Coweta County State Court Clerk
The State Court Clerk is Sheila W. Echols. The Coweta County State Court Clerk page lists the office at the Coweta County Justice Center, 72 Greenville Street, Newnan, with mailing address P.O. Box 884, Newnan, GA 30264. The office phone is 770-254-2699, fax is 770-252-6422, and public hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fine payments are processed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The State Court Clerk performs all administrative functions of the court, maintains accurate and complete records of court proceedings, and accounts for monies received and disbursed. The office cannot give legal advice. It handles State Court civil, misdemeanor criminal, and traffic dockets, which are separate from the Superior Court records kept by Niki Sewell's office. This split clerk structure is central to Coweta County court-record searches.
The manifest source for the State Court Clerk page shows the office's docket, open-records, Rule 22, and contact notices.
Those notices help users choose the State Court path for misdemeanor, traffic, and State Court civil files.
State Court Clerk
Clerk: Sheila W. Echols
72 Greenville Street
Newnan, GA 30263
Mailing: P.O. Box 884, Newnan, GA 30264
770-254-2699
Fax: 770-252-6422
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Coweta County State Court Records
State Court in Coweta County handles misdemeanors, traffic, and civil matters within State Court jurisdiction. The State Court Clerk maintains the docket and records for those proceedings. Traffic users often enter through the Traffic Violations Bureau process, while civil and misdemeanor users may need the State Court case-management search and copy process. Superior Court records, juvenile records, probate files, sheriff jail records, and federal records do not belong to this clerk.
| Record Type | State Court Clerk Role | Common Access Channel |
|---|---|---|
| State Court civil | Maintains docket and case records | Coweta State Court website, clerk counter, mail |
| Misdemeanor criminal | Keeps case proceedings and copy records | State Court search, clerk copy request |
| Traffic cases | Handles docket, payment, plea/request filings, and court status | Traffic Violations Bureau, Pay Your Tix, State Court website |
| Certified or exemplified copies | Processes copy authentication | Clerk office, mail, Case Management Search kiosk/credit-card route where available |
Coweta's State Court terms begin January 2 and July 1 in the county seat, moving to the next non-holiday if the date is a legal holiday. Courtroom recording and device use is limited by the Rule 22 materials linked by the State Court Clerk and by O.C.G.A. 15-1-10.1.
The State Court judges named in the research are Chief Judge Seay VanPatten Poulakos, Judge Matthew S. Swope, and Judge John B. Cunningham. The Solicitor-General, Amy Godfrey, prosecutes State Court misdemeanors and traffic or non-traffic misdemeanors. Those roles explain why a State Court file may involve the clerk, judge, solicitor, payment portal, and traffic bureau even though the official court record remains with the clerk.
Search Coweta County State Court Cases
The official Case Management Search/Copies page says civil, criminal, or traffic docket inquiries should be made through the Coweta State Court website. The State Court Clerk page repeats that route for docket and case-management search. Traffic users are also directed to the Traffic Violations Bureau page and the Coweta State Court case/citation search. Public search access is useful, but it does not replace certified copies from the clerk.
The State Court Case Management Search/Copies page is the county source for docket inquiries and copy fees.
That page is the practical bridge between online docket search and paid copy or certification requests.
| Portal or Route | Field or Function | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Coweta State Court website | Civil, criminal, traffic docket inquiry | County directs State Court users here for case-management search. |
| Pay Your Tix | Citation lookup/payment | Traffic users should wait two weeks after citation before online payment/search. |
| Traffic Violations Bureau | Pay, continue, contest, first-offender speeding, nolo | Payable status is determined by State Court judges through TVB order. |
| State Court ODR | DOB, driver's license state, or citation number | Eligible traffic citations may receive solicitor review and an offer. |
Coweta County Traffic Clerk Records
Traffic cases are a major State Court Clerk function in Coweta County. The Traffic Violations Bureau Division gives four major workflows: pay a traffic ticket, submit first-time speeding offender materials, submit a nolo plea, and request a continuance or jury trial. Users can pay by phone at 770-755-5561, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or use Pay Your Tix online after waiting at least two weeks from citation issuance.
If a citation is not in the online payment system two weeks before the court date, the research says to call 770-254-2699. People under 21 charged with speeding 24 mph or more over the posted speed limit must come to court. Payable versus must-appear status is set by State Court judges through the Traffic Violations Bureau order. No continuances are handled by phone, and Pay Your Tix continuance or jury-trial requests for payable TVB cases are available until 3 p.m. on the court date.
Traffic defendants who need a broader explanation of citation records, DDS motor vehicle reports, and municipal traffic courts can use the Coweta County traffic court records page.
Request State Court Certified Copies
State Court copy payments may be made in cash, money orders, or business checks in the clerk's office or by mail. Credit-card copy and certified-copy purchases are available through Case Management Search and a kiosk, with a third-party vendor fee. Exemplified copies must be processed through the Clerk of State Court in person or by mail. A certified copy is the clerk-authenticated copy needed for many formal uses, while an exemplified copy adds a higher certification level.
- Confirm the case is a Coweta State Court civil, misdemeanor, or traffic matter.
- Search the Coweta State Court website or use the citation/case number from a notice, payment screen, or filing.
- Identify the document needed, such as citation disposition, order, plea filing, docket, or certified case copy.
- Choose plain, certified, exemplified, fax, electronic, or storage-retrieval handling as needed.
- Submit the request through the clerk office, mail, Case Management Search credit-card route, or kiosk where available.
Note: The State Court Clerk can provide record and fee information, but the office cannot give legal advice about pleas, defenses, or strategy.
Coweta County State Request Fields
A strong State Court copy request should include enough detail for the clerk to locate the file and calculate the cost. The research supports both case-management searching and direct clerk requests. For traffic cases, a citation number may be more useful than a party-name search. For civil or misdemeanor files, the case number and party names are the usual anchors.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number or citation number | Best practice | Needed for fast State Court or traffic lookup. |
| Party name | Yes when no number is known | Include full name and known spelling variants. |
| Case type | Yes | State Court civil, misdemeanor, or traffic. |
| Document requested | Yes | Docket, disposition, certified copy, exemplified copy, fax, or electronic copy. |
| Copy delivery | Yes | In person, mail, fax/electronic, kiosk, or credit-card route where available. |
| Requester contact | Yes | Needed for fee estimates, vendor-fee issues, or storage retrieval. |
Coweta County State Clerk Fees
The State Court Case Management Search/Copies page gives the main copy and certification charges for State Court records. These fees are separate from Superior Court civil filing fees and separate from traffic fines or court costs imposed in a citation case. Storage or retention retrieval can add a fee when older records must be pulled.
| Item | Amount or Rule |
|---|---|
| State Court unassisted copies | $0.50 per page |
| State Court assisted copies | $1 per page |
| Certified/exemplified stamp and seal | $2.50 plus $0.50 each additional page |
| Fax or electronic copy | $2.50 first page, then $1 each additional page |
| Storage/retention retrieval | $5 |
| Credit-card copy purchase | Available through Case Management Search and kiosk with third-party vendor fee |
Coweta State Court Open Records
The State Court Clerk identifies open-records routing under the Georgia Open Records Act and designates a records custodian under O.C.G.A. 50-18-71. For ordinary State Court case copies, the clerk's copy process is more direct. For broader county records or records outside the clerk's direct court-file process, Coweta also uses the county open-records and NextRequest route.
Open-records law does not make every court record public. Juvenile, sealed, restricted criminal-history, protected personal, and certain confidential materials may be withheld. If an online search or public request fails, the next step is to contact the correct clerk or court rather than assume the file does not exist. State Court records stay with Sheila W. Echols, while Superior Court records belong with the Coweta County Clerk of Superior Court.
For older or stored State Court material, ask whether the $5 storage or retention retrieval fee applies before ordering multiple copies. For current traffic matters, the payment and request portals may be faster, but certified or exemplified copies still return to the clerk's copy process.