Access Houston County Clerk Records

Houston County Superior Court Clerk

The primary court-record clerk for broad trial-court records in Houston County is the Houston County Superior Court Clerk. The official page names Terri L. Childers as Superior Court Clerk and lists the office at 201 N. Perry Parkway, Perry, GA 31069. The office is open 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, and passport application service hours are 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM Monday through Friday.

Phone numbers are divided by work area. Main and real estate questions go to (478) 218-4720. Criminal records questions go to (478) 218-4730. Civil records questions go to (478) 218-4740. The Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority profile also lists Terri L. Childers as Clerk of Superior Court, year elected 2025, county code 76, courts managed as Superior, legal organ as Houston Home Journal, chief deputy as Joby Collins, and county population as 178,214.

The Superior Court Clerk page is the county source for the clerk contact block and office hours: Houston County Superior Court Clerk.

Those division phone numbers are the safest fallback when an online Houston County clerk record search does not return the needed document.

Houston County Clerk Duties

The Superior Court Clerk is the main clerk for Superior Court records. In Houston County, Superior Court handles felony matters, divorce, title-to-land cases, equity cases, and broad civil jurisdiction. The clerk receives and maintains filings tied to those Superior Court matters and supports access to copies through the civil, criminal, and real estate divisions.

• Maintain Superior Court civil case records and copy requests.
• Maintain Superior Court criminal case records and criminal copy requests.
• Handle real estate record functions and the main clerk line.
• Support certified or exemplified copy requests where the record is held by the clerk.
• Route record seekers to the correct division when a request belongs to State Court, Probate Court, Magistrate Court, or sheriff records.

The Houston County Superior Court page shows the judge offices and Superior Court structure that feed many clerk records: Houston County Superior Court judges.

Judge offices and clerk records are separate functions, but both are part of the Houston County Superior Court system.

Houston County Split Clerk Records

Houston County does not use one clerk for every court record. The State Court Clerk maintains State Court records for traffic offenses, misdemeanors, and certain civil actions, and receives and disburses State Court money. State Court is also at 201 Perry Parkway in Perry, and the State Court Clerk phone number is (478) 218-4970.

The State Court civil division page gives the separate State Court fee and copy rules: Houston County State Court civil division.

That split matters because a State Court traffic or misdemeanor record should not be requested from the Superior Court civil division.

Request Houston County Certified Copies

Certified copies are used when an agency, court, employer, title company, or other official recipient needs proof that a copy matches the clerk's record. The best first step is to identify the court and record type before calling or visiting. A divorce decree, felony disposition, civil judgment, and real estate instrument may all route through the Superior Court Clerk, but a traffic case or misdemeanor may route to State Court.

1. Search Benchmark, Cott, or personal records for the case number, party names, filing date, and court type.
2. Decide whether the record is Superior Court, State Court, Probate Court, Magistrate Court, or sheriff records.
3. Call the correct division before mailing payment: Superior main and real estate, Superior criminal, Superior civil, State Court Clerk, or Probate Court.
4. State the document name, number of plain or certified copies, and whether exemplification is needed.
5. Pay the quoted fee and ask whether pickup, mail, or electronic access is available for that document.

Houston County Request Fields

The research did not identify one universal clerk request form for every Houston County record. A complete written request should still give enough facts for staff to find the file and price the copies.

For online lookup before a copy request, the Benchmark portal can search by all fields, name, Soundex name, case number, citation number, citation vehicle tag number, SAO case number, arresting case number, warrant number, driver license number, date-opened range, date-closed range, birth year, court type, case type, party type, division, and statutes or charges. A reCAPTCHA may appear before submission.

Houston County Clerk Fees

Houston County research provided detailed State Court civil copy and filing fees. Superior Court copy fees were not separately captured, so users should call the relevant Superior Court Clerk division for Superior-specific pricing. The State Court fee schedule is still important because many Houston County traffic, misdemeanor, and civil requests belong there rather than with the Superior Court Clerk.

Note: State Court checks for filing cost plus local sheriff service should be payable to Clerk, State Court.

Magistrate Court has its own fee schedule effective July 1, 2024. The research lists $39.00 for an abandoned motor vehicle filing, $59.00 for a civil suit without service, $109.00 for a civil suit with service, $109.00 for a dispossessory warrant, $115.00 for garnishment, and $109.00 for personal property foreclosure. Additional defendants can add $50.00 each, depending on the filing type. Magistrate accepts exact cash, business check, money order, or certified check.

Houston County Clerk E-Filing

Houston Superior Court and State Court now use Benchmark e-filing as the companion to the county's consolidated case-management system. The county notice says PeachCourt is no longer available for Houston Superior or State Court e-filing after the 2025 transition. All criminal documents, including State Court traffic, and civil documents are submitted electronically through Benchmark e-filing unless an exception applies.

Incarcerated defendants and pro se defendants who lack computer access may file paper documents. Magistrate Court is not participating in this e-file change, and Magistrate filing procedures did not change under the county notice. For online lookup of existing cases, use the Benchmark public search. For land and real estate records, use the county's Cott-hosted Superior Court and real estate search channel.

Older or unavailable digital records should be handled through the office that created the file. Superior Court records route to the Superior Court Clerk division lines. State Court records route to the State Court Clerk or Benchmark. Probate, marriage, guardianship, and estate records route to Probate Court. Sheriff reports, warrant records, and criminal-history services route to Sheriff's Records. That fallback chain is the safest way to avoid sending payment or a request to the wrong Houston County office.

For mailed requests, confirm the payee, total fee, and return envelope requirement with the office first. The State Court civil page gives payee instructions for State Court checks, while Probate Court and Superior Court requests may use different handling based on the record type.

When the record is urgent, call before visiting so staff can confirm the file location, copy status, and whether certification is available the same day.