Valdosta Court Records
Valdosta court records are maintained by two main bodies: the Valdosta Municipal Court, which handles city-level traffic and ordinance cases, and the Lowndes County Superior Court, where Valdosta serves as the county seat and which processes felony criminal matters, civil cases, and family law filings for the region. This page covers how to find and access court records in Valdosta through online portals and in-person requests at local offices.
Valdosta Quick Facts
Valdosta Municipal Court Records
Valdosta Municipal Court handles traffic citations issued within city limits, violations of city ordinances, and certain misdemeanor charges that fall under local jurisdiction. The court operates as part of the Valdosta city government. Its records are separate from the county court system, though both serve the same population. If your case involves a city citation or ordinance issue in Valdosta, Municipal Court is the right place to start.
Valdosta Municipal Court records are public under Georgia's Open Records Act at O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70. Agencies must respond to records requests within three business days. Some records may be withheld under exemptions in O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72, but most traffic and ordinance case files are available to the public. The court clerk handles these requests and can tell you what is on file for a given case.
The Valdosta Municipal Court page is at valdostacity.com/municipal-court. It lists court schedules, contact details, and information on how to pay fines or contest a citation in Valdosta. For active traffic tickets, Georgia's statewide citation lookup at georgiacourts.gov/municipal/locate-or-pay-my-ticket/ lets you search by citation number or license plate.
The screenshot below is from the Valdosta Municipal Court website, which shows the court's public portal including contact details, court schedules, and records access.
The city court portal includes links to pay citations online, check upcoming court dates, and contact the Valdosta Municipal Court clerk directly for case status questions.
Valdosta Court Records at Lowndes County Superior Court
Valdosta is the county seat of Lowndes County, and the Lowndes County Superior Court sits in Valdosta. This court handles the full range of serious legal matters for the county: felony criminal cases, civil lawsuits over $15,000, divorce and child custody filings, real estate disputes, and probate matters. All these cases create records that are public and accessible through the Superior Court Clerk's office.
Because Valdosta is the county seat, the courthouse is in the city. This makes in-person access to Lowndes County court records particularly convenient for Valdosta residents. You do not need to travel to a separate county seat. The Lowndes County Superior Court Clerk office handles case lookups, copy requests, and open records inquiries. A name search can pull up cases going back many years, though older records that have not been digitized may require a clerk to retrieve them from physical archives.
The Lowndes County government website at lowndescounty.com has contact information for the county's court system, including the Superior Court Clerk. This is a good first stop if you need addresses, phone numbers, or office hours before making a trip or calling for records. Lowndes County also has State Court for smaller civil matters, Magistrate Court for small claims and warrants, and Probate Court for wills and estate cases.
The GSCCCA search portal at gsccca.org/search indexes real estate instruments, liens, and UCC filings recorded by the Lowndes County Superior Court Clerk. If you are looking for a deed, mortgage, or judgment lien tied to a Valdosta address, this is the best free online tool. Searches return index data at no cost, and documents are available for viewing or download depending on the record type and date.
How to Search Valdosta Court Records
Searching Valdosta court records is straightforward once you know where to look. The case type determines which court and which tool to use.
For Valdosta traffic citations and city ordinance cases, start with the Georgia statewide ticket portal at georgiacourts.gov. This handles active and recent citations. For older municipal cases or records not in that system, contact Valdosta Municipal Court directly through the city website. Clerks can search by name or citation number and let you know what is on file.
For Lowndes County Superior Court records tied to Valdosta, the GSCCCA portal is the main online tool for recorded instruments. For civil and domestic case records, PeachCourt at peachcourt.com covers e-filed cases in Georgia courts including Lowndes County. You can check case status for many types of filings without going to the courthouse. For a full case file with all documents, an in-person visit to the Lowndes County clerk is the most reliable option.
Use the statewide clerk finder at gaclerks.org to confirm the Lowndes County Superior Court Clerk's current address, hours, and phone number. Georgia's court system is organized by county, and the clerk finder links to every Superior Court Clerk in the state. This tool is free and updated regularly.
Valdosta Court Records and Open Access
Georgia's Open Records Act at O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 gives the public the right to inspect and copy most government records, including court records from both Valdosta Municipal Court and Lowndes County Superior Court. The law requires agencies to respond to requests within three business days. Getting the records themselves may take longer depending on the volume of the request and whether the files are in digital or paper format.
Not all Valdosta court records are fully open. Exemptions under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 include juvenile records, sealed case files, certain law enforcement materials, and records where a court has found that privacy outweighs public interest. A judge can order specific files in Valdosta to be sealed. If you are denied access to a record you believe is public, ask the clerk which exemption applies. You can also submit a written open records request to trigger the formal three-day response window.
Most routine Valdosta court records are open and easy to get. Civil judgments, criminal dockets, recorded deeds and liens, and most court orders are public. The GSCCCA and Lowndes County clerk handle most requests quickly, especially for digitized records.
Lowndes County Court Records
Valdosta is the county seat of Lowndes County, and the county courthouse sits in the city. All county-level court records for Valdosta, including Superior Court filings, recorded instruments, and related case documents, are maintained by the Lowndes County court system. Visit the county page for a full overview of courts, offices, and records access across Lowndes County.