Find Claiborne County Marriage and Divorce Records

Getting a Marriage License in Claiborne County

The Claiborne County Circuit Clerk issues marriage licenses. Gale Compton serves as the Circuit Clerk. A couple who plans to wed in the county starts at this office, not at the Chancery Court. The clerk takes the application, checks the proof you bring, and prints the license. After the wedding, the signed license comes back and is filed as the marriage record. You can reach the office at 601-437-5841.

State law sets who may marry and how. Miss. Code Ann. § 93-1-5 lists the license conditions, such as age and consent. Miss. Code Ann. § 93-1-15 covers the license and the ceremony that follows. Once the license is recorded, the clerk holds it as a public record under Miss. Code Ann. § 93-1-23. The same office that issues the license is the one you call for a copy years later. For more on this office and its other duties, see the Circuit Clerk page.

Note: The Circuit Clerk, not the Chancery Clerk, handles marriage licenses in Claiborne County, so confirm hours and the fee by phone before you drive to Port Gibson.

How to Apply for a Marriage License in Claiborne County

The steps below follow the county route and standard Mississippi practice. Because the local fee and a few rules are not posted online, the first step is always a phone call. The clerk can tell you what to bring and whether both people must come in person.

1. Call the Circuit Clerk at 601-437-5841. Confirm current ID rules, the fee, hours, and whether both applicants must appear.
2. Gather your photo ID and any age, divorce, or parental-consent papers the clerk names.
3. Apply in person at the Circuit Clerk office and give the required details for each applicant.
4. Pay the marriage license fee at the counter. Ask which payment types the office takes.
5. Marry within the period the clerk states, then make sure the signed license is returned so it can be recorded.
6. For a certified copy later, request one from the Circuit Clerk or from the state health department.

Claiborne County Marriage License Application Fields

Plan to give basic facts about each person who will wed. Some items below come straight from the county FAQ, while others are the identifying details any license needs. Treat the list as a packing guide, then let the clerk confirm the final form. The two flagged items may be out of date, so do not rely on them without a call.

The two flagged rows matter most. The official county page still shows the blood test and the under-21 wording, yet the wider state practice appears to have moved on. Record it, but verify it with the Circuit Clerk before you spend money on a test you may not need.

Claiborne County Marriage and Divorce Fees

Fees split across three offices, and only one is firmly posted. The state health department sets the price for a certified marriage record. The local license fee and the Chancery divorce fees are not published online for Claiborne County, so each blank below routes you to the clerk who can quote it. The driver record fee charged by the state Department of Public Safety is a separate matter and does not apply here.

Use the table as a starting point, not a final quote. Call ahead so you bring the right amount and the right form of payment. A blank cell means the figure was not found on an official county source, not that the service is free.

Note: Mail ordering of a state marriage record skips the VitalChek surcharge, so choose the mail route when you can wait a little longer for the copy.

How to Look Up Claiborne County Marriage Records

There is no county website that lets you search Claiborne County marriage records on your own. The two real paths are the Circuit Clerk and the state. The clerk holds the local file and can confirm a record by phone or at the counter. The state health department can sell a certified copy and can search for the county where a license was issued.

The Mississippi State Department of Health explains the marriage record service on its MSDH marriage records page, which sets the $17 price and the order options. The same page notes that both state and county officials keep these records.

That page is the statewide backup when you cannot reach the county counter. To find any record, have the full names of both people, the wedding date, and the county where the license was issued ready.

How to Find Claiborne County Divorce Records

A divorce is a Chancery Court case in Mississippi, so the file lives with the Chancery Clerk. Gloria Dotson serves as the Claiborne County Chancery Clerk. The office handles divorce, child custody, alimony, property splits, and other equity matters. Call the Chancery Clerk at 601-437-4992 to ask about a case or to request a copy of a decree.

Chancery Court is the court of equity. Miss. Code Ann. § 9-5-81 sets out its jurisdiction over divorce and family matters. Claiborne County sits in the 17th Chancery District. Public divorce case details may show in the district's online court system, known as PAMEC, where a case is not sealed. A login and fees apply to that system, and the courthouse counter is the no-login fallback.

Not every part of a family file is open. Adoption cases and matters that involve minors may be sealed or restricted. Sensitive personal data is redacted under the court privacy rules. So a public lookup may show that a case exists without showing every page inside it. Estate and guardianship files run through the same court, and you can read more on the Probate Records page.

Note: A sealed divorce or adoption file will not appear in a public search, so contact the Chancery Clerk directly when a record you expect to find does not show up.

Marriage and Divorce Record Access Channels in Claiborne County

Marriage and divorce records do not share a single search tool. Each record type has its own online option, its own local office, and its own statewide route. The grid below lines the two up side by side so you can pick the channel that fits your need before you start.

The split is the key takeaway. A marriage record has a true statewide copy service, while a divorce decree does not. For a divorce, the county Chancery Clerk is the source of a certified copy, and the online view is limited to what the district posts.

Getting Certified Copies of Claiborne County Records

A certified copy carries an official stamp and is the version most agencies accept. A plain printout from a screen will not do for a name change, a benefit claim, or a court filing. For a marriage record, you have two sources. The Circuit Clerk can certify the local file, and the state health department can sell a certified copy for $17.

The state explains how to order on its MSDH vital records ordering page, which lists the online, phone, and mail options and notes the VitalChek fee. Major credit cards and express shipping are offered through VitalChek, while a mail order skips that extra charge.

That ordering page controls the price and the proof you must send. For a certified divorce decree, there is no equal state portal, so request the copy from the Chancery Clerk at 601-437-4992 instead.

Mississippi Vital Records Office

The Mississippi State Department of Health runs the state vital records office. It holds certified marriage records and can search for the county where a license was issued. It does not hold divorce decrees for public sale the way it holds marriage copies, so a divorce request still goes back to the county court. Use the office below for the statewide marriage copy route.