Montgomery County Court Record Requests
Figure out which court holds the file before anything else. Circuit Clerk Robert M. Perry keeps Montgomery County Circuit Court civil and criminal filings. His office also holds indictments, motions, judgments, executions, process, and jury records. Chancery Clerk Ryan Wood holds family, probate, guardianship, adoption, and equity files. Justice Court has its own clerk for small civil, misdemeanor, traffic, and preliminary felony matters. A municipal clerk handles a city case. The official county Courts page works as the local starting map.
Each channel serves a purpose. Remote PAMEC covers participating Circuit and Chancery electronic files. Under Mississippi judiciary policy, MEC civil and criminal documents can be viewed free in the clerk's office during regular business hours. Copy fees still apply there. Older files, lower-court material, and certifications take another route. Anything not in MEC still takes an in-person visit, a call, mail, or a specific written request. Note that the county's general contact form is not a court-copy request form.
- Give the custodian the court, case number if known, parties, approximate date range, and the exact item needed.
- Choose inspection, a plain copy, or a certified copy before asking for a fee estimate.
- Ask whether the record is in MEC, paper storage, index books, microfilm, or an archive when no electronic result appears.
- Submit in person, by mail, or by the method the clerk confirms. Do not assume that an email address means email requests or electronic payment are accepted.
Montgomery Court Record Custodians
The courthouse footprint is small, but the records authority is split. Circuit and Chancery both sit at 614 Summit Street in Winona. Even so, each office keeps a different court family. Justice Court sits at 706 Alberta Drive. Call ahead so a land record, a Chancery file, a Circuit case, and a Justice Court citation do not get crossed in one request.
Montgomery County Circuit Clerk
Robert M. Perry
614 Summit Street, P.O. Box 765
Winona, MS 38967
662-283-4161
Montgomery County Chancery Clerk
Ryan Wood
614 Summit Street, P.O. Box 71
Winona, MS 38967
662-283-2333
Montgomery County Justice Court
706 Alberta Drive, P.O. Box 229
Winona, MS 38967
662-283-2290
Municipal cases follow the issuing city. Winona has its own municipal clerk. Duck Hill lists a city/court clerk, and the official Kilmichael audit says its cases go to Justice Court.
Kinds of Court Records
A Montgomery County docket sheet is a running index. It shows what was filed, ordered, set, or disposed, and when. It is not the filed item behind a line entry. That underlying file might include a complaint or petition. It could also hold an indictment, motion, response, notice, order, judgment, exhibit, or disposition. Transcripts run through a separate channel. The court reporter or reporting service, not the clerk, is the first contact.
- Circuit case files for general civil and felony matters, including filings and judgments held by the Circuit Clerk.
- Chancery case files for family, probate, guardianship, adoption, and equity matters held by the Chancery Clerk.
- Justice Court files for traffic, misdemeanor, small civil, and preliminary matters held by Justice Court.
- Municipal case records for city traffic, ordinance, and limited criminal matters held by the issuing city.
- Docket sheets, notices, documents, and calendar information in MEC where a participating case and item are available.
The Chancery clerk also records deeds and other land instruments. Those are public records, but they are not the complete court case file.
Montgomery Court Record Viewing
The Mississippi judiciary public-records policy sets up two MEC access paths. Remote access to civil and criminal MEC cases is limited to PAMEC subscribers. Anyone can view MEC civil and criminal documents electronically in the clerk's office during regular business hours. There is no access charge there, though copying carries the applicable fee.
For remote use, PAMEC requires an account. The official registration page lists a $10 annual fee for attorney and non-attorney users. The terms charge each search at $0.20 per page returned. That charge includes one page for a no-match result. A portal image, free at a clerk-office terminal or paid remotely, is not automatically a certified copy. Certification remains a clerk service.
The official Northern District division map places Montgomery County in the Greenville Division for federal court matters.
The federal division map helps keep a federal case-record request separate from a state-court clerk request in Montgomery County.
Court Records: What They Contain
The fields in an individual Montgomery County MEC file require an account to see. A record request can still be precise. State the court, the case number, the parties, the date range, and the document needed. The field list here describes the normal difference between a docket, filed items, and clerk-certified material. It does not claim a public Montgomery sample screen.
| Case number | The court-assigned identifier; Montgomery does not publish one countywide format. |
|---|---|
| Docket sheet | A chronological index of filings, notices, settings, orders, and dispositions. |
| Pleadings | Items such as complaints, petitions, indictments, motions, answers, and responses. |
| Orders and judgments | Signed court rulings and final outcomes. Request the exact date or title when possible. |
| Exhibits and identifiers | May be redacted, sealed, or unavailable under a rule or court order. |
| Certification | A clerk-authenticated reproduction, distinct from an ordinary portal or photocopy image. |
Want the case chronology? Request a docket sheet. Need proof of a ruling? Request the specific judgment or order and ask whether certification is required.
Montgomery Court Record Request Details
The clerk publishes no local certified-copy form. There is no court-record request form and no transcript request form either. A clear written request should cover your contact information, the court, case number, party names, and document description. Include the date range, plain or certified choice, number of copies, and delivery method. Add payment information only if the clerk requires it. Ask for a fee estimate before mailing payment.
The official Greenville federal clerk-office page opens a separate path for a federal case. It does not replace a Montgomery County state-court clerk. Use it when a case caption or federal case number points to the Northern District rather than Circuit, Chancery, Justice, or Municipal Court.
The Greenville clerk office matters only for federal court records. That keeps the state and federal request channels distinct.
Copy Fees and Certification
Montgomery County posts no local copy-fee page. The statutory amounts come from state law, so confirm them with the holding clerk before any request goes out. A plain copy is not a certified copy. Certification is charged per complete document. The clerk fee provisions cited govern that charge, and the clerk can also quote search fees, postage, exemplification, and accepted payment methods.
| Record or Service | Amount Located | Source and Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Clerk copy made by clerk | $1 per page | Mississippi Code §25-7-13(2)(f) |
| Circuit Clerk copy made by another person | $0.25 per page | Mississippi Code §25-7-13(2)(f) |
| Circuit Clerk certification | $1 per complete document | Mississippi Code §25-7-13(2)(d) |
| Circuit final record or transcript | $2 per page | Mississippi Code §25-7-13(6); confirm applicability. |
| Chancery Clerk copy made by clerk | $0.50 per page | Mississippi Code §25-7-9(1)(e) |
| Chancery Clerk certification | $1 per complete document | Mississippi Code §25-7-9(1)(a) |
| Search, postage, exemplification, transcript reporter rate | Not located | Ask the custodian or assigned reporter. |
The Mississippi Law gateway is the official route into the state Code. Its state digest supplies the Chancery fee language.
Montgomery Federal Court Records
Federal records sit apart from Montgomery County state-court files. The Northern District of Mississippi places Montgomery County in the Greenville Division. Its court homepage points federal visitors to PACER and CM/ECF resources. PACER is the public system for viewing case information. CM/ECF handles filings by registered attorneys. Registered PACER users can search by name and case number, then review case history, docket-sheet entries, and documents. Check current federal charges directly there, because the federal fee schedule can change. One caution applies. A federal case number should never go to a Montgomery County Circuit or Chancery clerk as though it were a state case number. The Northern District's official home page spells out these federal record channels. It gathers PACER and CM/ECF in one spot.
Federal records follow a separate courthouse and PACER channel.
Access Rules for Court Records
Public access to court records has limits. Youth Court files are confidential under Mississippi Code sections 43-21-251 and 43-21-263. Sealed or expunged files may be unavailable, or they may show only restricted information. Rule 5.1 then steps in to protect identifiers. Full Social Security numbers, full birth dates, minor names, and full financial-account numbers get redacted or filed under seal where required. A docket entry may appear without the image.
Mississippi access rules: The judiciary public-records policy limits remote civil and criminal MEC access to PAMEC subscribers and allows free clerk-office electronic viewing subject to rules and copy fees. Mississippi Code sections 25-61-2 and 25-61-5 generally address public inspection and copying, while court-specific rules and exemptions control the record request.
When a clerk cannot release an item, ask for the legal basis. Ask too whether a narrower public version exists. Never reconstruct sealed or confidential material from public fragments. For a certified disposition or judgment, request that exact document from the holding clerk.
Montgomery Older Court Records
Older Montgomery County court records do not always live in MEC. Some sit in bound docket books, minutes, indexes, paper files, or on microfilm. Others rest in an archive miles from the courthouse. The MDAH County Records on Microfilm catalog shows which courthouse records were filmed. The titles differ from county to county. Before you travel, ask whether a particular file is held at the courthouse. Ask too whether it sits on microfilm or at an archive. A retention chart can help you understand how long records were kept. It cannot prove that one specific file still exists.
Federal dockets make the same distinctions in a different system. The official Northern District PACER and CM/ECF page separates a docket entry from a document image. It also separates both from the formal court record itself.
That PACER resource belongs to federal cases. Older state files are different. They trace back through the state-court clerk in Montgomery County. The Northern District's official case-information page gives the companion explanation of federal record access.
That federal page makes the lesson stick. Confirm the court name and case number before requesting any record.