Chatham County Court Clerks

How Chatham County Court Clerks Are Split

Georgia does not use a single Texas-style "District Clerk" for trial court records. Chatham County uses one clerk per trial court. The Clerk of Superior Court handles Superior Court records, real estate, civil and criminal Superior Court filings, notary commissions, and passports. The other courts have their own clerks or court administrators housed across the Coleman and Gadsden courthouse complex in downtown Savannah. Some clerks sit in Coleman at 133 Montgomery Street; others sit in Gadsden at 400 W. Oglethorpe Avenue.

The split matters for requests. A divorce record sits with the Superior Clerk. A misdemeanor case sits with the State Court Clerk. A small claim or dispossessory sits with the Magistrate Court Clerk. A will or marriage license sits with the Probate Court Clerk. A juvenile matter sits with the Juvenile Court Clerk. A Savannah traffic ticket sits with the Recorder's Court Clerk. Picking the right office at the start saves a wasted trip or a returned mail packet.

Chatham County State Court Clerk

The State Court Clerk sits in the Eugene H. Gadsden Courthouse on the first floor. State Court civil filings must be filed electronically through eFile Georgia. Case number, judge assignment, and service status are available through Case Lookup, by written request with $1.00 per page for simple copies and a self-addressed stamped envelope, or by the citizens' access terminals in the entrance of the Clerk's office at Gadsden Suite 127. Defendants who need to update address information must file the change with the Clerk.

For a full walkthrough of State Court cases and the misdemeanor pipeline, see the Chatham County State Court page.

Chatham County Magistrate Court Clerk

The Magistrate Court Clerk sits in the Frank S. Coleman Courthouse, Room 303. The Magistrate Court hears civil claims of $15,000 or less, dispossessory warrants, garnishments, warrant applications, and preliminary criminal matters under O.C.G.A. 15-10-2. The Magistrate forms page posts the standing order on private process service, effective August 1, 2024, under O.C.G.A. 15-10-43(b).

The Magistrate window handles statements of claim, default writ requests, eviction requests, FIFA, and post-judgment interrogatories. See the Chatham County Magistrate Court page for the full filing and search walkthrough.

Chatham County Probate Court Clerk

The Probate Court Clerk sits in the Coleman Courthouse, Room 509. Probate handles wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, marriage licenses, weapons carry licenses, and certain mental-health filings under Article 6 jurisdiction. Research requests come in by mail with payment or by appointment, and the Record Room has its own scheduling calendar linked from the Probate site.

Probate also runs public records and marriage applications through Georgia Probate Records. See the Chatham County Probate Court page for fees, forms, and the marriage license workflow.

Chatham County Juvenile Court Clerk

The Juvenile Court Clerk sits at the dedicated Juvenile Court building on Carl Griffin Drive, separate from the downtown courthouse complex. The court hears delinquency cases for children under 17 and CHINS or dependency cases for children under 18. Records are governed by O.C.G.A. 15-11-700 through 15-11-710 and are not treated like ordinary adult case files.

Access to juvenile case files is limited. Direct any case inquiry to the Juvenile Court Clerk or to counsel rather than relying on a public online lookup.

Chatham County Recorder's Court Clerk

The Recorder's Court Clerk sits in the Coleman Courthouse, Room 308, and the Recorder's Court courtroom is on the first floor at the same address. Recorder's Court handles City of Savannah and Chatham County traffic and ordinance cases plus preliminary criminal matters. Online payments run through the Municipal Online Payments portal.

For citation lookup and the failure-to-appear rules, see the Chatham County Recorder's Court page.

Chatham County Clerk Fee Comparison

Each clerk follows its own fee schedule under Georgia law. The table below lists the most-used items so the public can compare across courts before sending a request. Superior Court fees come from O.C.G.A. 15-6-77; Probate fees come from the Probate fee chart; State Court copy fees come from the record request form.

Magistrate Court keeps its own civil suit, dispossessory, warrant application, garnishment, FIFA, and subpoena fees on a separate schedule.

How to Request Chatham County Court Records

Records requests have a basic flow that holds across all five clerks profiled here. The Superior path is covered on the Clerk of Superior Court page, while the steps below cover the State, Magistrate, Probate, Juvenile, and Recorder's pipelines.

1. Pick the right court by matter type using the splits above, then open that court's page on the Chatham Court System site.
2. Search the case first through re:Search Georgia or the court's own portal so the request lists a case number.
3. Confirm the fee on the fee comparison table above or the court's fee page, then prepare the right payment form for that clerk.
4. Use the court's preferred channel: written form with SASE for State Court; in-person window for Magistrate; mail or Record Room appointment for Probate; in-office or counsel contact for Juvenile; payment portal or in-person window for Recorder's.
5. Track the response. For mailed requests, allow staff time; for online portals, save the receipt and certified PDF.