Cherokee County Dissolution Of Marriage Records

Cherokee County dissolution of marriage records are maintained by the Superior Court Clerk in Canton, Georgia. Cherokee is one of Georgia's fastest-growing counties, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, and the court handles a high volume of dissolution filings each year. All records are public under the Georgia Open Records Act, meaning anyone can request copies of petitions, final decrees, settlement agreements, and other filed documents. This page covers how to reach the clerk, how to use online tools for case lookups, what Georgia law requires for filing, and where to find records that date back many decades.

Superior Court Clerk in Canton

The Cherokee County Superior Court Clerk is located at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 90 North Street, Suite 150, Canton, GA 30114. Mail should be sent to PO Box 769, Canton, GA 30169. The clerk's office phone is (678) 493-6511. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The clerk's official website is cherokeeclerkofcourt.com, where you can find current information on fees, forms, and online services.

Cherokee County's clerk website provides useful tools for people who need to look up a case or plan a courthouse visit. You can often find forms for common filings and information on how to request copies of filed documents. For dissolution cases, the clerk can search by party name or case number. If you know the year the case was filed, share that when you call, as it narrows the search considerably.

The image below shows the Cherokee County Clerk of Court website, where you can access case search tools, forms, and clerk contact details directly.

Source: Cherokee County Clerk of Court

The clerk website is regularly updated and reflects current office hours, fee schedules, and any procedural changes that apply to filings in Cherokee County.

Cherokee County is in the Cherokee Judicial Circuit. The Superior Court handles all dissolution proceedings in the county. Because Cherokee is an Atlanta metro county, the court sees cases ranging from simple agreed matters to complex contested proceedings involving significant assets, business interests, and detailed parenting arrangements. The clerk's staff is experienced with all case types and can direct you to the right resources depending on what you need.

Online Access and State Resources

Georgia offers several statewide tools that can help you search for dissolution records in Cherokee County without visiting the courthouse. The Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority at gsccca.org maintains a records portal that covers many Georgia counties. You can search by name or case information, and some document types can be retrieved online. The GSCCCA phone number is (404) 327-9058.

For certified electronic copies of court documents, the GSCCCA offers an eCertification service at ecert.gsccca.org. This allows you to get a legally certified copy without visiting the courthouse, which is convenient if you are in a different state or need the document quickly for legal or financial purposes. Not every document type is available through eCert, but final decrees and other key filings are often accessible.

This screenshot shows the Georgia Courts portal, which provides links to Superior Court resources across the state including Cherokee County.

Source: Georgia Courts - georgiacourts.gov

From the Georgia Courts portal, you can navigate to Cherokee County court information, judicial circuit contacts, and filing resources specific to Superior Court proceedings.

The Find My Clerk directory at the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Association is a quick way to confirm contact details for the Cherokee County clerk or any other county clerk in Georgia. The directory is useful if you are searching records across multiple counties or want to verify that the contact information you have is current.

Georgia Law: What You Need to File

Georgia requires at least one spouse to have lived in the state for six continuous months before filing a dissolution petition. In Cherokee County, you file in Superior Court. The case is typically filed in the county where the defendant lives. If the defendant has moved out of Georgia, the plaintiff can file in their own county of residence.

The 13 legal grounds for dissolution of marriage in Georgia include the no-fault ground that the marriage is "irretrievably broken." This is by far the most commonly used ground in Cherokee County and across Georgia as a whole, because it requires no proof of wrongdoing and tends to move through the court more efficiently than fault-based grounds. Once you file and the defendant is served, there is a 30-day mandatory waiting period before the court can enter a final decree. If the parties agree on all terms, the case can conclude quickly after that window closes.

For contested cases, the timeline is longer. Disputed issues involving property division, debt allocation, or parenting plans may require mediation, discovery, or evidentiary hearings. Cherokee County's Superior Court has procedures in place for each of these, and the clerk's office can give you general guidance on how the local process works. You can review the relevant Georgia statutes at Georgia Code Section 19-5-3 or through Justia's Georgia Title 19 Chapter 5.

Historical Records: DPH and the Georgia Archives

For dissolution records from 1952 through 1996, the Georgia Department of Public Health maintains a state-level verification service. This is not a copy of the court file but rather a confirmation that the dissolution was recorded with the state. Contact DPH Vital Records at 1680 Phoenix Blvd Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30349, call (404) 657-2700, or visit dph.georgia.gov/VitalRecords. For records outside that date range, the Cherokee County Superior Court Clerk is the sole source.

The Georgia Archives at georgiaarchives.org holds a statewide dissolution index covering 1965 to 1971 and 1973 to 1999. This index can help you confirm a dissolution occurred and identify the filing county, which is a useful first step if you are searching older records and are not certain where the case was filed. Once you know the county, contact that clerk's office for full documents. For Cherokee County cases, the clerk in Canton can pull the original file once you provide the case information.

Legal Help in Cherokee County

Georgia Legal Services Program at glsp.org serves lower-income Georgians who need legal help with family matters. Georgia Legal Aid at georgialegalaid.org offers self-help guides and online tools for people handling their own dissolution cases. These resources are especially useful for uncontested cases where both parties agree on the terms.

For those who want a private attorney, the Georgia Bar's lawyer referral service is reachable at 1-800-334-6865 or at gabar.org. Cherokee County has a number of family law attorneys in Canton and nearby areas who handle dissolution cases regularly. An initial consultation can help you understand whether your case is likely to be straightforward or whether you should expect a contested process.

Cities in Cherokee County

Cherokee County includes two cities with dedicated records pages on this site.

Other communities in Cherokee County include Ball Ground, Holly Springs, Nelson, and Waleska. These do not have separate pages, but dissolution filings from across the county are handled through the clerk's office in Canton.

Nearby Counties

These neighboring counties each have their own Superior Court clerk and their own dissolution records.