Alabama property deeds

Deeds Alabama recognizes

Alabama does not recognize transfer-on-death deeds and lady bird deeds, so recording one here may not do what you want.

How a deed has to be signed in Alabama

Alabama requires the grantor's signature to be acknowledged before a notary public. No witnesses are required. Another officer listed in Ala. Code § 35-4-24, such as a judge of probate, may take the acknowledgment instead of a notary, and the certificate follows the form in § 35-4-29. That acknowledgment is what makes a witness unnecessary (§ 35-4-23).

Alabama document formatting rules

A safe layout for Alabama is 8.5 × 11 inch paper with a 3-inch clear space at the top of the first page for the office of the judge of probate's stamp, 1-inch margins elsewhere, and no type smaller than 10 point. That is the profile Deedly formats every Alabama document to. Writing into the recorder's stamp area is the most common formatting rejection there is.

• Alabama has no statewide format statute. Probate offices ask for a blank space in the top right corner of page one for the recording stamp: 3 × 3 inches in Tuscaloosa and Houston counties, and 2½ × 2½ inches in Mobile County, which adds a page and a $2.50 fee when the space is missing. Deedly leaves the top 3 inches of page one blank, which covers all of them.

Alabama transfer tax and recording fees

Alabama charges Deed tax (recording privilege tax) at $0.50 per $500 of value, or fraction thereof. Alabama has no exemption for gifts, for transfers between spouses or relatives, or for transfers into a living trust: when the property is not sold, the tax is on its actual value (Ala. Code § 40-22-1(c)). When the property is subject to a mortgage on which Alabama mortgage tax was paid, including a purchase-money mortgage recorded with the deed, the tax is due only on the value above the mortgage; give the probate office the mortgage's recording reference. The probate judge collects the tax before recording the deed and certifies the payment on it (§ 40-22-1(a), (e)). The Department of Revenue's recordation tax page does not say whether the grantor or the grantee pays, so settle that between you before the deed is recorded.

Common exemptions: deeds for a nominal consideration made only to perfect (correct or clear) title (Ala. Code § 40-22-1(b)(2)) and re-recording a corrected deed made to perfect title (§ 40-22-1(b)(3)).

Recording fees run about $16 for the first page and roughly $3 per additional page. Recording fees vary by county, and the $16 figure is Jefferson County's, not a statewide fee. State law sets a $3 recording fee per page (Ala. Code § 12-19-90(b)(22)), and local acts add per-document charges, so a one-page deed costs $16 in Jefferson and Lauderdale counties, $13 in Baldwin County and about $22 in Shelby County, according to each probate office's published schedule. Each grantor or grantee beyond two adds $1 (§ 12-19-90(b)(24)). Confirm with the probate office before mailing.

See how Alabama's transfer tax and recording fee compare with other states.

How to hold title in Alabama

• Sole ownership. One person owns everything.
• Tenancy in common. Separate, divisible shares with no survivorship. A deceased owner's share goes to their heirs.
• Joint tenancy with right of survivorship. Equal shares; the survivor takes the whole property automatically.

Where to record a deed in Alabama

Deeds are recorded with the Office of the Judge of Probate in the county where the property is located. Alabama has 67 counties. Many offices accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders.

Jefferson · Mobile · Madison · Baldwin · Montgomery · Tuscaloosa · Shelby. all Alabama recording offices

Why deeds get rejected in Alabama

• Alabama records deeds in the county Probate Office, not a recorder's office. The Judge of Probate is the recording official.
• The probate judge may not record a deed that does not state each individual grantor's marital status (Ala. Code § 35-4-73), or that does not show the name and address of the individual who prepared it (§ 35-4-110).
• Some probate offices add their own requirements. Jefferson and Pickens counties require the name and address of the person who receives the property tax notice (Ala. Code §§ 45-37-84.20, 45-54-82), and Tuscaloosa County requires a Source of Title: the deed book and page where the grantor's own deed is recorded. Deedly prints both on every Alabama deed.
• Alabama requires proof of the purchase price or, if the property is not sold, its actual value with every deed (Ala. Code § 40-22-1(c)). Use the Department of Revenue's Real Estate Sales Validation Form (Form RT-1): the grantor's and grantee's names and mailing addresses, the property address, the date of sale, and the total purchase price, actual value or assessor's market value, signed by the grantor, grantee, owner or agent. It is not needed if the deed itself states all of that. Without it the probate judge computes the tax on the assessor's value (§ 40-22-1(d)), and failing to give proof after the office asks for it carries a penalty of $100 or 25 percent of the tax, whichever is greater (§ 40-22-1(h)).
• Alabama abolished tenancy by the entirety. Married couples who want survivorship use a joint tenancy with express survivorship language.
• Survivorship is never implied. Without the words, co-owners hold as tenants in common.