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Office: Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office – 4815 Highway 37 East, P.O. Box 28, Camilla, GA 31730 | Administration (229) 336-2032 | Jail/Dispatch (229) 336-2030 | Investigations (229) 336-2033 | Fax (229) 336-2036; Sheriff W.E. Bozeman. Services include countywide law enforcement, civil and warrant service, criminal and drug investigations, courtroom security, and the C.H.A.M.P.S. drug education program for fifth graders.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-19 and US-84 serve Camilla, the county seat and largest city; other incorporated cities include Baconton, Pelham, and Sale City.
Notes: Mitchell County was created December 21, 1857, from part of Baker County, Georgia’s 123rd county. Sources differ on the namesake: a historical marker at the courthouse cites the 1857 Georgia Laws creating the county, which credit General Henry Mitchell, a Revolutionary War-era Brigadier General, State Senator, and Senate President; other accounts point to Governor David Brydie Mitchell. Camilla, incorporated in 1858, is named for Camilla Mitchell, granddaughter of General Henry Mitchell. The land was originally Creek territory, ceded to the United States under the 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson and distributed through Georgia’s 1820 land lottery.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Mitchell County Courthouse – Camilla, GA (built mid-1930s, white Georgia marble, architect William J.J. Chase), a distinctive contrast to the surrounding Camilla Commercial Historic District’s Victorian Eclectic, early-20th-century commercial, and Art Deco brick buildings (National Register of Historic Places).
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Mitchell County Veterans Services – confirm current contact via mitchellcountyga.net.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Mitchell County Public Library (Camilla) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Camilla Commercial Historic District, anchored by the striking white-marble Mitchell County Courthouse, is the county’s premier heritage attraction.
Notes: The Camilla courthouse square was the site of a documented and tragic event in September 1868, when a march of Black freedmen and allies from Albany to a Republican political rally in Camilla was met with deadly violence – a difficult chapter in the county’s Reconstruction-era history, noted here factually.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Mitchell County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via mitchellcountyga.net.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via mitchellcountyga.net; Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Mitchell County Solid Waste / Planning & Zoning – confirm current contact via mitchellcountyga.net.
NOTES: Mitchell County is the one-hundred-and-third county completed in Georgia’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The striking white-marble courthouse and the county’s documented, difficult Reconstruction-era history are among the standout local facts covered in this project, the latter presented with appropriate historical care. 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 Mitchell County County
Mitchell County is southwest Georgia’s quail hunting heritage and Black Belt agricultural county – the longleaf pine plantation quail culture that once made this corner of Georgia famous among hunters and the flat peanut and cotton farming landscape define a community where Camilla serves the surrounding agricultural families near the Florida border.
Camilla (the county seat, population ~5,000) is Mitchell County’s governmental hub on US 19, a southwest Georgia agricultural community whose quail hunting heritage, peanut farming economy, and courthouse anchor its identity in the southwest Georgia interior.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Mitchell County Tax Assessor at 12 N. Broad Street, Camilla, GA 31730, phone 229-336-2005. GA assessed at 40% of fair market value.
Courts & Legal
Mitchell County Probate Court at 12 N. Broad Street, Camilla, GA 31730, phone 229-336-2022, handles probate.
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)
12 N. Court Square, Camilla, GA 31730
(229) 336-2000
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Mitchell County Probate Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Southwest Georgia Genealogical Society (Albany) serves Mitchell among 29 Southwest Georgia counties.
Local societies
Southwest Georgia Genealogical Society (see above) is the primary regional resource; no dedicated Mitchell-County-only genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
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
Mitchell County Probate Court 11 West Broad Street, Room 102, Camilla, GA 31730 Judge: Hon. Robert C. Richardson, Jr.
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 Mitchell 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
12 N. Court Square, Camilla, GA 31730
(229) 336-2021
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS / VOTER REGISTRATION
12 N. Court Square, Camilla, GA 31730
(229) 336-2000
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
GA Dept of Public Health — Southwest
(229) 336-2025
GA DFCS — Mitchell
(229) 336-2030
GA Medicaid
(800) 869-1150
Mitchell County Hospital
mitchellcountyhospital.com (Camilla)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Mitchell County Health Department – confirm current contact via mitchellcountyga.net.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Camilla
Population: 21,000
Area: 512 sq mi
Established: 1857
Public Records
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