Choctaw County Marriage and Divorce Records

Getting a Marriage License in Choctaw County

In Mississippi, the Circuit Clerk issues marriage licenses, and in Choctaw County that office is led by Circuit Clerk Amy Burdine. The clerk works from the Choctaw County Courthouse at 22 East Quinn Street in Ackerman. The office keeps regular hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A couple who plans to marry applies here. They do not apply at the Chancery Court, and there is no state website that hands out the license for them.

No official Choctaw County marriage-license fee or printable application was found in public sources. That gap matters, so the safest first move is a phone call. Reach the Circuit Clerk at 662-285-6245 before driving in. Ask what the license costs, which payment types the office takes, what identification each person must bring, and whether both applicants have to appear in person. Rules and hours can change, and a short call can save a wasted trip. Mail for this office goes to P.O. Box 34, Ackerman, MS 39735, and the clerk's fax line is 662-285-2196.

Marriage is a public event, so the license and the recorded marriage are generally open records. The clerk can confirm a marriage and prepare a certified copy on request.

Choctaw County Marriage License Steps

Getting a license is a short process once the paperwork is ready. Choctaw County does not post an official application online, so the steps below follow Mississippi custom and the Circuit Clerk's general practice. Confirm each detail by phone first, then plan one trip to the courthouse.

1. Call the Circuit Clerk at 662-285-6245 to confirm the fee, the payment method, the required identification, and whether both parties must appear.
2. Gather valid photo identification for each applicant, plus any document the clerk asks for, such as proof of a prior divorce.
3. Visit the courthouse at 22 East Quinn Street in Ackerman during posted hours and complete the license paperwork together.
4. Pay the clerk the marriage-license fee using a payment type the office accepts.
5. After the ceremony, the officiant returns the signed license to the clerk so it can be recorded under Mississippi rules.
6. Request certified copies from the Circuit Clerk once the license has been recorded.

Note: Choctaw County has no County Court, so every marriage license runs through the Circuit Clerk and no other county office.

Marriage License Application Fields

Because no official Choctaw County form was located, the table below lists the expected items to confirm with the Circuit Clerk rather than fixed form fields. Mississippi marriage applications generally gather the same core details, but only the clerk can state the exact items, the current fee, and the rules in force. Treat the list as a checklist for the phone call and the visit.

Choctaw County Marriage and Divorce Fees

Fees in this area come from two clerks and one online system, so it helps to see them together. Most county copy and filing fees were not published in the official sources reviewed, which is why several rows below point you back to the clerk. The only firm dollar figures belong to PAMEC, the paid public-access side of Mississippi Electronic Courts. Do not assume a marriage or divorce amount from another county applies here.

Note: PAMEC charges $0.20 for each result page a search returns, and even a no-match search can count as one page.

Searching Choctaw County Marriage Records

Marriage records in Choctaw County stay with the Circuit Clerk, the same office that issues the license. There is no official county website that lets the public search marriage licenses by name. To find a record, give the clerk the full names of both spouses and the year of the marriage. The office can check its books and tell you whether a certified copy is available. Requests work in person at the courthouse, by phone at 662-285-6245, or by mail to P.O. Box 34, Ackerman, MS 39735.

Older records sometimes move into the state archive. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History preserves historic county materials and can help when a record predates the clerk's active files.

The archive does not replace the clerk for certified copies, but it helps researchers confirm that an older marriage record exists and trace family history.

Finding Choctaw County Divorce Records

Divorce works differently from marriage. Divorce cases are filed and decided in Chancery Court, not Circuit Court, so the files belong to the Chancery Clerk. In Choctaw County that office is led by Chancery Clerk Steve Montgomery at the courthouse at 22 East Quinn Street. The court phone line is 662-285-6329, and mail goes to P.O. Box 250, Ackerman, MS 39735. The fax line is 662-285-3444.

Online access runs through the Sixth Chancery District side of Mississippi Electronic Courts, which the public reaches through PAMEC. Choctaw County Chancery Court joined that system on August 11, 2017. PAMEC is a paid, login-gated service, not a free anonymous search, so a quick lookup may be easier by phone or at the counter.

Mississippi's Chancery Court system handles divorce, custody, and other family matters across the state.

Because Choctaw County divorces sit in Chancery Court, the Chancery Clerk is the office that issues a certified decree. Estate, guardianship, and conservatorship cases share that same court, and the county's Chancery Court probate records guide covers those filings.

Certified Copies in Choctaw County

A certified copy carries the clerk's seal and is the version accepted for legal use, such as a name change, a benefits claim, or an immigration filing. The office that issues the certified copy depends on the record. For a marriage record, ask the Circuit Clerk. For a divorce decree, ask the Chancery Clerk. Matching the record to the right clerk is the single most important step, and it is the one people miss most often.

Send or bring the full names tied to the record, the date or year, and the type of copy you need. Processing time varies by office and by request volume. Ask the clerk how long a mail request takes before you send payment, since copy fees were not published in the official sources reviewed.

Restricted Choctaw County Family Records

Not every family record is open. A divorce file can hold financial account details, the names of minor children, custody terms, home addresses, and sensitive exhibits. For that reason, some pages may be sealed or redacted before the public can see them. The court file remains the authoritative source, but the public version may show less than the full record.

Adoption is also a Chancery Court matter, yet adoption files and original birth certificates are confidential. They generally require a court order or specific statutory authority to open. Mental health and commitment proceedings carry private medical detail and are often sealed as well.

Note: If a divorce record looks incomplete online, the missing parts may be redacted on purpose to protect children or private financial data, not lost.

Mississippi Vital Records Office

For some needs, the state vital records channel is the right path instead of the county clerk. The Mississippi State Department of Health holds vital records for events across the state and is the statewide channel for certified copies of vital events. It can be the better choice when you are not sure which county recorded an event, or when a state-issued certified copy is requested by name.

Local marriage copies still come fastest from the Choctaw County Circuit Clerk, and divorce decrees still come from the Chancery Clerk. The state office is a parallel route, not a replacement for the courthouse. A historic county map can also help researchers place where a family lived before a request goes out.

The MDAH digital archive holds a historic Choctaw County rural-route map that helps researchers locate where families lived and where a record may have been filed.

Confirm the current fee and the exact form with the state office before mailing any request for a certified vital record.