Cherokee County Probate Court Office
The Cherokee County Probate Office is headed by Probate Judge Tim Burgess. The office is at the Cherokee County Courthouse, 373 East Main Street, Suite 103, Centre, AL 35960. It lists phone (256) 927-3668, fax (256) 927-9218, email probateoffice@cherokeecounty-al.gov, and Monday through Friday hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Probate Office publishes online services and local forms for probate and recording work. Those materials include the Probate Records portal, estate claim form, marriage instructions, deed recording requirements, recording fee schedule, UCC-1 fee schedule, witness release on estate, business license application, contractor affidavit, vessel bill of sale, and transient vendor materials.
Cherokee County Probate Court
373 East Main Street, Suite 103
Centre, AL 35960
(256) 927-3668
Fax: (256) 927-9218
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Email: probateoffice@cherokeecounty-al.gov
The Cherokee County Probate Office page is the successful image source assigned to Cherokee County probate records.
The image source reinforces that probate, recording, marriage, business license, and vessel services are managed through the Probate Office rather than the Circuit Clerk.
Search Cherokee County Probate Records
The public Cherokee Probate Records portal is a CountyGovServices search tool with more fields than a simple estate index. It can support name, date, book, case, UCC, subdivision, instrument, marriage index, and probate index searches. The portal can show a "No Results Found" alert when nothing matches, and purchase or download controls may appear for records or images.
Date-only searching has limits. The portal code uses a 365-day range for most search types and a 90-day range for all-books searches. A user who searches too broadly by date may need to add a name, book, case number, instrument type, subdivision, or UCC party.
| Portal Field | Type | Required | Format Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search By | Dropdown | Yes | Controls the search path for record, case, index, all-books, UCC, subdivision, name, or date. |
| All Names | Text | Conditional | Uses a Last First Middle style placeholder. |
| Name One, Two, Three | Text | Conditional | Dynamic name fields used by selected search type. |
| Debtor / Secured | Text | Conditional | Used for UCC searches. |
| Case Type / Year / Number / Dec | Dropdown and text | Conditional | Used for probate case identifiers. |
| Book Type / Book | Dropdown and text | Conditional | Used for book and page style research. |
| Document number / first page | Text | Conditional | Used when the instrument reference is known. |
| Start Date / End Date | Date | Conditional | MM/DD/YYYY validation with date-range limits. |
| Include Marriage Index / Probate Index | Checkbox | Optional | Adds index sources to broader searches. |
Cherokee County Probate Terms
Probate filings use terms that are different from ordinary civil court language. These definitions help separate estate work from recording work, UCC filings, and marriage index searches.
- Testator
- A person who made a will.
- Executor
- The person named to carry out a will and handle estate duties.
- Intestate
- A death without a valid will, which changes how estate property is handled.
- Estate claim
- A creditor or claimant filing that says money is owed by a deceased person's estate.
- Guardianship
- A court arrangement for personal care decisions when a person cannot act alone.
- Conservatorship
- A court arrangement for financial or property management when a person cannot manage alone.
Cherokee County Estate Claims
Estate claim filings have a local form and a stated filing cost. The form asks for the estate name, the account or claimant relationship, the affiant's name, the total amount due, any interest date, the affiant signature, a notary block, and claims docket book or page entries for office use. The research file identifies an $8 fee per claim form.
The estate claim path is not the same as searching a Circuit Court civil case. It runs through Probate because the claim is made against an estate. If a dispute becomes a separate lawsuit, that later court action may create Circuit or District Court records, but the estate claim itself starts with the Probate Office.
| Estate Claim Field | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Estate Of | Text | Yes | Names the deceased estate. |
| In account with | Text | Yes | Identifies the claimant or account party. |
| Total amount due | Amount | Yes | States the unpaid claim amount. |
| Interest from | Date or text | Conditional | Used if interest is claimed. |
| Affiant signature and notary | Signature block | Yes | Claim is sworn or subscribed. |
| Filing cost | Fee | Yes | $8 per claim form. |
Cherokee County Probate Fees
Cherokee County publishes recording and UCC fee schedules. Estate claims have their own $8 claim form cost. The fee table below uses only the researched local amounts. For certified copies, images, or transactions not listed here, the safest step is to contact the Probate Office before mailing documents.
| Instrument or Item | Amount or Rule |
|---|---|
| Estate claim form | $8 |
| Warranty deed or mortgage first page | $13 |
| Each additional deed or mortgage page | $3 |
| Deed tax | $0.50 per $500 or part based on value |
| Mortgage tax | $0.15 per hundred or $1.50 per thousand |
| Extra grantor or grantee names over two | $1 each |
| UCC-1 | $25 |
| Non-standard or laser UCC form | Add $5 |
| UCC termination | $7 plus non-standard fee if applicable |
| UCC continuation | $27 plus non-standard fee if applicable |
Cherokee County Deeds and UCC Records
Deed recording has detailed local requirements. The grantor, mortgagor, assignor, or anyone transferring interest must have marital status stated. Subdivision property must state plat book and page as part of the legal description. The document must state who prepared it, list the source of title by deed book and page, and include the Alabama Real Estate Validation or RT-1 attestation statement with signature.
Street addresses and tax assessor descriptions are not enough by themselves as legal descriptions. The document must be legible, notarized, signed correctly, include exhibits, and use an original signature or certified court copy with original clerk certification signature. Mineral tax may apply when language such as "less and except minerals" or "Surface Rights Only" appears.
UCC filings have their own schedule. UCC searches may use debtor and secured-party fields in the probate portal, while filing fees differ for UCC-1, terminations, releases, continuations, amendments, attachments, cross-indexing, and non-standard forms.
Restricted Cherokee County Probate Records
Not every probate-related record is public through the portal. Adoption records, mental health proceedings, minor guardianships, and records with confidential personal information may require party status, a court order, or direct Probate Court review. A public search may show an index while withholding images or details, or it may show nothing if the matter is confidential.
Probate records also should not be confused with Circuit Clerk records. Divorce files, criminal cases, traffic cases, and civil lawsuits are not Probate Office files unless a separate probate-related filing exists. For marriage and estate matters, Probate is the right local office. For domestic relations and trial court cases, the Circuit Clerk is the right local office.
Note: Portal download controls can signal a fee or account step, not automatic public access to every image.