Georgia Court Case Search — Find Your Lawsuit

Legal Expert, Paralegal
Dena Standley, BA

Dena Standley is a seasoned paralegal with more than 20 years of experience in legal research and writing, having received a certification as a Legal Assistant/Paralegal from Southern Technical College.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Editor at SoloSuit
Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

Summary: Georgia courts make it easy to access your court case records in person at the courthouse or online. If you’re being sued for a debt in Georgia, it’s important to check your case status frequently. You should also respond to the lawsuit with a written Answer to increase your chances of winning.

Have you received a lawsuit letter from a debt collection agency in Georgia? Knowing how to view your court records and check on the case status will increase your chances of beating a debt collector in court. It will also help you understand more about the claims being made against you and whether or not they are actually accurate.

Georgia gives you two main options to gain access to your case records: via their online portal, referred to as PeachCourt, or by visiting the courthouse where your case was filed. These methods allow you to learn information such as:

The status of your case
The courtroom assigned to your case
The date to appear in court
What the court requires of you as the defendant
The judge to hear your case

The above information is vital to ensure you stay on top of your game. In this article, we will explain how the Georgia court system works and how the state’s residents can get access to the court records.

Let’s get right to it.

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Georgia court structure

When you understand how courts are structured in Georgia, it will be easier for you to figure out which type of court has jurisdiction over your case. Knowing where your case is filed makes it easier to stay updated on its status. Since debt collection lawsuits are considered civil cases, we will focus on the Georgia civil court structure in this section.

Georgia's civil court system consists of appellate courts and trial courts. Under the appellate courts are the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, while the trial courts comprise three separate court levels: Superior Courts, State Courts, and Magistrate Courts. Below, we break down each court and its responsibilities..

Supreme Court: This court is the last resort for all cases in the state. They have nine justices who have extensive jurisdiction within the state. If a civil case is appealed from the Court of Appeals (and sometimes Superior Court), the Supreme Court will take over and hear the case again.

Court of Appeals: This court hears cases from the trial courts and has statewide jurisdiction over all matters except those to which the Supreme Court has exclusive rights.

Superior Courts: These courts have general jurisdiction over civil cases. It also reviews civil cases that were appealed from the Magistrate Courts. Each county has its own Superior Court with a diverse number of judges.

State Courts: These courts are spread throughout Georgia and hear civil cases that are not within exclusive jurisdiction of the Superior Court.

Magistrate Courts: These courts hear small claims cases not exceeding $15,000 and other dispute matters.

The graphic below further illustrates the Georgia court system for civil cases:

GA court structure

Your debt collection lawsuit will fall under the jurisdiction of your county’s Magistrate, State, or Superior Court, depending on the amount in question. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your case, you can appeal to the Superior Court or Court of Appeals.

When you get sued for a debt in Georgia, the first thing you should do is respond to the case with a written Answer. If you don’t respond within the deadline (which is 30 days in Georgia), you will automatically lose your case. You might be feeling overwhelmed about creating a proper Answer, but luckily SoloSuit simplifies the process for you.

Check out this video to learn more about how to draft and file an Answer to a debt collection lawsuit:

How to find your case number in Georgia

Georgia assigns every case a number to easily identify records during court proceedings and storage. The court's unique method of deriving case numbers includes using the year the case was filed, the case type, the judge’s or court officer's initials, and the city.

If you do not have your case number, register for an account with the PeachCourt portal and click on search by party name. The results will give you the records bearing the case number. You can also visit the courthouse and submit your full name, the collection agency’s name, and any other information to the clerk who will look up the case for you.

How to access your case records in Georgia

The initial step to accessing your case records is to find out in which court your case was filed. You should see the court name on the lawsuit letter, or you can call the number on the suit and request the location. Afterward, you can either go to the courthouse or search online.

Access your Georgia court records in-person

If you opt to find your records in person, visit the courthouse and speak with the court clerk. They should be able to search your case for you and make copies at your request. Some courts may require you to complete a written request issued by the court’s clerk. Include crucial information, such as:

Your full name
Case type (small claims)
Creditors name
Date the case was filed
Attorneys name

You may be required to pay a small fee for these services, especially if you ask to print copies of the case records. If you don’t know where your courthouse is located, use this Georgia courts directory and select your county and the type of court. You should be able to locate the court clerk’s information from this page, which includes the address at which they are located. If you still aren’t sure about the address, give the clerk a phone call.

Let’s explore an example.

Example: Lynn had a debt of $570 with Receivable Management Group (RMG), which she had defaulted from paying for three years. She did not expect RMG to file a lawsuit against her after requesting them to validate the debt when they contacted her. To confirm the suit was legitimate, Lynn planned to visit the courthouse. She went online and entered the details required in the Georgia court directory search and got the court's physical address. Lynn got the records and paid a small fee for the copies. Next, Lynn used SoloSuit to draft and file an Answer to the case in which she indicated the lack of debt validation as one of her defenses. The court clerk recommended she follow up on her Answer online instead of visiting the courthouse. Lynn stayed updated on her case by accessing her court records online, and she eventually beat RMG in court.

Access your Georgia court records online

Georgia allows you to access your case details online via the PeachCourt portal. The first step is to sign up for free. Next, you’ll be redirected to a records page where you’ll search by case number or party name. Note, you cannot access your case records using PeachCourt in the following counties:

Chatham
Cherokee
Clayton
Decatur
DeKalb
Douglas
Floyd
Glynn
Gwinnett
Lowndes
Rockdale

If you fail to find your case information, or if your case is in one of the above counties, email infro@peachcourt.com, call 844-GA-EFILE, or call or visit the courthouse where the case was filed for further assistance. They will require you to share the case number, the court where the collection agency filed the case, and either party’s name.

If your case is in the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals, you will have to use the Georgia Supreme Court case portal or the Georgia Court of Appeals case portal to search for your records online.

Fulton county has it's own case search portal. Go here to access Fulton County cases.

Use SoloSuit to respond to a debt lawsuit in Georgia

Solosuit can help you file a compelling answer using our Answer document. With our software, you can also file a Motion to Compel Arbitration document to push your case out of court and settle through arbitration. Similarly, SoloSettle allows you to negotiate and reach a debt settlement plan outside of court on your own.

It doesn't matter what stage of the lawsuit process you're at—SoloSuit's got you covered.

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You can use SoloSuit to respond to a debt lawsuit, to send letters to collectors, and even to settle a debt.

SoloSuit's Answer service is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your Answer. Upon completion, we'll have an attorney review your document and we'll file it for you.

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"First time getting sued by a debt collector and I was searching all over YouTube and ran across SoloSuit, so I decided to buy their services with their attorney reviewed documentation which cost extra but it was well worth it! SoloSuit sent the documentation to the parties and to the court which saved me time from having to go to court and in a few weeks the case got dismissed!" – James

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>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate