Burke County Civil Court Records

Burke County civil court records are maintained by the Superior Court Clerk in Waynesboro, Georgia. The clerk serves the Augusta Judicial Circuit and keeps all civil filings, judgments, deeds, property liens, and other recorded instruments for Burke County. To access Burke County civil court records, you can search the GSCCCA online portal for recorded instruments, contact the clerk by phone or mail for case records, or visit the courthouse in Waynesboro. This page explains where civil records are kept in Burke County, what types exist, and how you can get copies.

Burke County Superior Court Clerk

The Clerk of Superior Court holds the official civil court records for Burke County under O.C.G.A. § 15-6-94. The office is at the Burke County Courthouse in Waynesboro, GA 30830. The clerk receives new civil filings, builds and maintains the case index, issues summons and process, and keeps the complete case file for every civil matter that comes before Burke County Superior Court.

Burke County Superior Court handles civil disputes without a dollar cap, meaning contract disputes of any size, real property claims, personal injury suits, equity actions, and civil rights cases all land here if they meet the Superior Court threshold. The clerk also records instruments that affect real property in Burke County, including warranty deeds, security deeds from mortgage lenders, judgment liens recorded after civil court decisions, state and federal tax liens, and UCC financing statements filed by commercial creditors. All recorded instruments become part of the public civil record in Burke County.

Burke County is in the Augusta Judicial Circuit, which also covers Richmond County and several others. Civil cases in Burke County are heard by circuit judges who rotate through the circuit. The Burke County clerk in Waynesboro remains the filing and records office for all civil matters originating in the county, regardless of which circuit judge presides. Call the clerk's office at the Waynesboro courthouse to confirm current hours, fees, and any document requirements before visiting.

Note: The Burke County Magistrate Court handles civil claims up to $15,000 and landlord-tenant matters separately. Contact the Magistrate Court clerk in Waynesboro for those records.

Searching Burke County Civil Records

The GSCCCA search portal at gsccca.org/search is the main online tool for finding civil court records from Burke County that have been recorded as instruments. You can search by grantor or grantee name, document type, date range, or book and page number. The database covers deeds, security deeds, civil judgment liens, tax liens, and UCC filings indexed by the Burke County clerk in Waynesboro. This is the right place to start when checking whether a lien has been placed on Burke County property or verifying the chain of title for a parcel near Waynesboro.

Civil case records that were not separately recorded, such as complaints, motions, court orders, and hearing transcripts, are not available through the GSCCCA portal. For those, contact the Burke County Superior Court Clerk directly. Provide the party name and approximate year of the case, and the clerk can search the case index and tell you what documents are on file and what copies will cost. In-person visits give you the fastest access to case-level civil court records in Burke County.

Use the GSCCCA search portal to find recorded civil documents from Burke County, including deeds, judgment liens, and other instruments indexed by the Waynesboro clerk.

Burke County does not participate in the re:SearchGA online case management system, which means the GSCCCA portal and direct clerk contact are the two main routes for remote access to Burke County civil court records. Mail requests are also accepted by the clerk's office. Include the party name, case number if known, and a check or money order for estimated copy fees when submitting a written request.

GSCCCA Tools and Burke County

The GSCCCA offers several services that extend beyond the main document search portal and are useful for Burke County civil court records. The FANS property alert system at fans.gsccca.org allows Burke County property owners to sign up for free email alerts any time a new document is recorded against their property. This is valuable protection against fraudulent deed filings or unauthorized lien recordings that can arise in connection with civil disputes. Signing up is free and takes only a few minutes.

The eCertification portal at ecert.gsccca.org provides a way to order certified copies of recorded instruments from Burke County without traveling to Waynesboro. You find the document in the GSCCCA database, pay the fee online, and receive the certified copy electronically or by mail depending on what the Burke County clerk supports. Certified copies of deeds and recorded judgment liens from Burke County civil court records are often required for legal proceedings and real estate transactions.

The GSCCCA homepage is the central starting point for searching Burke County civil court records, ordering certified copies, and signing up for property alerts through the FANS system.

The Augusta Judicial Circuit, which includes Burke County, is part of the statewide GSCCCA recording program. All instruments filed with the Burke County Superior Court Clerk in Waynesboro are indexed in the GSCCCA database and searchable through the portal. This includes all recorded civil documents going back many decades for Burke County.

Types of Civil Court Records in Burke County

Civil court records in Burke County fall into two categories. The first is case records, which are the documents generated during active civil litigation. These include the initial complaint, the defendant's answer, motions filed during discovery, orders signed by the judge at various stages of the case, and the final judgment or voluntary dismissal. Every civil case filed in Burke County Superior Court has its own case file maintained by the clerk in Waynesboro.

The second category is recorded instruments. These are legal documents filed with the Burke County clerk to create a public notice of a legal interest in real property or personal property. Common types include warranty deeds that transfer land ownership, security deeds that mortgage lenders use to secure loans, civil judgment liens that a creditor records against a debtor's property after winning in court, state and federal tax liens, and UCC financing statements. Both categories are part of the civil court record in Burke County and are open to public inspection under Georgia law.

When a civil judgment is entered in Burke County and the winning party wants to secure that judgment as a lien on the losing party's real property, they record it with the clerk. That lien then appears in both the civil case file and the GSCCCA's recorded instruments database. Checking both sources gives you the most complete view of what civil judgments have been recorded against a property owner or piece of land in Burke County.

Open Records and Fees

Georgia's Open Records Act at O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 through 50-18-74 gives every person the right to inspect and copy most civil court records in Burke County. The clerk's office must respond to written open records requests within three business days and may charge a reasonable fee for search time and copying. They cannot deny access to public civil records without a legal basis, such as a court order sealing the file.

Standard copy fees at Georgia Superior Court clerk offices are typically $0.10 per page for plain copies. Certified copies carry a higher fee. The Burke County clerk in Waynesboro can confirm the current fee schedule before you visit or submit a mail request. Most offices accept cash, check, or money order made out to the Clerk of Superior Court. For certified copies of recorded instruments, the eCertification portal at ecert.gsccca.org provides an online payment and delivery option.

CourtTRAX at courttrax.org is a third-party aggregator of Georgia civil court data that may include Burke County filings. It can be a useful supplement when you are researching civil records across multiple counties in the Augusta Circuit area, though you should always verify findings with the Burke County clerk for accuracy.

Note: Court-ordered sealed records in Burke County civil cases, such as those involving minors or confidential settlements, are not part of the public record and will not be provided in response to an open records request.

Nearby Counties

Burke County is in eastern Georgia near the Savannah River. Civil cases involving parties or property near county lines may have records in neighboring counties in the Augusta Circuit or surrounding area.