Contact the Forrest County Circuit Clerk

About the Forrest County Circuit Clerk

Gwen Wilks serves as the Forrest County Circuit Clerk. The office oversees the docket of the Circuit Court. It also acts as administrator of all county elections. That pairing is common across Mississippi. One clerk keeps court files and voter rolls together. The Circuit Court docket tracks the names and parties in each case. It records pleas and indictments as matters move forward. The docket also holds lower-court records that arrive on appeal. Every paper entered is referenced to the minute book. Anyone who needs a Forrest County court file usually starts at this office.

The Circuit Clerk works within the Twelfth Circuit Court District. That district serves Forrest and Perry counties. State felony trials and large civil lawsuits run through this court. The clerk does not decide cases. Instead, the office files, stores, and certifies the record of what the court does. For the trial court itself and its judges, the Forrest County Circuit Court page carries more detail.

What the Forrest County Circuit Clerk Does

The Circuit Clerk's office is the records hub for Circuit Court and County Court matters. Staff accept filings, log them, and keep the official docket current. They issue process so that parties get served. They collect the filing fees set for pleadings and appeals. The office also supports the County Court and Youth Court as clerk. Youth Court files stay confidential under state law and are not open to the public.

• Maintain the Circuit Court docket of names, parties, pleas, and indictments
• File and store civil complaints, answers, motions, and judgments
• Hold lower-court records that reach Circuit Court on appeal
• Issue summons and other process for service on parties
• Administer county elections and voter registration
• Serve as clerk for the County Court and the Youth Court

Election duty sets this office apart. The Circuit Clerk acts as administrator of all county elections, so the same staff that pull court files also keep voter records. The court side of the work still drives most public requests. People come for case numbers, certified judgments, and proof of a filing. The clerk's docket entries trace back to the minute book, the official ledger of court actions. That book remains the anchor for the written record of each case.

Forrest County's Two Court Clerks

Mississippi gives Forrest County two clerks, not one. The Circuit Clerk and the Chancery Clerk divide the county's record work. Lance Reid serves as the Forrest County Chancery Clerk. He was elected in 2019 and took office in January 2020. He now serves his second term. His office is the keeper of record for five separate county roles.

The Chancery Clerk is far more than a court clerk. The office is Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, Clerk of the Chancery Court, County Recorder, County Treasurer, and County Auditor. Chancery Court handles divorce, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and land disputes. So probate and family matters route to the Chancery Clerk, not the Circuit Clerk. The Forrest County Chancery Court page covers those filings in depth.

The county publishes a full Forrest County Chancery Clerk page that lists the office's duties and contact details.

That page confirms the five roles the Chancery Clerk fills, which helps readers send each request to the correct desk.

Request a Forrest County Certified Copy

A certified copy carries the clerk's stamp and signature. Courts, agencies, and lenders accept it as a true copy of the original. A plain printout does not carry that weight. Most legal uses need the certified version. The Circuit Clerk certifies copies of Circuit Court records. The Chancery Clerk certifies Chancery Court records. Send each request to the office that holds the file.

Common reasons to order a certified copy include name changes, appeals, immigration matters, and proof of a judgment. A divorce decree, an estate order, or a felony disposition may all need certification. The steps below apply to either clerk. Start with the case details, then confirm the fee and the wait time. Mail requests should include a return address and a daytime phone number.

1. Identify the case. Note the case number, the party names, and the court that handled it. The Circuit Clerk holds Circuit and County Court files.
2. Confirm the right clerk. Circuit and County Court records go to the Circuit Clerk, while probate, divorce, and land records go to the Chancery Clerk.
3. Contact the office. Call the clerk or visit in person during business hours to request the copy and ask the current certification fee.
4. Submit the request and pay. Provide the case details, the number of copies, and the fee. Payment is taken in person or by mail.
5. Receive the copy. Pick it up at the counter or have it mailed to the address you list on the request.

Note: Certified-copy fees for Circuit and Chancery records were not published online, so call the clerk to confirm the current charge before you pay.

Forrest County Clerk and Records Fees

Fees depend on the office and the format you request. The Forrest County Sheriff's Office publishes a clear public-records cost schedule. Court clerks set their own copy and certification fees. Mississippi law lets a public body charge the actual cost of providing records under Miss. Code Ann. 25-61-7. The Public Records Act also gives the public a right to inspect and copy records under Section 25-61-5.

The Sheriff's office may also bill search and redaction time at the hourly rate of its lowest-paid qualified employee. Online Chancery copies carry a card service fee that is non-refundable once charged.

If an office denies a proper request, the Mississippi Ethics Commission public-records page explains how to file a complaint.

The commission enforces the Public Records Act under Section 25-61-13 and can review disputes over denied access.

Forrest County Court Records Online

No single website holds every Forrest County court record. The right tool depends on the court that created the file. Circuit Court and County Court cases run through Mississippi Electronic Courts, the statewide e-filing and access system. Public Access to MEC, known as PAMEC, supports online searches and may require an account or fees for documents. The PAMEC help desk sits at P.O. Box 117, Jackson, MS 39205, with phone 601-576-4650 and email helpdesk@mec.ms.gov.

Chancery records use different tools. Land records sit on the Chancery Clerk records portal. That portal warns that its online index is not official, and the courthouse Land Records Index controls. Chancery case files can be searched through the Forrest County Chancery Court case search. For law-enforcement reports, the Sheriff's records-request page routes requests to its records email.

The county's online directory listing gathers phone numbers for the Circuit Clerk, the courts, and other county offices in one place.

That directory is a quick way to confirm a clerk's number before you call about a record.

Forrest County Records Request Fields

A records request moves faster when it carries the right details. The Chancery Court case search shows the fields a clerk uses to locate a file. The same details help any clerk find a Circuit Court record. Bring as many as you can to the counter or the call. A case number with party names usually narrows the search quickly.

Refinements help with name searches in the Chancery system. A filing date range can narrow a common name, and a nature-of-action filter can sort by case type. For Circuit Court files, the clerk can search the docket by party name and case number. The office may ask for the year a case was filed. That detail speeds up older searches that predate the electronic system.

The more precise the request, the sooner the office can find, certify, and release the copy you need.