Access Smith County Chancery Clerk Records

About the Smith County Chancery Clerk's Office

Cindy Austin is the Smith County Chancery Clerk. Voters elect the clerk at large for a four-year term. The role is one of the busiest county offices. It assists the chancellor and the Chancery Court, supports the Board of Supervisors, and serves residents who file or pull records.

The office carries five jobs at once. The clerk is Clerk of the Chancery Court, Custodian of Public Land Records, Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, County Auditor, and County Treasurer. Each role touches a different stack of public records. Chancery Clerk records and Chancery Court sessions now sit in the new Chancery Building across from the Smith County Courthouse, not in the old courthouse itself.

What the Smith County Chancery Clerk Does

The clerk runs the paperwork side of the Chancery Court. That court hears equity cases. It covers divorce, child custody, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, land title disputes, and civil commitments. The clerk keeps the file behind every one of those cases.

The county lists a clear set of Chancery Court clerk duties. They shape how each case file is built and stored.

• Attend Chancery Court sessions and keep the court minutes
• Create and maintain a suit file for each Chancery Court case
• Issue process for service upon defendants
• Record court activity in the dockets and minute books
• Process civil commitments of mentally ill persons
• Summon jurors when a Chancery jury trial is granted
• Collect and account for filing fees on pleadings and appeals
• Send statistical data to the state court system and prepare records for appellate review

Jury trials are rare in this court. The Chancery Court usually decides cases without a jury. Juries sit only in limited matters, such as paternity cases and will contests, so most files reflect a chancellor's ruling rather than a verdict.

Smith County Land Records and Deeds

The Chancery Clerk is the custodian of public land records for Smith County. This is where deeds, mortgages, and liens become part of the public record. The office indexes every recorded instrument and binds copies into permanent books. A title search, a lien check, and a property history all begin here.

The clerk keeps several record sets and the indexes that point to them. Each one answers a different question about a piece of land.

• Deed books holding recorded deeds and transfers of title
• Deed of trust books for mortgages and other secured debt
• Sectional indexes that group records by land description
• Direct and reverse indexes that list records by grantor and grantee name
• Judgment dockets and UCC liens filed against real estate

Land records are open for public inspection from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the Chancery Clerk's Office. The office does not hand out blank legal forms. A deed, deed of trust, or release must be drafted and signed before it is brought in, and it must meet Mississippi recording requirements before the clerk can record and index it. Anyone unsure about format should confirm the rules with the office or a Mississippi attorney first.

The clerk also collects and accounts for the filing fees that must accompany a document left for recording. Property sold for unpaid taxes runs through this office too. The clerk keeps the record of land sold for taxes by the tax collector and accepts redemption payments from owners who pay to clear the debt and reclaim the parcel.

Note: a recorded copy is not the same as a certified copy, so ask for certification when the record is needed for a court filing or a closing.

Online Access to Smith County Chancery Records

Smith County does not run its own case-search website for Chancery files. The statewide route is Mississippi Electronic Courts, reached through the public access portal known as PAMEC. Smith County Chancery Court appears in the state electronic court directory, so registered users can view dockets and documents where remote access is allowed.

PAMEC is a registered system, not a free open search box. A user creates an account, pays an annual registration fee, and then pays a small per-page charge to view documents. You can register for public access through the Mississippi Judiciary portal. Sealed and sensitive cases stay off the remote system, so a courthouse or mail request is still the fallback for restricted files.

When remote access stops short, the office itself fills the gap. Call 601-782-9811, write to the Chancery Building, or visit the counter during posted hours.

Circuit Clerk vs Chancery Clerk in Smith County

Smith County splits clerk duties between two offices. Sending a request to the wrong one slows everything down. The split follows the kind of court that hears the case.

The marriage license itself is a Circuit Clerk task, but a divorce decree is a Chancery Clerk record. Details on both sit on the Smith County Circuit Clerk page. Probate, estate, and family files all route to the Chancery side.

How to Request a Certified Copy

A certified copy carries the clerk's seal and proves the record is genuine. Courts, banks, and title companies often demand one. A plain copy will not do for those uses. The steps below cover a land record or a Chancery Court file.

1. Identify the record. For a court file, note the cause or case number and party names. For a land record, note the book and page, the instrument type, and the date or names involved.
2. Reach the office. Call 601-782-9811, or visit the Chancery Building at 201 Courthouse Square during the posted land-records hours.
3. Ask for the copy cost and the certification fee. The clerk confirms the per-page price and adds the certification charge before the copy is made.
4. Pay by the accepted method. For a mailed request, send a check or money order payable to Smith County Chancery Clerk for the full amount.
5. Include a stamped, self-addressed envelope when you mail the request, and state clearly that you want the copy certified.
6. Pick up the certified copy at the counter, or wait for it to arrive by return mail.

Smith County Chancery Records Request Fields

The office does not post a fixed web form for copy requests. The county FAQ instead lists what a mailed request must contain. A request that reasonably identifies the record moves faster and avoids a second mailing.

Smith County Chancery Clerk Copy Fees

Copy costs for Chancery records are set per page. The county posts the public and staff rates plainly. The certification charge is added on top, and the county does not post that exact amount, so confirm it when you order.

Checks and money orders go to Smith County Chancery Clerk. The office does not accept a personal visit as a substitute for the proper payment package by mail. Bring exact details and the correct payment to keep a counter visit short.

Probate, Divorce, and Guardianship Records

The Chancery Court is the probate court in Mississippi. Smith County has no separate probate court. Estates with a will, estates without a will, guardianships, conservatorships, and minor settlements all open as Chancery cases. The clerk holds the suit file, the orders, and the final decree for each one.

Divorce is also a Chancery matter. The county FAQ tells residents to contact the Chancery Clerk for a copy of a divorce record. The state health department keeps only a divorce index, not the decree, so the certified decree comes from this office. Estate filing detail and the small-estate affidavit caution sit on the Chancery Court page.

Some files carry privacy limits. Guardianship, conservatorship, minor settlement, and sealed records may be closed or restricted, even when the case docket shows online. Public portions stay open, but a clerk may withhold protected pages. Ask the office which parts of a sensitive file can be released before you pay for copies.