The buildings were shut down in March following the issuance of a "Stay Home-Work Safe" order in the county, and marriage licenses temporarily could not be obtained. Due to high demand, officials began offering marriage licenses in May at the downtown office, scheduling 14 appointments per day at the time.
The reopening of the annexes will allow the county to increase the appointments per day from 14 to 30 at the downtown office while also allowing 14 appointments per day at each of the 10 other annex buildings, according to a press release.
"Although County buildings have been closed to the public to comply with the 'Stay Home, Work Safe' policy, we have been given the green light to reopen our annexes to provide services to our valued clients—the residents and businesses of Harris County," Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins said in a statement. "We are diligently working to continue to offer critical services to our neighbors while ensuring the safety of our staff and the general public."
Hollins said staff at each annex is following safety guidelines, and public service areas are now equipped with plexiglass partitions.
Appointments can be booked online, and walk-ins are not being accepted. Rosie Torres-Segura, the administrator of communications for the clerk's office, said 156 in-person appointments took place between Aug. 10-12.
So far, 7,400 appointments are scheduled for the next two months, with the downtown, Wallisville and Cypresswood annexes being among the busiest, Torres-Segura said. By comparison, 1,200 marriage licenses were issued at the downtown annex in total between its reopening May 18 and early August, according to the press release.
Other services offered by the clerk's office will continue to be available online, including real property filings, county civil and probate court filings, and campaign and personal finance filings.
The annexes are open Mondays through Thursdays from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
