Justice Center
640 Ronald Reagan Drive
P.O. Box 1520
Evans, GA 30809
(706) 312-7254

                                                                             
Probate Court Judge
Pat Hardaway
 
The Probate Court is a court of limited jurisdiction responsible for the probating or proving of all wills of Columbia County residents. It is a court of record, so all documents filed here must be recorded in minute books and kept permanently available to the public. Probate Court is divided into the following three divisions:

• The Civil Division is also responsible for all types of estate matters which include administrations, guardianships, year's support proceedings, and all proceedings related to probate matters.
• The Vital Records Division issues and records all marriage licenses and is the registrar and custodian of all birth and death records. We issue these records based on information from the proper agencies, forward them to the state to be recorded there, and then permanently store them.
• The Criminal Division handles traffic citations issued by the Columbia County Sheriff's Department, the Georgia State Patrol, the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Public Service Commission, and the Department of Natural Resources.

We are maintaining our office at the County seat of Appling as well as our new office in the Justice Center in Evans. All civil matters can be conducted at either location, but all criminal matters are handled in our Evans office only.