Escambia County
Escambia County is the oldest county in Florida, established by European-Americans on July 21, 1821, and named after the Escambia River. It is located in the Northwestern region of Florida with a population of over 321,905. The county, which was formerly part of Spanish colonial settlement before the U.S acquired it, has its seat in Pensacola. Its total land area is 875 square miles.
The courts in Escambia County are the 1st Judicial Circuit Court and County Court. The County Court handles non-jury trials. It is referred to as the people's court and attends to cases involving traffic violations, foreclosures, and misdemeanors. It has extended jurisdiction over civil cases in which the amount of money in dispute is $50,000 or less. It has a small claims division that settles minor disputes between parties, in which the amount of money involved in dispute is $8,000 or less.
The First Judicial Circuit Court serves Okaloosa, Walton, Santa Rosa, and Escambia counties. It resolves issues on adoption, divorce, juvenile (delinquency and dependency), felony, civil, probate, guardianship, landlord-tenant, and domestic violence matters. It houses specialized courts such as the Veterans, Drug, and Mental Health Courts.
The Escambia County Clerk and Comptroller has a statutory responsibility of keeping, maintaining, and preserving records of court proceedings, court information, and dockets. These court records are at the disposal of the public when needed. The Escambia County Clerk also serves as the Clerk of both Circuit and County Courts and has several duties including mortgage foreclosure sales and preparing the paperwork needed to file small claims and domestic and repeat violence cases.
Obtaining court records in Escambia County requires you to search on the website of the County Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller to find the records of interest. For copies of court records or docket entries, you are required to fill a request for copies form online at the Public Records Division. You may also request for court records by contacting the Escambia County Clerk at 850 595 4149 or by email at PublicRecords@EscambiaClerk.com. Cases may be searched online by court type, the date the case was opened or closed, statutes or charges involved in the case, and case type. You can also access court records by visiting the courthouses where they were filed.
Members of the public can access these types court records at the Public Records Division in Escambia County:
- Criminal records
- Civil records
- Probate records
- Family records
- Traffic records
