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Georgia · Northeast Georgia · #603
Hart County, Georgia
On the shores of Lake Hartwell where Georgia meets South Carolina, Hart County has built a lake recreation economy around one of Georgia's most popular reservoirs - 56,000 acres of water that draw boaters, anglers, and waterfront property buyers from across the Southeast.
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Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Hart County Sheriff’s Office – 890 Vickery Street, Hartwell, GA 30643 | (706) 376-3114 | Fax (706) 376-2287 | Email: [email protected]; Sheriff Chris Carroll, sworn into office December 30, 2024, by Northern Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Chris Phelps inside the Hart County Courthouse. Hours: 24/7.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. Hart Transit provides local mobility-accessible rides for shopping, medical appointments, and errands – (706) 376-3975.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-29 and US-29 Alt. serve Hartwell, the county seat.
Notes: Hart County was created by the Legislature on December 7, 1853, from portions of Franklin and Elbert Counties. It is genuinely the only county in Georgia named for a woman: Nancy Hart, a celebrated Revolutionary War heroine. According to the local historical account, Nancy and her husband Benjamin Hart held a 400-acre land grant southeast of present-day Hartwell, where, during the Revolutionary War, six Loyalist (“Tory”) soldiers forced their way into her cabin and demanded she cook them a meal. While preparing an old turkey, Nancy secretly sent her daughter to blow a conch shell at a nearby spring to summon help, then noticed one soldier slipping his rifle through a crack in the cabin wall – she seized it, killed one man, and wounded another before help arrived.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Hart County Courthouse – Hartwell, GA.
Notes: Confirm current courthouse historic designation and architectural details via hartcountyga.gov.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Hart County Veterans Services – confirm current contact via hartcountyga.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Hart County Public Library (Hartwell) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Lake Hartwell, a major regional reservoir on the Savannah River, is a primary recreational and tourism draw for the county, offering boating and fishing.
Notes: Confirm current parks and recreation facilities via hartcountyga.gov.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Hart County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via hartcountyga.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via hartcountyga.gov; Hart County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Hart County Solid Waste / Planning & Zoning – confirm current contact via hartcountyga.gov.
NOTES: Hart County is the seventy-fifth county completed in Georgia’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuinely unique distinction of being Georgia’s only county named for a woman, and the vivid legend of Nancy Hart’s Revolutionary War heroism, are among the standout local facts covered in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Hart County
Hart County’s Lake Hartwell – the Savannah River reservoir created by Hartwell Dam in 1962 – is the dominant fact of the county’s modern economy. The lake’s 56,000 surface acres, 962 miles of shoreline, and exceptional bass fishing draw recreational visitors from across Georgia and South Carolina year-round, and waterfront property on the lake represents by far the highest property values in the county. The lake straddles the Georgia-South Carolina border, and communities on both sides share the recreational economy.
Hartwell, the county seat, is a small city that serves as the commercial hub for the lake area’s permanent and seasonal populations. Nancy Hart, the county’s namesake, was a Revolutionary War heroine who according to tradition captured six Loyalist soldiers at her farm in what is now Hart County – her story, while embellished by legend, is rooted in documented Revolutionary-era partisanship that the county celebrates with genuine pride. The county’s agricultural economy outside the lake corridor – cattle, poultry, timber – maintains the rural character of the county’s inland communities.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Georgia assesses property at 40% of fair market value. Property owners have 45 days from the notice of assessment to appeal to the Board of Assessors. Georgia offers school tax exemptions for seniors 62 and older. Georgia has no estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Northeast Georgia Area Agency on Aging
305 Research Drive NE, Athens, GA 30605
Phone: (706) 369-5650
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, and long-term care counseling for Hart County residents.
Senior Services
Northeast Georgia Area Agency on Aging
305 Research Drive NE, Athens, GA 30605
Phone: (706) 369-5650
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, and long-term care counseling for Hart County residents.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF SUPERIOR COURT (Records, Marriage Licenses)
165 W. Franklin St., Hartwell, GA 30643
(706) 376-2024
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Hart County Probate Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Hart County Library, 150 Benson Street, Hartwell, GA – named Georgia’s Public Library of the Year in 2016; traces its history to a 1938 Hartwell Woman’s Club initiative.
Local societies
Hart County Historical Society, 31 E. Howell Street / P.O. Box 96, Hartwell, GA 30643, (706) 376-6330.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Hart County Probate Court Hart County Courthouse Annex, 185 West Franklin Street, P.O. Box 1159, Hartwell, GA 30643 (706) 376-2565 Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Hart County, created 1853, is the only one of Georgia’s 159 counties named after a woman – Revolutionary War figure Nancy Hart. Lake Hartwell is also named for her.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Georgia is NOT a Uniform Probate Code state and doesn’t use a simple dollar-threshold “small estate affidavit” like many states. Instead it offers several distinct shortcuts, each suited to a different situation:
Banking Affidavit – for intestate estates with less than $15,000 in bank deposits and no other assets requiring administration. No court filing needed at all.
No Administration Necessary (Standard Form 9) – available when all heirs agree on how to divide the property and there are no debts (or all creditors consent). Can transfer real estate without full administration, but requires unanimous heir agreement – any disagreement forces the estate into formal probate.
Year’s Support (Standard Form 10, O.C.G.A. Chapter 53-3) – a distinctively Georgia protection: the surviving spouse and minor children can petition for property sufficient to maintain their standard of living for 12 months from the date of death. This takes priority over virtually all creditor claims and even most specific bequests in the will. Must be filed within 24 months of death. No bond, no inventory filing, no creditor claims period required – the fastest and simplest path when it applies.
Formal Administration – Petition to Probate Will (Common Form or Solemn Form) or Petition for Letters of Administration, when none of the above shortcuts fit.
COMMON FORM VS. SOLEMN FORM (a distinctively Georgia choice)
Common Form: the executor files the will with supporting evidence and the court admits it without notifying all heirs – faster and cheaper, but leaves a 4-year window during which interested parties can challenge the will.
Solemn Form (Standard Form 5): requires notice to all heirs; once granted, it’s final and binding much sooner, closing off future challenges.
If formal administration is needed
File the appropriate petition with the Hart County Probate Court – Petition to Probate Will (Common or Solemn Form) if there’s a will, or Petition for Letters of Administration if not.
The court issues a citation, published in the county’s legal organ once a week for four weeks (O.C.G.A. § 53-5-2), giving interested parties a chance to object.
After the publication period, attend the hearing for appointment as personal representative.
Once appointed, the court issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without one).
Send certified copies of the death certificate and Letters to all banks, brokerages, insurers, and retirement custodians; request date-of-death valuations and begin marshaling assets.
Obtain an EIN via IRS Form SS-4 and open an estate checking account.
Prepare an inventory of assets with date-of-death fair market values; the court may require this under O.C.G.A. § 53-7-30.
Pay debts and expenses in Georgia’s priority order (see below), then distribute remaining assets per the will or intestacy law.
What it costs
No Georgia state estate tax or inheritance tax.
Court filing fees typically range $100–$300 depending on the county.
Certified copies of Letters typically cost around $10 each.
Indigent petitioners may file an Affidavit of Indigency to request a fee waiver.
E-filing is available and encouraged statewide through platforms like PeachCourt or Odyssey eFileGA.
DEBT PRIORITY ORDER IF THE ESTATE CAN’T PAY EVERYTHING (O.C.G.A. §§ 53-3-1, 53-7-40)
Year’s Support for surviving spouse and minor children under 18.
Funeral expenses.
Costs of probate administration.
Expenses of the decedent’s last illness.
Taxes.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
165 W. Franklin St., Hartwell, GA 30643
(706) 376-7114
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS / VOTER REGISTRATION
165 W. Franklin St., Hartwell, GA 30643
(706) 376-2024
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
GA Dept of Public Health — Northeast
(706) 376-5117
GA DFCS — Hart
(706) 376-3184
GA Medicaid
(800) 869-1150
AnMed Health (Anderson, SC)
anmedhealth.org
Ty Cobb Regional Medical Center (Lavonia)
tycobb.com
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Hart County Health Department – confirm current contact via hartcountyga.gov.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Hartwell
Population: 26,000
Area: 254 sq mi
Established: 1853
Tier: 4
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Hart County facilities via Amazon.
