Elmore County, AL

Property records in Elmore County, Alabama, are split across two offices that handle different things. Both are in Wetumpka, the county seat, and both are accessible online. **For ownership, parcel maps, assessed values, and tax info — use the Revenue Commissioner:** - Office: Thomas "Lee" Macon IV, Elmore County Revenue Commissioner - Address: 100 East Commerce Street, Wetumpka, AL 36092-1147 - Online property search (free, no login required): elmorerevenuecommissioner.net/propsearch - The portal lets you search by parcel ID, owner name, or address; shows valuation, tax history, land details, and structure data **For deeds, mortgages, liens, and recorded documents — use the Probate Recording Department:** - Address: 100 East Commerce Street, Suite 100 (the Historic Courthouse), Wetumpka, AL 36092 - Mailing: Elmore County Judge of Probate, Recording Department, PO Box 280, Wetumpka, AL 36092 - Phone: 334-567-1140 ext. 5084 - Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM (documents accepted for recording until 4:00 PM) - Online records search: ingprobate.com/Elmore_Probate - Public viewing stations on-site at Room 100 of the Old Courthouse **One useful free tool:** Elmore County offers **REAACT (Real Estate Activity Alert and Contact Tool)** — a free property monitoring service that alerts you when activity is recorded against a property in your name. Worth setting up if you're worried about deed fraud. **On fees:** simple property searches online are free. Certified copies of recorded documents have a per-page fee — call 334-567-1140 for current rates. Marriage certificate filings are $76.00 (Elmore-specific, slightly higher than Baldwin's $73). **Practical note:** Alabama Code §35-4-110 requires deeds to include the preparer's name and address; §35-4-73 requires the grantor's marital status on real-property transfers. Documents missing those get rejected — sometimes why an expected transfer doesn't show up online.

Alabama doesn't have one master list of arrests — bookings sit with whoever made the arrest. For Elmore County, here's the actual landscape: **Elmore County Sheriff's Office (primary source for county arrests):** - Main phone: 334-567-5546 - Jail (Detention Center): 334-567-5441 - Online inmate roster: elmoreso.com — note: as of today the roster shows "offline for maintenance" intermittently. When live, it lists current bookings. - The Sheriff's Office also publishes Most Wanted, Sex Offenders, and an Inmate Booking section **For older arrests:** - Court records are more reliable than jail rosters because case files persist even after a booking has been archived - Alabama Unified Judicial System search: alacourt.gov — free, name-based, statewide - For a specific case file, contact the Elmore County Circuit Clerk **For Alabama statewide currently incarcerated inmates:** - doc.alabama.gov/inmatesearch.aspx — Department of Corrections database (currently incarcerated only, no historical data online) **For your own complete record (the only way to see everything):** - The fingerprint-based ALEA criminal history is the only complete record - $25.00 first copy, $5.00 each additional - 301 S. Ripley Street, Montgomery, AL 36104 (in person) or PO Box 1511, Montgomery, AL 36102-1511 (by mail) - Phone: 1-866-740-4762 or 334-676-7897 **Honest disclaimer:** the Elmore County Sheriff's Office posts the standard "we cannot certify accuracy" notice. Online jail rosters are convenience, not certified records. For anything that matters legally — employment, custody, immigration — use the certified path through ALEA or court records.

Opelika is the Lee County seat. Warrants here come from one of two places: the Opelika Police Department (city-level) or the Lee County Sheriff (county-level and unincorporated). Verified live today. **Lee County Sheriff's Office** - Address: 1900 Frederick Rd, Opelika, AL 36801 - Mailing: PO Box 688, Opelika, AL 36803-0688 - Phone: 334-749-5651 (main), 334-737-7022 (alt) - Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM CST - Records request: leecosheriffal.gov/recordsrequest (downloadable form) **Opelika Police Department** - Address: 501 South 10th Street, Opelika, AL 36801 (mail to 36803) - Records Division: 334-705-5295 - Public records request line: 334-705-5110 - Email: rjones@opelika-al.gov - Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM **The Alabama-specific reality:** the Lee County Sheriff's Office takes a slightly different approach than most Alabama agencies. Per the Sheriff's policy and the county magistrate office: **if someone suspects a warrant has been issued against them, they must appear in person at the Lee County Sheriff's Department.** They will not confirm warrants by phone for privacy and operational reasons. **For a court-level confirmation:** the Lee County Circuit Clerk can verify whether a specific warrant tied to a known case is still active. Statewide docket: alacourt.gov **Watch out for scams:** Lee County has actively warned about scammers calling residents claiming to be deputies and saying there's a warrant for missing jury duty. **Real deputies do not collect fines or warrant payments by phone.** If you get such a call, hang up and contact the Sheriff's office directly. **If the warrant is on you:** consult a Lee County defense attorney before walking into the Sheriff's department. The 30-minute consult is cheaper than getting booked without representation.

In Alabama, deeds and recorded property documents are filed at the **county Probate Office** (the office that doubles as the recorder), and assessment/tax data is at the **county Revenue Commissioner** or Tax Assessor (in Mobile, Jefferson, and a few others, separate Tax Assessor and Tax Collector offices). Most counties have free online search portals: Jefferson (jeffcoprobatecourt.com — fees $84.50 first copy, $28 standard recording), Mobile (probate.mobilecountyal.gov — deed tax $0.50 per $500 value), Baldwin (baldwincountyal.gov/government/probate-office/recording — $5 archive fee, $1 per name after two), Madison, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa (tuscco.com — $5 minimum filing). Statewide deed tax is $1.00 per $1,000 of value, rounded up. Bring an Alabama Real Estate Sales Validation form when filing a new deed — recording without it is rejected. Certified copies typically run $1–$3 per page. Online deed images normally go back to the 1990s; older books (often handwritten) require an in-person visit to the courthouse. Sources: Jefferson Probate (jeffcoprobatecourt.com), Mobile Probate, Baldwin County, Tuscaloosa County, Limestone County.

Same August 2019 rule change applies here. There are no marriage *licenses* in Alabama anymore — only marriage *certificates* filed with the Probate Office. **For a current marriage filing (post-August 2019):** Barbour County has two probate locations. The Eufaula office handles the southern half of the county: - **Eufaula Probate Office** — 405 E Barbour Street, Eufaula, AL 36027 · 334-687-1530 - Mailing address: PO Box 758, Eufaula, AL 36072 To file: complete the Alabama Marriage Certificate form, get it notarized, and file with payment within 30 days. Form available at alabamapublichealth.gov/vitalrecords/marriage-certificates.html **For a search of existing records:** - Online search through the Barbour County system: ingprobate.com/barbour_probate — has both probate case records and marriage records - For a certified copy from the state: Alabama Department of Public Health, Center for Health Statistics — $15.00 first copy (records back to August 1936) · 334-206-5418 **Pre-1936 marriages:** must come from the Barbour County Probate Office directly — the state didn't centralize records before then. **Note on what's actually in the index:** the online search returns names and dates. For legal use (name change, immigration, estate work), you need the certified copy with the seal — that comes from either Probate or ADPH, not the online index.

Information on an unsolved murder in Alabama lives in three places. (1) The Alabama Attorney General's Cold Case unit at https://www.alabamaag.gov/cold-cases/ — public list of homicides and sexual assaults still under active review, with victim photos, case summaries, and a tip-submission form. (2) Alabama Project Cold Case at https://database.projectcoldcase.org/?state=Alabama — community-built database of unsolved homicides built from family submissions, news reports, and ALEA data; searchable by city, year, and victim name. (3) The investigating agency itself — usually the county sheriff's investigations division if the murder happened outside city limits, or the city police homicide unit (Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery, Huntsville all have one). For the actual case file, file an Alabama Open Records Act request under Code of Alabama § 36-12-40 — agencies routinely deny active-investigation files, but a charging document, autopsy report, or 911 transcript may be releasable. Anyone with information can call the ALEA tip line at 1-800-392-8011. Sources: Alabama AG (alabamaag.gov), Project Cold Case (projectcoldcase.org), ALEA (alea.gov).