Access Houston County Probate Records

Houston County Probate Court Services

Houston County Probate Court is part of the Probate Office led by Probate Judge Patrick H. Davenport. The office is in the Houston County Administrative Building at 462 N. Oates St., Dothan, AL 36303. The mailing address is P.O. Drawer 6406, Dothan, AL 36302. Probate Court and Recording share the main phone number (334) 677-4701, and the Chief Probate Clerk is listed at (334) 677-4707. The Probate Office is open Monday through Thursday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and is closed Fridays.

Official Probate Court service categories include Adoption, Conservatorship, Court Fees, Estate, Guardianship, Involuntary Commitment, Legitimation, Name Change, Online Probate Records Access, and Putative Father Registry. The Probate Office also handles marriage certificate recording, land recording, licenses, tags, elections, and related county functions. Court-record users should keep those functions separate from Circuit Court and District Court records held by the Circuit Clerk.

The county's main Probate Office information is posted on the Houston County Probate Office page.

That official page is the starting point for Probate Office hours, department contacts, and service categories.

Probate Terms Defined

Probate filings use terms that describe the person's status, the property being administered, and the court-appointed role. Houston County's FAQ gives practical definitions for local users, especially for estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and adoptions.

Probate of a will

Estate administration used to make sure property is disposed of properly and Alabama distribution law is followed.

Personal representative

The person named in a will or appointed by the court to administer the estate.

Intestate

Dying without a will. Alabama priority rules then determine who receives the estate.

Letters testamentary

Court authority granted after the petition, notice, bond, and related estate requirements are satisfied.

Guardian

A person appointed to look after the person and welfare of a minor or incapacitated person.

Conservator

A person appointed to manage property of a minor or incapacitated person.

Guardian ad litem

A court-appointed representative used in proceedings such as guardianship or adoption when the person's interests need independent protection.

Incapacitated person

A person unable to manage property or business because of conditions listed in the FAQ, including mental illness, physical illness, age infirmities, chronic drug use, chronic intoxication, confinement, detention by a foreign power, or disappearance.

Search Probate Case Records Online

Houston County uses the Ingenuity portal for online probate and recording access. The portal exposes "Look up Probate Case Records," "Look up Marriage Records," and land-record search options. Searching and viewing are free. The county says there is no daily, weekly, or monthly limit on viewing records, but downloads and copies are $1 per page. If a user is searching and printing court records, the county says an account is needed through "Account Signup." For property records, an account is optional and the user can choose "Pay per Document."

1. Open the Houston County Ingenuity portal and choose the probate case record option for probate matters.
2. Select the search type that matches the information available, such as a name or case reference.
3. For name searches, enter the last name first and avoid punctuation.
4. Use fewer fields if a narrow search misses the record, then narrow with the Index Filter if the result set is too broad.
5. Contact Probate Court at (334) 677-4701 for records that are not online, older case questions, account issues, restricted-file questions, or certified copy needs.

The official portal is available through Ingenuity's Houston County Probate records page.

The online path is helpful for open estate and probate case updates, but it does not make confidential probate matters public.

Probate Court Contact Cards

Houston County has one county Probate Court contact path for probate case administration. The Probate Office also publishes specific department phone numbers for license, recording, tag, chief clerk, and administrative support functions.

The Probate Court services list appears on the official Probate Court page.

Those service links distinguish estate and guardianship matters from recording and marriage certificate functions.

Probate Filing Fees and Copy Costs

The research located a limited set of exact Probate Court fee examples. Houston County's Probate Court fees page should be treated as the controlling source for a filing before payment is prepared, because probate costs vary by case type and may include court-appointed professional costs.

The official Houston County Probate Court fee page is the source for fee examples.

Because the fee list is case-specific, Probate Court should be contacted before mailing a payment for a new filing.

Estates With and Without Wills

For estates with wills, Houston County's FAQ explains that probate ensures property is disposed of properly and that Alabama estate-distribution law is followed. A person named in the will as personal representative or recipient, a person with a financial interest, or the person possessing the will may have the will proved before the proper probate court. A person possessing the will must deliver it to Probate Court or to someone able to probate it. Wills generally must be filed where the deceased lived, and the will must be filed for probate within five years of death to be effective.

Estate complexity normally requires an attorney, and the Probate Judge cannot advise on law or provide forms. Only attorneys can e-file probate cases at this time. The FAQ estate sequence includes filing the petition, taking immediate control of the estate, filing an inventory within two months, posting bond equal to the aggregate capital value plus one year's estimated income, giving notice to all heirs, and receiving letters testamentary.

If a person dies without a will, the person died intestate. Houston County's FAQ summarizes Alabama priority rules: a surviving spouse receives the whole estate if there are no surviving issue or parents; the spouse receives the first $100,000 plus half the balance if there are no surviving issue but surviving parents; the spouse receives the first $50,000 plus half if all surviving issue are also issue of the surviving spouse; and the spouse receives half if surviving issue are not issue of the surviving spouse. If no surviving spouse remains or property remains after the spouse's share, priority moves to issue, parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, then cousins.

The county Probate FAQ is captured at the Houston County Probate FAQ.

The FAQ provides the local estate, guardianship, adoption, marriage, recording, and fee explanations that shape Probate Court records.

Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Restricted Records

A conservator manages property of a minor or incapacitated person. A guardian looks after the person and welfare. For adult guardianship and conservatorship, the FAQ sequence includes petition filing, guardian ad litem appointment, physician examination, court representative appointment, hearing, jury if demanded, bond for a conservator, order, letters, and inventory for a conservator. A conservator inventory is due immediately and must be filed within 90 days. Accounting is required at least every three years or more often if ordered, and also upon resignation or removal.

Not every Probate Court file should be described as publicly open. Adoption is confidential. Before a final adoption decree, Houston County's FAQ limits access to the petitioner, petitioner's attorney, pre-placement investigator, and an attorney for the minor being adopted, unless a court order allows inspection. After the final decree, adoption documents are sealed and identifying information is restricted, with limited adult-adoptee processes. Involuntary commitment records may contain medical or mental-health information and should not be treated as ordinary public probate records.

Judge Davenport's background is posted on the official Probate Judge biography page.

The Probate Judge leads the office, but confidentiality rules and Alabama probate procedure determine what a record user can inspect.

What Probate Records Show

Open probate files may show the estate or protected person, the petition, will if filed, personal representative, guardian, conservator, bond, inventory, notices, hearings, letters, accountings, and orders. Adoption files contain different materials, including preplacement investigation, consents, guardian ad litem materials when applicable, placement papers, post-placement investigation, hearings, affidavits, and accounting of disbursements, but adoption confidentiality limits public access. Name-change, legitimation, and putative-father-registry matters should be handled through Probate Court rather than assumed available through the online portal.