File Clerks
Also called: Admissions Clerk, Blueprint Clerk, Brand Recorder, Card Filer, Claims Clerk, Classification Clerk, Clerk, Clerk Typist
File correspondence, cards, invoices, receipts, and other records in alphabetical or numerical order or according to the filing system used.
What file clerks do
Typical tasks
- 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- Eliminate outdated or unnecessary materials, destroying them or transferring them to inactive storage, according to file maintenance guidelines or legal requirements.
- Answer questions about records or files.
- Assign and record or stamp identification numbers or codes to index materials for filing.
- Place materials into storage receptacles, such as file cabinets, boxes, bins, or drawers, according to classification and identification information.
- Modify or improve filing systems or implement new filing systems.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
File Clerks salary
The median annual wage for file clerks is $43,600 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $31,200 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $63,490. The mean annual wage is $45,590.
The mean hourly wage of $21.00 is 2.9× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for File Clerks (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $43,600 → in 3 years $45,200 → in 5 years $46,400 → in 10 years $49,300 (10-year range $42,400–$57,300). The model assumes pay growth of +1.2% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for File Clerks
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace File Clerks? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for File Clerks
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
Skills, education and requirements for File Clerks
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★★☆☆☆ Fairly easy (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become file clerks
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as file clerks
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.