About the Jefferson County Circuit Clerk
Arnell Harried serves as the Jefferson County Circuit Clerk. The office works out of the Jefferson County Courthouse at 1483 Main Street in Fayette, the county seat. Mississippi splits its court records between two clerks. The Circuit Clerk is the primary office for Circuit Court and county-court style filings, while the Chancery Clerk handles land, probate, and equity records. Chief Deputy Clerk Mrs. Jackie S. Jackson runs much of the daily counter work, with deputy clerks Shada Clark and Brenda Odems.
This is one of the busiest record offices in the county. It receives lawsuits, indictments, and motions, issues court process, and keeps the judgments a case leaves behind. It also runs services that have nothing to do with a lawsuit, such as marriage licenses and passports. The contact details below are the official ones published by the county.
Jefferson County Circuit Clerk
Clerk: Arnell Harried
P.O. Box 305, 1483 Main St.
Fayette, MS 39069
601-786-3422
Fax: 601-786-9676
circuitclerk@jeffersoncountyms.gov
Mon-Fri 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
What the Jefferson County Circuit Clerk Handles
The Circuit Clerk is the official record keeper for the 22nd Circuit Court and the county-court functions tied to it. Every felony case, major civil suit, appeal from a lower court, and jury matter leaves a file in this office. The clerk takes in the documents, stamps them, indexes them, and stores them for the public to inspect under state law. Court costs and certified-copy fees are collected here too.
Beyond the courtroom, the office carries several duties that touch most residents at some point. The county lists the core responsibilities of the Jefferson County Circuit Clerk as follows.
- Receive and file lawsuits, indictments, motions, and papers in civil and criminal cases in Circuit and County Courts
- Issue court process, including summonses and subpoenas
- Draw jurors and qualify juries for trial terms
- Keep the records of judgments and executions
- Issue marriage licenses and keep marriage records
- Record medical and professional licenses
- Issue passports, register voters, and handle election duties
That mix is wide. A person may visit the same counter to file a complaint one week and pick up a passport application the next.
How to Request a Certified Copy
A certified copy is a clerk-issued copy stamped as a true and exact record of the court. Courts, banks, employers, and other agencies often demand the certified version, not a plain printout. The Circuit Clerk produces certified copies of documents held in Circuit and County Court files, plus certified marriage records. The steps below keep the request moving.
- Identify the record. Gather the court level, the party names, the case number if you have it, and an approximate filing date. For a marriage record, bring both spouses' names and the year.
- Confirm the office. Call the Circuit Clerk to make sure the file is held there and not in Chancery Court or Justice Court, and ask the current copy fee for your document type.
- Submit the request. Visit the counter at 1483 Main Street, mail the request to P.O. Box 305, or send it by phone or email; state the document type and the number of copies you need.
- Pay the fee. A certified copy of any document on file with the Circuit Clerk is $2, while a marriage record search with a certified copy is $18 and each extra certified copy is $6.
- Receive the copy. Pick it up in person or wait for return mail, and enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope when you request copies by mail.
Note: A document that does not appear in any online system may still exist on paper, so ask the clerk before assuming a record is gone.
Jefferson County Circuit Clerk Request Form Fields
Jefferson County does not run a public case-search portal of its own, so many people use the county Public Records Request and Report form or a written letter. The clerk searches faster when the request spells out exactly what is needed. The county PDF is scanned, so exact labels vary, but the fields below cover what any clear request should carry.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Office or court holding the record | Yes | Circuit Clerk for circuit and county filings; Chancery Clerk for land or probate |
| Case number | No | Helpful, but the clerk can search by name when it is missing |
| Party names | Yes | Full names of the plaintiff and defendant, or both spouses for a marriage record |
| Record or document type | Yes | Complaint, judgment, marriage license, or certified copy |
| Date or year range | Recommended | Narrows older or non-digitized files |
| Number of copies | Yes | Each certified copy carries its own fee |
| Delivery method | Yes | In-person pickup or return mail |
| Requester contact information | Yes | Name, phone, and return address for follow-up |
The county links the official Public Records Request and Report form on its forms page for records that are not already at a clerk counter or in a state database.
Jefferson County Circuit Clerk Fees
The Circuit Clerk charges fees set by state law and county practice, and most are flat amounts. Filing fees cover new cases, while smaller fees cover copies, searches, and certified records. The schedule the county publishes is shown below. Criminal court costs vary by charge and bond, so the clerk quotes those by phone.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Advance court costs on original complaints or petitions | $161.00 |
| Civil appeals from lower courts | $161.00 |
| Criminal appeals from lower courts | $106.00 |
| Enrolling foreign judgments | $146.00 |
| Cases dismissed and later reinstated | $86.00 |
| Cases received on change of venue | $86.00 |
| Garnishments, judgment-debtor exam, renewal motion, executions | $35.00 |
| Enrolling judgments from other Mississippi courts | $5.00 |
| Cancellation of judgment | $1.00 |
| Records search and certified copy of marriage license | $18.00 |
| Each additional certified copy | $6.00 |
| Marriage license application | $37.00 |
| Certified copy under Acts of Congress | $25.00 |
| Certified copy of any document on file | $2.00 |
| Subpoena duces tecum post judgment | $1.00 |
| Foreign subpoenas | $2.00 |
| Docket survey per individual name | $10.00 |
| Filing or indexing licenses | $3.00 |
| Petition for expungement | Contact clerk |
The fee authority for a Mississippi circuit clerk runs through the state public-records framework and the statutory fee schedule at Miss. Code Ann. 25-7-13. Always confirm the current amount before you mail a payment.
Ways to Reach the Jefferson County Circuit Clerk
Because the county runs no full online case search, the Circuit Clerk counter and phone line are the real front door for records. Five channels work, and the right one depends on the record. In-person service is fastest for certified copies. Mail and phone work well for routine requests. The county Public Records Request form is the fallback when a record is not at a counter or in a state system.
The office sits inside the historic courthouse, which can be hard to find for first-time visitors driving rural highways. Help is available before you ever reach the clerk. The county E911 office in Fayette says it gives directions and county maps at no charge.
That mapping service is a practical aid for anyone driving to the courthouse to file a case or pick up a certified copy. Once inside the building, the Circuit Clerk counter is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mail goes to P.O. Box 305, the phone line is 601-786-3422, and email reaches the office at circuitclerk@jeffersoncountyms.gov.
E-Filing Through Mississippi Electronic Courts
Mississippi runs a statewide case-management and e-filing system called Mississippi Electronic Courts, or MEC. Electronic filing reached every Chancery, Circuit, and County Court in the state on July 2, 2025, which means Jefferson County Circuit Court filings now move through the same platform as the rest of Mississippi. Attorneys file through MEC credentials.
Members of the public who want to view filed documents use a separate account through Public Access to MEC, known as PAMEC. Viewers register online for a PAMEC login and may face per-page charges. Access can be blocked when a document is sealed, when the viewer is not an attorney of record, or when a notice-of-electronic-filing link has expired. The state MEC landing page explains the difference between the filer and viewer logins.
Note: MEC rules require filers to redact Social Security numbers, dates of birth, minor children's names, financial account numbers, and home addresses from public filings.
Marriage, Passport, and Voter Duties of the Circuit Clerk
The Jefferson County Circuit Clerk does far more than file lawsuits. The office issues marriage licenses for $37 and keeps the marriage records that follow, which is why couples and family-history researchers visit the same counter that handles felony files. A records search with a certified copy of a marriage license costs $18, with each additional certified copy at $6. Detailed marriage and divorce guidance lives on the Jefferson County marriage and divorce records page.
The clerk also processes passport applications. The county FAQ tells applicants to bring two passport photos, a sealed birth certificate, and a picture ID, and to expect roughly six weeks for delivery. On top of that, the office registers voters and carries election duties for the county. This election and registration work places the Circuit Clerk alongside the county's central administration.
County government in Jefferson County is led by the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors, the body that sets county policy and budgets.
The supervisors handle county administration, while the Circuit Clerk handles the court and election records tied to it. For a marriage license, the county also links the official marriage license application on its forms page.
Note: The county FAQ still lists a blood-test step for marriage licenses, but Mississippi dropped that requirement after 2012, so confirm current rules with the clerk before applying.
Federal Court Records Are Separate
Not every record tied to a Jefferson County resident lives with the Circuit Clerk. Federal cases follow a different path. Jefferson County falls inside the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Western Division, with court held at Natchez and filings handled through the Jackson clerk. Federal records are searched through PACER, not the county counter.
Bankruptcy is a good example of a record the Circuit Clerk does not keep. A bankruptcy case is filed with a federal clerk in an entirely separate court system.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Mississippi lists its own clerk offices and phone numbers, which sit outside the county system entirely. Knowing this split saves a wasted trip: state court papers belong to the Circuit Clerk or Chancery Clerk, while bankruptcy and other federal matters belong to the federal clerks.