File Clerk job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

12

O*NET task statements

O*NET occupation

File Clerks

O*NET-SOC 43-4071.00

Preparation

Job Zone 1-2 of 5

very little to some preparation

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$43,600

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as File Clerks (O*NET-SOC 43-4071.00). O*NET 31.0 lists “File Clerk” as a job title for this occupation only (evidence: its O*NET occupation title, O*NET's Sample of Reported Titles (titles job holders report), O*NET job-incumbent data, the SOC Index and employer job postings). Figures on this page are for that occupation. TryHired has no separate career page for this title yet.

1. Perform general office activities, such as typing, answering telephones, operating office machines, processing mail, or securing confidential materials. importance 4.4 of 5
2. Keep records of materials filed or removed, using logbooks or computers and generate computerized reports. importance 4.4 of 5
3. Gather materials to be filed from departments or employees. importance 4.2 of 5
4. Find, retrieve, and make copies of information from files in response to requests and deliver information to authorized users. importance 4.1 of 5
5. Add new material to file records or create new records as necessary. importance 4.1 of 5
6. Sort or classify information according to guidelines, such as content, purpose, user criteria, or chronological, alphabetical, or numerical order. importance 4.0 of 5
7. Scan or read incoming materials to determine how and where they should be classified or filed. importance 4.0 of 5
8. Eliminate outdated or unnecessary materials, destroying them or transferring them to inactive storage, according to file maintenance guidelines or legal requirements. importance 4.0 of 5
9. Answer questions about records or files. importance 4.0 of 5
10. Assign and record or stamp identification numbers or codes to index materials for filing. importance 3.9 of 5
11. Place materials into storage receptacles, such as file cabinets, boxes, bins, or drawers, according to classification and identification information. importance 3.9 of 5
12. Modify or improve filing systems or implement new filing systems. importance 3.3 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Working with Computers, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work, Processing Information, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge and Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Input data, such as file numbers, new or updated information, or document information codes into computer systems to support document and information retrieval.
• Complete general financial activities, such as processing accounts payable, reviewing invoices, collecting cash payments, or issuing receipts.
• Track materials removed from files to ensure that borrowed files are returned.
• Perform periodic inspections of materials or files to ensure correct placement, legibility, or proper condition.
• Retrieve documents stored in microfilm or microfiche and place them in viewers for reading.
• Operate mechanized files that rotate to bring needed records to a particular location.

Knowledge areas: Administrative, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Law and Government and Computers and Electronics.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, Intuit QuickBooks. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists short-term on-the-job training as typical once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 1-2 of 5 (very little to some preparation). Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board.

The most common answer among file clerks surveyed by O*NET is an associate's degree (38%).

Job title: File Clerk
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a File Clerk to file correspondence, cards, invoices, receipts, and other records in alphabetical or numerical order or according to the filing system used.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Perform general office activities, such as typing, answering telephones, operating office machines, processing mail, or securing confidential materials.
- Keep records of materials filed or removed, using logbooks or computers and generate computerized reports.
- Gather materials to be filed from departments or employees.
- Find, retrieve, and make copies of information from files in response to requests and deliver information to authorized users.
- Add new material to file records or create new records as necessary.
- Sort or classify information according to guidelines, such as content, purpose, user criteria, or chronological, alphabetical, or numerical order.
- Scan or read incoming materials to determine how and where they should be classified or filed.
- Eliminate outdated or unnecessary materials, destroying them or transferring them to inactive storage, according to file maintenance guidelines or legal requirements.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in reading comprehension, active listening and speaking
- Working knowledge of Administrative and English Language
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Office software]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

For File Clerks, the median annual wage was $43,600 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $20.96. BLS estimates about 73,440 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of File Clerks to decline 15.8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 5,600 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

• Read a real file clerk posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Perform general office activities, such as typing, answering…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only file clerk work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (reading comprehension and active listening): a real situation, what you did and what changed.