Valdosta Criminal Court Records Search

Criminal court records in Valdosta are split between the city and county court systems. The Valdosta Municipal Court handles traffic cases, city ordinance violations, and misdemeanor crimes committed inside city limits. Felony charges and serious criminal matters go to the Lowndes County Superior Court, which sits in the Southern Judicial Circuit. Valdosta is the county seat of Lowndes County in south Georgia, close to the Florida state line. Both courts keep public records that anyone can request under the Georgia Open Records Act. The Municipal Court operates from 100 S. Oak Street in downtown Valdosta.

Valdosta Municipal Court Records

The Valdosta Municipal Court processes traffic tickets, city code violations, and misdemeanor criminal cases within city jurisdiction. The court handles a high volume of cases each year given that Valdosta is the largest city in the region. If you got a ticket or were arrested for a misdemeanor in Valdosta, the case file sits with this court.

The court is at 100 S. Oak Street, P.O. Box 1083, Valdosta, GA 31603. You can call (229) 293-3171 for case info. The fax number is (229) 333-1803. Walk-in requests are taken during regular business hours. Staff can pull up your case by name or citation number. Bring a photo ID if you plan to visit. The clerk can print copies of case records on the spot.

Note: The Valdosta Municipal Court does not handle felony cases, which go through the Lowndes County Superior Court system.

Lowndes County Criminal Records

Felony criminal cases from Valdosta are filed in Lowndes County Superior Court. This includes drug charges, violent crimes, burglary, and any offense that carries more than 12 months in prison. The Southern Judicial Circuit handles all felony matters in this part of south Georgia. The Lowndes County Clerk of Superior Court keeps these case files at the courthouse in Valdosta.

Since Valdosta is the county seat, the superior court and the municipal court are both in town. That makes it easy to check both sets of records in a single trip. The Lowndes County Courthouse is a short walk from the Municipal Court on Oak Street. The Clerk of Superior Court can pull up felony case records, indictments, plea agreements, and sentencing records. You just need to give the defendant's name or a case number.

Lowndes County offers some online tools for searching court records. The county clerk's office can point you to their case search system. You can look up records by defendant name, case number, or filing date. Case status, charges, and court dates show up in the results. Data from the Southern Circuit goes back a good number of years in the system.

The statewide E-Access to Court Records portal is another way to look up Valdosta criminal cases. It pulls data from courts across Georgia, including Lowndes County. You will need a free account to search.

How to Find Valdosta Criminal Records

You have several options for finding criminal court records tied to Valdosta. The best method depends on what you need and how fast you need it.

The GSCCCA indexes court filings from all 159 counties in Georgia. You can search for Lowndes County records through this tool. A standard account runs $14.95 per month. Premium costs $29.95 per month. The GSCCCA also has the free FANS alert system. FANS tracks new filings by name across any county. Set it up once, and you get alerts when new cases show up in Lowndes County.

For your own criminal history, visit the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office and request a Purpose Code U report. This pulls data from the Georgia Crime Information Center and shows arrest records, charges, and outcomes from across the state. You need your name, date of birth, and fingerprints to get the report. The GBI website has the full process laid out.

In-person lookups work at both the Municipal Court on Oak Street and the Lowndes County Courthouse. Bring the full name and date of birth of the person you want records on. A case number makes things faster. Clerk staff at both places can pull records while you wait.

Note: Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, the copy fee is $0.10 per page and the first 15 minutes of staff search time are free at any Georgia public office.

Valdosta Record Restriction Process

Georgia allows certain criminal records to be restricted from public view. This used to be called expungement. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37, you may qualify to restrict records for arrests that did not end in a conviction, some misdemeanor convictions after four years, and cases that stayed on a dead docket for more than 12 months. The lifetime cap is two misdemeanor restrictions.

For arrests in Valdosta on or after July 1, 2013, contact the Southern Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office to start the process. For arrests before that date, the Valdosta Police Department handles the request. Agencies can charge up to $50 for processing. Once the court grants the restriction, the record is removed from public access under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72.

Victims of human trafficking may qualify for free record restriction under the Survivors First Act. There is no fee for this specific type of request. A local attorney or the GBI can walk you through the steps.

State Resources for Valdosta

The GBI operates the state criminal history database. Call the Criminal History Records Helpline at (404) 244-2639 option 3 for questions about your record. The GBI Open Records Unit accepts requests only through their online portal. They no longer take email or mail-in requests for open records.

The Georgia Open Records Act at O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 gives any person the right to request records from a public agency. This covers every court, police department, and county office in the state. If a Valdosta agency turns down your request, they have to tell you which exemption applies. You can push back through the Attorney General's office or file suit in superior court if you believe the denial was wrong.

Valdosta also sits near the Florida border, so if a person has records in both states, you may need to check Florida courts as well. Georgia's databases only cover Georgia cases. For a full picture, use the GCIC through the GBI and also check Florida's court system separately. The GBI helpline can tell you what shows up in Georgia's system and point you in the right direction for anything else.

Nearby Cities

Albany is the nearest major city with criminal court records resources. Felony cases in each area go through the county where the offense took place.