Real Estate Sales Validation (Form RT-1) must be completed and filed along with every deed.^[1]

All deeds must be recorded in the office of the County Probate Judge.^[2]

A Grantor who is able to write their name must complete and sign this form in the presence of either one witness or a notary public. If the Grantor is unable to write their own name or refuses to do so, then the execution must be attested by two witnesses or a notary public. Upon recording, county recorders may request the deed be acknowledged or witnessed by two individuals. Contacting the county recorder’s office where the property is located to confirm local requirements is recommended.^[3]

Go to the Alabama Department of Revenue’s county offices page and select the county where the property is located (for these instructions, we chose Baldwin County).

After selecting your county, you are automatically shown the county’s contact information (seen below). Select “Visit Baldwin County’s Online Record Search” to proceed.

This page contains a number of search options. From the list of available options, select “Deeds & Records”.

At this juncture, you are able to make your query and search by any of the following routes:

• Grantor or Grantee Name (Last, First);
• Partial Name Search;
• Book/Page/Extension Number;
• Section/Township/Date Range;
• Subdivision; or
• Instrument Number

View your results and select the one that matches your query by clicking on the blue link under the “Name” heading.

Now you may view all the information about the real property, which includes the following: Date filed, Instrument Date, Book and Page, Instrument Number, Value, Mineral Acres, Lots, Grantor, Title Agency (Filed by), Grantee, Remarks, and any attached descriptions.