By executive order, Governor Brian Kemp announced on Jan. 6 that he had appointed Putnam County Clerk of Courts Trevor Addison to the Georgia Superior Court Clerks Cooperative Authority (GSCCCA) board.
Accompanied by his wife, Pelar, and 18-month-old daughter, Cora Rose, Addison was sworn in Feb. 25 by Kemp in the governor’s office at the State Capitol in Atlanta.
Addison pointed out that the Bible used for his swearing-in ceremony is the same one he has used for every similar event in his life since 2015, when he became Putnam County’s youngest-ever county commissioner.
“There’s a good family history there,” Addison said last Friday in his office at the historic Putnam County Courthouse. “That Bible was given to me, and it has the date I was saved in there, so it just means a lot to me.”
The GSCCCA board consists of 10 members, three of whom are appointed by the governor. Addison’s appointment puts him at the forefront of efforts to streamline and modernize GSCCCA services further.
Addison said he was “deeply honored” to have earned Kemp’s trust and support. She added he looks forward to collaborating with his fellow 158 clerks statewide “to tackle challenges head-on and further improve the systems and services provided not only to clerks, but to the people of Georgia as well.”
Founded in 1993, the GSCCCA oversees several critical statewide systems, including Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filings, and real estate and property records.
Recent innovations include the e-certification program, which allows citizens to request documents online and provides essential resources to all 159 clerks in the state. These resources oversee real estate records, notary directories, and offer an e-filing portal for legal documents. The GSCCCA has digitized records, allowing title searches and document filings to be conducted online.
“Someone might need a certified divorce decree order, or maybe they need a certified copy of their court sentence because they’re trying to get a job now and want to show their employer that the sentence is complete. Or, if they’re changing their name, they need certified copies to send to the Department of Driver Services and Social Security Office, things like that,” Addison said.
“And it’s just as certified as if I placed my seal on it,” he stressed. “So that’s a great service that the Clerks Authority provided that was board-driven because we recognize that technology’s changing.”
Addison also explained that due to GSCCA initiatives and extensive work by his staff, all Putnam County real estate records are available in digital form, too.
“We’re back to the beginning of time in Putnam County, although that’s not the case in every county. But in Putnam County, we’re essentially back to the first plat being recorded. We have [the originals] here [onsite], but it’s also transmitted and housed at the Clerk’s Authority,” he explained.
Additionally, Addison said the GSCCCA introduced its Filing Activity Notification System (FANS). This free service alerts property owners when documents are filed in their name or related to their property. This is a great tool to combat deed fraud, Addison said.
“I truly don’t think deed fraud is rampant, but when it does happen, it’s a big deal,” he said. “And FANS is a free service to everyone in the state. You can sign up; just put your name on there in various forms. My name is Trevor Jackson Addison, so I signed up under Trevor Addison, Trevor J. Addison, or Trevor Jackson. Can someone file a deed in my name? I also signed up under my mom’s name, so I’ll get notified if anyone files anything in her name or about her address.”
Addison encourages anyone with grandparents, an elderly aunt or uncle, or someone they help care for in day-to-day living to sign up for FANS and receive notifications if anything is ever filed in their name in Georgia.
“I also listed all addresses where I own a piece of property and signed up for email and cell phone notifications through text. Now, every time anything in this state is filed in my name, or any combination of my name, or it contains my name or address, whether it’s a deed, lien, or anything else, I receive an email and a text. If it’s something I recognize or know it’s not really about me, no problem, I delete it and it’s a perfect piece of mind.”
Addison acknowledges that FANS does not prevent fraudulent activity from happening; however, being notified immediately can minimize its impact.
“So, if it’s not you who filed that document, you call your police department, you call your sheriff’s office, file a report, and they’ll investigate it from there and take care of you,” he said. “It’s really a pretty great system.”
Addison’s initial GSCCCA term lasts until July 1, 2026, in replacement for a board member who retired at the end of last year, but he hopes Kemp will extend his service for a standard three-year term when that time comes. The GSCCCA board meets quarterly in Chamblee, but Addison said it requires consistent attention and effort year-round.
“I look forward to serving not just the governor’s office as their member on GSCCCA, but more importantly, the clerks of this state and the citizens, helping them with the things they need,” he said.