Search Perry County Court Records

How to Search Perry County Court Records

Perry County does not run a single county-branded case search page. Records sit in four places. Circuit Court cases run through the statewide Mississippi Electronic Courts system, often called MEC or PAMEC for public users. Chancery Court cases run through the same MEC system under the Tenth Chancery District. Land and recorded instruments live in the county DuProcess portal. Justice Court and municipal matters usually require a direct call to the court named on the paper.

Before you start, gather the basics. You need a full name, a case or instrument number if you have one, and a rough date range. The county government home page is the easiest jumping-off point for office contacts and links.

The official Perry County government website ties together the Circuit Clerk, Chancery Clerk, and Sheriff pages that anchor most record requests.

From that home page you can route a question to the right clerk in a few clicks. The steps below follow the most common path for a court case search.

1. Decide which court holds the record. Felony or large civil cases point to Circuit Court, family and estate matters point to Chancery Court, and deeds or liens point to the land portal.
2. Register for public access to MEC through PAMEC if you want to view Circuit or Chancery docket entries and documents online.
3. Enter a party name or case number, then narrow the results by court and filing date.
4. Open a matching docket to read the filings, hearings, and any disposition or order.
5. Call or visit the clerk to request a certified copy when a sealed, archived, or older file does not appear online.

Note: Public viewers may receive a no-permission message when a document is sealed, expunged, or otherwise restricted under court rules.

The Perry County Judicial System

Mississippi splits trial work between courts of law and courts of equity. In Perry County, the Circuit Court is the general law court and the Chancery Court is the equity court. Above them sit the Mississippi Court of Appeals and the Mississippi Supreme Court. Below them sit Justice Court, the municipal courts, and Youth Court, which handles juvenile matters under confidentiality rules.

Perry County belongs to the Twelfth Circuit Court District with Forrest County, and to the Tenth Chancery District with Forrest, Lamar, Marion, and Pearl River Counties. The county does not maintain a separate County Court. A case generally rises from the lowest court that can hear it toward the appellate courts.

The Perry County courts department page lists the local court offices, though some of its sections carry only placeholder text.

Because that page is thin, the clerks and the MEC district sites carry the real working detail. The table below maps each court to what it hears.

Case flow: Justice Court › Circuit Court › Mississippi Court of Appeals › Mississippi Supreme Court

Circuit Court and Chancery Court Compared in Perry County

The single most useful fact for a Perry County records search is the split between the two trial courts. They use different clerks, different districts, and different payment rules. Pick the wrong one and the record will not appear.

Circuit Court is the felony and civil law court. Its judges currently are Hon. T. Michael Reed and Hon. Wes Curry, both serving the Twelfth Circuit. Chancery Court is the equity court for family and property matters, served by chancellors of the Tenth District.

The Twelfth Circuit Court District site covers the Circuit judges, calendars, forms, and felony procedures for Forrest and Perry Counties.

That district site is the best official source for Circuit Court process, while Chancery matters route to the county Chancery Clerk. The comparison below lays the two courts side by side.

Perry County Circuit Clerk Records

The Circuit Clerk is the local custodian for Circuit Court records. Christy Mayo holds the office. The clerk maintains felony and civil case files, collects Circuit Court fines, keeps the judgment roll, issues marriage licenses, and manages voter registration and jury service. Circuit Court fines are payable by cash or money order only, and mailed payments must be money orders that include the offender name and case number.

Marriage records sit with this office too. Perry County holds marriage records from 1874 to the present, because licenses before 1874 were destroyed by fire. The clerk can research a marriage for a set fee and provide a certified copy when the record is held locally.

The Circuit Clerk page publishes the office contact block, marriage-license rules, and jury instructions.

That page also explains that appeals from Justice Court land in Circuit Court, which is why a lower-court matter can end up in the Circuit Clerk's files.

Perry County Chancery Clerk and Land Records

The Chancery Clerk runs the equity side of the courthouse. Larry Wilson holds the office. The clerk handles estates, guardianships, conservatorships, divorces, child custody, adoption, and property disputes. The office is also the recorder for deeds, mortgages, construction liens, federal tax liens, lis pendens, and military discharges, and it serves as clerk for the Board of Supervisors. Probate in Perry County runs through this office rather than a separate probate court.

Land and official records are searchable online. The county uses a DuProcess portal that lets the public search by party, date, instrument, legal description, parcel, or address, then export results to Excel, PDF, or XML.

The Chancery Clerk page sets out the office duties, the no-card-payment rule, and the divorce and probate information for the county.

Land instruments are not the same as court case files, but they often matter in lien, foreclosure, and estate research. The field table below shows the main search controls in the county portal.

Open the Perry County official records inquiry portal to run these searches and view recorded images.

Types of Court Records Available in Perry County

Court records in Perry County span several categories, and each one lives with a particular court or clerk. Knowing the category narrows a Perry County search fast. Criminal and large civil files sit with Circuit Court. Family, estate, and property files sit with Chancery Court. Land instruments sit with the recorder side of the Chancery Clerk.

The list below groups the records most people look for and points to the office that holds each one.

• Criminal records cover felony prosecutions in Circuit Court, including indictments, pleas, and sentences.
• Civil records include debt collections, contracts, torts, and product cases filed in Circuit Court.
• Family and divorce records cover divorce, custody, and adoption in Chancery Court.
• Probate records cover estates, wills filed in probate, guardianships, and conservatorships in Chancery Court.
• Land and lien records cover deeds, mortgages, liens, and lis pendens in the county recording portal.

Marriage licenses come from the Circuit Clerk, while certified divorce decrees come from the Chancery Clerk. Traffic and small misdemeanor matters usually start in Justice Court or a municipal court.

What Perry County Court Records Show

A Perry County court record is built from fields the clerk and the court enter as a case moves. The exact mix depends on whether the case is criminal, civil, domestic, or a recorded land instrument. Still, most Perry County files share a common spine of party names, dates, and outcomes.

The Twelfth Circuit MEC CourtInfo page publishes the court address, the system go-live date, and the flag glossary that explains case status codes.

Those flags, such as closed, sealed, trial pending, and capias pending, tell you the current state of a case at a glance. The table below breaks down the core fields a Perry County court record shows.

Public Access Laws for Perry County Court Records

Mississippi treats public records as open unless a specific law restricts them. That principle controls most of what you can see at the Perry County courthouse and online. Court files held by the judiciary follow a separate judiciary policy, and electronically filed cases run through the MEC system with public access through PAMEC registration. A reader almost always starts with the office that keeps the record, not a generic statewide search box.

Several statutes shape what is open and what is closed. The callout below lists the key authorities with a plain reading of each.

Note: Adoption proceedings are restricted under Miss. Code § 93-17-25, so confirm access with the Chancery Clerk or through a court order before relying on them.

Restricted and Confidential Perry County Records

Not every Perry County court file is open. Several categories are sealed, redacted, or closed by law. Youth Court records, which cover juvenile delinquency and abuse cases, are confidential and not searchable like adult cases. Sealed and expunged cases drop out of ordinary public view, and a person who needs them generally must have party status or a court order.

Personal identifiers also get protected. The county records portal carries privacy language about redacting Social Security numbers, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, and financial account numbers from images posted online. Adoption files and protected-person matters such as conservatorships hold medical and disability information, so expect limited access and redactions.

To pursue an expungement, identify the court of conviction first. A felony Circuit Court case starts with the Circuit Clerk and the case number, while a misdemeanor starts with the Justice or municipal court that handled it. The petition is filed in the court where the conviction or non-adjudication occurred, and eligibility turns on the offense, the disposition, and the waiting period.

Specialty Courts in Perry County

Perry County shares an accountability court with Forrest County. The Twelfth Circuit Drug-DUI-Veterans Court offers a structured alternative to incarceration for eligible nonviolent offenders. Participation is not automatic. People must be evaluated, screened, and approved before entering the program.

The Drug-DUI-Veterans Court page describes eligibility, the phase structure, and the treatment and testing requirements.

The program runs a minimum of three years across four phases. The DUI track focuses on offenders who plead guilty to driving under the influence, while the Veterans Treatment Court uses drug and mental health court models with veteran mentors. Participants attend court regularly, complete treatment, submit to random drug screens, and either work or attend school throughout the program.

Criminal Charges and Felony Bond in Perry County

Felony cases in Perry County move through a defined local process. After a Perry County grand jury indictment, a defendant out on bond is served with the indictment and a capias during a monthly sign-in at Circuit Court. The defendant then meets with a county public defender and completes a waiver of arraignment, an affidavit of indigency, and an order appointing counsel when eligible.

The Twelfth Circuit court forms page publishes the waiver of indictment, waiver of arraignment, and the Perry County plea petition.

Bond carries an ongoing obligation. Everyone out on felony bond must sign in with Circuit Court each month, from the first day of the month through the second Wednesday. A missed sign-in can trigger a bench warrant.

The felony bond sign-in page spells out the monthly schedule and the consequence for failing to appear.

A person who cannot sign in because of a hospital or rehab stay must have the facility send a letter with a tentative release date to the court administrator. That same procedure keeps a bench warrant from issuing in those cases.

Perry County Sheriff and Jail Information

The Perry County Sheriff's Department handles arrests, custody, and warrant questions. Sheriff Jacob Garner leads the Perry County agency, with Chief Deputy Van Giadrosich. The office can be reached at 601.964.8461 for custody, booking, bond, and release questions. Perry County does not publish an online jail roster or an active warrant search, so the sheriff phone line is the first stop for those questions.

The Sheriff's Department page carries the agency contact block and a short description of its role in the county.

For state prisoners rather than county detainees, the Mississippi Department of Corrections inmate search finds people in state custody by name or ID number. The full roster details and booking workflow are covered on the Perry County inmate records page.

Perry County Court Records Fees

Fees in Perry County depend on the office and the service. Marriage licenses and marriage research run through the Circuit Clerk. Recording and copy fees run through the Chancery Clerk. Payment rules are strict, so check the accepted method before you go.

The schedule below pulls the fees published by the county clerk offices and the recording fee sheet.

The Chancery Clerk accepts cash, check, or money order and takes no card payments. Circuit Court fines are payable by cash or money order only.

Marriage, Divorce, and Probate Records in Perry County

Three of the most requested Perry County record types cross between the two clerks. Marriage licenses and marriage searches start with the Circuit Clerk. Divorce decrees and probate files start with the Chancery Clerk. The state health department offers a secondary channel for certain marriage and divorce date ranges, but local county records remain the primary source.

The Mississippi State Department of Health marriage-records page handles statewide copies and searches for specific date ranges. For the local file and certified divorce decree, the Chancery Clerk is the source, and the full process is covered on the Perry County marriage and divorce records page.

Probate runs through Chancery Court. The following terms come up often in estate and guardianship files.

Testator

A person who has made a valid will.

Executor

The person named in a will to carry out the estate.

Intestate

An estate left without a valid will.

Guardianship

Court-appointed responsibility for a minor or incapacitated person.

Conservatorship

A Chancery matter managing the property and affairs of a protected person.

Muniment of title

A probate method that uses a will to establish title without full administration.

Courthouse Location and Contact Information

The Perry County court offices share an address in New Augusta, the county seat. The Circuit Clerk, Chancery Clerk, and Sheriff contact blocks all tie to the 103 South Main Street court building. The county administration and Board of Supervisors sit a short distance away at 101 Main Street, which is a different building. Use the court address for filings, hearings, and records visits.

The contact card below gathers the core courthouse details for quick reference.

Note: Call the specific clerk before traveling, since detailed walk-in hours and counter rules are not all published on the county pages.

History of Perry County Courts

Perry County was established in 1820 and named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, a naval hero of the War of 1812. New Augusta serves as the county seat. The county-seat roots trace back to Old Augusta, which was settled while the area was still Choctaw land and became the seat when Perry County was created.

That long history has a direct effect on records access. Marriage licenses filed before 1874 were destroyed by fire, so the Circuit Clerk's marriage records begin in 1874. Older legal records can be fragmented for the same reason.

The modern record system is electronic. Perry County Chancery Court went live on MEC on February 1, 2016, and the Circuit Court followed on February 21, 2017. Mississippi later announced statewide completion of electronic filing across all chancery, circuit, and county courts, which makes MEC and PAMEC a core access channel today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I search Perry County Court records online?

Perry County Circuit and Chancery Court cases run through the statewide MEC system, with public viewing through PAMEC registration. Land and recorded instruments run through the county DuProcess portal. Perry County does not offer a single combined case search page, so the right channel depends on the court that holds the file.

Does Perry County have an online jail roster or warrant search?

No. The county does not publish an official online jail roster or an active warrant search. For custody, bond, or warrant status, call the Sheriff's Department at 601.964.8461. For state prisoners, use the Mississippi Department of Corrections inmate search instead.

Which Perry County clerk holds the record I need?

Felony, large civil, and marriage records sit with the Perry County Circuit Clerk. Divorce, custody, adoption, estate, and land records sit with the Chancery Clerk. If a matter was appealed from Justice Court, the Circuit Court and Circuit Clerk handle the appeal file.

How do I get a certified copy of a divorce decree?

Certified divorce decrees come from the Chancery Clerk in the county where the divorce was granted. The state health department can search a divorce index and identify the county, book, and page, but it does not issue the decree itself. Bring an accepted payment method, since the Chancery Clerk takes no cards.

Are older Perry County marriage records available?

Perry County marriage records run from 1874 to the present and are held by the Circuit Clerk. Licenses before 1874 were destroyed by fire. The clerk can research a marriage and provide a certified copy when the record is held locally.

What if a record does not appear online?

Call or visit the clerk that holds the file and ask about the copy and search procedure, the fee, the accepted payment, and whether the file is sealed, restricted, or archived. Some documents require PAMEC access, and sealed or expunged files are not available through ordinary public access.