Shelby County Circuit Court Clerk Records

Shelby County's Split Clerk Structure

Most counties have one clerk of court. Shelby County has six. Tennessee's court system assigns clerk duties by court type rather than by county, so each court maintains its own clerk's office, its own record system, and its own fee schedule. If you go to the wrong office, staff will tell you where to go, but it wastes a trip. The table below shows which clerk handles which matters, so you can start in the right place.

A case can move between courts. A criminal matter might start in General Sessions, get bound over to Criminal Court, and end with an appeal in Circuit Court. When that happens, three different clerks hold parts of the record. Search all three to get the full case history.

The Circuit Court Clerk

Jamita E. Swearengen is the Shelby County Circuit Court Clerk. She was elected in August 2022 and began serving September 1, 2022. The Circuit Court Clerk supports nine judges and nine court divisions. The office files cases, manages court records, issues process, and collects fees for what the Circuit Court page describes as about 5,500 cases filed per year. Cases the clerk handles include auto accident, breach of contract, certificate of employability, condemnation, divorce with and without minor children, medical malpractice, minor settlement, name change, personal injury, restoration of citizenship, worker's compensation, wrongful death, and appeals from Juvenile, Municipal, and General Sessions Courts.

The official Circuit Court Clerk page carries Swearengen's biography and office contact. The office accepts public records requests by email at CircutCourtRecordsRequest@shelbycountytn.gov, by mail, or in person at Room 324.

The screenshot below, from the Circuit Court Clerk's official biography page, shows the elected clerk's contact information and office overview.

The page confirms the Room 324 location at 140 Adams Avenue and the weekday office hours that apply to in-person copy requests.

Note: The Circuit CourtConnect online search tool returned a "system is not available" message on May 26, 2026. Contact the clerk directly or use the public records request form if the portal is down when you search.

The Clerk and Master (Chancery)

W. Aaron Hall holds the office of Clerk and Master. The Clerk and Master is appointed by a majority of the chancellors for a six-year term. Under Tennessee statutes, including T.C.A. § 18-5-103, the Clerk and Master is authorized to perform the functions of Masters in Chancery unless restrained by law. The office assists in courtroom administration, records management, docket maintenance, revenue management, court minutes, and official communications.

Chancery Court has its own jurisdiction that does not overlap with Circuit. It hears declaratory judgments, delinquent tax sales, divorces, enforcement of arbitration awards, habeas corpus, mandamus, public nuisances, removal of public officers, replevins, usury, and worker's compensation matters. The Chancery Court page states the court does not have jurisdiction over actions for injuries to persons or character, or injuries to property not resulting from breach of contract. Chancery also maintains an Uncontested Divorce Hearing Docket with limited available dates; attorneys can request a date through an online form. For trial exhibits, Chancery requires counsel to assemble and account for exhibits for scanning into the electronic case management system; large or non-paper originals stay with counsel unless needed for an appeal.

The screenshot below links to the official Clerk and Master page, which names W. Aaron Hall and explains the role of the Clerk and Master in Shelby County Chancery proceedings.

The page covers court duties, the appointment process, and the statutes that govern the Clerk and Master's authority in Shelby County Chancery Court.

The Criminal Court Clerk

Heidi Kuhn serves as the Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk. The office is at 201 Poplar Avenue, the Walter L. Bailey Criminal Justice Center, which is separate from the main courthouse cluster at 140 Adams. The Criminal Court Clerk handles records and online payments for Criminal Court cases. Online payments run through the payit901 system. If a case number starts with C, enter the case number. If it does not start with C, the Criminal Court page says to enter the indictment number and booking number instead. Case numbers in the Criminal Justice System follow the format of eight characters, a dash, then eight more characters.

To search criminal case information, users need to register and sign in to the Shelby County Criminal Justice System (CJS) portal. The CJS Smart Search tool helps locate a case for payment or review once logged in. The Criminal Court Clerk's office also maintains an Expungements division that can be reached at (901) 222-3292 for questions about clearing eligible criminal records under T.C.A. § 40-32-101.

The General Sessions Court Clerk

Tamara A. Sawyer leads the General Sessions Court Clerk office. General Sessions is Shelby County's court of limited jurisdiction and it handles both civil and criminal matters. The Civil Division hears money suits, detainers, and interpleaders. The Criminal Division handles misdemeanors, preliminary hearings on felonies, and traffic tickets. Cases that cannot be resolved in General Sessions can be bound over to Criminal Court for felony prosecution or transferred to Circuit Court for civil appeals.

The General Sessions Clerk runs four locations. The Civil and Criminal downtown offices are in separate buildings. There are also two satellite offices that serve areas outside downtown Memphis. The General Sessions Court Clerk directory lists all four locations with addresses and phone numbers.

The screenshot below, from the General Sessions Court Clerk directory, shows Tamara A. Sawyer's office and all four office locations including the satellite at Mullins Station and the Southbrook Mall office.

The directory is the authoritative source for current satellite office hours, which may vary from the main downtown locations.

Civil calendars are published online through the General Sessions Clerk site. Criminal court dates in the General Sessions Criminal Division link to the CJS portal. Misdemeanor expungements for General Sessions cases are handled through the clerk's office as well.

The Probate Court Clerk

Eddie S. Jones, Jr. is the Shelby County Probate Court Clerk. Probate Court handles conservatorships, corrections to birth certificates, guardianships, judicial hospitalization under the Mental Health Law, name changes, and wills and estates. It is a distinct court in Shelby County, not just a division of Circuit Court. The Probate Court page lists its duties, copy fee, and contact information.

Copy orders can be emailed to the Probate Court. Printed black-and-white copies cost $0.50 per page. The Probate Court Clerk's Office is also accepting new passport applications by appointment only; call and select option 4. New filing fees took effect January 1, 2026, so check the Probate cost schedule for current amounts before you file. Records involving judicial hospitalization and certain guardianship or medical detail may be restricted from public view; confirm access with the clerk before making the trip.

The County Clerk and Marriage Records

County Clerk Wanda Halbert's office handles marriage licenses along with vehicle tags, business tax and license services, notary commissions, and disabled parking placards. Marriage licenses are a county clerk function across Tennessee, so if you need a marriage record rather than a court record, the County Clerk is the right office. Both applicants must appear in person to get a license. The license is valid for 30 days. See Shelby County marriage and divorce records for a full breakdown of the license process, age requirements, and fees.

Certified copies of marriage licenses cost $10. You can come to any County Clerk office in person, or mail a check or money order with the exact marriage date and full names of both parties to: Shelby County Clerk, Attn: Marriage Department, Suite 201, 150 Washington Ave., Memphis, TN 38103. Three County Clerk locations are open for marriage services: Downtown at 150 Washington Avenue, Shelby East Complex at 1075 Mullins Station Road, and Millington at 4836 Navy Road. The County Clerk page has current hours for each location.

Fees and Records Requests

Each clerk office charges its own fees. The table below covers the most common copy and certification fees across Shelby County clerk offices. Filing fees for new cases are separate and much higher; those are listed on each court's official fee schedule. The fees shown here apply to copying and certifying existing records. All fees took effect January 1, 2026, or are based on published official sources.

Circuit Court filing fees and Chancery Court filing fees are higher, tiered by case category, and published in separate schedules. Confirm all fees before you submit payment; the fee schedule date matters if the office updated rates mid-year.

Public records requests for Circuit Court can be submitted by email to CircutCourtRecordsRequest@shelbycountytn.gov. The Circuit Court public records request form is available on the county document center. Use it if you want a formal written request under the Tennessee Public Records Act, T.C.A. § 10-7-503.

Records Request Form Field Inventory

The Circuit Court public records request form asks for enough detail to locate your file. The table below lists the fields drawn from the official form and standard Tennessee Public Records Act conventions. Fill out as much as you can. The more detail you give, the faster the office can find the record and respond. The TPRA allows requests from Tennessee citizens; the form includes a signature line confirming you are making the request under that authority.

Note: If you do not know the case number, provide as many party names and dates as possible. The clerk can search by party name, though a case number gets you a faster result.

How to Request a Certified Copy

A certified copy is a clerk-stamped version of a court document that carries official weight for legal proceedings, immigration filings, insurance claims, and similar needs. An uncertified printout or online copy will not work for those purposes. The process differs slightly by clerk, but the steps below cover what applies to the Circuit Court Clerk and can be adapted for other Shelby County clerk offices.

1. Identify the correct clerk. Match your record type to the right office using the split-clerk table at the top of this page. Circuit for most civil and divorce matters, Clerk and Master for Chancery, Criminal Court Clerk for felony records, General Sessions for misdemeanors and traffic, Probate for estates and guardianships, County Clerk for marriage licenses.
2. Locate the case number or party names. A case number gets you the fastest result. If you do not have one, gather the full names of both parties and the approximate filing year. For criminal matters, you may also need the indictment number or booking number.
3. Complete the request form. Download the Circuit Court public records request form from the county document center, or ask for a form at the clerk's counter. Fill in all required fields using the field inventory in the section above.
4. Submit the form and pay the fee. For Circuit Court, submit in person at 140 Adams Avenue Room 324, by mail, or by email to CircutCourtRecordsRequest@shelbycountytn.gov. Include payment for copies at $0.50 per page and the $5.00 certification fee. For the County Clerk marriage certified copy, mail a $10.00 check or money order. Confirm fees before you send payment.
5. Receive the copy. Processing times vary by office and workload. In-person requests may be filled the same day if the file is available. Mail requests take longer. Ask the clerk for an estimated turnaround when you submit.
6. Verify the copy is complete. Check that the clerk's seal and signature appear on the document. A certified copy without the seal is not an official certified copy. If pages are missing or the seal is absent, contact the clerk before using the document.

For Probate records, you can email the Probate Court to order copies. For criminal records, the Criminal Court Clerk's office at 201 Poplar Avenue handles certified copies of Criminal Court files; call (901) 222-3200 before visiting to confirm availability and fees for the specific document type you need.

Related Shelby County Searches

If you need full case history rather than a copy, start with Shelby County court records, which covers the online portals for each court. For estates, wills, and guardianships, the Shelby County Probate Court page has a full breakdown of the Probate Clerk's office and filing fees. For marriage and divorce filings, marriage and divorce records covers both the County Clerk marriage license process and how divorces are filed in Circuit and Chancery Courts. For cases at the federal level, see the Shelby County Circuit Court page, which also explains the route to the federal Western District court.