Access the Bolivar County Circuit Clerk

About the Bolivar County Circuit Clerk

Judith D. Thompson is the Bolivar County Circuit Clerk. She serves as clerk of the Circuit, County, and Youth Courts and as the registrar of the county. Because the county runs two judicial districts, the office acts as the administrative arm of six courts in all. The clerk is an elected official who keeps the case files for those courts and stands as the record custodian for all court and marriage records.

The work falls into clear groups. The office manages court case files, handles court funds and clearinghouse duties, and keeps the records that the public and the bar rely on. It works with three Circuit Judges and one County and Youth Court judge. The county Circuit Clerk page lists both district counters.

The official Bolivar County Circuit Clerk page sets out the office duties and lists each district counter.

That page is the best starting point when you are not sure which counter holds the file you want.

What the Circuit Clerk Does in Bolivar County

The Circuit Clerk is the front door for Circuit and County Court cases. Lawsuits, indictments, motions, and related papers are filed here. The clerk then issues the process that moves a case forward, such as summons and subpoenas. The office also keeps a running record of judgments and executions, so a creditor or a party can confirm what a court has ordered. Many of these duties touch both the civil and the criminal side of the docket.

The office reaches beyond the courtroom too. It issues marriage licenses, records professional and medical licenses, and handles voter registration and election work. The clerk also draws and qualifies juries for the trial courts. Each of these jobs leaves a record that the public may request from the proper district counter.

• Receives and files lawsuits, indictments, motions, and related papers in Circuit and County Court
• Issues process, including summons and subpoenas
• Draws jurors and qualifies juries for the trial courts
• Keeps the record of judgments and executions
• Issues marriage licenses and keeps marriage records
• Records medical and other professional licenses
• Registers voters and carries out election duties

Note: People over age 65 do not have to serve on a jury and may call the Circuit Clerk to be taken off the jury list.

Marriage Records at the Bolivar County Circuit Clerk

Marriage in Mississippi starts with a license, and in Bolivar County the Circuit Clerk issues it. The same office keeps the marriage records after the ceremony. That makes the Circuit Clerk counter the place to apply for a license and the place to confirm an older marriage that was licensed in the county.

The Mississippi State Department of Health also searches and copies certified marriage records, and it can search by the county where the license was issued. So a person who needs a state-level certified copy has a second path. For a divorce, the file is a Chancery Court record, not a Circuit Clerk record. Those details, and the fees to apply, sit on the Bolivar County marriage and divorce records page.

The Bolivar County Chancery Clerk

Bolivar County has a second clerk, and the split matters. Brenett N. Haynes is the Chancery Clerk and has held the post since 2008. She first began working in the office in 1976 while still in high school. The Chancery Clerk is the county recorder and the clerk of the Chancery Court, so this office holds a very different set of files than the Circuit Clerk does.

The recorder side preserves the documents that prove who owns what and who owes what. The court side keeps the files for divorce, custody, estates, and similar matters. The office also collects delinquent taxes for a two-year period, notifies owners and lienholders of maturing delinquent taxes, and settles those collections. Office hours run Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The official county Chancery Clerk page lays out these duties and the public-record limits in plain terms.

That page is the source for the fee list and the access notice covered further down.

A separate Chancery Clerk biography page profiles Brenett N. Haynes and her long service in the office.

The biography helps confirm that the office has kept consistent hands on the county's land and court records for decades.

Chancery Clerk Recording and Court Files

As county recorder, the Chancery Clerk records and preserves the instruments that show title and debt. As clerk of the Chancery Court, the same office keeps the case files for the matters the court hears. These two roles cover most of the records a property owner, an heir, or a family-law party will ever need from the county.

The Chancery Clerk also runs an official Chancery Clerk homepage with hours, payment notes, and links to land records.

That site gathers the office hours and helpful resources in one place before you call a district counter.

The recorded instruments and the court files break down as follows.

• Land instruments: deeds, deeds of trust, powers of attorney, and UCC filings
• Liens and notices: federal tax liens, construction liens, and lis pendens
• Other records: military discharges and bankruptcy petitions
• Family and equity cases: divorce, child custody and support, and land-equity disputes
• Estate and protective matters: probate of estates, guardianships, and conservatorships
• Sensitive cases: mental-health and alcohol or drug commitments, plus adoptions

Because the Chancery Court hears probate, the office is the place to begin an estate question. The broader process for estates sits on the Bolivar County Chancery Court records page.

Bolivar County Chancery Court Fees

The county publishes a fee list for Chancery filings and services. The amounts below come from the official county Chancery Clerk page. Copy and certification charges, summons fees, and small assessments are added on top of the base filing fee. Several court funds, such as the law library and judicial training, draw a fixed assessment on filings.

Payment is flexible. The Chancery Clerk takes cash, check, money order, or credit and debit cards. A 2.35% fee is added to credit and debit totals, and the office notes these methods cover all land transactions and delinquent taxes.

Note: Certified-mail and publication costs are assessed at cost, so the final bill on a contested case can run higher than the base filing fee alone.

Land Records and the Delta Computer Systems Index

Land records are the one Chancery file set with an online path. The Chancery Clerk posts a land-record index through Delta Computer Systems, with separate links for the Cleveland and Rosedale deeds and records. A visitor can search the index, but viewing document images calls for an account and a subscription or a per-page charge. One key caveat stands out. The online index is not the official record. The official Land Records Index stays at the courthouse.

The form-field and access details for that index are set out below.

The Bolivar County land-record index page is where you create the account and pick a plan.

Treat the index as a finding tool, then confirm the official document with the Chancery Clerk before you rely on it.

How to Request a Certified Copy

A certified copy carries the clerk's seal and is the version courts, banks, and agencies accept. A plain copy does not. The steps below work for both the Circuit Clerk and the Chancery Clerk, with the only real difference being which office and district holds the file.

1. Decide which clerk holds the record. Circuit and County Court cases, judgments, and marriage records go to the Circuit Clerk. Divorce, probate, land, and family files go to the Chancery Clerk.
2. Confirm the judicial district. The First District counter sits in Rosedale and the Second District counter sits in Cleveland.
3. Gather the case details. Have the party names, the rough filing year, and a case number if you know one.
4. Call or visit the correct district counter. Ask whether the file is open, whether copies are available, and what the copy and certification cost will be.
5. Pay the fee and request certification. Listed Chancery files copy at $0.50 per page, and cash, check, money order, or card is accepted with the card surcharge.
6. Pick up the copy or arrange mail delivery to the address on your request.

Public Access to Bolivar County Clerk Records

Mississippi treats most government records as open. The Mississippi Public Records Act, in Title 25, Chapter 61, makes the records of public bodies available for inspection unless a statute, court rule, or judge's order restricts them. Agencies may charge lawful costs for searching, copying, and mailing under the same law. For court files, though, the correct custodian matters more than the request form. You ask the clerk that holds the case.

Circuit and County Court files are requested from the Circuit Clerk and may also appear in Mississippi Electronic Courts, though that search access is account based. Chancery files follow a different rule. The county states plainly that all Chancery Court files are public records unless sealed by the Chancellor. Adoptions and mental-health files are sealed unless the Chancellor orders otherwise. And the county notes that Chancery Court files are not computerized or accessible by internet, which makes the clerk counter the main path for those records.

The Mississippi Public Records Act page from the Ethics Commission explains the open-records framework and the lawful-cost rules.

Note: Older files, non-digitized records, certified-copy questions, and sealed-status checks are best handled by calling the clerk for the district that holds the case.