About Town Clerk’s Office

The mission of the Town Clerk’s Office is to register, record, issue and preserve vital records; provide records management, licensing, and permitting services and processes; review and certify various official documents to ensure that the town is compliant with various laws and requirements and to coordinate and administer elections.  The Clerk’s Office is accountable to 10 state agency departments:  Secretary of State Elections Division, Secretary of State Records Management Division, Attorney General Municipal Bureau, Attorney General Open Meeting Law, State Ethics Commission, Office of Campaign and Political Finance, Department of Public Health Vital Records, Department of Revenue Division of Local Services, the Jury Commission and the Department of Fire Services.  Among other duties, the Town Clerk records and certifies all votes passed at Town Meeting, administers and records Oaths of Office to elected and appointed town officials, and records various instruments as required by state law.

Responsibilities of the Town Clerk’s Office:

CHIEF ELECTION OFFICIAL –

• Maintains voter lists and pertinent information; supervises all voter registration.
• Manages voting procedures for local and state elections including vote by mail, in-person early voting and Election Day voting.
• Issues and processes nomination papers and prepares the ballots for Town elections.
• Maintains campaign finance records of candidates and committees.
• Arranges for absentee ballots.
• Instructs and supervises the election officers.
• Records and publishes all election results.
• Retains custody of the ballots and voting lists in the event of a recount.
• Transmits election results from each precinct as well as the complete list of town officers to the Secretary of State within 24 hours of each election.
• Serves as a member of the Board of Registrars registering all voters, records the party enrollment of each voter in the annual register, and receives and certifies the signatures of the voters on all petitions.
• Prepares, distributes, receives, reviews for accuracy and records Town Annual Census files.
• Compiles and distributes the official City/Town Street Listing Book.

REGISTRAR OF VITAL RECORDS –

• Reviews for accuracy and registers and maintains all vital records (birth, death, and marriage certificates) and produces certified copies for the public.

KEEPER OF OFFICIAL TOWN RECORDS –

• Accepts and records Zoning Board of Appeals, Planning Board, and other Special Permits and/or Decisions; certifies and provides Final Decisions to applicants for filing at the Registry of Deeds.
• Issues Business Certificates (also known as “dba” certificates) and processes Certificate Withdrawals.
• Issues dog licenses; maintains records and database of all dogs in town.
• Posts/records all public meeting notices/agendas and amended notices for the town on the town website; maintains legally required documents.
• Administers Oath of Office to all members of boards, commissions, and committees and advises members of obligations under Open Meeting Law and Conflict of Interest Law.
• Issues Conflict of Interest annual training requirements to all town employees including all board and committee members.

The Town Clerk also serves as the Parking Clerk, accepting payments for parking citations within the Town of Hamilton and provides notary services for certain documents.

The following licenses, permits, and services are available at the Office of the Town Clerk, the office prepares and issues documentation and collects the relevant fees:

• Business (d/b/a/) Certificates
• By-laws (Town, Zoning with Zoning/ Groundwater Maps)
• Certified Copies of Vitals (Birth, Death, Marriage certificates)
• Marriage Licenses/Marriage Intentions
• Dog Licenses –
• Raffle & Bazaar Permits
• Resident List/ Street List/ Voter List
• Voter Registration Services
• Certificate of Registration for entities holding a license for the storge of Flammables, Combustibles, or Explosives Materials
• Public Meeting Notices (MUST be filed and time stamped 48 hours prior to meeting)