Kemper County Court Records Lookup

How to Search Kemper County Court Records

Kemper County does not run a single public portal for every court file. Records sit across three trial courts, two clerks, and a sheriff's roster. The fastest path depends on the case type. Mississippi Electronic Courts, known as MEC, is the statewide system for participating circuit and chancery courts. The 10th Circuit court-information page lists Kemper County Circuit Court at 123 Main Ave., De Kalb, with an MEC go-live date of April 14, 2025. Full case views inside MEC may need a login. The clerk is often the real answer.

The Kemper County homepage gathers the court links, clerk pages, and public-records routing in one place, as seen at the Kemper County homepage.

From that homepage every Kemper County court office and form is a click or two away. A few details gathered first will speed up any channel you choose.

1. Name the case type. Felony or major civil belongs to Circuit Court. Divorce, estate, or land belongs to Chancery Court. Small claims and most traffic belong to Justice Court.
2. Check MEC for participating circuit or chancery cases, and confirm the court's go-live status on the 10th Circuit court-information page.
3. If the file is not visible online, call the clerk that holds it and ask what is public.
4. For a sheriff custody matter, use the inmate roster first, then call the detention center.
5. Request a plain or certified copy from the clerk once you confirm the case number.

Note: MEC access varies by court, so an older Kemper County case may exist only at the clerk's counter.

The Kemper County Judicial System

Mississippi splits its trial courts by the kind of relief a case seeks. Circuit Court is the law court. It hears felony prosecutions, larger civil suits, and appeals from County, Justice, and Municipal courts. Chancery Court is the equity court for divorce, custody, adoption, estates, guardianships, land title, and commitment matters. Justice Court is the local lower court for small claims, many misdemeanors, traffic outside cities, and warrants. There is no generic county "District Court" in Kemper County. That label never fits a local file.

Kemper County Circuit Court belongs to the 10th Circuit Court District. Judges Robert T. "Bo" Bailey and Charles W. Wright Jr. preside, shared with Clarke, Lauderdale, and Wayne counties. Chancery Court here is grouped with Neshoba and Winston counties, with Chancellors D. Joseph Kilgore and Kiley Kirk. Justice Court lists Judges Mary Gully and Linda Sciple Wright.

The county courts overview names the judges and the duties of each court, as shown on the Kemper County courts overview.

That overview helps place a case before you search. A case can climb from a lower court to an appeals court, while Chancery Court runs beside the ladder as the separate equity court.

Case flow: Justice Court › Circuit Court › Mississippi Court of Appeals

Appeals from Kemper County trial courts go to the Mississippi Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals, by assignment and case type.

Which Clerk Holds Which Kemper County Record

Kemper County uses a split clerk system. It is the heart of any record search here. The Circuit Clerk and the Chancery Clerk are two separate offices with two separate sets of files. Sending a request to the wrong one slows you down. The Kemper County FAQ spells out the split in plain terms.

The Circuit Clerk is Shirley Steele Jackson. She serves as clerk of the Circuit and County Courts. The office receives lawsuits, indictments, and motions, issues summonses and subpoenas, draws juries, keeps judgments, issues marriage licenses, and registers voters. The Kemper County FAQ routes criminal history, civil litigation, and tax-lien records here.

The Circuit Clerk page lists the filings, process, jury, and marriage records the office keeps, as posted on the Kemper County Circuit Clerk page.

That office is the right stop for a criminal or civil Circuit Court file and for a marriage license. The Chancery Clerk, Sherline D. Watkins, keeps a very different set of records.

The Chancery Clerk holds board minutes, land and deed records, liens, lis pendens, and military discharges. As Clerk of Chancery Court the office also keeps estates, guardianships, conservatorships, divorces, custody, and adoption files. The FAQ routes divorce, estate, land, delinquent-tax, and board-minute records to this office.

The Chancery Clerk page details the land, lien, estate, and divorce records it stores, as shown on the Kemper County Chancery Clerk page.

The table below shows the split at a glance. Use it to pick the right office before you call.

Court Records Available in Kemper County

Kemper County court records span criminal, civil, family, probate, land, and traffic files, and each court produces its own type. Circuit Court civil files may hold a complaint, answer, summons, motions, orders, and judgments. Circuit Court criminal files cover felonies and listed misdemeanors, with indictments, bond orders, plea petitions, sentencing orders, and disposition.

The Circuit Court page names the 10th Circuit judges and the case types the court hears, as published on the Kemper County Circuit Court page.

Chancery and Justice courts add their own record sets. The list below groups the main Kemper County court records by court.

• Criminal records - Circuit Court felony and misdemeanor files with charges, pleas, and sentence.
• Civil records - Circuit Court suits, judgments, and appeals from County Court.
• Family and divorce records - Chancery Court divorce, custody, support, and adoption files.
• Probate and estate records - Chancery Court estates, wills, guardianships, and conservatorships.
• Land and lien records - Chancery Clerk deeds, mortgages, liens, and military discharges.
• Traffic records - Justice Court citations, fines, and dispositions outside city limits.

Some Kemper County files mix public and sealed parts. A divorce docket may be open while child or financial exhibits stay private.

What Kemper County Court Records Show

A Kemper County court file is built from fields, and the same fields repeat across courts. Case numbers follow the court and system, and an MEC number must be used exactly as assigned. A sheriff booking number, such as 30982-1, is not a court case number. Party labels shift by court. Civil cases name a plaintiff and defendant. Criminal cases read State of Mississippi against the defendant. Chancery cases name a petitioner and respondent.

The table below mirrors what a Kemper County court records search returns once you open a case. Sensitive entries may be redacted.

Financial fields can appear too, such as court costs, restitution, and bond amount. Documents like pleadings, orders, decrees, and wills may sit behind an MEC login rather than open view.

Searching Kemper County Records Through MEC

Mississippi Electronic Courts is the official electronic path for participating circuit and chancery courts. Kemper County Chancery Court began mandatory attorney e-filing on November 27, 2017, and the Circuit Court went live in MEC on April 14, 2025. The public court-information page is open, but the full case search often sits behind a login. Start at the state Mississippi Electronic Courts page and the 10th Circuit court-information page to confirm a court's status, address, phone, and hours.

The court-information page shows a fixed set of fields rather than a free case search. The table lists what the open view holds for Kemper County.

Note: When MEC view is gated for a Kemper County case, the clerk who holds the file is the reliable next channel.

Public Access Laws in Kemper County

Mississippi law leans toward open records. Court rules and exemptions still shape what you can see. The Public Records Act sets the policy in favor of inspection. Court sealing orders, expunctions, juvenile rules, adoption confidentiality, and medical privacy can override that default. The practical rule in Kemper County is simple. Ask the office that keeps the record, and identify the exact file you want.

The Kemper County "How Do I?" page maps that routing. It sends criminal history, civil litigation, and tax-lien questions to the Circuit Clerk. Divorce, estate, land, and board-minute questions go to the Chancery Clerk. The full routing is laid out on the Kemper County How Do I page.

That routing saves a wasted trip. A few state statutes back the access framework, summarized below in plain terms.

Records That Are Restricted or Confidential

Not every Kemper County court record is open to the public. Some files are sealed by court order, and others are confidential by statute. Youth and juvenile proceedings are not ordinary public records, and access usually runs to the child, parents, attorneys, and authorized agencies. Adoption files in Chancery Court are highly confidential, and a certified decree often needs statutory authority or a court order. Mental-health and commitment proceedings carry medical detail and are commonly restricted.

Personal identifiers are routinely held back from Kemper County files. Social Security numbers, full account numbers, minor names, protected addresses, and medical detail may be redacted from an otherwise public file. Investigative reports and some search warrants can be exempt, and driver records and crash reports are not public through ordinary channels.

To view a sealed file, a person usually must petition the court that holds it and show legal grounds. Ask the clerk what public docket, order, or redacted copy is available.

Kemper County Justice and Warrant Records

Justice Court is the busy local court for everyday matters in Kemper County. It handles small civil claims and criminal violations outside city limits. It also collects traffic fines from Mississippi Highway Patrol and Fish and Wildlife officers. It also holds court for drivers who protest a citation. Judges serve four-year terms and complete Mississippi Judicial College training. The court sits at least once and no more than twice a month, so dockets move on a set rhythm.

The Justice Court page lists the judges and the traffic, small-claims, process, and warrant duties the court carries, as shown on the Kemper County Justice Court page.

Justice Court is also a key warrant channel. It issues process, subpoenas, and warrants requiring an appearance on a set date. A bench warrant tied to a missed Justice Court date or unpaid fine may start here. Felony warrants and capiases tie instead to Circuit Court indictments and the Circuit Clerk's process records.

Kemper County does not publish a full active-warrant search. The sheriff posts a Most Wanted list after a disclaimer, but that list is not a warrant database. To clear a warrant, call the Sheriff's Office, then the issuing court, and ask whether the matter can be paid, reset, or must be heard by a judge. The county's warrant records page walks through each channel.

Note: Justice Court phone lines and case limits can change, so confirm the current filing limit and court date with the court clerk.

Kemper County Sheriff and Jail Records

The Kemper County Sheriff's Office is the official source for county custody information. Sheriff James Moore Sr. serves as county jailor and keeps the jail docket. The detention center is a separate building from the courthouse, out on Stennis Industrial Park Road. The office runs an online inmate roster with a Current Inmates view and a 48 Hour Release view. The roster showed 374 entries when inspected, with mugshots, booking numbers, booking dates, and charges.

A profile adds age, gender, race, and city. It does not show bond amount, case number, or court date. The roster warns that charges and bail can change after a court appearance, so the detention center must confirm current figures.

The sheriff also offers a "Kemper Co MS Sheriff" app that mirrors the roster, Most Wanted, sex offender, and crime-tip features. It is a parallel channel, not a court case-search tool. For sentenced state prisoners, use the Mississippi Department of Corrections inmate search instead of the county roster. Full roster fields, booking detail, and the app live on the Kemper County inmate records page.

Marriage, Divorce, and Probate in Kemper County

These three record types split between the two clerks. The split trips up many searchers. Marriage licenses and marriage records are Circuit Clerk matters, while divorce and probate are Chancery Court matters held by the Chancery Clerk. The county FAQ confirms each route. A marriage record copy can also come through the Mississippi State Department of Health Vital Records Office, reachable at 601-206-8200, which orders by phone or through VitalChek.

The Chancery Court page sets out the equity, domestic, and estate duties that cover divorce and probate, as published on the Kemper County Chancery Court page.

Divorce files run through Chancery Court, where a chancellor usually hears the case without a jury. Probate covers estates with or without a will, plus guardianships and conservatorships for minors and incapacitated adults. Will contests are one of the few chancery matters where a jury is allowed. Child, financial, and adoption materials may be sealed even when a docket is otherwise open. The county's marriage and divorce records and probate records pages cover the filing steps and fees.

Kemper County Court Records Fees

Copy fees are charged by the Kemper County clerk who holds the file. Kemper County does not publish a local court copy fee or marriage license fee in its official online pages. Exact court amounts should be confirmed with the Circuit Clerk or Chancery Clerk before you request a copy. A couple of related state fees are published below for reference. A Motor Vehicle Record from the Department of Public Safety is a driver record, not a court file.

Kemper County also posts a Public Records Request Policy as a PDF. Mississippi law lets an agency charge the actual cost of search and copying, so ask the clerk for an estimate with any larger request.

Legal Terms in Kemper County Court Records

Kemper County court files carry shorthand that can confuse a first-time reader. A few plain definitions make a Kemper County docket easier to read. The terms below appear across criminal, civil, and chancery files in the county.

Arraignment

The hearing where a defendant hears the charges and enters a plea.

Bond

Money or conditions set to secure a defendant's return to court.

Docket

The dated list of filings, hearings, and orders in a case.

Disposition

How a case ended, such as dismissed, guilty, or acquitted.

Indictment

A grand jury's formal felony charge in Circuit Court.

Executor

The person named to carry out a will in a probate estate.

Lis pendens

A recorded notice that a lawsuit may affect a piece of land.

Charges are not the same as convictions. A charge is an accusation filed after arrest, while a conviction is a finding or plea of guilt entered by the court.

History of Kemper County Courts

Kemper County was named for Colonel Reuben Kemper and was one of sixteen counties formed in 1833. The land came from the Choctaw cession under the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit, and an act of December 23, 1833 set the county lines. The county covers 767 square miles, with De Kalb as the seat and Scooba as the other main town.

Kemper County's two court tracks reflect an old division between law and equity. Chancery Court has always been the separate equity court, set apart from the law-court circuit. That is why divorce, probate, land, and guardianship files do not sit with Circuit Court civil cases. The modern Justice Court replaced the older Justice of the Peace system under a 1984 state statute, so longtime residents may still say "JP." Chancery e-filing began in 2017, and the Circuit Court joined MEC in 2025, so older files may need a clerk visit rather than an online search.

Kemper County Courthouse Contact Information

The main Kemper County courthouse stands at 123 Main Ave in De Kalb, and it is the central in-person stop for both clerks. The county FAQ publishes that address and repeats it on the routing page. Mailing often runs to a P.O. box, so use the street address for visits and the box for mail.

The county FAQ confirms the courthouse street address for in-person record access, as shown on the Kemper County courthouse location FAQ.

The cards below give the courthouse and the two clerk offices that hold Kemper County court records.

Note: The county posted updated direct lines in 2025, so confirm the current clerk or Justice Court number before you travel.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I search Kemper County court records online?

Start by naming the case type, then check Mississippi Electronic Courts for participating circuit and chancery cases. The Kemper County Circuit Court went live in MEC on April 14, 2025, and Chancery e-filing began in 2017. Full case views may need a login. When the online view is gated, call the clerk who holds the file. The Circuit Clerk keeps criminal and civil Circuit Court records, and the Chancery Clerk keeps divorce, estate, and land records.

Which clerk do I call for a Kemper County divorce or estate file?

Call the Chancery Clerk. Divorce, custody, adoption, estates, guardianships, and land records all run through Chancery Court and its clerk, Sherline D. Watkins, at 601-743-8368. The Circuit Clerk handles criminal cases, civil suits, judgments, and marriage licenses instead. The county "How Do I?" page confirms this routing, which is the fastest way to avoid the wrong office.

Is there a Kemper County warrant search I can use?

There is no full public active-warrant database for Kemper County. The sheriff posts a Most Wanted list, but that is not a complete warrant search. To check a warrant, call the Sheriff's Office at 601-743-2255, then the issuing court. Justice Court at 601-743-8267 handles appearance and bench warrants, while felony capiases tie to Circuit Court and the Circuit Clerk.

Where is the Kemper County courthouse?

The courthouse is at 123 Main Ave, De Kalb, MS 39328, the county seat. It is the in-person access point for both the Circuit Clerk and the Chancery Clerk. The Board of Supervisors meets nearby at the Courthouse Annex, 230 Main Avenue. The Sheriff's detention center sits separately at 330 Stennis Industrial Park Road, so custody questions go there, not to the courthouse.

How much does a Kemper County court record copy cost?

Kemper County does not publish a local court copy fee or marriage license fee online. Because the amount is not posted, confirm the current charge directly with the Circuit Clerk or Chancery Clerk before requesting a copy. Mississippi law lets an agency charge the actual cost of search and copying, so ask for an estimate with any larger or older record request.