As a result of covid-19 and the necessary “shelter in place” ordinances, local courthouse and county offices are closed to the public.

Buyers and sellers of real estate faced some uncertainty regarding whether they can close transactions when this began in March, but Worcester County has taken many steps to ensure that closings can continue without a hitch.

In accordance with the Administrative Order signed on March 13, limiting public access to and operations of courts in Maryland, the Circuit Court for Worcester County was closed to the public except in emergency circumstances or as specified by the administrative judge.

This began on Monday, March 16 and runs through Friday, June 5.

While the office of the Clerk of Court and the Register of Wills is closed to the public, drop boxes have been placed at the Washington Street entrance of the Circuit Court to allow local title companies and settlement attorney’s offices to deliver real estate documents for recordation.

To exercise the utmost caution for the county employees, documents dropped off sit for 24 hours before being processed by staff in the clerk’s office.

Also, since 2017, an electronic filing system called Simplifile has been in place.

This e-system is being more widely utilized since covid-19 closures were put into effect, and it is available for simple real estate transactions.

Some transactions would not be allowed to use this “e-recording” option, such as non-resident transfer transactions where the seller lives out of the state of Maryland.

“I’d like to offer a big kudos to all of my staff through this transition,” said Susan Braniecki, Clerk of Court for Worcester County. “At first, we didn’t know what we were bracing for because we’ve always been open to the public. And, with the need to downsize to essential personnel, but keeping up with not much reduction in our workflow, everyone has stepped up to the plate and handled the pressure very well.”

The Clerk’s office records documents in books, and each book currently contains around 500 pages. The books include documents such as deeds, deeds of trust, certificates of satisfaction, etc.

Prior to covid-19, the Clerk’s office would record about three books per week.

Here is a breakdown of its monthly volume this year: January, 1,426; February, 1,227; March, 1,313; April 1-April 16, 618.

Lauren Bunting is a Broker with Keller Williams Realty of Delmarva in Ocean City, Maryland.