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Town of Portsmouth

Town Clerk

Town Hall

2200 East Main Road

Portsmouth, RI  02871

Telephone: (401) 683-2101

Office Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. - Monday through Friday

Kathleen Viera Beaudoin

Email:  kviera-beaudoin@portsmouthri.com

Mission Statement

The Town Clerk is the ex-officio head of the department of public records and serves as the recorder of deeds; registrar of births, marriages and deaths; clerk of the Probate Court and clerk of the Town Council. 

It is the goal of the Town Clerk’s Office to provide the highest quality of customer service to the general public with the timely completion of Town Council Meeting Minutes, the recording and issuance of birth, marriage and death certificates; the timely processing of requests for licenses in the most convenient manner possible, the proper dissemination of information in accordance with the requirements of state law; and the preservation of all permanent and some temporary records.

The Town Clerk’s Office is open from 8:30a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for State holidays.  The Office is also open the last Saturday of every month from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon.  If that weekend falls near a holiday, the schedule might change, so please contact the Office prior to making your arrangements.

            We receive all Town Council correspondence and prepare the Town Council Meeting agenda and minutes.  The Town Clerk gives notices of the meetings of the Council, keeps a journal of its proceedings and certifies all actions of the council. 

            We receive all applications for Licenses in the Town and are responsible for processing all business registrations and licenses in accordance with established town ordinances or state law.  We perform other duties as required by Town Charter or by law or ordinance.

The Town Clerk’s Office is the repository of all Land Evidence and Probate records for the Town of Portsmouth.

We issue certified copies of Marriage, Birth, and Death records for events that occurred in Portsmouth, or of persons who were in residence in Portsmouth at the time the event occurred, if the event occurred in Rhode Island.   

            We issue Dog Licenses, Hunting and Fishing Licenses, Resident Stickers for Sandy Point Beach, and Non-Resident Sandy Point Beach Stickers. 

            We are the Filing Coordinator for the Town of Portsmouth’s public bodies reporting to the Rhode Island Secretary of State’s Office. 

            We maintain the Town’s lists of all elected and appointed persons.   

LAND EVIDENCE (Property Records)

The Property Records Office is responsible for recording all deeds, mortgages, leases, affidavits, condominium declarations, quitclaim deeds, certified copies of documents and other similar instruments.

Property records are recorded in the town or city where the property is located.  Each city and town in the State of Rhode Island maintains its own Property Records. Recordings should be sent to the appropriate recording office according to the property address. 

            The State of Rhode Island mandates the fee schedule for the recording and copying of documents. The Portsmouth Town Clerk's office records until 3:45 p.m. Monday through Friday.                  

PROBATE COURT

            The Portsmouth Probate Court is held at 8:30 a.m. the second Tuesday of the month in the Portsmouth Town Council Chambers.

Joseph C. Lopes, Esq., is the Judge of the Portsmouth Probate Court.

Kathleen Viera Beaudoin is the Clerk of the Portsmouth Probate Court.

All Probate matters are filed according to residency.  Rhode Island does not file by county; each city and town has its own probate court.

          Probate Court has jurisdiction, in the city/town in which it is established, of:

The probate of wills; the granting of administration; the appointment of custodians, administrators, and guardians of persons and estates; the adoption of persons eighteen (18) years of age or older; change of name of persons; and all other matters now within the jurisdiction of probate courts.

The Probate Court Clerk is prohibited from giving legal advice, assistance in the preparation of forms and advisement on how a case should be handled.

All fees should be made payable to the “Town of Portsmouth.”

All mailings should be addressed to:

Probate Clerk

2200 East Main Road

Portsmouth, RI 02871

Please contact our office at 401-683-2101 should you have any inquiries regarding this matter.