Search Wayne County Land Records

About the Wayne County Chancery Clerk's Office

William Jeremy Carr serves as the Wayne County Chancery Clerk for the 2024 to 2028 term. Voters elect the chancery clerk to a four-year term. The office sits inside the Wayne County Courthouse in Waynesboro, the same building that houses the Circuit Clerk and several other county offices. Wayne County runs a split clerk system, so land records, probate, and county finance fall to the chancery clerk, while criminal and civil court files belong to the circuit clerk.

The chancery clerk does far more than store paper. The office attends Chancery Court, records land instruments, keeps the county's books, and serves as clerk to the Board of Supervisors. The county states that the chancery clerk's records and papers are open to inspection by citizens, and that the clerk or a deputy should show a requester where a record is kept, allow access, or make a copy on request. That open-records duty lines up with the Mississippi Public Records Act.

What the Wayne County Chancery Clerk Does

The duties of the chancery clerk reach across courts, land, and county money. The clerk attends each session of Chancery Court and writes the chancellor's records, directions, and rulings into bound minute books. The clerk also records and protects land records and takes in the bills, petitions, motions, accounts, and inventories that the county and its courts produce. On the finance side, the clerk keeps the county's accounting books, balances ledgers each month, and reports county spending.

The core jobs handled by this office include the following.

• Keep Chancery Court minute books with the chancellor's rulings and proceedings.
• Record and preserve land records such as deeds of trust, mortgages, mineral leases, and survey plats.
• Receive written instruments for filing and give receipts to the parties.
• Take in petitions, motions, accounts, inventories, and reports for the county and its courts.
• Serve as clerk to the Board of Supervisors and record board minutes.
• Keep county accounting books, balance ledgers monthly, and file a certified tax levy copy.

Land and Instrument Records in Wayne County

Land records are the heart of the chancery clerk's public work. When a property changes hands or a lien attaches, the instrument is recorded here. That includes warranty deeds, deeds of trust, mortgages, releases, mineral and oil-and-gas leases, easements, liens, and the plats that map out subdivisions and surveys. Each recorded item carries a grantor and grantee, a recording date, a book and page, and an instrument number. Together these records build the chain of title that proves who owns a parcel in Wayne County.

To make this searchable, the office runs the Wayne Chancery Official Records Inquiry through the DuProcess web portal. The search is free to run. The first scanned page of a document is viewable at no cost, but the rest of the pages in a recorded instrument must be purchased before you can view, print, or download them. The county displays the system as "Wayne County, MS," and a Login, Subscriptions, and Account History panel sits across the top for users who set up an account.

Note: The DuProcess portal covers recorded land and instrument records, not criminal or civil court case files, which run through the Circuit Clerk and the state court system.

Wayne County Land Record Search Fields

The DuProcess portal lets you search by a person's name or by the data on the instrument itself. A name search uses the Full Name box in lastname, firstname order, with a radio choice for the party role. Property searches use book and page, instrument number, parcel ID, or legal description fields. The table below lists the main fields on the Wayne County records inquiry screen.

How to Search Wayne County Land Records

A land records search runs in a fixed order on the DuProcess site. Pick a name search if you know a buyer or seller, or an instrument search if you have a book and page, parcel ID, or legal description. The steps below walk through a basic search.

1. Open the Wayne Chancery records portal in your browser.
2. Read the usage terms and click "Click to accept terms of usage."
3. Decide whether to search by person name, instrument data, dates, book and page, legal description, parcel ID, or a subdivision field.
4. For a name search, type the Full Name as lastname, firstname, and pick Search All, Grantor, or Grantee.
5. Add a Begin Date and End Date, or use the Recently Filed option for the last 7, 30, or 90 days.
6. Click Search Records and review the grid of matching instruments.
7. Click a row to open the detail screen showing the parties and instrument data.
8. View the first scanned page for free, then purchase the remaining pages to view, print, or download them.

Requesting a Certified Copy from the Chancery Clerk

A certified copy carries the clerk's seal and certification, which proves the document is a true copy of the recorded original. Title companies, courts, lenders, and government agencies often require a certified copy rather than a plain printout. The DuProcess portal is built for viewing and ordering images, but a certified copy of a deed, plat, or probate order is requested from the chancery clerk's office.

To order one, identify the record by instrument number or by book and page, or by the party names and the recording date. You can call the office at 601-735-2873, email chanceryclerk@waynecountyms.gov, or visit the counter at 609 Azalea Drive in Waynesboro. Tell the staff exactly which document you need and how many certified copies you want. The office can confirm the current per-page and certification charges and how to pay before it prepares your copies.

Records Request Form Fields

Whether you write, email, or call, the clerk needs enough detail to pull the right instrument. A clean request points the staff straight to the book, page, or case file. Include the fields below when you ask for a copy of a Wayne County land or chancery record.

Probate and Estate Records at the Chancery Clerk

Probate runs through Chancery Court in Mississippi, so the chancery clerk holds the county's estate files. The office takes in petitions to probate a will, petitions for letters testamentary or administration, oaths and bonds, inventories, claims against an estate, annual and final accountings, and the orders that approve a sale or close an estate. Guardianship and conservatorship matters, along with minor settlements, are filed here as well. Some of these files carry protected medical, financial, or minor information and are handled with care.

To find an estate, search by the decedent's name and the approximate year of death or probate, and add a case number if you have one. Older estate files that were never digitized are pulled from the clerk's records on request. A deeper look at how estates open and close in Wayne County, including wills, heirs, and letters, sits with the county Chancery Court probate records.

Wayne County Chancery Clerk Fees

Wayne County does not post a public price list for chancery clerk copies and certifications. Mississippi law fills that gap. Under Miss. Code Section 25-61-7, a public body may charge fees reasonably calculated to cover the actual cost of searching, reviewing, copying, and mailing records. For land record images, the DuProcess portal lets you view the first scanned page free, then charges for the rest of the pages in an instrument before you can view or download them.

Note: Confirm the current copy and certification charges with the chancery clerk before you mail a request or order documents through the online portal.

Online and Mail Access to Wayne County Records

The chancery clerk offers more than one channel. Recorded land and instrument records are searchable any time through the DuProcess portal, with images available for purchase after the first page. Chancery case filings may also appear in the Mississippi Electronic Courts system where the case is public and not sealed. Wayne County Chancery joined voluntary attorney e-filing through MEC on April 15, 2015, and the public side of the system, PAMEC, requires a username and password to view dockets and documents.

For records that are not online, mail or visit the office. Write to the Wayne County Chancery Clerk at 609 Azalea Drive, Waynesboro, MS 39367, fax a request to 601-735-6224, or email chanceryclerk@waynecountyms.gov. The Mississippi Public Records Act, at Miss. Code Section 25-61-1, supports inspection of public records, and Section 25-61-5 generally calls for a response within seven working days. Sealed files, such as adoptions, stay closed regardless of the request channel.

When to Use the Chancery Clerk or Circuit Clerk

Wayne County's two clerks split the county's records, and using the right one saves a trip. The chancery clerk handles land, probate, family equity, and county finance. The circuit clerk handles felony and civil court files, marriage licenses, and voter registration. The table below shows where common records live.

For marriage licenses, Circuit Court dockets, and voter records, the work moves to the Wayne County Circuit Clerk. For a deed, plat, lien, or estate file, the chancery clerk is the office to call. When you are unsure which clerk holds a record, a quick phone call to either office points you to the right counter.