Search Cobb County Court Records

How to Search Cobb County Court Records

The first step is to pick the right court. Cobb County court records are split across the Superior Court Clerk WebCaseManagement system, the State Court Record Search, the Magistrate Court Record Search, and the Probate Court case tools. The county also runs a central hub that links each one. Felonies, divorce, equity, and title cases sit in Superior. Misdemeanors and traffic sit in State Court. Small claims, dispossessory, garnishment, and warrants sit in Magistrate. Estates, guardianships, and marriage licenses sit in Probate.

Before starting a name search, have the full legal name, any known alias, and a date range. A case number speeds up the lookup. State Court accepts a citation number for traffic tickets. The State Court and Magistrate portals also require a disclaimer click and a reCAPTCHA check before each search. Superior Court has a public view mode with a cart for paid copies. Court officials and attorneys log in through a separate side panel.

1. Pick the court that fits the case type. Use Superior for felony, divorce, or land matters; State for misdemeanor or traffic; Magistrate for small claims, eviction, or warrant work; Probate for estates and marriage records.
2. Open the matching portal from the official judicial records hub. The hub routes each request to the correct clerk system.
3. Accept the disclaimer if the portal shows one. State Court and Magistrate both require it before search loads.
4. Type the name, case number, citation, or filing date range. Use phonetic match for unsure spellings on State and Magistrate name fields.
5. Pass the reCAPTCHA check on State and Magistrate, then submit. Filter results by court type, case type, or date column on the grid.
6. Open Case Details to view docket entries. Open the Documents button or Superior cart to view filed papers. Each clerk warns that the official paper record controls if the screen and paper differ.

Most lookups run free. A copy fee may apply for stamped or certified paper. The screen results show the same data the clerk staff use, but the printed file at the courthouse is the legal record.

Cobb County Court Records Search Fields

The Superior Court Clerk's WebCaseManagement civil search uses a fixed set of fields. Civil filers and party names go in one set. Criminal lookups use a slightly different set with alias and citation fields. The same datepicker drives the Filed From and Filed To boxes on both views. The grid below is the civil-side search field map taken from the live portal. Each field is text, except the court-type filter, which is a group of checkboxes.

The State Court Record Search adds tabs at the top: Name/Dates, Case Number, Citation Number, and Tag Number. A radio switch toggles civil and criminal cases. A phonetic checkbox helps on hard last names. The State Court user guide also says birth-year search is open for criminal cases only and that the system returns the first 5,000 records. The Magistrate portal uses the same tab style and adds two long dropdowns for civil and criminal case type, including dispossessory, garnishment, abandoned vehicle, and warrant rows. Cobb County court records pulled from these portals refresh nightly.

Types of Cobb County Court Records

Record type tracks the court that holds it. Superior Court holds the largest civil and criminal files. State Court holds traffic and misdemeanor records along with broad civil suits. Magistrate Court holds smaller civil disputes and warrant work. Probate Court holds estate and license files. Juvenile Court records have their own statutory cover. Municipal courts in Marietta, Smyrna, Powder Springs, Acworth, Kennesaw, and Austell handle ordinance and traffic cases inside city limits.

Civil records in Superior cover divorce, equity, title to land, child support, and habeas. Criminal records in Superior cover felony charges and death-penalty cases. The State Court Clerk page says the office keeps records for traffic, misdemeanor, and certain civil matters and that civil, criminal, and traffic cases are all open online. Magistrate civil rows in the search portal include dispossessory, regular garnishment, bank garnishment, mechanic's lien, suit on account, suit on note, and writ of possession.

• Superior civil and domestic files, including divorce, custody, child support, equity, and title to land.
• Superior criminal files for felonies and serious indictments.
• State Court traffic citations and misdemeanor cases; see Cobb County traffic court records for the citation walk-through.
• Magistrate small claims, dispossessory, garnishment, abandoned vehicle, and warrant matters.
• Probate files for wills, estates, guardianships, marriage licenses, and weapons carry permits; see Cobb County probate records.
• Juvenile delinquency, dependency, and traffic files held under special statutes.

Each clerk maintains its own docket. A case can move from Magistrate up to State or Superior as charges or claims grow. For arrest data that precedes a court filing, see Cobb County criminal records.

What Cobb County Court Records Show

A search result in any of the Cobb County court records portals returns a grid first, then a Case Details view. The grid lists case number, parties, file date, court, and case type. Click into the Case Details page for activities, hearings, and documents. The portals also show party addresses, which the Magistrate and State Court systems warn may be the address on file at the time of filing or a later update. The 2-column map below is the standard field set a user sees on a Cobb case detail page.

Personal identifiers are redacted or held back by rule. Social Security numbers, bank and card numbers, minor names, sealed adoption matter, and protected victim data should not show on the public screen. If a field looks blank where it should not, the clerk may have masked it under court rule. The official paper file at the courthouse remains the controlling record.

Public Access Framework for Cobb County Court Records

Georgia favors open access. The Open Records Act sets the base rule. The intent and definition section, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, declares the state's open-government policy. The access timing and fees section, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, covers response time, copy fees, and electronic records. The exemption section, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72, lists what an agency may withhold. The exemptions are read narrowly. Non-exempt parts of a record must still come out. The Georgia Attorney General publishes plain-English guidance and a sample request letter on its open-government page.

Court files have a second layer. Court rules, clerk statutes, and judge orders also shape what is open. Most adult civil and criminal case indexes are public. Many documents are public too. Some are sealed by statute. A few are sealed by court order in a specific case. The State Court Clerk page says records are open for inspection during normal working hours and that the office does not perform broad record searches by phone. Anyone may search by name or case number online. A photo ID may be needed for some in-person paper requests at the counter.

Lead-in: the Georgia.gov page that explains how the state runs offender lookups also helps frame how state and county data link up. See the official Georgia offender-search explainer for the state-level view.

The page above sits beside the Cobb County clerk portals. State-level tools cover offender and inmate lookups, while the county portals carry the trial-court docket. Both work together when a Cobb case crosses into state custody.

Records That Are Sealed or Confidential in Cobb County

Several record classes are off the public grid. Juvenile identifying data, fingerprints, photographs, and names sit under O.C.G.A. § 15-11-702. Access goes to law enforcement, courts, parties, or others the statute names. Adoption records are sealed and locked under O.C.G.A. § 19-8-23. A judge must enter an order after a written petition under seal and required notice before any review. Mental-health commitments held by Probate Court are sensitive and often restricted.

Adult criminal history can be record-restricted under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37. The record itself is not destroyed. Access for non-criminal-justice users is cut. The state calls the process record restriction rather than expungement in most contexts. For arrests before July 1, 2013, the person applies through the arresting agency, and the agency forwards the form to the prosecutor. GCIC processing may need a money order or certified check after approval. For arrests on or after July 1, 2013, the process often runs through the court and prosecutor at disposition. Trial exhibits, grand jury matter, and pending investigation files can also be off-limits under the exemption list.

To view a sealed record, a person usually files a written motion in the court that issued the seal. The motion explains the legal reason for access. The judge reviews in chambers. The clerk cannot release the file on a counter request. Cobb County court records that are sealed by statute, like adoption, follow even tighter rules. The State Court portal may show a redacted docket line or no result at all when a record is restricted.

Fees for Cobb County Court Record Copies

Most online lookups are free. Paper and certified copies carry a fee set by statute. The Superior Court Clerk publishes a fee table for civil filings, post-judgment work, subpoenas, notary commissions, and sheriff service. The schedule below shows the most common Superior items pulled from the official fee table. State, Magistrate, and Probate publish their own schedules on their fee pages.

Superior Court Clerk takes cash, money order, cashier's check, certified check, or credit/debit card. The cardholder must show ID in person when paying at the counter with a card. The full fee table sits on the Superior Court Clerk fee page. The Magistrate fees and forms page and the Probate fee page hold the other schedules. The State Court Clerk also collects fines and fees and runs the Traffic Violations Bureau line.

In-Person Court Record Requests

The county's court buildings sit around Marietta Square in downtown Marietta. The Superior Court Clerk handles paper and certified copies at the Haynes Street office. The State Court Clerk handles State Court files and traffic copies at East Park Square. The Magistrate and Probate counters are on Waddell Street. Bring a photo ID. Bring the case number when known. Court security screens every visitor. Pay by cash, money order, or card.

The Clerk of Cobb County Superior Court and the Clerk of Cobb County State Court each have their own counter rules. The Superior Court Clerk also keeps real estate records at a second office on East Park Square, Building C. The Magistrate counter handles warrant inquiry forms and small claims paper. The Magistrate Court page on this site has the warrant and small claims walk-through. For court hierarchy and judge lists, see Cobb County court dockets and the Clerk of Superior Court page.

Related Cobb County Record Searches

Other record sets sit beside the Cobb County court records portals. The Cobb County public records page covers the broader Open Records Act request process for non-court files. The criminal records page covers arrest and disposition lookups. The traffic court records page covers citations, court traffic records, and the state driver record split. The Clerk of State Court page covers traffic and misdemeanor handling. For Probate filings, see Probate Court records. Use the court dockets page for daily calendar lookups.