Clarke County Clerk Records
The relevant primary clerk for Clarke County trial-court records is the Clerk of Superior and State Courts. Elisa Zarate is the current Clerk. The office serves as both Clerk of Superior Court and Clerk of State Court, so it keeps the official record of civil and criminal actions filed in those two courts. It also maintains court minutes, notary appointments, requested DD-214 filings from military service personnel, and land records.
The Clerk page is not the correct office for every courthouse record. Magistrate Court, Probate Court, Municipal Court, and Juvenile Court each have separate offices or record channels. That distinction matters for evictions, small claims, marriage licenses, probate estates, municipal traffic citations, and juvenile files. The Clerk of Superior and State Courts is still the central office for Superior Court felony, divorce, equity, title-to-land, and State Court case records.
Clerk of Superior and State Courts
Clerk: Elisa Zarate
325 East Washington Street, Suite 450
Athens, GA 30601
Mail: P.O. Box 1805, Athens, GA 30603
706-613-3190
Fax: 706-613-3189
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
The county Clerk contact page is the source for the office address, phone, fax, and hours.
Those details are the starting point for certified-copy and older-record requests.
Clarke County Clerk Duties
The Clerk keeps the official record for Superior and State Court civil and criminal actions. These records may include pleadings, docket entries, orders, judgments, sentencing documents, divorce decrees, land-title filings in court cases, and other documents accepted by the clerk. The Clerk also handles official minutes for the courts and requested filings of DD-214 forms.
- Superior Court civil, felony, divorce, equity, and title-to-land case records.
- State Court civil and criminal action records assigned to that court.
- Court minutes, notary appointments, and requested DD-214 filings.
- Land records, including links to GSCCCA and a local Land Records 1962-1988 page.
- Certified copies and counter help for records not available through the public portal.
Search Clarke County Clerk Records
The Clerk website has a navigation link labeled Case Search that points to the official WebCaseSearch portal for Superior and State Court records. Direct command-line inspection did not expose a stable internal field list, and the portal set public VIEW cookies during access. The research therefore treats it as the official public case-search portal, while noting that full field capture requires browser interaction.
The Clerk site also links to News, Court Calendars, Jury Info, Legal Notices and Orders, Forms, and Land Records 1962-1988. Those links matter because a user may need a calendar or order rather than a full copy of a filed pleading. Land-record research may also move between the Clerk site and GSCCCA resources, while court case research stays focused on Superior and State Court case files.
| Field or function | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case Search | Portal navigation | Official link from Clerk home page to WebCaseSearch. |
| Search fields inside portal | Unknown | Direct automated inspection did not render stable fields. |
| Buttons | Navigation/button | Case Search visible on the Clerk site; internal buttons not captured. |
| Login or registration | Public VIEW session appears | No paid login requirement was visible from the official home page. |
If the portal does not locate a case, call 706-613-3190 and use the Clerk phone menu. Criminal is press 2, Civil is press 3, Real Estate is press 4, and Jury Clerk is press 5. The jury message line is 706-613-3199.
Request Clarke County Certified Copies
Certified copies are used when a plain printout is not enough, such as a divorce decree, court order, judgment, or other official proof from the court file. The request should identify the case and the exact document because the Clerk handles both Superior Court and State Court records. The research did not locate a published Clerk copy fee, so requesters should confirm current charges before mailing payment.
- Identify the court, case number if known, party names, and document type, such as final decree, order, judgment, or sentence.
- Search the Clerk case portal first if the case number or filing date is unknown.
- Call the Clerk at 706-613-3190 to confirm copy, certification, and mailing fees before sending payment.
- Submit the request in person at Suite 450 or by mail to P.O. Box 1805, Athens, GA 30603.
- Include return mailing details and contact information so the office can resolve a missing fee or unclear case description.
Clarke County Request Fields
The Clerk research did not locate a single public copy-request form with a captured field list. The inventory below follows the Clerk access-channel notes and the locating details needed for Superior and State Court records. More detail reduces the risk of a missed file, especially for older or non-digitized records.
For mail requests, use the Clerk mailing address rather than the courthouse street address: P.O. Box 1805, Athens, GA 30603. A request should state whether the file is civil, criminal, divorce, real estate, notary, DD-214, or another record type. If the user is unsure, the phone menu helps route the question before fees are mailed.
| Request field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Recommended | Use if known; portal search may help locate it. |
| Party names | Yes | Include names used at the time of filing. |
| Court | Yes | Specify Superior Court or State Court when known. |
| Document type | Yes | Example: decree, order, judgment, sentence, complaint, or land record. |
| Copy type | Yes | State whether a plain copy or certified copy is needed. |
| Return address | Yes for mail | Include mailing address, phone, and any deadline. |
| Payment | Yes when due | Confirm current fees with the Clerk before mailing. |
Clarke County Clerk Fee Schedule
The research file found fee details for some related Clarke County court offices, but it did not locate an official Clerk of Superior and State Courts copy or certification fee schedule. A careful clerk page should not invent those amounts. The fee table below separates known official amounts from amounts that must be confirmed with the Clerk or the court that owns the file.
| Item | Amount or rule | Source note |
|---|---|---|
| Clerk Superior/State Court plain copy | Fee not located | Confirm with Clerk phone or counter. |
| Clerk Superior/State Court certified copy | Fee not located | Confirm before mailing payment. |
| Magistrate statement of claim | $104 effective 07/01/2026 | Magistrate Court fee table, not a Clerk fee. |
| Magistrate garnishment | $104 effective 07/01/2026 | Magistrate Court fee table, not a Clerk fee. |
| Magistrate dispossessory | $79 effective 07/01/2026 | Magistrate Court fee table, not a Clerk fee. |
| Magistrate warrant application | $40 | No fee for domestic violence or sex-crime warrant applications. |
| Probate card payments | Higher of 3.5% or $2.95 | Probate Court payment notice. |
Note: Related court fees help identify the right office, but they should not be treated as Clerk certified-copy fees.
Clarke County GSCCCA Profile
The Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority profile identifies Elisa Zarate as the Clarke County Clerk, states she was elected in 2023, identifies the courts managed as Superior and State, lists the legal organ as Athens Banner-Herald, and names Tiffany Treadway as Chief Deputy. GSCCCA is also part of the statewide clerk record ecosystem, especially for land records and clerk resources.
The official GSCCCA profile confirms the Clarke County clerk and court assignment.
That statewide profile supports the local distinction between Superior and State Court records and other court offices.
Limits of Clarke County Clerk Records
The Clerk of Superior and State Courts cannot replace the record offices for all lower or specialized courts. Magistrate Court has its own online status site and a mail records request process for Magistrate files. Probate Court has its own case search for estates, marriage licenses, guardianships, and related probate records. Municipal Court handles its own traffic, ordinance, DUI, shoplifting, small marijuana, underage alcohol, and domestic partnership records. Juvenile records are generally restricted and are not public in the same way as adult court files.
Georgia open-records law is a fallback for agency records, while court files also follow court-access rules. Uniform Superior Court Rule 21 says court records are public and available for inspection unless access is limited by law or court order. Sealed records, juvenile records, adoption files, restricted criminal-history records, and sensitive family details may not be available online or to the general public.
Older or non-digitized records may require counter help even when a modern case-search portal exists. The same is true when a case number is wrong, a party changed names, or a record belongs to State Court rather than Superior Court. If the record is from Magistrate Court, Probate Court, or Municipal Court, the Clerk's office can be the wrong place even when the courthouse address is the same.