How to Search Covington County Court Records
Covington County does not run one countywide case database. Access is split by court level, so the first step is always to match the record to the office that keeps it. Felony and civil jury files sit with the Circuit Court. Family, estate, and land matters sit with the Chancery Court. Tickets and small cases route to Justice Court or a city court. Once you know the court, you can pick the right search channel.
The statewide tool is Mississippi Electronic Courts, viewed by the public through PAMEC. The state judiciary says electronic filing is now live in all circuit, chancery, and county courts. Public users register for an account, pay an annual fee, and pay a small per-page charge to view documents. Some sensitive case types are not available remotely. For records that are not online, you call or visit the clerk who holds the file.
- Identify the court and clerk that handle your case type before you search anything.
- Register for a public account through the PAMEC registration site to view eligible Circuit, Chancery, and County Court filings.
- Use the Covington County Chancery Records Online portal for land records and board minutes, not for criminal or civil case files.
- Call the Circuit Clerk, Chancery Clerk, Justice Court, or the right city court when a record is not posted online.
- Ask the clerk what a plain or certified copy costs and how to submit a written records request.
The official county website is the cleanest starting point for office contacts. The Covington County homepage lists the main county address and phone and links each department. The screenshot below shows that landing page, which ties the courts, clerks, and sheriff together in one place.
From that homepage you can reach the Circuit Clerk, Chancery Clerk, sheriff, and courts pages in a click or two. Bookmark it, because it stays current better than third-party sites. Note: confirm a record is not sealed or restricted before you assume it will appear in a public Covington County court records search.
The Covington County Judicial System
Mississippi splits trial work between two main courts, and Covington County uses both. The Circuit Court is the felony and jury-trial court. The Chancery Court is the equity court for divorce, custody, estates, guardianships, and land disputes. Below them, Justice Court handles small civil claims, county traffic tickets, DUIs, and felony first appearances. Municipal courts in Collins and Mount Olive handle city cases. Youth Court hears juvenile matters under confidential rules.
Covington County sits in the Thirteenth Circuit Court District, with Jasper, Simpson, and Smith counties. It also sits in the Thirteenth Chancery Court District, grouped with Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Simpson, and Smith counties. Appeals leave the trial courts and move to the Mississippi Court of Appeals and the Mississippi Supreme Court. The county courts page lists each court, its judges, and its contact details.
That page is the quickest way to confirm which judge sits where and which clerk to call. It groups Chancery, Circuit, Justice, and Youth Court contacts together.
Case flow: Justice Court › Circuit Court › Mississippi Court of Appeals › Mississippi Supreme Court
| Court | Jurisdiction | Case Types |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court (13th District) | Felony and general civil jury trials | Felonies, civil suits, lower-court appeals |
| Chancery Court (13th District) | Equity and family matters | Divorce, custody, estates, guardianship, land title |
| Justice Court | Local lower court | Small claims, county traffic, DUI, ordinances, first appearances |
| Municipal Court | City ordinance and traffic | City misdemeanors and city traffic in Collins and Mount Olive |
| Youth Court | Juvenile, confidential | Delinquency, neglect, children in need of supervision |
Circuit Clerk and Chancery Clerk Roles in Covington County
Covington County uses a split clerk system, and many people send requests to the wrong office. Two separate elected clerks hold two separate sets of records. The Circuit Clerk is Melissa Duckworth. The Chancery Clerk is Guy Easterling. Matching your record to the correct clerk saves days of delay and avoids paying for copies the office cannot produce.
The Circuit Clerk serves as Clerk of the Circuit and County Courts. The office files lawsuits, indictments, and motions, issues summonses and subpoenas, draws and qualifies juries, records judgments, registers voters, issues marriage licenses, and keeps marriage records. The Circuit Clerk page lists the mailing address, phone, fax, and email for those requests.
Call the Circuit Clerk for Circuit Court case files, judgments, jury questions, and marriage records. Felony charges that move forward become Circuit Court records once an indictment is filed.
The Chancery Clerk handles a wider mix of duties. The office records deeds, mortgages, liens, lis pendens notices, and military discharges. It keeps the Board of Supervisors minutes, serves as county Treasurer, and acts as Clerk of Chancery Court for estates, divorces, custody, adoption, guardianship, and conservatorship cases. The Chancery Clerk page sets out those duties and the office contact block.
Call the Chancery Clerk for divorce, probate, guardianship, land records, and board minutes. The two clerk pages together cover almost every county record path a resident needs.
Types of Court Records Available in Covington County
Court records in Covington County cover many case types, and each type lives in a specific court. Some files are fully public. Others are limited because of family privacy, juvenile law, or sealing orders. Knowing the category helps you find the file and judge whether it will be open.
The list below maps the main record types to the courts that produce them. Use it to route a request before you call.
- Criminal Circuit Court records cover felony indictments, pleas, verdicts, and sentencing in the full criminal case file.
- Civil Circuit Court records hold complaints, answers, motions, judgments, and executions.
- Chancery and family records include divorce, custody, alimony, and adoption, with strong access limits on sensitive files.
- Probate and estate records are Chancery matters covering wills, letters, inventories, and final decrees.
- Traffic court records sit in Justice Court or city court depending on who wrote the ticket.
- Land and board records include deeds, mortgages, liens, and Board of Supervisors minutes at the Chancery Clerk.
The Chancery Records Online landing page shows where the land-record index and board minutes live. Its disclaimer makes clear that the online index is a convenience copy, not the official courthouse index.
That portal is one of the county's strongest online tools. It does not, however, replace a clerk call for criminal, civil, or family case files.
Public Access Laws for Covington County Court Records
Mississippi treats most government records as open unless a statute makes them exempt. The Public Records Act sets the rules for inspecting and copying records, the deadlines an office must meet, and the fees it may charge. Court rules add their own privacy limits for sensitive case types. In practice, the first question is always which public body holds the record, then whether any exemption applies.
The key statutes are reprinted by the Mississippi Ethics Commission. Each one below carries a plain-English summary so you know what to expect before you file a request.
Key Statutes:
Miss. Code § 25-61-1 - Public records are open for inspection unless a statute or court rule makes them exempt or confidential.
Miss. Code § 25-61-5 - Any person may inspect or copy records, with access generally within one working day and production or denial within seven working days.
Miss. Code § 25-61-7 - Offices may charge fees set to recover the actual cost of search, copying, redaction, and mailing, and may ask for payment in advance.
Miss. Code § 25-61-12 - Certain personal data of officers and judges is exempt, and investigative reports may be withheld, but incident reports stay public.
These rules apply to county clerks, the sheriff, and city courts alike. When a file holds protected data, the office should redact the exempt parts and release the rest. Note: a written request that names the exact record, dates, and parties is processed faster than a broad one.
What Covington County Court Records Show
A court record is more than a name and a charge. It is a running history of a case, built from filings, hearings, and orders. The exact fields differ by court and by access channel, but most records share a common core. Reading those fields correctly tells you whether a case is open, closed, or still moving.
A typical Covington County case record may include the items below. Electronic documents viewed through MEC carry a small per-page charge for the public.
- Case number and the court that opened the file.
- Filing date for the complaint, indictment, petition, or charge.
- Party names such as plaintiff and defendant or petitioner and respondent.
- Judge and attorneys of record, including the prosecutor when shown.
- Docket entries listing motions, orders, hearings, and continuances.
- Disposition and judgment showing the outcome and any sentence or decree.
A disposition is the final result, such as dismissed, guilty, or judgment entered. A docket is the dated list of every event in the case. Reading both together gives the full picture of a Covington County court record.
Restricted and Confidential Covington County Records
Not every Covington County record is open to the public. State law and court rules close several categories to protect children, victims, and personal data. Youth Court files are confidential and limited to court staff, parties, attorneys, and authorized agencies. Adoption files are generally sealed. Mental health commitment files hold medical detail and are treated as restricted. Sealed and expunged records drop out of public view by court order.
People sometimes need to view or reopen a restricted file. To start, gather the exact arrest, charge, court, and disposition. For a Circuit Court felony record, call the Circuit Clerk. For a Justice Court matter, call Justice Court first, and check Circuit Court if the case was indicted. A petition normally must be filed in the court that holds the record, and the judge decides whether the law allows access or expunction. An expunged case may vanish from public search yet still be visible to agencies the law allows.
Searching Covington County Land Records and Board Minutes
Covington County has a stronger online presence for land and board records than for case files. The Chancery Clerk offers two web tools. One is the official land-record index. The other is a searchable archive of Board of Supervisors minutes. Both are free to search, and both carry a disclaimer that the courthouse index remains the official record.
The land-record search application lets you look up deeds, mortgages, and liens by index. It loads as a single-page app, so give it a moment to open. The screenshot below shows that interface.
Land records matter for estate, title, and lien research, and they often connect to Chancery Court cases. For meeting records, the Board Minutes search is unusually detailed. You can filter by date range, book and page, keyword, or minute-line text, then open a meeting to view its line items and PDFs.
The fields below come from that Board Minutes form. Use them to narrow a search before you run it.
| Field | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Date range | Radio | Last 12 months, last 2 years, or all meetings |
| Begin Date / End Date | Date text | Optional custom range |
| Official Book / Page | Text | Search a known book and page |
| Keyword Search | Text | Searches item description or document text |
| Minute Line | Text | Searches a minute-line description |
Note: the keyword field and the minute-line field cannot run at the same time, so choose one search method per query.
Covington County Sheriff and Jail Information
Sheriff Darrell M. Perkins leads the Covington County Sheriff's Office, which also runs the county jail. The sheriff is elected at large, keeps the peace in the county, serves as county jailer, and keeps a jail docket. The office handles bookings and current custody for people held locally. The sheriff page lists the office address, phone, and fax.
No official online jail roster or active-warrant search appears on the current county site. To confirm a booking, bond, or court date, call the sheriff and give a full name and date of birth. For people sent to state prison, use the MDOC inmate search, which covers sentenced state prisoners and parolees rather than the county jail.
Because the county does not post a roster, the full custody and warrant picture comes from several places. The Covington County inmate records page walks through the call-the-sheriff and MDOC steps in detail. For active warrants, the warrant records page covers the sheriff, Justice Court, and city-court channels you must check by phone.
Covington County Criminal Cases From Arrest to Circuit Court
A felony case in Covington County moves through more than one court. The path starts with an arrest and booking at the county jail. Justice Court then handles the first appearance and the charging affidavit. Justice Court judges hold sessions at the jail three times each week so that each person gets an initial appearance within three days of arrest. If the case proceeds, the District Attorney presents it to the grand jury, and the full felony file opens in Circuit Court.
That layered path explains why one case can have records in three offices. Booking detail sits with the sheriff. First-appearance and bond detail sit with Justice Court. The indictment, pleas, and sentence sit with the Circuit Clerk.
- Arrest and booking at the Covington County jail.
- Initial appearance and affidavit in Justice Court within three days.
- Grand jury review and indictment by the District Attorney.
- Arraignment, pleas, and motions in Circuit Court.
- Trial or plea, then disposition and sentencing.
Understanding this flow tells you which clerk to call at each stage. A pending charge may not yet exist as a Circuit Court file even though an arrest has happened.
Marriage, Divorce, and Chancery Court Records
Marriage and divorce records sit in different offices, which trips up many searches. The Circuit Clerk issues marriage licenses and keeps marriage records. The Chancery Court hears divorce, alimony, custody, and property division, so divorce files belong to the Chancery Clerk. The Mississippi State Department of Health also keeps marriage records and can search for the county that issued a license. For details on each path, see the marriage and divorce records page.
Probate work is Chancery Court work in Mississippi. Estates, wills, guardianships, and conservatorships all run through the Chancery Clerk. The Chancery Court records page covers estate filing and search steps. These terms come up often in family and estate files.
- Testator
- A person who makes a valid will.
- Executor
- The person named in a will to manage and close the estate.
- Intestate
- Dying without a valid will, so state law sets the heirs.
- Guardianship
- Court authority over a minor or an incapacitated person.
- Conservator
- A person the court names to manage another person's finances.
Municipal Courts in Collins and Mount Olive
City tickets and city misdemeanors do not go to the county courts. They belong to the municipal court in the city that issued the citation. Covington County has two main city courts. Collins Municipal Court serves the county seat, and Mount Olive runs its court through town hall. Neither posts an online case search, so you call the court named on your ticket.
The Collins Municipal Court page lists the physical and mailing addresses, phone, fax, and weekday office hours, plus the clerk and city prosecutor. The screenshot below shows that contact block.
Call Collins for city ordinance, misdemeanor, and city traffic cases inside Collins. For the smaller town court, the Mount Olive court page routes through city hall and lists the address, phone, fax, and office hours.
Mount Olive city hall is the contact point for that town's municipal matters. Note: county and highway-patrol tickets go to Justice Court, while city tickets stay with the city that wrote them.
Covington County Court Records Fees
Fees in Covington County come from two sources. The statewide electronic court system has published public fees. Local clerk copy fees, marriage-license fees, and probate filing fees are not posted online, so you confirm those by phone. The table below shows what is documented and what to ask about. Mississippi law lets offices charge the actual cost of search, copying, and mailing.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| MEC public registration | $10 per year |
| MEC document viewing | 20 cents per page |
| Clerk plain copy per page | Call to confirm |
| Certified copy | Call to confirm |
| Marriage license | Call to confirm |
| Probate filing | Call to confirm |
Because the county does not publish a clerk fee schedule, call the Circuit Clerk for Circuit Court copies and marriage records, and the Chancery Clerk for probate, divorce, and land records, before you mail a request or arrive for certified copies.
Courthouse Location and Contact Information
Covington County court business centers on the courthouse in Collins. The same building serves both the Circuit Court and the Chancery Court, while the sheriff and jail sit at a separate Main Street address. The county also lists a general government contact address on South Elm Avenue. Expect separate counters and staff for Circuit Clerk, Chancery Clerk, Justice Court, and sheriff matters, and confirm hours before you travel.
Covington County Courthouse
101 South Dogwood Avenue
Collins, MS 39428
Circuit Clerk 601-765-6506
Chancery Clerk 601-765-4242
Justice Court
PO Box 665
Collins, MS 39428
601-765-6581
Clerk Cassity Booker
Sheriff and Jail
1107 Main Street
Collins, MS 39428
601-765-8281
Sheriff Darrell M. Perkins
History of Covington County Courts
Covington County was established on January 5, 1819, less than two years after Mississippi became a state. It was carved from the eastern lands once held by Lawrence and Wayne counties. In 1823 part of the county briefly became Bainbridge County, named for naval hero William Bainbridge, but the legislature abolished Bainbridge in 1824 and returned the land to Covington. Collins has long served as the county seat and the home of its courts.
The present Covington County Courthouse was built in 1907. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History calls it a well-maintained Classical Revival courthouse and the principal architectural landmark of the county. It is the only notable Classical Revival example in Collins. The building is not just an office address, but a recognized historic public building that has anchored the county's court records for more than a century. Note: the courthouse holds both Circuit and Chancery functions, so the same address serves two very different sets of records.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there one website for all Covington County court records?
No. Covington County does not run a single countywide case database. Eligible Circuit, Chancery, and County Court filings are viewed through the statewide MEC system using a paid public account. Land records and board minutes have their own Chancery Clerk portals. Justice Court and city-court records are not online, so you call the clerk who holds the file.
Which clerk do I call for my record?
It depends on the case type. Call the Circuit Clerk for Circuit Court case files, judgments, jury matters, and marriage records. Call the Chancery Clerk for divorce, probate, guardianship, land records, and board minutes. County and highway-patrol tickets go to Justice Court, and city tickets go to the city court that issued them.
How do I find someone in the Covington County jail?
The county does not post an online jail roster. Call the sheriff at 601-765-8281 with a full name and date of birth to confirm custody, bond, or a court date. For sentenced state prisoners, use the MDOC inmate search. Justice Court holds jail sessions three times a week for first appearances.
What does it cost to view court records?
Public MEC users pay a $10 annual registration fee and 20 cents per page to view documents. Local clerk copy fees, certified-copy fees, marriage-license fees, and probate filing fees are not posted online. Call the Circuit Clerk or Chancery Clerk to confirm those amounts before mailing a request.
Are all Covington County court records public?
Most are open under the Mississippi Public Records Act, but several categories are closed. Youth Court, adoption, mental health commitment, sealed, and expunged records are restricted. When a file holds protected data, the office redacts the exempt parts and releases the rest. Some sensitive family case types are not available remotely through MEC.
Where do I get a marriage license or divorce record?
The Circuit Clerk issues marriage licenses and keeps marriage records. Divorce cases are Chancery Court matters, so divorce files belong to the Chancery Clerk. The Mississippi State Department of Health can also order marriage records and search for the issuing county. Confirm current fees and ID rules with the Circuit Clerk before you visit.