Lowndes County Circuit Clerk Office

About the Lowndes County Circuit Clerk

The Circuit Clerk of Lowndes County is Teresa Barksdale. The office is elected at large for a four-year term, so voters across the whole county choose the clerk rather than a single district. Barksdale serves as clerk of the court for Circuit Court, County Court, and Youth Court. That makes her office the front desk for most of the county's law-side court files.

The role reaches well past the courtroom. The Circuit Clerk is also the county voter registrar, helps run county, state, and national elections, issues absentee ballots, issues marriage licenses, and keeps the judgment roll. In short, one office touches court cases, elections, marriages, and money judgments. The clerk works at the Lowndes County Courthouse in downtown Columbus and keeps regular weekday hours.

The office sits in Room 260 at the courthouse. Mail goes to a post office box, while walk-in visitors use the street address. The contact card below lists both, plus the main phone line and hours.

Many people first meet the office through the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission, which lists the courthouse as a legal-resource partner. You can review the Access to Justice courthouse partner page for Lowndes County for an outside view of the building and its services.

That partner listing places the clerk's work inside the wider justice system, where court files, self-help resources, and clerk services meet. It is a useful reminder that the clerk is a public office built to help residents reach their records.

What the Circuit Clerk Does in Lowndes County

The Circuit Clerk files and keeps the records that move through the law courts. Pleadings come in, the clerk dates and dockets them, and the file grows as a case moves forward. The same office issues process, records judgments, takes filing fees, and produces certified copies on request. When a felony, a large civil suit, or a County Court matter is filed, the paperwork lands here.

Core duties handled by the office include the following:

• Keeping Circuit Court, County Court, and Youth Court case files
• Issuing marriage licenses to qualified applicants
• Maintaining the judgment roll of civil money judgments
• Serving as county voter registrar and handling absentee ballots
• Collecting filing fees and producing certified copies
• Managing the jury process for the trial courts

The office splits its phone lines by division, which helps callers reach the right desk fast. The directory below lists the published numbers for the busiest functions.

Note: Youth Court records are confidential under Mississippi law, so the Youth Court line handles only authorized requests rather than open public lookups.

Circuit Clerk and Chancery Clerk: A Split Office

Mississippi divides clerk duties between two separate elected offices, and Lowndes County follows that pattern. The Circuit Clerk handles the law side: criminal cases, large civil suits, County Court matters, marriage licenses, and the judgment roll. A second office, the Chancery Clerk, handles a very different set of records. Knowing which office to call is the single biggest time-saver for anyone hunting a record.

The Chancery Clerk is Cindy Goode, and that office sits in the same courthouse with its own phone line at 662-329-5800. It records deeds, deeds of trust, powers of attorney, federal tax liens, military discharge papers, and UCC filings. The Chancery Clerk also serves as Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and keeps the board minutes. For land titles, property records, and county board business, the Chancery Clerk is the right desk, not the Circuit Clerk.

You can confirm the split at the official Lowndes County Chancery Clerk page, which lists that office's recording and land-record duties in full.

Because the Chancery Court is the equity court, estate, probate, guardianship, divorce, and land-title files all flow to the Chancery side. Those records are covered in detail on the Lowndes County Chancery Court and probate records page, which also profiles the Chancery Clerk's online land-record tools. If you came looking for an estate file or a deed, that page is the better starting point.

How to Request a Certified Copy

A certified copy is an official document the clerk stamps and signs to prove it is a true copy of the court's record. Courts, banks, employers, and other agencies often require a certified copy rather than a plain printout. An online image from a subscription portal is not the official record, so legal use almost always means a trip or a mailed request to the clerk.

1. Find the case number and the names of the parties. Call the matching division line if you need help locating the file.
2. Tell the clerk which document you need and how many certified copies you want.
3. Submit the request in person at Room 260, or by mail to P.O. Box 31, Columbus, MS 39703.
4. Pay the copy and certification charge set by the office; call ahead to confirm the exact amount and accepted payment.
5. Pick up the certified copy at the counter, or include a self-addressed stamped envelope so the office can mail it back.

Note: Online indexes can lag behind the courthouse file, so the clerk's certified copy is the version that controls if the two ever disagree.

Lowndes County Circuit Clerk Request Form Fields

A clean request helps the clerk pull the right file the first time. Whether you write a letter, fill out the county public-records form, or ask at the counter, include the details below. The county runs a formal channel for broader requests through its Lowndes County Public Record Request page, which posts the official policy and form.

That request page routes a question to the office that actually holds the record, which matters in a split-clerk county. The table lists the fields a Circuit Clerk request should carry.

Lowndes County Circuit Clerk Fees

Some clerk charges are fixed by published policy, while copy and certification charges are set at the counter and are best confirmed by phone before you visit. The most-asked fees involve the marriage license and the two online subscription channels. The marriage license is paid in cash with correct change, and the office accepts applications during set hours.

Both applicants must appear together for a marriage license, and applications are taken from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Delta and PAMEC fees buy index and image access, but neither one produces a certified copy. For a record that will be used in court or by another agency, the certified copy still comes from the clerk.

Online Records Access in Lowndes County

The Circuit Clerk publishes records through Delta Computer Systems on a subscription basis. The Delta Circuit Clerk portal opens four record groups once you log in. Coverage runs back to the early 1990s, with scanned images added in later years. The portal states plainly that official copies should be obtained at the courthouse and that online data is not official if it differs from the courthouse file.

• Civil Court: cases from 1993 to present, images from 2008
• Criminal Court: cases from 1993 to present, images from September 2010
• Judgment Roll: records from 1993 to present, images from 2008
• Marriage License: records from 1991 to present, no images

Mississippi also runs a statewide system. Lowndes County Circuit Court and County Court went live on Mississippi Electronic Courts on July 24, 2023, so newer e-filed cases appear there. The public side, called PAMEC, lets registered users view court records remotely for a small annual fee plus a per-page charge. You can reach it through the state Mississippi Electronic Courts page and register at the PAMEC online registration site. Free viewing is still available at the clerk's counter during business hours, subject to copy fees.

Public Records Laws Behind Lowndes County Court Records

Access to Lowndes County court records rests on the Mississippi Public Records Act. The general rule is open: government records are available for inspection unless a specific law exempts them. Court confidentiality rules, youth-court statutes, sealed orders, and expunctions are the main limits a member of the public will meet. The first practical step is always to ask the office that maintains the record.

You can read the policy itself on the state ethics site, which hosts the Mississippi Public Records Act text. The act sets the duty to provide access and the framework for fees and response times.

The Mississippi Ethics Commission administers complaints when an office denies access without a lawful reason. Its public records resource page explains how the public can pursue a records dispute and what a government body must do in response.

That commission page is a useful backstop, but most requests never need it. For routine court files, the Circuit Clerk in Room 260 answers the request, pulls the file, and certifies copies. For land, estate, and board records, the Chancery Clerk does the same on the equity side. Matching the record to the right office is the habit that makes the whole system work.