How to Record Your Deed in Alabama
⚠ Wire Fraud Warning
We will never send wire instructions by email, and we will never email you a change to instructions you already have. Any such message is fraudulent, even if it appears to come from us.
Before transferring any funds, call 256-434-1678 using a number you already have — not a number from an email — and confirm verbally with someone you know.
This is the most common way money is lost in a real estate transaction, and one phone call prevents it.
A deed that is signed but never recorded may not protect you. Under Ala. Code § 35-4-90(a), an unrecorded conveyance is void as to a later purchaser who buys without notice of it. Until your deed is on record at the probate office, someone else could acquire an interest in that property ahead of you. Record it promptly.
We prepare the deed. At $400 we email it to you and you have it notarised. At $500 you sign and have it notarised in our office. Either way, you record it at the probate office in the county where the property sits, and the county recording fee and the state deed tax are paid by you at the counter. This page tells you exactly how.
Before you go — signing it correctly
- If you signed in our office, this part is doneAt $500 we handle the signing and the notarisation here. Skip to “What to take to the probate office.” If we emailed you the deed at $400, keep reading.
- Do not sign until you are in front of a notaryA deed signed beforehand usually has to be redone. Bring it unsigned.
- Everyone giving up an interest must signThat is the grantor or grantors named on the deed. Sign exactly as your name is printed — if the deed says “Robert J. Smith,” do not sign “Bob Smith.” Alabama requires the deed to be signed at the foot (§ 35-4-20), and an acknowledgment before a notary takes the place of a subscribing witness (§ 35-4-23).
- If it is your homestead and you are married, your spouse signs tooSection 6-10-3 provides that no mortgage, deed or other conveyance of the homestead by a married person is valid without the voluntary signature and assent of the other spouse — even if that spouse is not on the title. This is the single most common reason an Alabama deed fails. If you are not sure whether it applies to you, call before you sign.
- Sign in front of a notary publicBanks, title companies and many shipping stores have one. Bring photo ID. The notary completes the acknowledgment block. If getting to a notary is the hard part, coming into our office at $500 solves it.
What to take to the probate office
- The original signed and notarised deed — not a copy, not a scan.
- A completed Real Estate Sales Validation Form (RT-1).
- Payment for the deed tax and the recording fee.
- Your photo ID.
- The mailing address where the recorded deed should be sent back to you.
Alabama requires a deed to be accompanied by proof of the actual purchase price, or, where the property is not being sold, evidence of its actual value. The Real Estate Sales Validation Form (RT-1) is how that is normally satisfied. Most probate offices keep blank copies at the counter and the form is published by the Alabama Probate Judges Association. Arriving without it is the number one reason people get turned away and have to come back.
What it costs at the counter
| Charge | How it is calculated |
|---|---|
| Deed tax — Ala. Code § 40-22-1 | $0.50 for each $500 of value, which works out to $1.00 per $1,000. A $200,000 property is $200. Based on the purchase price, or on actual value where there is no sale. |
| Recording fee | Set by each county and charged per page. See the table below. |
| Our fee | Separate, and already paid. It covers preparation of the deed only. |
Recording fees by county
| County | Recording fee | Probate office |
|---|---|---|
| Limestone | $4.00 first page; $3.00 each additional | Judge Charles Woodroof — 100 S. Clinton St., Suite D, Athens — (256) 233-6427 |
| Madison | $25.75 first page; $2.50 each additional | Judge Frank Barger — Huntsville. RT-1 required. |
| Lauderdale | $16.00 first page; $3.00 each additional | Judge Sara Holmes — Florence |
| Colbert | $8.00 first page; $3.00 each additional | Judge Daniel Rosser — Tuscumbia |
| Morgan | Call the office to confirm | Judge Greg Cain — Decatur |
| Franklin | Call the office to confirm | Judge Barry Moore — Russellville |
| Lawrence | Call the office to confirm | Judge Greg Dutton — Moulton |
Fees and personnel confirmed August 2026. County fee schedules change, and many probate offices do not accept credit cards — call ahead to confirm the amount and the accepted forms of payment before you drive.
After you record
- Keep the receiptIt is your proof of the recording date, and the date is what matters under § 35-4-90(a).
- Watch for the original to come backThe probate office stamps it with a book and page number, or an instrument number, and mails it to the address you gave. Anywhere from a few days to several weeks depending on the county.
- Send us a copy of the recorded deedWe keep it with your file so it is there when you refinance, sell, or need it for an estate.
- Store the original somewhere safeAnd tell the person who would need to find it — a spouse, your executor, an adult child — where it is.
Transferring title does not remove anyone from a mortgage. If there is a loan on the property, whoever signed the note is still liable on it regardless of whose name is now on the deed. Removing someone from a mortgage takes the lender’s agreement — usually a refinance or an assumption. Those are two separate problems with two separate solutions.
Call us before you record if any of these are true
- You are married and the property is or was your homestead, and your spouse has not signed.
- There is a mortgage, a home equity line, or a lien on the property.
- The property crosses a county line, or is not in the county you expected.
- Anyone named on the deed has died, changed their name, or married since the last deed.
- The legal description on the deed does not match the one on your prior deed.
- You are transferring into or out of a trust, an LLC, or an estate.
- The probate office asks you for anything not listed on this page.
Limestone, Madison, Morgan, Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin and Lawrence Counties. Filing fees and local practice differ from one circuit clerk to the next.
Do not let it sit in a drawer.
The most expensive mistake with a deed is the cheapest one to avoid. If anything at the counter goes sideways, call us from the parking lot.
Questions we get asked
Do you record the deed for me?
No. We prepare the deed — $400 emailed to you, or $500 to sign and have it notarised in our office. In both cases you record it at the probate office in the county where the property is located, and you pay the county recording fee and the state deed tax at the counter. This page walks through each step.
What happens if I never record it?
Under Ala. Code § 35-4-90(a), an unrecorded conveyance is void as to a later purchaser who buys without notice of it. In practical terms, an unrecorded deed may not protect you against someone who later acquires an interest in the property. Record it promptly.
How much does recording cost?
Two charges. The state deed tax under § 40-22-1 is $0.50 per $500 of value — $1.00 per $1,000, so $200 on a $200,000 property. The county recording fee is per page and varies by county; the table above lists the counties we serve.
What is an RT-1?
The Real Estate Sales Validation Form. Alabama requires a deed to be accompanied by proof of the purchase price, or evidence of actual value where there is no sale, and the RT-1 is how that is normally satisfied. Most probate offices keep blanks at the counter.
Does my spouse have to sign if they are not on the deed?
If the property is the homestead and you are married, yes. Section 6-10-3 provides that no conveyance of the homestead by a married person is valid without the voluntary signature and assent of the other spouse, whether or not that spouse is on the title. This is the most common reason an Alabama deed fails.
Can I record it by mail?
Practice varies by county. Some probate offices accept mailed recordings with a check; others prefer you come in. Call the office in your county before mailing an original document you cannot replace.
Will this take my ex-spouse off the mortgage?
No. A deed moves title. It does not change who owes the loan. Removing someone from a mortgage requires the lender to agree, which usually means a refinance or an assumption.
If the probate office turns you away, call us
Nine times out of ten it is the RT-1 or a missing spousal signature, and both are quick to fix. You do not need a second appointment to sort it out.
Daniel Shawn Pickens
Daniel S. Pickens Law · 300 West Green Street, Athens, Alabama 35611 · 256-434-1678. Office hours Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; phones answered 24/7.