Who manages land records in Georgia — county recorders or another office?

Georgia land records are managed by the Superior Court Clerk, not a County Recorder. Each of the state's 159 counties has an elected Superior Court Clerk who handles real property recording. The Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority (GSCCCA) operates a statewide portal at search.gsccca.org covering all 159 counties — one of the most comprehensive statewide portals in the US.

What is a Deed to Secure Debt in Georgia, and why does it matter for indexing?

Georgia does not use traditional mortgages. Lenders use a Deed to Secure Debt (Security Deed) in which the borrower conveys title to the lender as security. This is a 2-party instrument indexed like a deed — grantor is the borrower, grantee is the lender. Upon payoff, a Satisfaction of Security Deed is recorded, not a mortgage release. OCR models trained on other states may misclassify this instrument type.

What execution requirements apply to deeds in Georgia?

Under O.C.G.A. § 44-2-14, deeds must be signed by the grantor in the presence of two witnesses — one of whom may be a notary — and the notary must provide an acknowledgment. Every recorded Georgia deed has an attestation block with two witness signatures. Indexing logic must distinguish witnesses from grantors and grantees.

What is the Real Estate Transfer Tax in Georgia and how does it affect indexing?

O.C.G.A. § 48-6-1 imposes a transfer tax of $1 per $1,000 of consideration (or fraction thereof), paid at recording. The tax amount and any exemption claimed appear on the deed face and are indexable fields. The transfer tax amount can also serve as a cross-check on consideration values during QC.

What grants support digitization projects for Georgia Superior Court Clerk offices?

Key sources include NHPRC grants administered through the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board (GHRAB); IMLS/LSTA funds through the Georgia Public Library Service; and the Digital Library of Georgia (dlg.usg.edu), which provides digitization infrastructure and hosting. The GSCCCA shared infrastructure also reduces per-county technology costs for offices participating in the statewide system.

Public Records Indexing in Georgia: A Guide for Superior Court Clerks

Quick Reference

Item	Detail
Recording Office	Superior Court Clerk — 159 counties (NOT a County Recorder)
Key Recording Statute	O.C.G.A. § 44-2-1 et seq.
Execution Requirement	O.C.G.A. § 44-2-14 — 2 witnesses + notary acknowledgment
Open Records Law	O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq. (Georgia Open Records Act)
Unique Instrument	Deed to Secure Debt (Security Deed) — replaces mortgage
Transfer Tax	$1 per $1,000 of consideration — O.C.G.A. § 48-6-1
Statewide Portal	GSCCCA — search.gsccca.org — all 159 counties
State Archives	Georgia Archives, Morrow GA — archivesga.org

Who manages land records in Georgia

Georgia land records are maintained by the Superior Court Clerk, an elected constitutional officer present in each of the state's 159 counties. This is distinct from the county recorder model used in most states — the Superior Court Clerk handles both court records and real property recording within the same office.

Georgia has more counties than any other state east of the Mississippi. The Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority (GSCCCA) provides shared technology infrastructure across all 159 offices, including the statewide search portal at search.gsccca.org and a centralized e-recording system. This shared infrastructure means that Georgia's statewide land records access is significantly more unified than states with more counties operating entirely independently.

Governing statutes

Statute	Subject	Indexing implication
O.C.G.A. § 44-2-1	Instruments affecting title must be recorded to be valid against third parties	Defines what requires indexing; basis for document type classification
O.C.G.A. § 44-2-14	Execution — 2 witnesses (one may be notary) and acknowledgment required	Two-witness attestation block on every deed; witnesses must not be indexed as grantors/grantees
O.C.G.A. § 44-14-60 et seq.	Deeds to Secure Debt — Georgia's security instrument replacing the mortgage	Separate instrument type; borrower is grantor, lender is grantee — do not index as a mortgage
O.C.G.A. § 48-6-1	Real Estate Transfer Tax — $1 per $1,000 of consideration	Tax amount and exemption status are indexable fields; useful for consideration value validation
O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70	Georgia Open Records Act — public records available upon request	Digitized and indexed records directly support timely fulfillment of public records requests

Georgia's Deed to Secure Debt — the key instrument difference

Georgia is one of a small number of states that does not use a traditional mortgage as its primary security instrument. Instead, the Deed to Secure Debt (also called a Security Deed) conveys legal title to the lender until the loan is repaid. This distinction affects instrument classification in any indexing workflow.

Aspect	Traditional mortgage (most states)	Georgia Deed to Secure Debt
Parties	Mortgagor + Mortgagee (2 parties)	Grantor (borrower) + Grantee (lender) (2 parties)
Title	Borrower retains; lender holds lien	Borrower conveys title to lender until payoff
Release instrument	Satisfaction of Mortgage	Satisfaction of Security Deed / Release Deed
Foreclosure type	Judicial (varies by state)	Non-judicial Power of Sale (O.C.G.A. § 44-14-160)
Index classification	Mortgage book/index	Deed book/index — do NOT classify as "Mortgage"

Common instrument types

Instrument	Key index fields	Complexity
Warranty Deed	Grantor, grantee, legal description, consideration, transfer tax, 2 witness signatures + notary	Low
Limited Warranty Deed	Same as warranty + limited warranty period	Low-Medium
Quitclaim Deed	Grantor, grantee, interest conveyed, consideration (often nominal)	Low
Deed to Secure Debt	Grantor (borrower), grantee (lender), loan amount, property description, maturity date	Medium — unique to Georgia; instrument type must be set correctly
Satisfaction of Security Deed	Original grantor/grantee, original book/page or instrument reference, satisfaction date	Low — reference to original instrument is the key field
Deed Under Power	Foreclosing lender (grantor), purchaser (grantee), original security deed reference, sale date	Medium — foreclosure context; cross-reference fields critical
Plat	Subdivision name, lot/block numbers, surveyor, scale, county	High — graphical; survey data embedded in drawings

Digitization resources for Georgia Superior Court Clerk offices

Resource	Type	Notes
GSCCCA	Shared state authority	gsccca.org — statewide portal, e-recording, shared tech infrastructure for all 159 county clerks
Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board (GHRAB)	NHPRC state coordinator	Administers NHPRC sub-grants; technical assistance for Georgia county archives
Digital Library of Georgia	Digitization infrastructure	dlg.usg.edu — University System program; technical assistance and hosting for digitized Georgia government records
IMLS / LSTA	Federal grant	Administered in Georgia through the Georgia Public Library Service; digitization projects eligible
Georgia Archives	State archives	1800 Century Blvd NE, Morrow GA 30260 \| (678) 364-3710 \| archivesga.org

Practical backfile considerations for Georgia

Consideration	Detail
Deed to Secure Debt classification	Must be classified as its own instrument type — not "Mortgage." OCR models trained on other states frequently misclassify. Validate instrument type vocabulary against Georgia-specific terminology before deploying any model.
Two-witness attestation	Every recorded Georgia deed has an attestation block with two witness signatures. Name extraction must exclude witnesses from grantor/grantee fields — a common false-positive in automated extraction.
GSCCCA portal cutoff	GSCCCA typically covers instruments recorded after approximately 1999. Pre-GSCCCA backfiles vary by county — some exist as deed books or microfilm only. Confirm the historical cutoff with each county before scoping pre-digital work.
Book and page citation	Older instruments use Deed Book and Page citation. Some counties have transitioned to instrument numbers; others use both. Capture both reference formats for cross-reference searches.
Transfer tax as validation field	The $1 per $1,000 transfer tax amount on recorded deeds can be used during QC to validate consideration values — a mismatch between the stated consideration and the tax amount is a useful exception flag.

Disclaimer: This page is for informational and educational purposes only. Statute citations are provided as reference points; statutes may be amended. This is not legal advice. Consult your county legal counsel or state records management agency for guidance specific to your jurisdiction.

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