Search Amite County Chancery Clerk

About the Amite County Chancery Clerk

Jana Causey serves as the Amite County Chancery Clerk. The office works out of the historic courthouse on Courthouse Square in Liberty, the county seat. It is one of two main clerk offices in the county. The Chancery Clerk handles land, estate, divorce, board, and finance records, while the Circuit Clerk handles court lawsuits and marriage licenses.

Several deputy clerks help run the office day to day. The listed deputies are Mckalyn Carter, Jolie Freeman, and Naomi Callender. Cindy Wilkinson works as the office Comptroller, a role tied to the clerk's county finance duties. The counter is open during normal business hours, and staff can confirm whether a record is on file before you mail anything.

What the Amite County Chancery Clerk Does

The Chancery Clerk wears more than one hat. The job blends court duties, recording duties, and county money duties into a single elected office. That mix is why so many different record types run through this one counter. Each role is set out by the official county page, and each touches records the public may need.

• Clerk of the Board of Supervisors: records the official minutes of the county board's meetings and decisions.
• County Treasurer: prepares the claims docket and payrolls for county departments and writes and signs checks after the Board approves them.
• Public recorder: records and stores deeds, mortgages, construction and condominium liens, federal tax liens, lis pendens, and military discharges, and keeps the indexes that aid research.
• Clerk of Chancery Court: manages files for estates, guardianships, conservatorships, divorces, child custody, adoption, property disputes, and other matters of equity.

The office also stores and manages older county records. That includes the authorized disposal of land rolls, tax receipts, and similar paperwork once it is past its active use. Many of these older records still hold value for title research, family history, and property claims.

Two of these roles produce records about county government itself. As Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, the office keeps the official minutes that show what the board voted on and approved. As Treasurer, it keeps the claims docket and the payroll paperwork that track how county money is spent. Residents who want to see a board decision or a county claim start with this office, since the records live in the same building as the land and court files.

Land and Deed Records in Amite County

Land recording is the heart of the Chancery Clerk's public counter. When property changes hands in Amite County, the deed is recorded here. The clerk gives each document a book and page number, indexes it by the names of the parties, and stores the original image. That index is the tool most title searchers and property owners use to trace ownership over time.

The office records a wide range of land and lien documents. These include deeds, mortgages and deeds of trust, construction liens, condominium liens, federal tax liens, lis pendens notices that warn of pending suits, and military discharge papers. To pull a recorded document, it helps to bring the grantor or grantee name, the type of instrument, and a book and page or date range. A property dispute, an estate transfer, or a refinance all leave a trail in these books.

Some older Amite County land rolls and tax receipts are part of the same record set the clerk stores and manages. Because much of the county's deep history predates any digital system, older title work often means a counter visit and a hand search of the indexes. Staff can point you to the right book once you know roughly when the transaction happened.

Amite County Chancery and Probate Records

As Clerk of Chancery Court, this office holds the county's equity and family case files. Chancery Court is the Mississippi court for matters of fairness rather than crime. Amite County divorce decrees are filed and copied here, not at the Circuit Clerk. The same is true for child custody, property division, adoption, and other domestic cases that move through the chancery system.

The office is also the home of probate. Probate is the court process that settles a person's estate and property after death, and it covers guardianships and conservatorships for those who cannot manage their own affairs. The Chancery Clerk keeps these files and the long list of filings that come with them.

• Wills, estates, and estate administration files.
• Guardianships and conservatorships, including adult ward and minor ward cases.
• Minor settlements and insurance settlements paid to children.
• Inventories, accountings, guardian plans, and conservator plans.
• Orders, petitions, notices, and any sealed or restricted entries.

Not every chancery file is fully open. Adoption records, sealed cases, and matters involving minors or mental health can be restricted by law or court order. Some docket entries may show while the documents behind them stay closed. For a deeper look at estate filing and probate steps, the Amite County Chancery Court records guide walks through the process.

Records Request Form Fields

Amite County does not publish a standard chancery records request form. A clear written request still works by mail, and it speeds up the search. Give the office enough detail to find the right book, page, or case the first time. The table below lists the details worth including when you ask for a land record, an estate file, or a divorce decree.

How to Request a Certified Copy or Recorded Document

A certified copy carries the clerk's official seal and signature. Courts, title companies, and government agencies usually require a certified copy rather than a plain printout. The steps below cover a request to the Amite County Chancery Clerk for a recorded land document or a chancery case file.

1. Pin down the record. Note whether you need a deed, a lien, an estate file, or a divorce decree, and gather the party or decedent name.
2. Find the reference. Locate a book and page or a case number if you have one, or plan for a name search of the index.
3. Call ahead. Phone the office at 601-657-8022 to confirm the record is on file and to ask the copy and certification fee.
4. Submit the request. Visit the counter at 243 W Main St in Liberty, or mail your written request and contact details to PO Box 680, Liberty, MS 39645.
5. Pay and collect. Pay the fee the clerk confirms, then pick up the certified copy in person or have it mailed back to you.

Amite County Chancery Clerk Fees

Amite County has not published a chancery copy, certification, or recording fee schedule in its official sources. Mississippi law lets clerks charge for copying, recording, and certifying records, but the county site does not list the dollar amounts. Because of that, the only honest figure to plan around is the office phone line. Do not rely on another county's fee chart, since rates differ.

Confirm the payment method too. The office can tell you whether it takes cash, check, or money order, and whether a self-addressed return envelope helps with a mailed certified copy. A quick call before you send anything avoids a short payment or a returned request.

Electronic Access for Amite County Chancery Records

Amite County Chancery Court takes part in Mississippi Electronic Courts, the statewide e-filing and access system known as MEC. The county's chancery cases went live in the 4th Chancery District MEC system on August 15, 2016. Public remote viewing runs through PAMEC, the public access side of the system, which needs a registered account and charges fees for the documents you view.

Not every record sits online, though. Older estate, land, and divorce files that predate the MEC go-live date may exist only on paper at the courthouse. Sealed cases will not appear in an ordinary public search at all. When the online system is gated or the file is old, the clerk's counter is the most direct route. For court lawsuits, juries, marriage licenses, elections, and passports, those records belong to the Amite County Circuit Clerk instead.