The Thurston County Clerk’s Office is closing its in-person customer service counters and shifting entirely online, effective Jan. 20.
The change is due to budget cuts, the Thurston County Clerk’s Office announced last week.
“The office is hopeful that this shift to online services will improve service efficiency, enhance accessibility, and expand digital options for the community,” Thurston County Clerk Linda Myhre Enlow said in a Dec. 31 news release.
As part of the online shift, the clerk’s office is also eliminating its domestic violence victim support services.
Desk staff previously helped domestic violence victims prepare protection order applications, walked them through the court process and helped them set up safety plans.
Now, protection order applicants will have to navigate the forms themselves online.
Other services shifting to online-only include:
The public terminals in the clerk’s office will still remain available for public document viewing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
“Our goal is to ensure that residents continue to receive timely, reliable service,” Enlow said in a news release. “By expanding online options, we are making it hopefully easier for the public to conduct essential business from home or work, without the need to visit our office in person.”
The clerk’s office remains available by email at TCClerk@co.thurston.wa.us during regular business hours to help with questions and guide residents through digital processes.
“The Clerk’s Office appreciates the public’s understanding and cooperation during this difficult time and remains committed to maintaining high-quality, accessible service for all,” Enlow stated.
For more information or to access online services, visit https://www.thurstoncountywa.gov/departments/county-clerk
Enlow indicated during public hearings on the 2026-27 budget held last month that shutting down in-person services at the clerk’s office was a very real possibility under the new budget.
The clerk’s office saw a $777,478 budget reduction in Thurston County’s 2026-27 budget.
That, combined with budget cuts from previous years, made it impossible for the clerk’s office to maintain in-person services, according to Enlow.
The county was looking at an estimated structural deficit of $23.8 million in 2025 that worsened in the 2026-27 biennium.
In response, the county took a proposed 26% general fund reduction — over $36 million — and whittled it down to a total of $9.84 million in cuts.
While the final cuts aren’t as devastating as the initial proposal, departments like the Clerk’s Office are still seeing significant impacts from budget cuts.
The budget impacts to the Clerk’s Office were among the factors that led two county commissioners to vote against adopting the budget last month. The Thurston County Board of County Commissioners ultimately approved the budget in a contentious 3-2 vote.
The Thurston Chronicle’s article on that vote can be read online at https://thurstonchronicle.com/stories/thurston-county-commissioners-adopt-budget-in-contentious-3-2-vote,392951
