Georgia Public Records: How to Perform a Georgia Public Records Search

Access to Georgia Public Records is a customary provision of the Georgia open records law, although availability may depend on the sensitivity of the record and the eligibility of the requester. 

These Georgia public records, many of which are discussed in this article, are mostly housed in print and online repositories managed by government agencies as well as on third-party websites. 

This article intends to point you in the right direction should you look to find public records in Georgia. 

Georgia Public Records: Criminal Records

A Georgia criminal record is a public record that mostly features the personal, arrest, and court-related information of convicted persons, among other things related to their criminal history in the state.

Some of this information includes the person's bio-data details, mugshots, fingerprints, charges, bail/bonds, dispositions, sentencing information, etc. 

You can find criminal records at the office of the sheriff as well as at the police department. There, you can get background data on persons who have been previously booked by law enforcement officers.

You may be able to access their booking logs or their database of offenders by providing the name or offender number of the offender. 

For the best results, you can perform an online background check via the Georgia criminal history record information (CHRI)—a statewide database of criminal records. 

Georgia Public Records: Court Records

Court records are a commonly requested type of public record in Georgia. 

As is most often the case, finding the court where your case was filed is usually the first step to finding your court record. 

And when you do, you can furnish the clerk of the court with sufficient case identifying information to pick out your files from the horde, whether it is available in print or electronic repositories.

Online-based requests are mostly processed at the E-Access Court Record portal through name-based and case number-based case record searches. 

You get to select the court of interest to you and then view their service charge and any requested documentation before going any further. At the very end, you should find your court record. 

Georgia Public Records Search: Vital Records

Georgia Vital records are public records in Georgia that are generally available for collection at the Georgia Department of Public Health through the office of Vital Records. 

Other places where you can find these Georgia public records(birth, death, marriage, and divorce records) are at the County Board of Health, and the Superior and Probate Courts, all at the county or municipal office. 

Below is a brief description of these vital records and how to order and collect them in the state of Georgia. 

Georgia Public Records Search: Marriage & Divorce Records

The Georgia Department of Public Health(DPH) is the agency that superintends over the management of Marriage records in Georgia, albeit for records of marriages that happened from June 1952 to August 1996. 

For marriage records filed before or after these dates, you'll be best served by visiting the County Probate Court responsible for issuing the license.

Requesters must present all the details and documents relevant to their application at the court in question. 

And while a certified marriage certificate copy will set you back by $10, an extra copy should cost you $5 more. 

The marriage record application form, along with the requested service fee and the requester's identification means can then be submitted to the following address.

State Office of Vital Records,
1680 Phoenix Boulevard, Suite 100,
​Atlanta, GA 30349

The price list featured above also applies to Divorce Records applications, with the office of the clerk in the county of divorce as the go-to for requesters. 

The application usually produces results after about 6 to 8 weeks, during which time the county staff search for the sought-after record, verifies the identity and eligibility of the requester, and processes the application. 

Applications can also be directed to the office of Vital Records. There, you can obtain the divorce records of a person if you know either or all of their name, divorce date, and case number. 

Georgia Public Records Search: Birth & Death Records

Birth and death records are both "Vital Records" available for collection at the "Vital Records" office of the state's Department of Public Health. 

On one hand, birth records bordering on births predating 1919 are domiciled at the vital records office in the county where the subject was born. 

On the other hand, births that took place after January 1919 are recorded in birth records kept in custody at the State's Vital records office.

Requesters have the option of ordering these birth records from online repositories, by mail, or through in-person applications. 

The latter two involve the requester submitting a record application form together with their photo ID and the appropriate service fee to the address:

State Office of Vital Records,
1680 Phoenix Boulevard, Suite 100,
​Atlanta, GA 30349

The availability of Death Records is not so much dependent on timelines as is the case of birth records. 

However, they can be obtained in a similar fashion to those involved in the collection of birth records at the Georgia Office of Vital Records via the DPH. 

This government agency responds to in-person and mailed requests for the collection of death records, mostly by immediate family members of the record holders, or their legal representative.