidential campaign rhetoric.
Wittenberg University (a private Lutheran liberal arts university, enrollment ~1,500, founded 1845) is Springfield’s primary academic institution – a nationally recognized liberal arts college with a loyal alumni base.
The Mad River flows through Clark County – providing significant recreational opportunities and the water supply for the county’s communities.
New Carlisle and Enon are smaller communities in the county’s suburban and rural areas.
Springfield’s story – of deindustrialization, demographic change, and the political dynamics of rapid immigration to a legacy city – makes it one of the most closely watched communities in Ohio and the United States.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Ohio appraises at 100% of true value, assessed at 35%. Full reappraisals every six years.
The appeal process: File with the Clark County Board of Revision at 31 N. Limestone Street, Springfield, OH 45502, phone 937-521-1878. Window: January 1 through April 1. No OH estate or inheritance tax since 2013.
OWNWELL CTA: Clark County Board of Revision: January 1–April 1. Springfield market dynamics evolving with demographic change. No OH estate or inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Recommended
Clark County Board of Revision: January 1–April 1. Springfield market dynamics evolving with demographic change. No OH estate or inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
Probate Court: The Clark County Probate Court at 101 N. Limestone Street, Springfield, OH 45502, phone 937-521-1680, handles wills, estate administration, guardianships, and trusts.
Common Pleas Court: The Clark County Common Pleas Court handles major civil and criminal matters.
Recorder: The Clark County Recorder at 31 N. Limestone Street maintains real property records. Land records searchable online.
Senior Services
The Clark County Senior Services at 2030 E. High Street, Springfield, OH 45505, phone 937-322-8862, serves the county’s senior population with in-home services, caregiver support, nutrition programs, and transportation. Springfield Regional Medical Center (Mercy Health) provides significant geriatric care.
Recommended
Assisted living, memory care, and independent living across Clark County - from Springfield and New Carlisle to Enon, Urbana Road communities, and the Mad River valley.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
101 North Limestone St, Springfield, OH 45502
(937) 521-1836
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Clark County Probate Court, Springfield (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Clark County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Clark County Probate Court 50 East Columbia Street, 5th Floor, Springfield, OH 45502 (937) 521-1845 Clark County is in west-central Ohio, seated in Springfield.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Ohio has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code, but has incorporated some streamlined concepts into its own system under Title 21 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC Chapters 2101-2131).
Summary Release from Administration (ORC § 2113.03) – available for very small estates valued at $5,000 or less. Lets the court release assets quickly, often to cover funeral expenses and support the surviving family, without a fiduciary being appointed.
Release from Administration (ORC § 2113.03) – Ohio’s broader small-estate shortcut. Available when the gross probate estate is $35,000 or less, OR up to $100,000 if the entire estate passes to a surviving spouse (by will or by Ohio’s intestacy law). No executor/administrator is appointed; the court releases the estate directly to the person(s) entitled to it.
Full Estate Administration – required when the estate exceeds these thresholds or the situation is otherwise contested or complex. The court appoints a fiduciary (Ohio’s term for executor/administrator), issues a Certificate of Appointment once any will is admitted, and the fiduciary inventories assets, publishes notice to creditors, pays debts, and distributes what remains under ongoing court supervision.
Step 2: filing for administration
File the will (if any) and an application with the Probate Court in the county where the decedent resided.
If pursuing Release from Administration or Summary Release, complete the applicable court forms (Form 5.0 for standard Release, Form 5.10 for Summary Release) along with a complete asset inventory and supporting documents.
For full administration, the court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration to the appointed fiduciary.
The fiduciary publishes notice to creditors; claims generally must be presented within 6 months of the date of death.
The fiduciary inventories and manages estate assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and distributes what remains according to the will or Ohio’s intestacy law, reporting to the court along the way.
The estate is closed once a final account is filed and approved by the court.
What it costs
Filing fees vary by county – check with Clark County directly for current fees.
No state estate tax, no state inheritance tax (repealed effective January 1, 2013). Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates ($15,000,000 per individual as of 2026).
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
101 North Limestone St, Springfield, OH 45502
(937) 521-1836
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
300 East Auburn Ave, Springfield, OH 45505
(937) 521-2010
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
4200 South Rt 68, Springfield, OH 45502
(937) 328-2412
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Combined Health District
529 East Home Rd, Springfield, OH 45503
(937) 390-5600
Job and Family Services
1345 Lagonda Ave, Springfield, OH 45503
(937) 327-1400
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Clark County Combined Health District – (937) 390-5600 | ccchd.com.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
Recommended for Ohio
Ownwell
Property tax appeal service. Contingency fee - no savings, no charge.
