Winston County Chancery Clerk Office

About the Winston County Chancery Clerk

Rusty Foster serves as the Winston County Chancery Clerk, an elected office that the county describes as wearing many hats. For record seekers, the most important role is that the Chancery Clerk is the custodian of public records for the county. The office sits at 154 South Court Avenue in Louisville, a short walk from the courthouse where Circuit Court business is handled.

The clerk works with a small staff, including Office Manager Tanesha Miller and Deputy Clerks Hanah Sciple and Morgan Hillhouse. They handle land records, Chancery Court files, board minutes, and the county's finance and tax records. Because Mississippi divides court records between two clerks, it helps to remember that this office holds divorce, probate, and land files, while the Circuit Clerk holds felony, civil at law, judgment, and marriage license records.

What the Chancery Clerk Does in Winston County

The Chancery Clerk's duties stretch well beyond the courtroom into county finance, land titles, and tax administration. The office is the recorder of real property instruments and the clerk for the Board of Supervisors, and it keeps the court files for one of the two main trial courts in the county. The list below covers the core functions named on the county's Chancery Clerk page.

• Acts as custodian of public records and records warranty deeds, quitclaim deeds, powers of attorney, and similar instruments.
• Serves as Clerk of Chancery Court, maintaining the court docket and filing all records of that court.
• Serves as clerk to the Board of Supervisors, prepares board minutes, and prepares the monthly claims docket.
• Acts as county auditor and treasurer, receives settlements, and helps equalize the assessment rolls.
• Processes homestead exemption applications and collects delinquent land taxes.
• Serves as Youth Court Clerk and records military discharges.
• Dispenses traffic and DUI tickets for the Sheriff's Department and processes phases of drug, alcohol, and mental commitments.

Winston County Land and Public Records

Land records are one of the busiest parts of the Chancery Clerk's work. The office records the deeds, mortgages, and related instruments that establish who owns property in the county, and it preserves them as permanent public records. Title researchers, lenders, surveyors, and heirs all rely on these books to trace ownership and liens.

Among the documents the office records are warranty deeds, which transfer property with a guarantee of clear title, and quitclaim deeds, which transfer whatever interest the grantor has without that guarantee. The office also records powers of attorney and military discharge papers. A power of attorney lets one person act legally for another, and a recorded military discharge gives veterans a safe, official place to retrieve a certified copy of their service record.

Note: A recorded deed is a public record, but commitment, youth court, and similar protected files held by the same office are confidential and are not open to a routine public search.

Clerk of the Winston County Chancery Court

As Clerk of Chancery Court, Rusty Foster maintains the court docket and files all records of the court. Chancery Court is the equity court in Mississippi, and in Winston County it sits within the Sixth Chancery Court District. The court hears divorce, child custody, adoption, probate of estates, guardianships, conservatorships, trusts, and disputes over land titles.

That range explains why so many family and estate searches route to this office rather than the Circuit Clerk. Divorce decrees are Chancery Court records, so a certified divorce copy comes from this office once you know the county, book, and page. Probate files, from opening an estate through final distribution, are also kept here. The detailed probate workflow, record types, and search options are covered on the Winston County Chancery Court probate page. Winston County Chancery Court joined Mississippi Electronic Courts on March 27, 2017, so newer chancery filings appear in that system while the clerk continues to hold the official records.

Online Record Access and Board Minutes

Winston County links an online record access tool from its website, and the Chancery Clerk connects to it from the chancery page. The system is a browser based vendor application, so it loads as an interactive search rather than a fixed set of labeled fields. Open it and follow the on screen options rather than expecting a single search box.

The county's online record access portal is reached through the Winston County online record access link, which the county routes to its vendor system for chancery and public records. For government meeting records, the Chancery Clerk separately links a board minutes and agenda system at the ProntoDMS board minutes portal. Keep the two tools distinct, because board minutes are Board of Supervisors meeting records, not court case files, and a name search there will not pull a deed or an estate file.

Winston County Chancery Clerk Fees

Winston County does not publish a set copy or probate fee list for the Chancery Clerk online, so the safest course is to call the office for a current quote before mailing payment. What the table below makes clear is which services carry a fee, even where the exact amount is set by the office rather than posted on the county site.

Mississippi's public records law allows a public body to charge the actual cost of searching, reviewing, copying, and mailing records. For anything larger than a single document, ask for an estimate when you submit the request so there are no surprises at pickup.

How to Request a Certified Copy or Land Record

A certified copy carries the clerk's seal and is the version courts, lenders, and agencies accept as official. For a deed, a divorce decree, or a probate order, the Chancery Clerk is the office of record in Winston County. The steps below outline how to obtain a certified chancery or land record.

1. Identify the record. For land records, have the grantor and grantee names and the approximate recording date, or the book and page if you know them. For court records, have the case style and parties.
2. Contact the Chancery Clerk at 662-773-3631 to confirm the record is held here and to ask whether a certified copy of a protected file requires proof of eligibility.
3. Submit the request in person at 154 South Court Avenue, by mail to P.O. Box 69, Louisville, MS 39339, or through the county's email link.
4. State whether you need a certified or a plain copy and how many copies you want, then confirm the fee with the office.
5. Pick up the copy at the counter or wait for it to arrive by mail, depending on how you submitted the request.

Chancery Records Request Form Fields

The county does not post a standalone fillable records request form for the Chancery Clerk. The county pages expose an "Email Our Office" link rather than a public web form, so a request is usually a written note, an email, or an in person ask. Including the details below helps the staff locate the file and avoids repeated calls.

Clerk to the Board of Supervisors and County Finance

Beyond court and land work, the Chancery Clerk is the clerk to the Winston County Board of Supervisors. The office prepares the board minutes that document county decisions, builds the monthly claims docket, and serves as county auditor and treasurer. It also receives settlements and helps equalize the assessment rolls that drive property taxes.

Two services touch residents directly each year. The office processes homestead exemption applications, which can lower the property tax on a primary home, and it collects delinquent land taxes when a parcel falls behind. People researching a tax sale, a homestead question, or a board decision should treat the Chancery Clerk as the starting point rather than the Circuit Clerk.

Early Winston County Records and the Archives Index

Some of the county's oldest deeds, marriage notations, and probate entries predate modern indexing. The Chancery Clerk page links a pre 1920 county record index produced through a Mississippi Department of Archives and History project that began in 2010 to help county governments manage their earliest records. The project inventoried pre 1920 records in Mississippi's oldest counties, and Winston material can appear in that index.

The index uses common names for most record titles, though actual titles vary by county, and it reflects custody as of the inventory date rather than today. Genealogists and historians can use it as a research lead, then confirm current access and certified copies with the clerk that holds the original book. Marriage licenses, by contrast, are a Circuit Clerk record, so a certified marriage copy starts with the Winston County Circuit Clerk rather than this office.