Section 15-6-62. Additional clerk duties

   (a) The clerk of superior court is required to record all the proceedings relating to any civil action or criminal case within six months after the final determination of the case. Such recording may be in well-bound books, on microfilm, or in digital format. If a clerk elects to record proceedings on microfilm or in digital format, he or she shall make available to the public a machine for reading and reproducing such microfilmed or digitally formatted records. If a clerk elects to record proceedings in digital format, the provisions of Code Section 15-6-62.1 shall apply.

(b) Every clerk of superior court shall record, microfilm, or digitally image for the purpose of permanently preserving:

   (1) Every part of the pleadings in every case;

   (2) All garnishments, affidavits, bonds, and answers thereto;

   (3) All attachment affidavits, bonds, and writs of attachment; and

   (4) All claim affidavits and bonds and all bonds given in any judicial proceeding.

The clerk shall not allow any record to be taken from his or her office before recording them as required in this Code section.

(c) Where any paper becomes lost or destroyed, a certified copy thereof from the clerk of superior court may be substituted. No fee shall be charged or collected for any such copy if the loss of the same is caused by or results from any negligence or fault of the clerk.

(d) This Code section shall not apply to cases dismissed and settled before the record is made.

Ga. L. 1880-81, p. 93, §§ 1-3; Civil Code 1895, § 4361; Civil Code 1910, § 4892; Code 1933, § 24-2715; Ga. L. 1968, p. 1117, § 1; Ga. L. 1978, p. 1787, § 1; Ga. L. 2001, p. 1001, § 2; Ga. L. 2012, p. 173, § 1-11/HB 665.