Madison County Civil Court Records

Madison County civil court records are kept by the Superior Court Clerk in Danielsville, the county seat. The clerk's office handles all civil case filings for Superior Court in Madison County, including contract disputes, property actions, and civil damage claims. Residents can search recorded civil instruments through the GSCCCA online portal and request copies directly from the Danielsville courthouse. This page covers the tools and procedures for finding Madison County civil court records, whether you are a plaintiff, defendant, attorney, or member of the public researching a case.

Madison County Superior Court Clerk

The Madison County Superior Court Clerk in Danielsville is the official custodian of all civil court records generated in Madison County courts. The clerk's office receives civil filings, assigns case numbers, and maintains the ongoing docket for each civil matter. Records kept by this office include the original complaint, service of process documents, answers, counterclaims, motions, hearing schedules, court orders, and the final judgment. Once a judgment is entered, the clerk also records it in the general execution docket so it can be found when researching civil judgments against property in Madison County.

Madison County borders Clarke County, which is home to Athens. Many residents of Madison County have ties to that area, and civil disputes sometimes involve parties from both counties. If you are unsure whether a civil case was filed in Madison or Clarke County, the clerk's offices in both Danielsville and Athens can help you determine the right court based on where the defendant lives or where the dispute arose.

Under O.C.G.A. § 15-6-94, the Superior Court Clerk in each Georgia county, including Madison County, is legally required to accept and maintain civil filings. The statute also sets the framework for public access to those records. Staff at the Danielsville courthouse can assist you with searching for civil court records by name or case number during regular office hours.

Note: The Magistrate Court in Madison County handles small claims and landlord-tenant cases separately. Those records are not in the Superior Court civil file and must be requested from the Magistrate Court clerk.

Types of Civil Records in Madison County

Madison County Superior Court produces civil court records across a range of case types. Contract disputes, property boundary disagreements, real estate title actions, and personal injury suits are among the most common civil matters. Each generates a file that includes the initial complaint and all subsequent documents filed by either party through the life of the case. Domestic cases such as divorce and child custody are also civil filings in Superior Court, though portions of those files involving minors may have restricted access under Georgia law.

Civil judgment records are particularly important for property research in Madison County. When a Superior Court judge enters a money judgment in favor of one party, the clerk records it in the general execution docket. That recorded judgment can become a lien against real property owned by the losing party in Madison County. Anyone researching title to property in Madison County should check the execution docket as part of a thorough title search, in addition to checking deed and mortgage records through the GSCCCA portal.

Foreign judgments from other states and countries can also be domesticated and recorded in Madison County Superior Court if the judgment creditor wants to enforce collection here. These filings become part of the civil court records maintained by the Madison County clerk's office and are searchable through the GSCCCA system along with other recorded instruments.

Search Madison County Civil Records Online

The GSCCCA search portal at gsccca.org/search is the main public tool for searching recorded civil documents in Madison County. You can search by grantor or grantee name, document type, or recording date to find civil judgments, liens, security deeds, and UCC filings recorded in Madison County. Results include the document type, recording date, and the book and page reference where the document can be found in the county's official records.

The image below shows the GSCCCA search portal used to find recorded civil documents from Madison County and other Georgia counties.

Access the GSCCCA civil records search to look up recorded instruments from Madison County Superior Court in Danielsville.

The GSCCCA portal is updated as documents are recorded by the Madison County clerk's office, giving users near-real-time access to newly recorded civil instruments.

For certified copies of recorded documents, the GSCCCA eCertification portal at ecert.gsccca.org allows online ordering without a trip to the Danielsville courthouse. This option is available around the clock and supports digital delivery for many document types found in Madison County civil records.

eCertification and FANS for Madison County

The GSCCCA eCertification system lets you order certified copies of recorded civil court documents from Madison County online. Certified copies carry the clerk's official seal and are accepted for legal purposes such as court filings in other jurisdictions, real estate closings, and business transactions. The portal at ecert.gsccca.org lists available documents and fees, and copies can be delivered digitally or by mail.

The eCertification portal shown below provides access to certified copies of Madison County civil court documents recorded in the GSCCCA system.

Use the GSCCCA eCertification portal to order certified copies of civil records from Madison County without visiting the Danielsville courthouse.

Certified copies ordered through eCertification carry the same legal weight as those obtained in person from the Madison County Superior Court Clerk in Danielsville.

Madison County property owners can also enroll in the FANS service at fans.gsccca.org. FANS sends email alerts when any document is recorded against a property in Madison County, which is helpful for catching unauthorized deed filings or lien recordings tied to civil court activity. The service is free and takes only a few minutes to set up.

Open Records Access and Filing Fees

Georgia's Open Records Act applies to civil court records held by the Madison County Superior Court Clerk. Any person can request access to most civil case files in Danielsville. The clerk must respond to a written open records request within three business days. Civil case documents that are generally open include the complaint, answer, motions, court orders, and the final judgment. Sealed records, adoption-related files, and certain documents involving minors in family court cases may not be publicly accessible.

Copy fees for Madison County civil court records follow the Georgia standard schedule. Plain copies cost a per-page fee. Certified copies carry a higher charge per page. If you need an exemplified copy with judicial authentication for use in another state's courts, the fee is higher still. Contact the Madison County clerk's office in Danielsville directly to get current fee information before submitting your request. The eCertification portal lists its own fee schedule for digitally certified copies of recorded instruments.

Civil eFiling in Madison County Superior Court uses the GSCCCA statewide platform. Attorneys can file civil documents electronically through the system described at gsccca.org/file/efiling/overview. Self-represented parties can file in paper form at the clerk's window in Danielsville. Both methods create the same official civil court record in Madison County once the clerk accepts the filing.

Note: Filing fees for civil cases in Madison County vary by case type and must be paid at the time of filing. Ask the clerk's office for the current schedule before you submit your complaint.

Nearby Counties

Madison County sits in the northeastern part of Georgia and shares borders with several counties. Civil cases are filed based on where the defendant lives or where the dispute took place, so check these neighboring counties if you think the case may have been filed elsewhere.