Georgia People Search

Georgia has 159 counties and no free statewide court search, so a search starts with these statewide offices and then goes to the right county.

• Georgia Secretary of State corporations searchLLCs, corporations and partnerships with registered agents
• Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative AuthorityStatewide deed, lien and UCC index; a paid subscription
• Georgia Department of Corrections, Find an OffenderCurrent and past state inmates and people on supervision
• GBI Georgia Sex Offender RegistryRegistered offenders by name, address or map
• Georgia Department of Public Health Vital RecordsBirth and death certificates for eligible requesters

The Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.) dictates that all public records shall be open for personal inspection. The law states a strong presumption that government records are public, aiming to foster government transparency.

While the law is broad, exemptions exist to protect individual privacy. Medical records, sealed adoption files, juvenile records, and certain law enforcement investigative materials are exempt. Social Security Numbers and financial account details are always redacted from publicly released court and property documents.

Georgia provides several central portals for interacting with state government and verifying official credentials.

• Georgia.govDirectory of Georgia state agencies

Georgia court records are maintained locally. There is no free, unified statewide portal for all civil and criminal dockets. The state court system consists of Superior Courts (felonies, divorces, major civil cases), State Courts (misdemeanors, civil cases), Magistrate Courts (small claims, warrants), and Probate Courts.

• Georgia CourtsJudicial circuits and links to local court websites

Property in Georgia is assessed by the County Board of Tax Assessors, and taxes are collected by the County Tax Commissioner. Real estate deeds are recorded by the Clerk of Superior Court.

Most of Georgia's 159 counties publish their assessor records online, many on a hosted site linked from the county's own website.

• Georgia Department of Revenue, property records onlineLinks to each county assessor and tax commissioner site

The Georgia Secretary of State handles both corporate registrations and professional licensing.

• Georgia professional license verificationNurses, contractors, engineers and dozens of other professions

The Georgia Department of Corrections handles state prisons. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) handles the state's sex offender registry.

The Georgia Department of Public Health maintains state vital records. Birth and death records are not open to the general public; they are restricted to immediate family and legal representatives. Marriage applications and divorce decrees are public and kept at the county level (Probate Court for marriage, Superior Court for divorce).

Georgia's My Voter Page shows whether you are registered and where you vote; it is meant for checking your own record.

• My Voter PageCheck your own registration and polling place

The Georgia Archives in Morrow holds state government records, maps and historical documents. The Social Security Death Index and Chronicling America help with older records.

• Georgia ArchivesHistorical documents, maps and state government records

Most records are kept by the counties. These are the main offices in metro Atlanta:

• Fulton County GovernmentCounty offices for most of Atlanta
• Fulton County Clerk of Superior and Magistrate CourtsCourt and real estate records for Fulton County
• Cobb County GovernmentCourts and property offices for Marietta and Cobb County
• Gwinnett County CourtsDockets for Lawrenceville and the rest of Gwinnett

Other major counties include: DeKalb, Chatham (Savannah), Clayton, Cherokee, Hall, Muscogee (Columbus), and Bibb (Macon).

Understand the GSCCCA: Its paid real estate index searches deeds and liens across all 159 counties and shows which county holds a record.

Check Magistrate Courts: Evictions and small claims are heard in magistrate court, not superior court, so search that court too.

Metro Atlanta Sprawl: Atlanta spans Fulton and DeKalb counties, while the metro area includes Cobb, Gwinnett, and Clayton. Always search all five core counties for metro residents.

Researcher Tip

In Georgia, divorce records are filed in the Superior Court of the county where the couple lived. Unlike marriage licenses (handled by Probate Court), you must check Superior Court dockets to find divorce decrees.

While Georgia's Open Records Act is strong, recent years have seen increased privacy protections, particularly for law enforcement and public officials regarding their home addresses.

Privacy Note

Georgia restricts access to driving records (MVRs) under the federal DPPA. You cannot simply look up someone's driving history or license plate in Georgia without a permissible statutory purpose.

Common Mistake

Assuming Georgia has a unified statewide court search. Many people search Fulton County and assume a clean record means the subject has no criminal history. They may have a record in neighboring Cobb or DeKalb county.