John Kinard has over three decades of experience in the Justice System as a police officer, attorney, FBI Agent, and Galveston County District Clerk. He has an accounting degree from the University of Texas at Arlington and a law degree from SMU Law School. John has been a member of the Texas State Bar since 1982 and is also a member of the Galveston County Bar.

John has been married to his wife Chris for 40 years. They have three children and two grandsons who all live in Galveston County.

The District Clerk is designated as the custodian of all records relating to or lawfully deposited in the clerk's office. These records include all court pleadings and papers that are part of any cause of action, civil or criminal, in the courts served by the District Clerk. In addition, the clerk is required to index and secure all court records, collect filing fees, and handle funds awarded to minors.

News and Announcements

• March 16, 2020 Standing Order and Notice Galv CO Families with court orders regarding visitation for spring break
• District Clerk Warns Citizens of Jury Fraud
• Houston Chronicle Article on Galveston County District Calerk's Immigration Portal

New Jury Notifications and Summons

District Clerk John D. Kinard wants the citizens of Galveston County to be aware that the jury notifications and summons they will receive in the mail will look different than those they have received in the past. We are proud to announce our new jury system. This system will utilize the latest technology to improve communication with jurors. It will be an interactive system, using the internet, text messages, emails, and an automated phone line, which will allow jurors to easily respond to the summons and conveniently receive information about their service. If you have any questions or concerns please call the jury clerk at (409) 766-2319.

If you have received a notification, summons or would like to check your juror status, please visit the i-Juror portal.

Payment Updates

The Galveston County District Clerk now provides you the convenience of using a major credit card over the counter as a form of payment. To make a payment online, please visit the Certified Payments website.

Visa, MasterCard, and Discover are accepted. Credit Cards cannot be accepted for Child Support or Bond Payments.

Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents.
They can be downloaded by clicking on the icons below.

Acrobat Reader Windows Media Player Word Viewer Excel Viewer PowerPoint Viewer