Look Up Perry County Court Records

How to Search Perry County Court Records

There is no single county-branded case search page. Instead, Perry County court records sit in four places, and the smart move is to match the record to the right channel. Circuit Court files run through the Circuit Clerk and the statewide Mississippi Electronic Courts system. Chancery Court files run through the Chancery Clerk and the Tenth Chancery district within the same statewide system. Deeds, mortgages, liens, and other recorded instruments live in the county land portal. Justice Court and municipal matters often are not online at all, so they take a direct call to the issuing court.

Before you start, gather a few basics. You will move faster with a full party name, the court that handled the matter, and a rough filing date or year. For land records, an instrument number, a book and page, or a parcel ID helps. The Mississippi Judiciary describes its electronic system on the Mississippi Electronic Courts page, which lists the participating courts and how the public reaches them.

That page frames the same split a Perry County searcher faces in person. Circuit and Chancery cases are electronic, while older files and lower-court matters may only exist on paper at the clerk's counter.

1. Identify the court. Circuit Court covers felonies, larger civil suits, and appeals from Justice Court. Chancery Court covers divorce, custody, adoption, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and property disputes.
2. For an electronic Circuit or Chancery case, use Mississippi Electronic Courts. Public viewers register through PAMEC and log in to see dockets and documents the court has marked public.
3. For a deed, mortgage, lien, lis pendens, military discharge, or other recorded instrument, search the county land portal instead of the case system.
4. For a Justice Court, municipal, or pre-electronic file, call or visit the clerk who keeps it, since many of these never reach an online index.
5. If a document is sealed or restricted, expect a no-permission message online and ask the clerk about the petition or court-order process.

Perry County Court Records Search Fields

Recorded land and official records are the most fully searchable Perry County records online. The Chancery Clerk publishes them through the Perry County Official Records Inquiry portal, powered by DuProcess. The portal accepts a name, a date range, instrument data, a legal description, a parcel ID, or an address, then returns a grid of matches you can open for full detail. Results export to Excel, PDF, or XML, and a comment panel lets you flag a missing image or detail to the clerk. The field set below shows what you can search on before you ever click the button.

You do not need to fill every field. A name plus a date range is usually enough to surface a deed or lien, while a parcel ID narrows a property search to a single tract.

Types of Perry County Court Records

The county's two trial courts produce very different files. The Circuit Clerk keeps the Circuit Court record, which the office describes as debt collections, products liability, torts, contracts, and other civil matters, plus all felony criminal prosecutions and appeals from Justice Court. The Chancery Clerk keeps the equity record, including divorce, child custody, adoption, property disputes, estates, guardianships, and conservatorships. Land instruments and the Board of Supervisors record also sit with the Chancery Clerk.

Mississippi finished moving its trial courts onto a single electronic filing system, which is why most newer Perry County cases carry a digital docket. The Judiciary announced that milestone in its statewide e-filing completion notice, and the change matters for searchers because it set the dividing line between paper-era files and online ones.

For Perry County, Circuit Court went live on the electronic system on February 21, 2017, and Chancery Court on February 1, 2016. Cases older than those dates are more likely to need a counter visit. The main record categories break down like this.

• Civil Circuit cases such as debt, contract, and tort suits, with complaints, summonses, motions, orders, and judgments.
• Criminal Circuit cases covering felonies, with indictments, capias, pleas, dispositions, and sentencing.
• Chancery and domestic cases, including divorce, custody, adoption, and equity disputes.
• Probate matters, including estates, wills filed in an estate, guardianships, and conservatorships.
• Land and official records such as deeds, mortgages, construction liens, federal tax liens, lis pendens, and military discharges.
• Marriage records from 1874 to the present, held by the Circuit Clerk.

If you are tracking hearing dates and docket activity rather than the full file, the Perry County court dockets page explains how the calendar entries read.

What Perry County Court Records Show

A court record is more than a verdict. It is a running history of every filing, hearing, order, and cost, plus the parties and the case status. Circuit Court files in particular carry status flags that the Mississippi Electronic Courts CourtInfo pages define, so a docket can show whether a case is closed, on appeal, awaiting a plea, in custody, or flagged for a bench warrant. The Tenth Chancery district publishes its own court detail and flag list on the Tenth Chancery MEC CourtInfo page, which confirms the Perry County Chancery Court location and go-live date.

The land portal shows a different but equally detailed layout for each recorded instrument. The sample field inventory below comes from the public Perry County Official Records detail panel, so it reflects what a single deed or lien record actually displays.

Case files redact protected items. The portal privacy language describes removing Social Security numbers, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, and bank or card account numbers from images made available online.

Using MEC and PAMEC for Perry County Court Records

Electronic Circuit and Chancery cases do not open to anonymous browsing. A public viewer needs a Public Access to Mississippi Electronic Courts account, known as PAMEC, which is separate from the attorney and clerk filing credentials. Registration is free to set up through the PAMEC online registration page, and the account then lets you open dockets and the documents a court has marked public.

Once you have an account, you log in to the district that holds the case. Circuit cases route through the Twelfth Circuit system and Chancery cases through the Tenth Chancery system. The Tenth Chancery MEC login route is the gateway for Perry County equity files, and the same login model applies on the circuit side.

If a document is sealed, expunged, or otherwise restricted, the system returns a no-permission message even to a registered viewer. The help desk can confirm whether a file is restricted or simply not yet electronic. Reach Mississippi Electronic Courts at P.O. Box 117, Jackson, MS 39205, or call 601-576-4650 and email helpdesk@mec.ms.gov.

Public Access Laws for Perry County Court Records

Mississippi treats government records as open by default. Under the Mississippi Public Records Act, Miss. Code Ann. Section 25-61-1 et seq., public records are generally available for inspection unless a specific law exempts them, and the move to electronic systems is not supposed to erode reasonable access. The Mississippi Ethics Commission hosts the statute and guidance on its public records act page. Court files held by the Judiciary follow a separate framework set out in the Mississippi Judiciary public records policy.

In practice, you start with the office that keeps the record rather than a single statewide search. Circuit Court records begin with the Circuit Clerk or the Twelfth Circuit electronic system. Chancery records begin with the Chancery Clerk or the Tenth Chancery system. Land instruments are searched in the county DuProcess portal. The general standards for the electronic system, including the description of public online access through registration, appear on the MEC general information page.

Sealed and Confidential Perry County Court Records

Not every court file is open. Youth Court matters, including juvenile delinquency, abuse, neglect, and dependency cases, are confidential and are not searchable the way adult Circuit or Chancery cases are. Access is limited to authorized persons, agencies, or a court order under the Uniform Rules of Youth Court Practice and the MYCIDS access policy. Adoption records, sealed cases, and expunged records are also closed to ordinary public access. The electronic system flags these as Sealed or Expunged, and a viewer without standing receives a no-permission response.

Expungement is possible but narrow. The Circuit Clerk notes that people who complete non-adjudicated probation may petition the court for expungement, and some felony convictions may qualify when the statute is met. Eligibility turns on the offense type, the disposition, any waiting period, and prior record, so not every charge can be cleared. The general standard sits in Miss. Code Section 99-19-71, and confidentiality for child-related matters runs through Miss. Code Section 43-21-261.

To pursue a sealed file or an expungement, first identify the court of conviction or disposition. A felony Circuit case starts with the Circuit Clerk and the criminal case number, while a misdemeanor may sit in Justice or Municipal Court. The applicant files a petition or motion in the court where the matter was decided, confirms eligibility with counsel or the statute, pays any filing fee, notifies the prosecuting authority if required, attends a hearing if set, and keeps certified copies of the order. The full criminal case file and disposition are covered on the Perry County criminal court records page.

In-Person, Mail, and Phone Record Requests

When a record is not online, or you need a certified copy, the clerk's counter is the direct route. Both county clerks share the courthouse address in New Augusta, but they keep different records, so it pays to call the right office first. The Circuit Clerk handles Circuit Court files, fines, the judgment roll, and marriage records, while the Chancery Clerk handles equity cases, estates, and recorded land instruments. Mail requests go to P.O. Box 198 for either clerk, and the offices accept limited payment types, so confirm the form of payment before sending anything.

Phone is often the fastest first step. Call the Circuit Clerk at 601.964.3398 for criminal, civil, or marriage files, the Chancery Clerk at 601.964.8398 for divorce, estate, or land records, and the Mississippi Electronic Courts help desk at 601-576-4650 for online access questions. For Justice Court or municipal matters, the county's online court pages are thin, so contact the issuing court named on the citation or order. If a record is held by a public body but withheld, you can make a request under the Mississippi Public Records Act and ask which exemption applies.