Bibb County Probate Court
Bibb County Probate Court is handled by the Probate Judge and Probate Office. The official Bibb County Probate Office page says the Office of the Probate Judge handles sale and renewal of vehicle tags, various licenses, mobile home registrations, instrument recordings, and documents. It also says the Probate Judge handles judicial matters within Probate Court jurisdiction. The county home page names Stephanie Kemmer as Probate Judge.
This office is not the same as the Circuit Clerk. Circuit Clerk Kayla Cooner keeps District Court and Circuit Court case records, including civil, criminal, domestic relations, traffic, juvenile, and warrants divisions. Probate Court and Probate Office records are a separate local channel for probate judicial matters, recorded documents, licensing functions, and related county records. That split is the first step in avoiding a wrong-office request.
Bibb County Probate Office
The Probate Office is in the Court House Annex on Centreville's court square. The official Probate Office page gives the office phone as (205) 926-3104. The county contact list also publishes a Probate Judge phone number, (205) 926-3108. Use the Probate Office number first for probate filings, certified-copy questions, local fee questions, and online-search help.
Bibb County Probate Court and Probate Office
Probate Judge: Stephanie Kemmer
8 Court Square West, Suite A
Centreville, AL 35042
(205) 926-3104
County contact list also gives Probate Judge: (205) 926-3108
The manifest includes the official 1996-present online-services portal as a probate source: Bibb Probate online services.
The portal source matters because it is the Probate Office's own route for newer Bibb County probate and recording searches.
Bibb Probate Terms Defined
Probate records use terms that can look formal even when the question is practical. A will file, estate administration, guardianship, or conservatorship may include petitions, bonds, orders, inventories, accountings, claims, and certified copies. These short definitions help sort the type of Bibb County probate record to ask for.
- Testator
- The person who made a will.
- Executor
- The person named to carry out the will and manage estate steps.
- Intestate
- A death without a will, which may require administration under Alabama law.
- Guardianship
- A court matter about personal care or legal authority for a minor or protected person.
- Conservatorship
- A court matter about managing property or money for a protected person.
Search Bibb Probate Records
Bibb County probate records have two official online year paths. The Probate Office links 1996-present records through Altags/Bibb Probate. It links older records, 1819-1995, through RecordHub by Cott Systems. Those online links supplement, rather than replace, the Probate Office counter because the official page does not publish all certified-copy, filing-fee, will-filing, guardianship, publication, or estate-administration instructions.
- Decide whether the record is a Probate Court judicial matter, a recorded instrument, a license, or another county document.
- Use the Altags/Bibb Probate link for 1996-present records when the document is in the newer online-services channel.
- Use RecordHub for 1819-1995 records when the search concerns an older Bibb County record.
- Call or visit the Probate Office for certified copies, fee amounts, estate filing steps, guardianship questions, and records not found online.
- Use the Circuit Clerk instead when the matter is a Circuit or District Court case, such as divorce, criminal, traffic, or civil litigation.
The 1819-1995 channel is represented in the manifest by the official linked historical portal: RecordHub.
RecordHub is useful for older Bibb County probate and recording work because the Probate Office separates it from the 1996-present service.
Bibb Probate Search Fields
The research captured only partial field behavior for the Probate Office's online systems. The Altags portal is a broad online-services page, and RecordHub is a vendor-hosted historical records portal that may require account or search interaction. The table keeps to verified elements and does not add unconfirmed name, book, page, or instrument fields.
| Field or choice | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Search or service choice | Button or link navigation | Altags is a broad Bibb County online-services page. |
| Records Search 1996-present | Linked service | Official Probate page points to Altags/Bibb Probate. |
| Records Search 1819-1995 | Linked service | Official Probate page points to RecordHub/Cott Systems. |
| Online renewal proof or terms | Modal notice | Renewal workflows may require proof, documentation, and address consistency. |
Bibb Probate Records Show
Bibb County probate records may include wills, estate files, administrations, probate orders, bonds, inventories, accountings, claims, guardianship matters, conservatorship matters, recorded instruments, licenses, and document recordings. The exact contents depend on the case or document type. A will file may not look like a guardianship file, and a recorded instrument may not be a court case at all.
When land, heirs, liens, or property descriptions are part of the question, it can help to pair Probate Office research with county property research. Bibb County's official GIS page says parcel data can be searched free by owner name or parcel number, and the county links the working GIS portal separately. The GIS system does not replace a recorded instrument, certified probate order, deed, or estate file, but it can help identify the parcel or owner context before a person asks the Probate Office for a copy.
| Record category | What it may include |
|---|---|
| Estate and will files | Will, petition, orders, bond, claims, inventory, accounting, distribution papers. |
| Guardianship or conservatorship | Petition, appointment order, reports, accountings, and protected-person information. |
| Recorded instruments | Instrument recordings and related document index entries handled by the Probate Office. |
| Licenses and documents | Various licenses, mobile home registrations, vehicle tag functions, and office documents. |
Property context can matter in estate and recorded-document research. The manifest includes the official county GIS information page as a probate-related source: Bibb County GIS information.
GIS is not a probate case database, but owner and parcel context can help when an estate or recorded instrument concerns land.
The failed manifest row for the working GIS portal still supports the access-channel sweep as a source link: Bibb County GIS parcel search. No image tag is created for that failed capture.
Bibb Probate Fee Gaps
The official Bibb Probate Office page reviewed for this build does not publish a full probate filing-fee schedule or a step-by-step estate-administration fee list. That matters because estate petitions, certified copies, recording charges, guardianship filings, and publication requirements can require different payments. The correct action is to confirm the amount with the Probate Office before mailing or filing papers.
| Item | Researched fee status |
|---|---|
| Original estate filing | Not published in captured Bibb Probate source |
| Letters testamentary or administration | Not published in captured Bibb Probate source |
| Certified probate copy | Confirm with Probate Office |
| Guardianship or conservatorship filing | Not published in captured Bibb Probate source |
| Recorded instrument copy or recording | Confirm with Probate Office |
Note: Leaving a fee blank is more accurate than using a statewide or third-party amount that the Bibb Probate source did not confirm.
Probate vs Circuit Records
Many Bibb County record requests fail because the requester starts with the wrong custodian. The Probate Office handles Probate Court judicial matters plus probate-related office functions, recorded instruments, documents, licenses, tags, and mobile-home registrations. The Circuit Clerk handles District Court and Circuit Court case records. Divorce decrees, criminal case files, traffic cases, domestic relations filings, and civil litigation do not become Probate Office records merely because they involve family or property issues.
| Need | Start here | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Will, estate, guardianship, conservatorship | Probate Office | These are Probate Court or probate-related matters. |
| Recorded document or older county record | Probate Office online links | Use 1996-present or 1819-1995 channel by year. |
| Divorce decree or domestic case | Circuit Clerk | Domestic relations is a Circuit Court division. |
| Criminal, civil, traffic, juvenile, warrants | Circuit Clerk or District Court route | Those records are trial-court records. |
A marriage record may also route through probate functions, while the final divorce decree routes through the Circuit Clerk. The Bibb County marriage and divorce records page follows that office split in more detail.
Restricted Probate Records
Not every probate-related file is open in the same way. Guardianship, conservatorship, adoption, mental-health, minor, and protected-person material can carry statutory, court-order, or privacy limits. The research did not locate a Bibb-specific public page listing all probate confidentiality rules, so sensitive matters should be checked with the Probate Office directly. Staff can identify filing procedures and copy rules, but they cannot give legal advice.
Older public records may be easier to locate by year and source than by case label. A probate file from the modern office era, a recorded instrument from the 1996-present portal, and a nineteenth century document in RecordHub may each need a different search path. If a name search fails, use alternate spellings, date ranges, property clues, and family names before concluding that no Bibb County probate record exists.
Historical context can help explain why older records exist in separate systems. The manifest includes the Alabama Historical Commission National Register source used with the Centreville courthouse-square context.
The historic-source context supports older Bibb County courthouse and record research without changing the current Probate Office access rules.
The failed manifest row for the National Park Service nomination remains useful as a source link for courthouse history: Centreville Historic District nomination. No image tag is created for that failed row.