Forrest County, Mississippi Public Records

Investigations closed

152

Back wages agreed

$1,108,967

Workers due back wages

2,733

Civil money penalties

$242,092

Employers on the record

116

The 25 employers with the most back wages agreed, of 116 on the Forrest County record; 32 employers have a page of their own and open from the table, the rest show their whole record here. The 91 more with smaller records are on the Mississippi wage theft records page, whose search answers for every employer in the state.

Forrest County land books, court files and property-account research

Start Forrest research by naming the Chancery function

Forrest County's Chancery Clerk acts as court clerk, recorder, clerk to the Board of Supervisors, county treasurer and auditor. Those functions produce different collections. Specify whether the request concerns a land instrument, a Chancery case, a board action or a county financial record. The office describes maintaining land indexes, case files, court minutes and financial accounts. A search involving the same person or property may touch several collections, so keep each reference attached to the office function that created it. Forrest Chancery responsibilities.

The Chancery office lists 641 Main Street, Hattiesburg, MS 39401. Its court department numbers are 601-545-6040 and 601-545-6041; recording and child-support contacts are 601-545-6015 and 601-545-6014. Land-record and prior-year-tax contacts are 601-545-6046 and 601-545-6047. Use these service-specific contacts when clarifying a request. A countywide switchboard number may identify the department, but the direct line can help distinguish a stored land document from a Chancery case filing. forrestcountyms.us

Trace Forrest land instruments through their recorded references

The Chancery Clerk maintains sectional and direct/reverse land indexes and the volumes containing deeds, deeds of trust and other filed instruments. Begin with the party name, approximate recording period and any book-and-page reference already known. When a later instrument cites an earlier one, retain that citation for the next request. A tax parcel record can help identify the location, but it should not replace the recorded document when the question concerns a conveyance, lien or recorded release. forrestcountyms.us

For a copy request, explain whether the full instrument, an attached exhibit or certification is needed. A land record can refer to a survey or legal description located elsewhere in the recorded collection. Compare the page sequence and referenced attachments with the document being supplied so the intended item is clear. The recorder's preservation role establishes where to request the filed material; an individualized conclusion about ownership may require examination of additional instruments and court records. forrestcountyms.us

Read Forrest recording prices as grouped document charges

The recording schedule currently linked by Chancery is labeled effective January 1, 2020. It lists ordinary deeds and other named instruments as a first-five-pages group: $26 for an archive-fee county, with $1 for each page beyond five. The sheet identifies the counties not collecting the archive fee, and Forrest is not in that exception list. The grouped starting charge is not a first-page-only price. Different instrument classes, references and mineral filings have their own entries, so identify the proposed filing before requesting its total. Chancery linked recording schedule.

For furnishing copies, the same sheet distinguishes work performed by the clerk or employee at $0.50 per page from copying by another person at $0.25 per page. It separately lists certified copies at $1 per complete document. Ask the Chancery office how the certification entry combines with the requested copying service before sending payment. A fee printed next to certification should not be assumed to cover every page of an arbitrarily long instrument without confirming the product being supplied. forrestcountyms.us

Distinguish Forrest Chancery, Circuit and Justice files

The county's court directory places divorces, estates, guardianships, land disputes and the other listed equity matters with Chancery. Its Circuit Court description identifies felony trials, civil lawsuits and the Circuit Clerk's docket, pleas, indictments, appellate records and filed papers. Identify the court on the original notice or order before requesting a copy. A divorce decree held in a case file is a different document from a vital-record divorce certificate or a marriage record. Forrest court responsibilities.

Forrest's Circuit Clerk is listed at 630 Main Street, Hattiesburg, MS 39401, telephone 601-582-3213. Justice Court is listed at 700 Main Street, telephone 601-544-3136. The County/Youth Court contact is at 110 Alcorn Avenue, telephone 601-545-6100. Give the court name and case number when known. Where a matter moved from a lower court to another court, ask which file contains the disposition needed instead of assuming the earliest charge entry is the final outcome. forrestcountyms.us

Describe the Forrest order or filing rather than the whole event

A court request is more useful when it identifies the specific paper: the decree, judgment, dismissal, indictment, recorded will or another dated entry. The Circuit Clerk's published duties include retaining papers and references to the minute book, while the Chancery Clerk describes maintaining case files, dockets and court activity records. Preserve the case number and document date from any initial search. If certification is necessary, state that before requesting the copy so the office can distinguish the intended official product from information supplied for research. forrestcountyms.us

Check the Forrest ownership-update cycle before judging a map

The Tax Assessor maintains ownership maps and property values and directs the public to the linked mapping service for ownership information, aerial views, legal descriptions and boundaries. Its explanation says changes from newly recorded deeds can take up to a year to appear because the current land roll is built from the prior year's deeds. An older owner name on the assessment map therefore needs to be compared with the recording date. Retain the deed's book and page and ask the Assessor about the update status. Forrest tax and mapping offices.

The Assessor is at 601 N. Main Street, Hattiesburg, telephone 601-545-6130. The Tax Collector uses the same Tax Services Building and lists 601-582-8228. Valuation and assessment documentation belong with the Assessor; current tax statements and collection inquiries belong with the Collector. When describing a discrepancy, specify whether it is an owner entry, a mailing address, a property characteristic, the assessed value or a payment. Those are distinct records even though they concern the same parcel. forrestcountyms.us

For a question about a property's physical description or valuation, the Assessor invites supporting documentation. Bring the relevant assessment entry and evidence of the specific characteristic being questioned. The office separately describes business personal-property accounts for equipment, fixtures and other tangible assets, so those accounts should not be treated as another name for the land parcel record. forrestcountyms.us

Keep Forrest delinquent-tax and board records in view

The Chancery Clerk expressly maintains the records of property sold for county taxes and processes redemption payments. It also keeps county claims and financial records in its board-clerk and auditor roles. If the question concerns a prior tax sale, identify the parcel, sale year and any relevant instrument rather than sending only a current tax bill. For a county expenditure or board decision, describe the meeting, claim or account record sought. These requests are different from asking the Assessor for the current property's valuation. forrestcountyms.us

Use Forrest Sheriff contacts for agency and custody records

Forrest's Sheriff department lists 55 Arena Drive, Hattiesburg, MS 39401, with 601-544-7800 for the agency and dispatch. The Adult Correctional Facility contact is 601-545-6148. The department also lists separate juvenile-detention contacts. Identify whether the inquiry is about current adult custody, an incident investigated by the Sheriff or a document produced by a court. The agency that holds a person and the clerk that retains a sentencing order perform different recordkeeping functions. Forrest Sheriff department contacts.

For a matter investigated by a city department, start with the agency named on the report and use the Sheriff only for records it actually created or retains. For the result of a prosecution, direct the court-document request to the identified clerk. If the only available clue is a booking entry, use it to obtain the case reference and then verify the outcome in the court record. Keep dates with custody information so the saved research does not imply that an earlier detention status is still current. forrestcountyms.us

Use Forrest department contacts for the remaining record type

The Circuit Clerk also administers county elections, and the county directory publishes a separate voter-registration line at 601-545-6048. The directory identifies the Health Department at 601-583-0291. Before requesting a family-event certificate, distinguish birth, death and marriage from a Chancery divorce decree or probate record. Describe the event and whether the intended document must be certified. A department contact can identify the correct issuing authority without treating every family-related record as part of the same courthouse file. Forrest department directory.