About the Lafayette County Chancery Clerk

About the Lafayette County Chancery Clerk

Mike Roberts serves as the Lafayette County Chancery Clerk. The office sits in the Chancery Courthouse on North Lamar Boulevard in Oxford. Voters elect the chancery clerk as a county officer. The job reaches well past the courtroom. Roberts is clerk of the Chancery Court and custodian of every chancery file. He also keeps the county's public land records. Beyond court papers, the clerk works as clerk of the Board of Supervisors, county auditor, and county treasurer. The office runs the land-redemption desk and acts as a local passport accepting agent. Few county offices touch as many duties.

Day-to-day work falls to a steady staff. Paula Childress is Chief Deputy Chancery Clerk and office manager. Annie Baker, Gloria Nicks, Tina Johnson, Reanell Mooneyham, and Larissa Edwards round out the team. They open cases, file documents, pull deeds, and help visitors at the counter. The office answers questions in person and by phone. Mail reaches the same staff through a post office box in Oxford. The county's official Chancery Clerk page lists current contacts, forms, and notices.

Note: Call ahead before a special request so the right deputy clerk can pull older estate, land, or court files for you.

Records the Lafayette County Chancery Clerk Keeps

The chancery clerk holds equity-side records, not law-side criminal files. Chancery Court hears family, estate, and property matters under Mississippi law. The clerk dockets those cases and stores the papers that flow from them. Land ownership records sit in the same office because the clerk is the county land recorder. That mix is wide, so it helps to know the main groups before you call or visit.

• Chancery Court case files and dockets
• Probate and estate files, including wills, letters, and accountings
• Divorce, custody, and family files
• Guardianship and conservatorship files
• Land records, deeds, and title documents
• Board of Supervisors minutes and county financial records
• Mental-health and commitment matters heard in equity court

Some of these files carry privacy limits. Guardianship, mental-health, and sealed materials may need a court order before release. Routine deeds and most case dockets stay open to the public under state law.

Chancery Clerk or Circuit Clerk

Lafayette County splits its clerk work between two offices. The chancery clerk handles equity, probate, land, and county board records. The circuit clerk handles felony and major civil case files, marriage licenses, juries, and elections. Sending a request to the wrong desk is the most common delay. The table below routes the most asked records to the right office. For circuit, county, and marriage records, the Lafayette County Circuit Clerk is the place to start.

Inside Lafayette County Chancery Court Files

Chancery files read differently from criminal records. They track petitions, orders, and personal relief rather than charges and pleas. A probate file may open with a petition and the original will. From there it gathers oaths, letters, bonds, inventories, accountings, creditor notices, and a final closing order. Estates without a will move under heirship and intestate rules instead. The Lafayette County probate records page walks through estate filing in more depth.

Divorce and family files follow the same equity pattern. A typical file holds the complaint or petition, a civil cover sheet, temporary orders, custody and support orders, a property settlement, and the final judgment. Later contempt or modification filings can join the same file. Financial details and minors' names are often redacted in public copies.

What about guardianships and conservatorships? Those files appoint someone to protect a person or manage an adult's affairs. They commonly include petitions, medical findings, bonds, letters, and yearly accountings. Because they touch health and money, the clerk may limit who can view them.

Search Lafayette County Chancery Records

Online access to chancery cases changed in 2023. The office now opens cases and files court documents through Mississippi Electronic Courts, known as MEC. The MEC go-live for the chancery office was June 19, 2023, and attorneys began filing their own pleadings on July 3, 2023. Because of that shift, the legacy Delta chancery search now carries a plain notice that court records have moved to MEC.

That notice matters for anyone hunting current files. The Delta chancery form still shows fields for case number, party name in last-first order, styled plaintiff, styled defendant, filed date, disposition date, and docket book and page. Treat those results as a legacy or limited lookup only. For current court information, copies, and certified records, the chancery office is the reliable source. A quick phone call confirms a case number before you visit.

Note: The Delta chancery page tells searchers to contact the chancery office for current court information because active filings now live in MEC.

How to Request Chancery Clerk Records

The counter at the Chancery Courthouse is the best path for most requests. Staff can pull a file, make plain or certified copies, and confirm what is open. A short, well-prepared request moves faster than a vague one. These steps work for estates, divorce files, deeds, and board records.

1. Gather the case or instrument details. Have the party names, a case number or deed book and page, and an approximate year.
2. Confirm the record is chancery, not circuit. Divorce, probate, guardianship, land, and board minutes belong here.
3. Contact the office. Call (662) 234-2131, visit 300 N. Lamar Blvd., or mail P.O. Box 1240, Oxford, MS 38655.
4. State plain copy or certified copy and how many you need. Certified copies carry the clerk's seal for legal use.
5. Pay by debit or credit card. For records not in a file, use the county Public Records Request Form.

Mississippi's Public Records Act supports inspection and copying of public records unless a statute, court rule, or order restricts access. The county lists the Chancery Courthouse as the location for its formal records process. Use that form when a record is not in an online portal or when you need a certified copy.

Lafayette County Chancery Clerk Fees

Chancery filing and copy fees follow the chancery fee list, not the circuit and county court schedule. Exact amounts change, so the office posts a current list and answers fee questions by phone. The county also runs a public-records page with set access categories. The summary below shows the services and the payment rules the county documents, with the chancery fee list linked for current dollar amounts.

The full chancery fee list covers probate filings, copies, and certifications. The county public-records information page explains the subscription and free categories. Confirm the current figure before filing, since fees are updated from time to time.

Note: The chancery office stopped taking personal checks on May 23, 2023, so bring a debit or credit card for filings and copy fees.

Key Chancery and Probate Terms

Equity court uses words that rarely show up in everyday talk. A short glossary helps when you read a docket or call the counter. These terms appear often across chancery, probate, and land files in Lafayette County.

Chancery

The equity side of Mississippi courts, covering divorce, custody, estates, guardianships, and land disputes.

Conservatorship

A court appointment to manage the financial affairs of an adult who needs help.

Guardianship

A court appointment to protect the person or care of a minor or an adult.

Muniment of title

A streamlined way to admit a will to prove ownership of property without a full estate administration.

Land redemption

The process to pay off taxes on land sold at a tax sale and clear the title, handled at the chancery clerk's redemption desk.

Intestate estate

An estate where the person died without a will, so property passes under Mississippi heirship rules.

Lafayette County Land and Deed Records

The chancery clerk is the custodian of public land records for the county. Deeds, mortgages, liens, and plats are recorded and indexed here. This role is separate from the court files, but it lives under the same roof. Land records did not move to MEC with the court documents. Delta Computer Systems still handles land records, even though the office stopped using Delta for court filings. That split matters when you search.

The office also runs land redemption. When property is sold for unpaid taxes, an owner can pay what is owed and reclaim the title here. Title researchers, lenders, and surveyors use these books daily. Older deeds may sit in bound volumes rather than a digital index, so a counter visit is sometimes the only path.

Passports and Office Visits

The chancery clerk is a local passport accepting agent. Applicants can submit a new passport application at the Chancery Courthouse. The office takes passport applications only between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., a narrower window than the general office hours. Bring required identity and citizenship documents and confirm fees before you arrive.

For any visit, the building sits at 300 N. Lamar Blvd., directly across from Uptown Coffee and just off the Oxford Square. General hours run Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Parking around the Square fills during University of Mississippi events and downtown business hours. Plan extra time and check the Chancery Building page for parking and transit links before a filing deadline or appointment.

Note: Passport applications are accepted only from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., so arrive well before that cutoff with your documents ready.