Search DeKalb County Court Records
Most DeKalb County court records search work begins with the DeKalb County Judicial Information System, also called the Odyssey portal. Superior Court, the Clerk of Superior Court, and the Sheriff's Office all point users to that Tyler portal for civil, criminal, jail, hearing, and smart-search access. State Court Division B also publishes docket PDFs for traffic calendars, while Probate Court uses a separate Tyler-hosted path for marriage and weapons-carry application or search functions.
Use the official court link first. The DeKalb Odyssey portal is the central public case path, but not every record or document is open online. A case number is stronger than a name search. For names, try spelling variants because the Probate Tyler disclaimer warns that an index is only a guide to documents, much like a card catalog. If the portal does not show the document, the next step is the clerk that keeps that case file.
The public Odyssey portal is shown in the DeKalb research screenshots as the county case-search starting point.
The portal helps route a DeKalb County court records search, but certified copies and restricted documents still come from the court clerk.
- Identify the court first: Superior for felony, divorce, family, title-to-land, and major civil matters; State for misdemeanors, many civil cases, DUI, and traffic; Magistrate for small claims, evictions, garnishments, ordinance matters, and criminal arrest warrants.
- Open the official court or clerk link and search by case number, party name, business name, citation number, or hearing date when those fields apply.
- Use docket dates for calendars. State Court Division B instructs users to select a court date, press the search icon, then open the Adobe PDF icon.
- Review the court, case type, party names, status, docket entries, and document availability before relying on the result.
- For a certified copy, final disposition, or document not visible online, contact the clerk office that owns that court file.
| Search Field | Use in DeKalb County | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Smart Search | Name, business, case number, or citation-style lookup | Use spelling variants for names. |
| Search Hearings | Hearing and date lookup | Linked by the Sheriff and Superior Court. |
| Court Date | State Court Division B docket PDFs | Required for the traffic docket workflow. |
| Case Number | Fastest path to one file | Best for copy requests and certified dispositions. |
| Register | Magistrate e-file access | Registration review may take one to two business days. |
DeKalb County Court System
Georgia does not use a county district court model for this project. DeKalb County's main trial court is Superior Court, the general-jurisdiction court for felony prosecution, divorce, family law, title-to-land disputes, lower-court appeals, and major civil cases. State Court handles misdemeanors, civil cases within its jurisdiction, traffic violations, DUI matters, and a specialized DUI Court. Magistrate Court handles smaller civil claims, dispossessory cases, garnishments, county ordinance matters, criminal arrest warrants, and preliminary criminal proceedings.
The county's judicial circuit name changed effective January 1, 2025, from Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit to DeKalb Judicial Circuit. Older forms, attorney biographies, and records may still use the former name. The court system also includes Probate Court for estates, guardianships, conservatorships, mental-health matters, marriage licenses, and weapons-carry functions, plus Juvenile Court and municipal courts for city-level matters.
The county judicial-system page lists the DeKalb County court offices, courthouse address, court roles, contacts, and visitor guidance.
That county overview is useful because DeKalb County court records may be held at different counters even when the offices share the same courthouse complex.
Case flow: Magistrate or law-enforcement start › prosecutor filing › State Court or Superior Court › disposition or judgment › Georgia appellate review when an appeal is filed.
| Court | Jurisdiction | Common Records |
|---|---|---|
| Superior Court | General trial jurisdiction | Felony, divorce, family, property, major civil, appeals |
| State Court | Limited trial jurisdiction | Misdemeanor, civil claims, DUI, traffic |
| Magistrate Court | Lower civil and preliminary criminal | Small claims, evictions, garnishments, warrants, ordinance cases |
| Probate Court | Probate and statutory services | Estates, wills, guardianships, marriage, mental-health orders |
| Municipal Courts | City cases | City traffic and ordinance citations |
DeKalb County Courthouses
The main courthouse is the DeKalb County Courthouse at 556 North McDonough Street in Decatur. Superior Court, the Clerk of Superior Court, Probate Court, the District Attorney, the Solicitor-General, and several State or Magistrate functions use the downtown courthouse complex. State Court Division B traffic and Magistrate criminal or ordinance matters use 3630 Camp Circle in Decatur. That split matters because a person with a traffic citation, warrant question, or ordinance case may need Camp Circle rather than the downtown clerk counter.
Probate Court has appointment-only service areas inside the Judicial Tower. Location #1 handles mental health, auditing, orders to apprehend, guardianships, conservatorships, and records. Location #2 handles marriage licenses, weapons carry licenses, wills, and estates. The Probate Court notes a midday sanitizing closure and a 2:00 PM processing deadline for lay affidavits seeking orders to apprehend.
DeKalb County Courthouse
556 North McDonough Street
Decatur, GA 30030
404-371-4901
Clerk of Superior Court
556 North McDonough Street, Ground Floor
Decatur, GA 30030
404-371-2836
DeKalb County Court Record Types
DeKalb County court records include civil case files, criminal court records, family and divorce filings, probate records, traffic records, warrant-related court entries, jail-linked charge data, and juvenile records that are often restricted. A civil case may include a complaint, answer, motions, notices, orders, judgment, and post-judgment garnishment. A criminal court file may include an indictment, accusation, warrant, bond order, arraignment, motions, plea, disposition, sentence, probation entry, and final disposition.
The DeKalb Superior Court site shows the local general-jurisdiction court's role and links to judges, dockets, Odyssey access, and partner agencies.
Superior Court is the key venue for DeKalb felony, divorce, family-law, and higher civil court records.
- Criminal records: Superior Court handles felonies after indictment or accusation; State Court handles misdemeanors.
- Civil records: Superior, State, and Magistrate courts divide civil cases by type, amount, and subject matter.
- Family and divorce records: Superior Court keeps divorce, custody, support, legitimation, and protective-order filings.
- Probate records: Probate Court keeps estates, wills, guardianship, conservatorship, marriage, and some mental-health records.
- Traffic records: State Court Division B keeps many county traffic and DUI case records, while city citations may stay in municipal court.
What DeKalb County Court Records Show
A DeKalb County court record usually identifies the court, case number, parties, filing date, status, judge or judicial officer, case type, docket events, and available documents. Criminal files may show charges, plea, bond, disposition, sentence, probation, and final disposition. Civil records may show the complaint, answer, service, motions, judgment, and garnishment. Probate records may show the estate, petitioner, decedent, ward, letters, inventory, annual return, order, or discharge.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The exact identifier used by the court, portal, docket PDF, citation, indictment, or clerk receipt. |
| Court and Division | Superior, State Division A, State Division B, Magistrate, Probate, Juvenile, or municipal court. |
| Parties | Names such as State v. defendant, plaintiff and defendant, petitioner and respondent, applicant, estate, or ward. |
| Docket Entries | Filed pleadings, warrants, hearings, continuances, orders, pleas, verdicts, dispositions, judgments, or appeals. |
| Documents | Pleadings, motions, warrants, indictments, accusations, orders, judgments, final dispositions, and docket PDFs when public. |
| Redactions | Protected identifiers, sealed filings, juvenile matters, mental-health records, and restricted criminal-history data. |
- Docket
- A chronological event list or hearing calendar for a case.
- Disposition
- The final or current outcome of a charge, claim, or case.
- Certified copy
- A clerk-issued copy bearing certification for official use.
- Accusation
- A prosecutor-filed charging document used in some Georgia criminal cases.
Public Access to DeKalb Court Records
Georgia public access starts with the presumption that government records are open unless an exemption, court rule, statute, or sealing order limits release. Court case files should be requested from the clerk that keeps the file. The Georgia Open Records Act is a useful fallback for agency records, but a court file is not the same thing as a police report, jail record, or prosecutor file. For Sheriff's, Police, booking, incident, accident, warrant-unit, or jail records, use the agency's own open-records path.
re:SearchGA is a statewide Tyler-hosted search path for case information and court documents across participating Georgia counties, including DeKalb.
Statewide access can help when a person is checking multiple Georgia counties, but DeKalb certified copies still depend on the custodian court.
Key Georgia access rules:
O.C.G.A. 50-18-70 through 50-18-74 treats many government records as open unless law says otherwise.
O.C.G.A. 50-18-72 lists exemptions that may block or limit disclosure.
O.C.G.A. 35-3-37 governs Georgia criminal-history record restriction for eligible records.
Restricted DeKalb County Court Records
Not every DeKalb County court record is public in full. Juvenile files, adoption records, sealed criminal matters, record-restricted criminal-history data, mental-health Probate Court proceedings, protected identifiers, and some protective-order details can be withheld or redacted. Georgia often uses the term record restriction instead of expungement. Restriction may limit non-criminal-justice access to criminal-history data, but it does not automatically erase every court docket, jail entry, archived image, or agency document.
For a DeKalb arrest that did not result in conviction, the correct restriction path depends on the arrest date and the agency or prosecutor that controls approval. Felony matters generally involve the District Attorney. Misdemeanor and many traffic-related criminal matters generally involve the Solicitor-General. Court files may require a separate sealing order. A person who needs access to a sealed record should follow the issuing court's procedure rather than asking a general county department to release it.
Note: Online indexes can show public case traces while the underlying document remains restricted, redacted, or available only by court order.
DeKalb County Specialty Courts
DeKalb State Court links a D.U.I. Court program that focuses on public safety, treatment, accountability, intensive court supervision, personal responsibility, and community reintegration. The research notes English and Latino court sessions in the State Court program materials. DUI matters may still produce State Court records, DDS consequences, probation entries, and related court dates.
The DeKalb State Court site is the local source for State Court, Division B traffic, online services, forms, and program links.
State Court is a major DeKalb County court records source for misdemeanor, traffic, DUI, and civil matters within its jurisdiction.
Magistrate Court describes the Misdemeanor Mental Health Court as a pre-plea and post-plea accountability court for people charged with misdemeanor or ordinance offenses who have a verifiable mental-health diagnosis. Successful completion can vacate the sentence, dismiss charges, and restrict the record. The program has a minimum twelve-month participation period for misdemeanor cases, and noncompliance can extend time.
DeKalb County Jail Records
The DeKalb County Sheriff's Office manages the jail, court services, and warrant processing. The Sheriff is Melody Maddox. The public inmate lookup is linked from the Sheriff's site and covers current DeKalb County Jail custody information. The Sheriff's contact page says detailed inmate information may include arrest dates, criminal or civil charges, and court dispositions through the DeKalb Online Judicial System. Jail records are related to court records, but they are not the full criminal case file.
The DeKalb County Jail is at 4425 Memorial Drive in Decatur. Jail Operations can be reached at 404-298-8145, and the Inmate Family Hotline is 404-298-8090. Sheriff's open-records pages also state that booking photos are not ordinary public downloads; news organizations with a Booking Photo Use Agreement must submit the inmate name and current booking number.
The DeKalb Magistrate Court site covers civil, criminal, ordinance, pretrial, and mental-health divisions that often connect jail, warrant, and first-appearance records.
Magistrate Court is important when a DeKalb County jail entry is tied to a criminal arrest warrant, first appearance, or county ordinance matter.
DeKalb County Traffic Records
DeKalb traffic records are mostly a State Court Division B issue for county and unincorporated jurisdiction, but municipal courts can keep city citations. Recorder's Court dissolved effective July 1, 2015. Traffic case records transferred to the Clerk of State Court, while code-enforcement records moved to Magistrate Court. Division B is at 3630 Camp Circle, which is separate from the downtown courthouse address.
A court traffic record and a Georgia DDS driver record are different files. The court record shows citation, charge, court date, plea, disposition, fine, failure-to-appear status, warrant status, or court result. DDS records show driver history, points, reported convictions, suspensions, revocations, and license status. DDS charges $7 for a three-year MVR, $9 for a seven-year MVR, and $9 for a lifetime MVR.
| Record | Custodian | Best Use |
|---|---|---|
| Court traffic case | State Court Division B or municipal court | Ticket status, court date, fine, plea, disposition |
| DDS driver record | Georgia Department of Driver Services | Points, license status, suspensions, certified MVR |
DeKalb Marriage and Probate Records
Marriage licenses are handled by DeKalb County Probate Court. Applicants complete the marriage license application online, receive a confirmation, then return to the Probate Court page to schedule an appointment. Both applicants must be present, bring proof of age, and bring required divorce or death documents if either applicant was previously married. A marriage license without qualifying premarital education costs $66 plus $2 shipping and handling; with qualifying premarital education, the license costs $26 plus $2 shipping and handling.
The DeKalb Probate Court site explains appointment-only service, marriage, weapons carry, wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, mental-health matters, parking, transit, and mailing details.
Probate Court is the correct DeKalb County court for estates, wills, guardianship, conservatorship, marriage, and certain mental-health records.
Divorce is a Superior Court matter in DeKalb County. Divorce record searches use the Clerk of Superior Court civil and family search path through Odyssey. A divorce file may include the petition, answer, domestic-relations financial affidavit, parenting plan, support worksheet, temporary order, settlement agreement, final decree, and later modification or contempt filings. Some family details involving children, finances, domestic violence, or sealed exhibits may be restricted.
DeKalb County Court Records Fees
Copy fees depend on the office and record type. The Clerk of Superior Court criminal page gives specific final-disposition copy fees. Certified Superior Court final dispositions are available at the ground-floor Clerk's Office after entry, usually within 24 hours after the hearing date. Regular copy fees and Probate marriage fees are separate. For traffic fines, payment amounts depend on the citation and court status, so the Division B payment path or clerk phone line should be used.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Superior Court certified final disposition | $2.50 first page plus $0.50 each additional page |
| Superior Court regular copy | $1.00 per page |
| Plat copy | $2.00 per page |
| Certified marriage certificate, license, or application | $10.00 |
| Probate online certified-copy shipping and handling | $2.00 |
| DDS three-year MVR | $7.00 |
DeKalb Court Clerks and Agencies
The Clerk of Superior Court is Debra DeBerry. That office manages Superior Court records and land records, including civil, family, felony criminal, divorce, temporary protective order, adoption, appeal, and related filings. The State and Magistrate Courts Clerk's Office is the official custodian for State Court and Magistrate Court records, including civil case files, criminal misdemeanor case files, garnishments, dispossessory cases, and traffic records for State Court Division B.
The Clerk of Superior Court site is the official starting point for DeKalb Superior Court records and land records.
The clerk split is central to DeKalb County court records because felony and divorce copies do not come from the traffic counter.
The District Attorney is Sherry Boston and handles felony prosecution in Superior Court. The Solicitor-General is Donna Coleman-Stribling and prosecutes misdemeanors and many traffic or code matters in State Court. The Public Defender is at 320 Church Street and represents qualifying defendants who cannot afford counsel. These offices do not replace the clerk as record custodian, but they help explain how a DeKalb case moves through court.
DeKalb Court Record Changes
Several recent DeKalb changes affect record searches. State Court Division B came from the Recorder's Court dissolution in 2015. House Bill 77 renamed the former State Court Jury Division as Division A effective January 1, 2022. The DeKalb Judicial Circuit name replaced Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit effective January 1, 2025. Older paperwork may still use former names, so search terms and office names can vary by record date.
The county's court technology is also tied to Tyler systems. Tyler reported in 2023 that the Clerk of Superior Court moved major court products from on-premises hosting to SaaS, including Enterprise Justice, Enterprise Corrections, pretrial services, electronic signatures, electronic notices, Records Management, eFileGA, and re:SearchGA. In 2026, the Solicitor-General announced the launch of Prosecutor by Karpel SaaS for the misdemeanor system.
DeKalb County Court Records FAQ
Where are DeKalb County court records searched online?
Start with the DeKalb Odyssey portal for public case and hearing searches. Use State Court Division B docket PDFs for traffic calendars and Probate Court's Tyler path for marriage or weapons-carry application searches.
Which clerk has a DeKalb divorce decree?
Divorce is a Superior Court matter. Certified divorce decree copies should be requested from the DeKalb Clerk of Superior Court, not the State Court traffic division or Magistrate Court.
Does DeKalb publish active warrants online?
No official public active-warrant roster was confirmed in the research. Use the Sheriff's Warrants Unit, Magistrate Criminal Division, the court shown on the case, or a lawful open-records request.
Are jail records the same as criminal court records?
No. A jail lookup may show custody, booking, charges, bond, or court date information. The criminal court record tracks the filed prosecution, motions, pleas, disposition, and sentence.
Why do some older records say Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit?
DeKalb's circuit name changed to DeKalb Judicial Circuit effective January 1, 2025. Older documents may still use the prior Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit name.
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