How to Get Court Records
Match the office to the file. Circuit criminal and civil case records sit with the Circuit Clerk. Chancery matters, which cover family, estate, guardianship, and equity cases, sit with the Chancery Clerk. Check the citation or case paperwork. Justice Court and municipal questions go to that court. Clarke County offers no anonymous docket search covering every local court. The clerk route stays essential. MEC can help with a participating court case. But it works alongside the clerk rather than instead of the clerk.
- Identify the Clarke County court, case or citation number, date range, and exact record needed, such as a docket sheet, order, judgment, indictment, final decree, or recorded instrument.
- Use PAMEC/MEC for participating Circuit or Chancery electronic access, or use Official Records Inquiry only for a deed, mortgage, lien, lis pendens, or other land instrument.
- Call the responsible clerk to confirm current availability, restrictions, page or certification costs, payment method, and whether a courthouse terminal can be used.
- Make the request in person at the counter or confirm the accepted mail, fax, or email method before sending payment or personal material.
- For a public-records request, send a specific written request and ask for an itemized estimate, the public portion, and the legal basis for any withholding.
- Request a plain or certified copy as needed, then confirm the delivery channel and whether an older record must be retrieved from paper, archive, microfilm, or transferred storage.
Clarke County routes public-record questions through its clerks. The Clarke County “How Do I” page points each record question toward the right office rather than offering one countywide court-records form.
Get the office right first. Asking one clerk for a file that another Clarke County office holds just burns time for everyone involved.
Clarke County Court Record Custodians
Court-record custody in Clarke County is split. Which court handled the matter, plus the type of record, tells you where to call first. Finding a case in a search does not move it to a different office. Use the routing table. It keeps court files separate from land instruments, driver records, and federal dockets.
| Record sought | Start with | Confirm before ordering |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit felony or civil docket, indictment, judgment, summons, or subpoena | Circuit Clerk | Case number, court, plain or certified copy, fee, and delivery. |
| Divorce, custody, adoption, estate, guardianship, or equity file | Chancery Clerk | Public or restricted portion, redaction, certification, and fee. |
| Deed, mortgage, lien, lis pendens, military discharge, or land index | Chancery Clerk or Official Records Inquiry | Instrument/image charge and whether clerk certification is required. |
| Traffic citation or Justice Court disposition | Court named on the citation or Justice Court | Appearance date, disposition, any certified abstract, and status. |
| City ordinance or municipal citation | Named municipal court or city clerk | City-specific session, court date, payment, and appeal route. |
| Driver license or state driver record | MDPS/DPS Driver Records | That state record is distinct from the Clarke County court case file. |
| Federal civil, criminal, or bankruptcy docket | PACER or the applicable federal clerk | Federal district, case number, PACER cost, and restricted status. |
Go by the court named in the record. A divorce, a traffic citation, a recorded lien, and a federal case can all touch Clarke County. Each still lands with a different office, no matter how similar the subject sounds.
Types of Court Records
Records here run from a short docket sheet to a full case file. The Circuit Clerk holds Circuit criminal and civil filings. Those include indictments, motions, judgments, executions, summonses, and subpoenas. The Chancery Clerk keeps Chancery matters and doubles as the county recorder for land instruments. Anything from a limited-court or municipal file belongs to the court that issued or heard it.
- Circuit criminal and civil docket sheets, filings, indictments, motions, judgments, executions, summonses, and subpoenas.
- Chancery divorce, custody, estate, guardianship, adoption, equity, and property-case records, subject to access limits.
- Recorded deeds, mortgages, liens, lis pendens, plats, and related land-record indexes.
- Justice Court traffic, misdemeanor, initial-felony, and small civil matter records.
- Municipal ordinance and city-citation files held by the named city court or clerk.
Want the court history without the full file? The Clarke County case search page walks through the account-based MEC path and where it stops short.
Clarke County Circuit Clerk Records
Sally Wedgeworth is the name the county page lists for Clarke County Circuit Clerk. The 2025 Secretary of State directory gives the longer form, Sally Doggett Wedgeworth. That helps when matching office references. Her office receives and files Circuit papers. It also carries the Circuit/County Court clerk function the county describes. The office posts no public docket link, no request form, no online payment link, and no copy-fee schedule. So plan on contact by phone or in person.
Clarke County Circuit Clerk
Sally Wedgeworth
101 S Archusa Ave
Quitman, MS 39355
Mailing: P.O. Box 216
601-776-3111
Fax: 601-776-1001
Ask a precise question when you call. Is the Clarke County record in the Circuit file, an archive, or an electronic MEC file? And can the office supply an unsealed public copy?
What a Court Record Contains
A court record can hold far more than the docket screen shows. What is inside varies with the case type and the access rule. The docket sheet itself is just the chronological list of filings and events. Behind it, the file may hold pleadings, orders, exhibits, and financial or service material. Some of it is unavailable or redacted.
| Case number | The unique identifier assigned by the court system, used to locate the correct file. |
|---|---|
| Party block | Caption, party roles, representation, and sometimes terminated parties when the system exposes them. |
| Pleadings | Complaints, petitions, answers, motions, indictments, affidavits, and other filed papers appropriate to the case. |
| Docket sheet | A chronological ledger of dated filings, events, orders, document links, and hearing markers. |
| Orders and judgments | Interim or final court directives, judgments, dispositions, final decrees, or appeal markers. |
| Access metadata | Sealed, restricted, redaction, minor, guardian, or document-permission information where shown. |
A public docket line does not make every attachment public. An exhibit or financial record may still be off limits. Ask the Clarke County office for the specific public document instead of assuming the whole file is open.
Clarke County Chancery Clerk Records
Leanne Volking serves as Clarke County Chancery Clerk. Her office keeps Chancery Court records. Those cover estates, guardianships and conservatorships, divorces, custody, adoptions, property disputes, and equity matters. It also records deeds, mortgages, liens, lis pendens, and similar instruments. Those two jobs create separate paths. A court-case file goes through the Chancery Clerk or Chancery MEC. The Official Records Inquiry covers recorded land instruments.
Clarke County Chancery Clerk
Leanne Volking
101 S Archusa Ave
Quitman, MS 39355
Mailing: P.O. Box 689
601-776-2126
Fax: 601-776-2756
chancery@clarkecountyms.gov
A downloaded land image is not a certified record on its own. Check with the Clarke County office whether you need a clerk certification, an exemplified copy, or another certified disposition for your purpose.
Certified Copies and Fees
A plain copy just gives you the information. A certified copy carries the clerk's certification for whatever purpose you state. Exemplified copies and certified dispositions serve different uses and carry different costs. Clarke County publishes no copy or certification fee schedule. That gap covers Circuit, Chancery, Justice, and municipal court. Never import an amount from another Mississippi county.
| Item | Verified amount or status |
|---|---|
| MEC public non-attorney registration | $10 annually. |
| MEC search-result page | $0.20 per resulting search page; a no-match search incurs one page under the non-attorney terms. |
| Clarke Circuit, Chancery, Justice, or municipal plain copy | Fee not located in official sources. Ask the responsible custodian. |
| Clarke court certification, certified disposition, or exemplification | Fee not located in official sources. Confirm the exact certification requested. |
| Clarke land-record image or purchase | Portal shows purchase and download controls, but an exact current price was not exposed publicly. |
| Public-record request copying or search | Allowable direct costs may apply under Mississippi Code Section 25-61-7; request an itemized estimate. |
Ask before you pay. Is the Clarke County record ready, does it need review or redaction, must it come from an archive, and can it ship the way you want? The county pages promise no turnaround time and post no accepted payment instructions for these court copies.
Clarke County Court Record Request
The county forms index carries no court-copy request form. Treat that as a practical gap, not a reason to send a vague letter. A written Clarke County request can still name the court. It can include the case or citation number, the party name when needed, the date range, the document, plain or certified format, delivery preference, and a maximum cost for an estimate. The Clarke County forms page is the official place to check. See what forms the county does offer.
Before you mail payment or send identity documents, call the Clarke County clerk's office and confirm how it takes record requests. Ask specifically about mail, fax, email, and any other accepted channel.
Public Access and Sealed Records
Mississippi public-records law covers access, fees, and complaints. Court records sit under a separate, branch-specific framework. Start with the Clarke County clerk and the court system itself. Even a public record can be redacted. It can also be restricted by rule or shielded by a court order. Juvenile and youth cases, adoptions, and sealed matters do not appear on an ordinary public docket. Protected personal identifiers, financial information, and certain protected-person records are left off too.
Access rules to use together:
Mississippi Code Section 25-61-5 addresses written public-record access procedures and the handling of nonexempt material.
Mississippi Code Section 25-61-7 allows authorized direct costs for searching, reviewing, duplicating, and transmitting records.
Mississippi Code Section 25-61-13 describes an Ethics Commission complaint route and court petition options after a denial or nonresponse for a covered public body.
The Mississippi Judiciary public-records policy and applicable court rules also govern judicial-record availability.
The Mississippi Ethics Commission Public Records Act page spells out the state's access law in full.
When part of a Clarke County request gets restricted, ask for the segregable portion that is nonexempt or unsealed. Also ask which rule or order supports the withholding.
Clarke County Court Access Policy
The Mississippi Judiciary is its own branch of government. MEC's privacy policy states that the judiciary is not subject to the Public Records Act the way executive public bodies are. So a Clarke County court-record request built only on the general Act will fall short. Supreme Court policy may control the outcome. So may court rules, confidentiality law, the clerk holding the file, and any sealing order. Don't lean on the county's website privacy statement as a court-record access rule. It speaks only to county web policy. It proves nothing about whether a judicial document is open or certified.
If access is denied, write down the date, the custodian, the stated reason, and the response you received. Keep in mind that a general complaint route cannot automatically override a judicial sealing order.
Clarke County Court Record Retention
Old Clarke County court records and new electronic files do not travel the same path. The reason sits in state retention rules. Under Mississippi municipal guidance, municipal court dockets and municipal minutes are kept permanently. Case files follow a shorter clock. Municipal case files are retained seven years after disposition or satisfaction. Municipal traffic cases are kept three years after release of the audit following disposition or payment. A retention schedule says how long a record survives. It does not say whether the record will surface in an online Clarke County docket search.
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History local-government guidance lays out the full records-management framework for local offices.
No Circuit or Chancery retention schedule is posted for Clarke County, so ask the clerk directly. Find out whether a paper book, archive, microfilm, or storage transfer applies to your case.
Clarke County Older Record Requests
An older record missing from MEC or an online index proves nothing. Absence is not evidence the file never existed. Give the Clarke County clerk a narrow request. Name the court, any known case or instrument number, a date range, and the document title. Ask whether the file lives in paper, microfilm, an archive, or transferred storage. Ask too whether staff need time to pull it. For a land instrument, search by grantor or grantee, date, instrument number, book and page, parcel, or legal description. For a court case, request the docket sheet or a specific order from the clerk. Do not assume the land index lists court filings.
Clarke County Record Request Details
Shape your Clarke County record request so the clerk can actually find the file. Name the court and the office that holds it. Give the case, citation, or instrument number if you have one. Then add the parties, a date range, and the document type. Say whether you want a plain or certified copy.
Cover the practical details too. Ask for electronic PDF or paper delivery. Request a fee estimate, state your payment method, and note your turnaround expectation. If you want paper mailed back, mention any need for a self-addressed stamped envelope.
When material is withheld, you still have options. Request the nonexempt public portion. Ask for the specific legal or order basis for the redaction. A federal docket or federal certification goes through PACER or the federal clerk. The Clarke County Circuit and Chancery Clerks cannot certify a federal docket document.