Towns County Court Docket Records

Towns County court docket records are maintained by the Clerk of Superior Court in Hiawassee, Georgia. Located in the Blue Ridge mountains near the North Carolina border, Towns County has a Superior Court that handles civil cases, criminal felony matters, and domestic relations proceedings for the county. The court docket is the official public log of every action taken in each case. This page explains how to search the Towns County docket online, how to request copies of court records, what each docket entry contains, and the open records rules that apply.

Towns County Clerk of Superior Court

The Towns County Clerk of Superior Court is at 48 River Street, Hiawassee, GA 30546. The phone number is (706) 896-2130. The clerk maintains all Superior Court records for Towns County, including case files for civil, criminal, and domestic relations matters. Visit www.townscountyga.gov for additional county information and any online resources the county provides.

The clerk's office can search records by party name or case number. Towns County is a smaller mountain county, so the staff is usually accessible and responsive to requests by phone. For archived records from earlier years, some retrieval time may be needed. Calling ahead before your visit is a good idea to confirm the file is available and that staff can assist you.

Office hours are generally Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The courthouse in Hiawassee is near the Georgia-North Carolina border. Towns County is in the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit, which also covers Union County and several neighboring counties.

Search Towns County Dockets Online

Georgia's re:SearchGA portal at researchga.tylerhost.net offers free online access to Superior Court dockets across the state. If Towns County is participating in the system, you can search by party name or case number and view docket entries including dates, document types, and current case status. No account is required for basic searches.

To search Towns County court records online, visit the re:SearchGA portal, Georgia's statewide public court docket search system.

The GSCCCA portal at gsccca.org covers real estate and lien records recorded by the Towns County clerk. This is particularly useful in a county where land and property matters are common given the mountain real estate market. If online tools do not return the case you are looking for, call the clerk directly at (706) 896-2130.

Requesting Court Records

Records can be requested in person at 48 River Street in Hiawassee or by mailing a written request to the clerk's office. For in-person requests, bring the case number or the names of the parties. Staff will retrieve the file and provide copies. For mail requests, include the case details, the documents you need, a self-addressed stamped envelope, and payment for copying.

Per O.C.G.A. § 15-6-77, standard copies cost $0.50 per page. Certified copies are $2.50 for the first page and $0.50 for each additional page. Payment by check or money order is standard for mail requests. Call (706) 896-2130 before sending a mail request to confirm accepted payment types and current turnaround.

The eCertification portal at ecert.gsccca.org allows online ordering of certified copies for certain recorded documents. For people who live far from Hiawassee or outside Georgia, this is a convenient alternative to an in-person visit or mail request.

What's in the Towns County Docket

The Towns County Superior Court docket is the complete chronological record of every action taken in a case. Civil docket entries cover complaints, answers, motions, orders, and judgments in disputes over contracts, property, and other civil matters. Criminal docket entries record arraignments, bond conditions, pretrial motions, pleas, and sentencing in felony cases. Domestic docket entries include divorce filings, custody rulings, alimony orders, and modifications. Each entry lists the date, action type, and all parties and attorneys involved.

The docket gives you a case timeline without requiring you to read every document. You can use it to see whether a judgment was entered, whether a case is still pending, or whether a particular motion was granted or denied. Once you know which entries are relevant, you can request those specific documents from the clerk. The docket is the most efficient starting point for any court records research.

Open Records and Public Access

Georgia's Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, makes Towns County court records available to anyone. You do not need to explain your reasons. The clerk must respond to a written open records request within three business days. Producing the records may take longer for large or archived requests.

Most court records are public. Exceptions include records sealed by a judge, juvenile records, and records protected by state or federal law. Sealed records are acknowledged by the clerk but not released without a court order. Expunged or restricted records do not appear in public searches at all.

Some personal information, such as victim contact details, is redacted in released records as required by Georgia law. This does not change the public accessibility of the rest of the file. The clerk can explain any redactions if you have questions about a specific document.

Statewide Search Tools

The Georgia Courts E-Access portal at georgiacourts.gov/eaccess-court-records links to court resources throughout the state. Towns County borders North Carolina, so federal cases may fall under either the Northern District of Georgia or the Western District of North Carolina depending on the nature of the matter. Use PACER at pacer.gov to search federal court dockets.

Georgia Legal Services Program at glsp.org assists qualifying residents with free civil legal help. The eFileGA system at odysseyefilega.com is the electronic filing portal for attorneys in Georgia Superior Courts. Those filings appear in re:SearchGA after the clerk processes them.

Cities in Towns County

Hiawassee is the county seat of Towns County. Young Harris is another small city in the county, known for Young Harris College. Neither Hiawassee nor Young Harris meets the population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site. The nearest qualifying city in the area is Gainesville in Hall County to the south.

Nearby Counties

Towns County borders several Georgia counties as well as North Carolina to the north. To the west is Union County. To the south is White County and Lumpkin County. To the east is Rabun County. Each of these counties has its own Superior Court clerk and maintains its own docket records separately from Towns County.