Clayton County Probate Court
Clayton County Probate Court is located at 121 South McDonough Street, Building/Annex 3, Jonesboro, GA 30236. The court handles estates, wills, guardianships, conservatorships, marriage licenses, weapons carry licenses, temporary guardianships of minors, mental health contacts, and related probate matters. Licensing information uses (770) 477-3301, while estate information uses (770) 477-3299. The fax number listed for both licensing and estate contacts is (770) 477-3306.
The Probate Court contact list in the research identifies Supervisor/Licensing Division Rachael Waugh, Supervisor/Estate Division Kimble Bacon, Probate Director/Chief Clerk Sarah Johnson, Senior Paralegal Krystin M. Graves, Paralegal Joy Dunbar, and Judicial Assistant to Judge Pryor Sasha Canty at (770) 472-8124. The main Probate Court notice says applications for weapons carry licenses, marriage licenses, and petitions for temporary guardianship of minors are not accepted after 3:00 p.m. The court also cannot accept bills larger than $50.00.
Those divisions matter because Probate Court is both a court-records office and a licensing office. Estate questions should use the estate information line, while marriage license, weapons carry license, temporary guardianship of minor, and mental health inquiries route through licensing information. Using the right division first can prevent a probate-record request from being treated as a licensing question, or a marriage-license question from being sent to the estate desk.
Search Clayton Probate Estates
Clayton County Probate Court estate records can be viewed online at no cost. The search instructions are specific: enter the preferred date range, choose whether to search by deceased date or filed date, click Search, and then click the bold case number to view the estate record. If an available document image exists, the system displays a red Adobe icon that opens the document.
| Field or Control | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date range | Date range | Yes or unspecified | Use the preferred range for the estate search. |
| Deceased Date | Date basis option | Optional path | Search by date of death when that is the known anchor. |
| Filed Date | Date basis option | Optional path | Search by filing date when the filing window is known. |
| Search | Button | Not applicable | Runs the online estate search. |
| Bold case number | Result link | Not applicable | Opens the estate record. |
| Red Adobe icon | Document link | Not applicable | Opens an available image or document. |
The estate-record workflow is shown in the official Online Estate Records source.
The online estate source confirms that probate estate records are not searched through the same public court inquiry used for State, Magistrate, and Superior Court cases.
Probate Terms Defined
Probate records use recurring terms that identify the type of petition, the person who died, the person asking for authority, and the court's order. These definitions are practical reading aids for Clayton County estate records and guardianship filings.
- Testator
- The person who made a will.
- Executor
- The person named to carry out the will after appointment.
- Intestate
- Dying without a will.
- Administrator
- The person appointed to handle an estate when administration is required.
- Guardianship
- A court appointment to make personal-care decisions for a minor or incapacitated adult.
- Conservatorship
- A court appointment to manage property or finances for a protected person.
- Year's support
- A Probate Court petition category listed in the Clayton County fee schedule and e-filing exceptions.
Clayton Probate Procedures
The Probate Court's procedure material distinguishes solemn form probate, common form probate, and permanent administration. Solemn form probate requires notice to all heirs-at-law and becomes binding immediately on appointment of the executor. Minor or incapacitated adult heirs receive a guardian ad litem, and interested persons receive a deadline to object.
The original will must be filed before or at the time the petition is filed. Proper execution must be proven by interrogatories or other legal proof of witness unless the will or codicil qualifies as self-proven. The research notes that since March 28, 1984, wills and codicils may be self-proven by a specially worded affidavit signed by the testator and witnesses.
Common form probate may be done without notice to heirs, but it does not become legally binding for four years after executor appointment. During that period, interested heirs may petition for solemn form. Permanent administration requires notice to all heirs. A surviving spouse or sole heir is entitled to serve, otherwise the administrator is selected by a majority of heirs. Administrators must post bond and file inventories or returns unless all heirs consent to waive those requirements.
The county summarizes probate steps in the probate procedure source.
The procedure source is useful when an estate search reveals a case type but the filer needs to understand what that petition category means.
Clayton Probate Filing Fees
The Probate Court fee schedule lists several estate, guardianship, conservatorship, and related petition costs. Fees can change, and some totals depend on add-ons such as publication, recording, guardian ad litem, attorney, evaluation, or process-server costs. The fee schedule below uses only amounts documented in the research.
| Petition or Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Petition to Probate Will in solemn or common form | $203 |
| Permanent Letters of Administration | $203 |
| Temporary Letters of Administration | $188 |
| No Administration Necessary | $203 |
| Superior Court recording fee if real property | $25 |
| Petition for Year's Support | $203 + $180 publication + $25 recording if real property, $408 when all apply |
| Emergency adult guardianship/conservatorship | $203 + $650 add-ons, $853 when all listed add-ons apply |
| Adult guardianship/conservatorship | $853 with listed add-ons |
| Permanent guardianship of a minor | $203 + $150 GAL, $353 when both apply |
| Conservatorship of a minor | $203 + $150 GAL, $353 when both apply |
| Petition for Leave to Sell | $188 |
| Petition to Encroach | $188 |
| Petition for Discharge | $188 + $45 publication, $233 when both apply |
| Temporary Guardianship of a Minor | $138 |
The county publishes the amounts in the Probate filing fees source.
The fee source matters because probate filings often combine a base filing fee with publication, recording, or guardian ad litem costs.
Clayton Probate E-Filing
Clayton County Probate Court accepts electronic filing through TrueFile. The e-filing source says TrueFile allows new cases, filings into existing cases, fee payment, and access to current and historic e-filings remotely. The research identifies important exceptions: emergency guardianship or conservatorship for an adult or minor and a petition for year's support are not eligible for e-filing.
Probate Court e-filing details are listed in the TrueFile e-filing source.
The e-filing source helps distinguish records that can be filed or reviewed remotely from emergency and year's support matters that require another Probate Court route.
E-filing note: TrueFile does not replace the public estate search. E-filing is for filing and accessing e-filed materials, while the online estate search is the public estate-record lookup described by the Probate Court.
What Probate Records Show
Clayton County probate records may include wills, petitions to probate a will, permanent or temporary administration filings, year's support petitions, guardianship and conservatorship filings, leave to sell, encroachment, discharge, temporary guardianship of minor filings, notices, orders, inventories, returns, bonds, guardian ad litem activity, and document images when available. Estate search metadata can include deceased date or filed date range, case number, estate record details, and red Adobe icons for available PDFs.
Probate Court records should not be blended with the main Court Case Inquiry. Clayton County's general search excludes Probate Court, and the public access summary directs users to the separate Probate Online Estate Records system for estates. Licensing matters, such as marriage licenses and weapons carry licenses, also belong to Probate Court but may not be estate records.
When a probate matter includes real property, the fee schedule also points to a Superior Court recording fee if real property is involved. That does not move the estate case out of Probate Court. It means a probate filing can create a related recording step while the estate petition, notices, orders, and probate case history remain tied to Probate Court.
Restricted Probate Records
Georgia public records are presumed open unless a statute or court order limits access, but probate-related material can include sensitive categories. Clayton County's public court search excludes Probate Court from the main portal, and the research flags mental health proceedings as sensitive rather than ordinary public records. Guardianship, conservatorship, minor, medical, financial-account, and personal identifying information may be restricted, sealed, or redacted depending on the filing and court order.
For estate files, start with the online estate search. For records that do not display online, call the estate information line at (770) 477-3299 or use the appropriate Probate Court contact. For licensing matters, use (770) 477-3301. For non-published county administrative records, the GovQA Open Records Request portal is a fallback, but court-file access should start with the Probate Court office that maintains the record.