State Resources
Georgia
Georgia has 159 counties — more than any state but Texas — and one statewide index that covers every one of them for deeds, liens and UCC. Court records are the fragmented part. Learn GSCCCA and Georgia stops being hard.
At a glance
| Record | Held by | Cost | Online |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business and entity search | Secretary of State — Corporations Division | Free to search | Yes |
| UCC filings | Clerks of Superior Court, indexed by GSCCCA | Free index search | Yes |
| Professional licenses | Secretary of State — Professional Licensing Boards | Free | Yes |
| Property and land records | GSCCCA (statewide index) | Free index search; small fee for images | Yes |
| Court records | County by county; PeachCourt for many | Varies by county | By county |
| Criminal records | Georgia Bureau of Investigation | Fee; consent required | Consent required |
| Vital records | Department of Public Health, Vital Records | Certified copies carry a fee | Yes |
| Unclaimed property | Department of Revenue | Free | Yes |
| Voter and resident records | Secretary of State — My Voter Page | Free | Yes |
Worth knowing about Georgia
GSCCCA covers all 159 counties in one search
The Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority runs a statewide index that’s the most valuable thing in Georgia public records, and most people outside the state have never heard of it.
One search, all 159 counties, covering:
- Real estate — deeds and mortgages, indexed by grantor and grantee
- Liens — including state tax liens and judgment liens
- UCC filings — Georgia files UCC with the clerks, not the Secretary of State
- Plats and maps
- Notary records — every notary commissioned in Georgia
Index searching is free with a registered account; document images carry a small per-page fee. For an asset search that’s an enormous shortcut — one query answers what would be 159 county searches anywhere else.
Note the UCC point especially. Georgia is one of the few states where UCC financing statements go to the county clerks rather than the Secretary of State, and GSCCCA is how you search them centrally.
Court records are the fragmented half
Georgia has no free statewide case search. The court structure is also unusually layered — superior, state, magistrate, probate, juvenile and municipal courts, with different jurisdiction in each and different clerks.
Superior court handles felonies, divorce, land title and equity. State court handles misdemeanors and civil cases without equity. Magistrate court handles small claims, county ordinance violations and dispossessory actions — which is what Georgia calls eviction.
Many counties publish through PeachCourt, which is the closest thing to a common portal, though coverage and access vary and some functions are for attorneys. Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Cobb — the metro Atlanta core, and a large share of the state — all have workable online access.
For a locate, the magistrate dispossessory docket is the one to find. It gives you a dated address and a named landlord.
Record by record
Business and entity search
Open business search →- Held by
- Secretary of State — Corporations Division
- Cost
- Free to search
Free entity search returning status, formation date, registered agent and the officers listed on the annual registration.
Georgia requires annual registration, so an entity in good standing has been refreshed within the year. An administratively dissolved entity stopped filing on a date you can use.
UCC filings
Open GSCCCA UCC search →- Held by
- Clerks of Superior Court, indexed by GSCCCA
- Cost
- Free index search
Georgia files UCC financing statements with the county clerks, not the Secretary of State — unusual, and it catches people who go looking at the wrong agency.
GSCCCA indexes them statewide, so you still get one search. A UCC-1 names the debtor, the secured party and the collateral, and the secured party is usually a lender.
Professional licenses
Open licensing boards →- Held by
- Secretary of State — Professional Licensing Boards
- Cost
- Free
Georgia puts most professional licensing under the Secretary of State, with a single verification search returning name, status, dates and disciplinary action.
Property and land records
Open GSCCCA search →- Held by
- GSCCCA (statewide index)
- Cost
- Free index search; small fee for images
Deeds, mortgages, liens, plats and notary records for all 159 counties in one index. Search by grantor or grantee name.
The name index is the powerful part: run a person as grantee and you get every Georgia property they have taken title to, statewide, without knowing the county.
Court records
Open PeachCourt →- Held by
- County by county; PeachCourt for many
- Cost
- Varies by county
No free statewide case search. See above on the court tiers — superior, state and magistrate all hold different things and have different clerks.
PeachCourt is the nearest thing to a common portal across participating counties. Metro Atlanta counties are the best served.
Criminal records
Open GBI →- Held by
- Georgia Bureau of Investigation
- Cost
- Fee; consent required
Georgia doesn’t sell a name-based criminal history to the general public. A check on another person requires the subject’s signed consent, and is obtained through local law enforcement or an authorized vendor.
The practical route is the county courts. Note that Georgia first offender treatment can result in no conviction being entered at all, so a discharged case may show very little.
Vital records
Open vital records →- Held by
- Department of Public Health, Vital Records
- Cost
- Certified copies carry a fee
Births and deaths from the state office, with county health departments also issuing. Georgia restricts certified copies to the subject and immediate family.
Unclaimed property
Open unclaimed property →- Held by
- Department of Revenue
- Cost
- Free
Free name search. The holder named on a reported item is a confirmed bank, insurer or employer relationship with a last known address.
Voter and resident records
Open My Voter Page →- Held by
- Secretary of State — My Voter Page
- Cost
- Free
Individual registration lookup confirming status and county. Georgia sells the bulk voter file, and it’s one of the more accessible bulk files in the country.
Public records requests in Georgia
- Statute
- O.C.G.A. §§ 50-18-70 et seq. (Open Records Act)
- Response deadline
- Three business days
- Appeal to
- Attorney General, or superior court
- Appeal window
- No fixed deadline
Three business days to respond — either produce the records or state in writing what exists, what’s being withheld and why, with a timeline. Georgia’s clock is one of the shortest anywhere.
Every agency must designate an open records officer, and addressing your request to that person by title speeds things up measurably.
The Attorney General has enforcement authority and a mediation program. Civil penalties are available against officials who knowingly violate the Act — up to $1,000 for a first offense.
No residency requirement and no purpose requirement. Fees are capped by statute at the lowest-paid employee capable of doing the work, with the first quarter hour free.
What Georgia will not give you
- Name-based criminal history. Not sold to the public. Consent is required.
- First offender discharges. Georgia first offender treatment can mean no conviction is ever entered.
- Driver and vehicle records. Closed under the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act.
- Juvenile records. Not public.
- A free statewide case search. Does not exist. GSCCCA covers land and liens, not dockets.
Course
How to Find Out Where Someone Banks
UCC filings, business registrations and lien records all point at the same thing: who holds the money. The course walks the full sequence, including the free sources on this page and the ones that cost.
See the bank locate courseRelated
- Texas — 254 counties, the only state more fragmented
- Florida — next door and far more open
- UCC filings name the lender
- Property records: finding the owner
- Judgment liens and where they attach
Fees and procedures verified August 2026. Clerks change their counter rules more often than the statutes change — call before you drive.