Savannah Civil Court Records

Civil court records in Savannah, Georgia are maintained primarily through Chatham County Superior Court, with additional records held at the Chatham County State Court. Savannah residents and legal professionals can search these civil case files by visiting the clerk's office in person, requesting copies by mail, or using the GSCCCA statewide search portal for recorded instruments. The city also operates its own Recorder's Court, which handles specific local matters. Whether you need a case docket, a filed judgment, or a civil complaint, this page explains where to find Savannah civil court records and how to get them.

Chatham County Handles Savannah Civil Records

Savannah is the county seat of Chatham County, and all civil court filings from Savannah are processed and stored by the Chatham County clerk offices. The Chatham County Superior Court Clerk, currently Tammie Mosley, is the official custodian of civil court records for the county. Her office is located at 133 Montgomery Street, Room 304, Savannah, GA 31401. The main phone number is (912) 434-8920. This is the office to contact first when looking for civil case records tied to a Savannah address or involving Savannah residents.

The Chatham County Clerk's phone menu separates calls by division. Press 1 for civil and domestic matters. This puts you in touch with the civil division team, which can answer questions about pending cases, filed documents, and copy requests. The office serves civil filings across the full scope of Superior Court jurisdiction, from contract disputes and property claims to domestic matters and civil appeals. All of these generate civil court records in Savannah that are indexed and stored through this office.

The Chatham County State Court also holds civil records for cases within its jurisdiction. The State Court clerk is David A. Wood. That office is at Suite 127, 400 W. Oglethorpe Ave., Savannah, GA 31401. Phone is (912) 652-7224. State Court handles civil matters that fall below the Superior Court threshold, as well as misdemeanor and traffic cases. Civil cases started in State Court that are later appealed move up to Superior Court, so records may exist in both systems.

Note: Both the Superior Court Clerk and State Court Clerk offices in Savannah are closed on standard state holidays, including New Year's Day, MLK Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Savannah Courthouse and Clerk Details

The Chatham County Superior Court Clerk's office has several key staff members who oversee different civil record functions. Steffi Yellin serves as Assistant Clerk and Chief Deputy. Courtney Middleton is the Assistant Chief Deputy Clerk handling the Civil Division, Registry, and Board of Equalization matters. Robin Osborne handles Real Estate and Archives. DeLeah Blake manages Court Services and Adoptions. Knowing which division your civil records fall under helps you contact the right staff member when you call or visit the Savannah courthouse.

The civil division in Savannah handles domestic filings, child support, divorce, and temporary protective orders. These are all categories of civil court records. When a civil case is filed, the clerk's office assigns a case number, indexes the parties, and creates the official court record. Copy requests for civil case documents require paying a per-page fee. Certified copies carry a higher fee than plain copies. Exemplified copies, which carry the full court seal and authentication, cost the most. Contact the clerk's office directly for the current fee schedule, as fees adjusted in July 2024 following the passage of SB322.

The clerk also maintains a satellite Board of Equalization office at 1117 Eisenhower Dr., Suite C, Savannah, GA 31406. That office handles property tax appeal matters, which can generate civil records related to assessed value disputes in Savannah.

Online Civil Record Search for Savannah

The main online tool for searching civil court records connected to Savannah is the GSCCCA search portal at gsccca.org. This statewide system maintained by the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority covers recorded instruments from Chatham County, including civil judgments, real estate liens, UCC filings, and property transfer documents. Chatham County civil records indexed through the GSCCCA can be searched by party name, document type, or date range. Account pricing for the GSCCCA premium access is $29.95 per month, or $14.95 per month for a regular account, plus $0.50 per printed page.

For electronic filing of new civil cases in Savannah, attorneys use the Odyssey eFileGA system at efilega.tylertech.cloud. This platform handles civil case submissions to Chatham County Superior Court around the clock. The Georgia Courts e-access page at georgiacourts.gov links to provider websites where registered users can search court records from Chatham County. The state courts site notes that account registration is required to search case records through their linked providers.

The GSCCCA eCertification portal at ecert.gsccca.org lets you order certified copies of recorded Savannah civil documents without visiting the courthouse in person. Documents ordered through eCertification are digitally certified, tamper-proof, and self-validating. This is a convenient option when you need proof of a recorded civil judgment or lien from Chatham County. The FANS notification system at fans.gsccca.org is free and alerts Savannah property owners when new filings appear against their property in the Chatham County records system.

Note: Chatham County Superior Court is one of the 25 counties participating in re:SearchGA, accessible at researchga.tylerhost.net, where attorneys of record and e-filing pro se parties can search Savannah civil case records and documents across multiple Georgia counties at once.

Savannah Recorder's Court and Civil Records

The Savannah Recorder's Court is the city's own court and handles traffic citations, city ordinance violations, and related matters for the City of Savannah.

The Recorder's Court operates under the mission of administering justice with fairness, equality, and integrity. Civil court records for contract disputes, property matters, and civil lawsuits involving Savannah residents are not filed here. Those cases go through the Chatham County Superior Court or State Court system. The Recorder's Court focuses on city-level enforcement matters. If you received a traffic citation in Savannah and failed to appear, the court notes that you will be held in contempt and charged an additional $100 fee, and your license could be suspended.

Understanding the difference between Recorder's Court and Superior Court matters prevents you from searching the wrong office for Savannah civil court records. Contract disputes, personal injury claims, property line disagreements, landlord-tenant cases above the magistrate limit, and similar civil actions all belong in the Chatham County courts, not Recorder's Court. For those civil records, contact the clerk's office at 133 Montgomery Street or search via GSCCCA.

Georgia Law and Savannah Civil Records

Civil court records in Savannah are governed by Georgia's open records framework. Under the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. sections 50-18-70 through 50-18-74, all public records must be available for personal inspection and copying unless a court order or specific law restricts access. When you submit a records request to the Chatham County clerk, the office must respond within three business days. This applies to civil case records, filed pleadings, judgments, and other court documents generated in Savannah civil cases.

Uniform Superior Court Rule 21 also shapes access to civil records in Savannah. The core principle is that all court records are public and available for inspection unless a specific limitation has been ordered. A judge may limit access only when the harm to a person's privacy clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Such orders are not common, and most Savannah civil court records remain publicly available without restriction. Under O.C.G.A. § 15-6-94, the Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority is authorized to develop and distribute record management systems that support public access to these civil files.

When civil judgments are recorded as liens in Chatham County, they appear in both the Superior Court docket and the GSCCCA property records database. Checking both systems gives a complete picture of a civil case outcome and its effect on Savannah real property. The CourtTRAX system at courttrax.org also aggregates fee and fine data from Georgia courts, including Savannah civil courts, making it a useful reference for civil case cost research.

Nearby Cities in Georgia

Civil court records for other cities near Savannah are maintained through their respective county courts. Cities in the qualifying list near Savannah include Pooler and Hinesville, both of which have their own city pages with specific court and clerk information.

For civil case records from other parts of Georgia, visit the individual county or city pages linked throughout this site. All civil filings from across Chatham County, including those from surrounding communities, are stored through the clerk's office at 133 Montgomery Street in Savannah.