Lamar County, Mississippi Public Records

Investigations closed

136

Back wages agreed

$1,342,344

Workers due back wages

1,483

Civil money penalties

$44,784

Employers on the record

103

The 25 employers with the most back wages agreed, of 103 on the Lamar County record; 31 employers have a page of their own and open from the table, the rest show their whole record here. The 78 more with smaller records are on the Mississippi wage theft records page, whose search answers for every employer in the state.

Finding Lamar County court, land and local-government records

Start land and family-case research with Chancery

Lamar County's Chancery Clerk combines court recordkeeping with land recording and county financial duties. The office identifies divorces, estates, land matters, paternity, child support, conservatorships and adoptions among its case categories. Describe the exact record sought and the capacity in which the Clerk holds it. A divorce order belongs to a court file; a deed belongs to the land records; a county claim belongs to the county financial records. Similar names or a common property connection do not make those collections interchangeable. Ask about access to the particular file instead of assuming every listed case category is open without restriction. Chancery Clerk functions.

For a chancery case, carry forward the party names, case number and the document title from any earlier correspondence. The Clerk maintains case files, dockets, minutes and process and prepares records for appellate review. A request for the signed final order is more definite than a request for proof that a case happened. If you need certification, identify the receiving organization's requirement before ordering. A probate file can contain several distinct documents, so decide whether the goal is to obtain an order, a filed will or another specific filing rather than an unexplained request for the entire estate. Source: lamarcountyms.gov.

Trace the instrument through the land indexes

The Chancery Clerk maintains direct and reverse indexes, sectional indexes and recorded land-document volumes. The county links an Online Deeds service and a separate deed fraud protection route from the Clerk's resources. Begin with the names used in the transaction and any deed book, page or instrument reference already known. Compare the legal description in the document with the parcel under investigation. When a later document references an earlier instrument, preserve that reference as the next research step. An index result is a pointer to a document and should be kept with the document image or requested copy. Source: lamarcountyms.gov.

The currently linked recording schedule groups ordinary deeds and several other land instruments at $26 for the first 5 pages, with $1 for each additional page. It separately lists clerk-made copies at $0.50 per page and copies made by another person at $0.25 per page. Those copy prices do not describe the cost of recording a new deed. Different instrument categories and marginal references have their own entries. Give the Clerk the document type and length when asking about the charge; a general first-page comparison would conceal the included block of pages in this schedule. Linked Lamar recording schedule.

Prepare a recording request with return instructions

The Chancery fee instructions call for a return address, the grantor's and grantee's addresses and telephone numbers, a notary seal, indexing instructions and a stamped return envelope. They also distinguish additional pages from additional instruments requiring notation. Check the completed document and accompanying instructions together before submitting them. If you are requesting an existing record, supply its recording reference rather than sending a replacement instrument. If you are submitting a new document, retain an identical copy so you can compare it with the recorded version returned by the office. An acknowledgment of delivery is different from confirmation of recordation. Chancery filing instructions.

The county department directory places the Chancery Clerk at 403 Main Street, Purvis, MS 39475, with mail to P.O. Box 247 and telephone 601-794-3448. The separate Clerk article repeats a general county telephone, so use the department-specific directory entry when planning contact. A court convening time is not a records-counter schedule. Confirm the service needed with the office before traveling with original documents. Keep your request, the county's response and any fee estimate together; they document which record was sought and allow a later inquiry to refer to the same transaction. Department-specific county directory.

Separate Circuit Court records from Justice Court records

The Circuit Clerk maintains court filings, the court seal and court financial records. The office is a separate destination from Chancery even though both are clerks. Start a Circuit Court inquiry with the case number, named parties and desired filing. A docket inquiry, a payment history and a certified judgment are different products. When the court division is uncertain, give the Clerk the citation or case caption you have rather than selecting a division from a generic internet result. For a divorce or estate file, the county's Chancery description provides the appropriate starting point. Circuit Clerk recordkeeping.

Lamar Justice Court describes misdemeanor, traffic, DUI, game and fish, and transportation-related cases, along with felony preliminary and bond hearings. Its civil work includes small claims, evictions, replevin, garnishments and domestic protection orders. A preliminary hearing reference should not be treated as the final disposition of a later felony prosecution. If a record search starts with a traffic ticket, retain the citation number and the issuing agency. If it starts with an eviction, retain the parties and property description. Ask Justice Court which existing order or docket record will answer the particular question. Justice Court case categories.

Keep marriage licensing distinct from a marriage copy

The Circuit Clerk's marriage instructions require the applicants to appear together with identification and list a $36 license charge, payable by cash or credit. Applicants previously married must supply the date the prior marriage ended by death or divorce. The published service hours are Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; an application after 4:00 p.m. is picked up the following day. These instructions concern a new license. They do not establish the cost of a certified copy of a completed marriage record, which should be requested as a separate product. County marriage-license instructions.

For a copy inquiry, identify the spouses as named at the time of the license, the approximate license or marriage date and the county believed to have issued it. Explain whether the receiving organization asks for a certified record. The county directory lists the Circuit Clerk at 203 Main Street, Purvis, MS 39475, with mail to P.O. Box 369 and the department number 601-794-3478. Keep the license-application information separate from later proof-of-marriage requests. A record-copy request should not be sent with a new-license payment merely because both services pass through the same office. Source: lamarcountyms.gov.

Follow a tax question through appraisal, collection and redemption

Lamar's combined Tax Assessor and Collector office identifies real property appraisal, business personal property, homestead, mobile home and motor vehicle departments. The Assessor establishes assessed property information and maintains ownership maps, while the Collector receives taxes and handles the annual tax sale for unpaid real estate taxes. A valuation question should identify the parcel, year and contested entry. A payment question should identify the account, payment date and receipt. A map can help locate a parcel, but it is not the recorded conveyance. Keep the appraisal record, payment record and deed as separate pieces of the research. Assessment and collection responsibilities.

The county directory lists the Purvis tax office at 144 Shelby Speights Drive, Purvis, MS 39475. The Assessor number is 601-794-1021 and the Collector number is 601-794-1020. Its Oak Grove office is at 4954 Old Highway 11, Hattiesburg, MS 39402, telephone 601-264-2311. The department schedule is Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. State the service when asking which location can handle it. For a tax-sale redemption record, the Chancery Clerk's published duties identify custody of sold-property records and redemption processing, adding another custodian to that sequence. Source: lamarcountyms.gov.

Request detention information and county business records separately

The Sheriff's county entry supplies the official Inmate Search link and describes law enforcement and corrections services. Use that official starting point when looking for current detention information. A booking or custody record answers a different question from a court judgment, and a change in custody does not explain the case outcome. For an incident record, identify the agency that responded and the report number, date and location if known. Request the particular report or booking record instead of assuming that an inmate listing contains investigative material or the complete criminal case. Sheriff and inmate-search route.

The county contact directory separates Sheriff administration, 601-794-1005, from the jail, 601-794-1088. Its Chancery functions also identify custody of county claims, financial ledgers and Board of Supervisors business. For public spending or board decisions, name the meeting, claim, vendor or period and request the existing record that documents the action. A county agenda and the minutes of the meeting are different records, so be explicit about which is needed. Retain the office response and any quoted copying charge. This keeps an administrative-record inquiry separate from a Sheriff report or a court-file search. Source: lamarcountyms.gov. County contact numbers.