Publication
Newspaper pricing is commercial rather than a statewide fee.
Alabama court costs
Alabama probate filing cost: $45
The statewide statutory fee for a grant of letters of administration is $45.00 (Ala. Code § 12-19-90(a)(2)), including three certified copies and final settlement when not more than 10 pages. Ala. Code § 12-19-90(d) preserves county/local fee laws for judges of probate, so a particular county may add local charges on top of the statewide figure.
$45 is the amount the statute states. Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
What the statute charges
Alabama states one statewide amount rather than a schedule of components, so there is no line-by-line breakdown to compute. The figure above is that amount. It is a court charge only, and it is not an estimate of the total cost of settling an estate.
Alabama publishes no component breakdown for this cost.
The statute states one statewide amount rather than a schedule of parts, so there is nothing to itemise. The figure shown above is that amount, and the linked source is the text that sets it.
What the $45 is made of
Alabama’s $45 figure is a single statutory charge, not a total assembled from parts. It is shown here with its own provision named, and with the neighbouring charges the Alabama schedule prices separately — the ones a filer is most likely to add to it by mistake, or to be quoted alongside it.
- $45Grant of letters, Ala. Code s 12-19-90
Added together, these come to $45 — the figure this page headlines. If any component changed in the source, the sum would no longer match, and the build withholds the total rather than publishing a number whose parts no longer add up.
Charges the $45 figure leaves out
These amounts appear in or beside the same Alabama schedule, so a reader can easily mistake one for part of the fee. Each is held out of the figure above for the specific reason given, which is the difference between an honest total and an inflated one.
A fee for a different filing
- Probate of a will of not more than five pages, Ala. Code s 12-19-90(a)(1)
- the $45.00 for probating a will of five pages or fewer is a different schedule item from the grant of letters this product prices; both happen to carry the same $45 fee.
A per-copy or per-page charge
- Additional-page copy charge
- the $3.00 is charged per page (for wills over five pages and for copies), not once per filing.
Costs no statute prices
These are the costs executors most often meet after the filing fee. None of them has a statewide statutory amount, so this site does not estimate them.
Bond
Premiums depend on the bond amount, the estate, and the applicant.
Copies and local charges
Certified copies, recording, inventory, accounting, and county surcharges are billed separately.
Professional fees
Attorney, accountant, and appraiser fees are negotiated or court-reviewed.
State-specific limits
- Small estate threshold is a CPI-indexed administrative figure (§ 43-8-116) — published as UNKNOWN with base allowances ($15,000 homestead etc.) and mechanism captured; the current operative dollar amount must be read from the AOC/Treasurer publication.
- Filing fee $45.00 is the statewide floor; § 12-19-90(d) lets counties add local charges, so a county-specific total may exceed $45.00.
Use this as a starting point.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
How to verify the amount for this case
Name the proceeding before asking for a total. A small-estate affidavit, an application for letters, formal administration, a later inventory or account, and a certified copy can each carry a different charge. Asking only “what does probate cost?” invites an answer for the wrong filing.
- Identify the county where the proceeding will be filed.
- Identify the exact route or petition you expect to use.
- State the value basis the schedule uses; it is not always the gross estate value.
- Ask the clerk to separate the opening fee, mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
- Record the schedule date or rule cited.
- Record whether payment is due at filing.
Keep that clerk quote with the estate record and compare it with the itemised statutory lines above. For the broader budget, use the probate cost-line guide; court filing is only one category.
Alabama filing-cost map
Separate the Alabama filing charge from the estate budget
The Alabama filing record prices a proceeding, not every cost of settling an estate. This map connects the published amount or schedule to its value basis and identifies the local items that still need a clerk or court schedule.
| Question | Recorded Alabama answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Summary distribution of small estate (Ala. Code §§ 43-2-690 to 43-2-692) | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | personal probate property only; gross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | No numeric ceiling verified | Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 30 days after death; 180 days; Claims must be presented within six months after the grant of letters, OR within five months from the date of first publication of notice, whichever is the later to occur; claims not so presented and filed are forever barred (Ala. Code § 43-2-350). The six-month period runs from the grant of letters (appointment), so the modelled figure is 180 days from the grant, extended when the publication-based five-month period ends later. | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | $45 is the recorded statewide amount. | Ask the Probate Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | Ala. Code § 43-2-848(a) allows reasonable compensation subject to a ceiling of two and one-half percent (2.5%) of the value of all property received and under the personal representative’s possession and control PLUS two and one-half percent (2.5%) of all disbursements. The ceiling therefore applies to receipts and disbursements, not to the whole estate value. Extraordinary services may be allowed additionally (§ 43-2-848(b)), and a will or written agreement can vary the amount (§ 43-2-848(c)–(d)). The relevant base is money received and paid out during administration. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
Filing record
What the Alabama cost record can answer
Alabama has no single statewide schedule in the accepted record.
The statewide statutory fee for a grant of letters of administration is $45.00 (Ala. Code § 12-19-90(a)(2)), including three certified copies and final settlement when not more than 10 pages. Ala. Code § 12-19-90(d) preserves county/local fee laws for judges of probate, so a particular county may add local charges on top of the statewide figure. This page therefore names the local confirmation path instead of turning a base charge into a statewide estimate.
Case-file context
Keep the Alabama answer with its neighboring conditions
A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed Alabama descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.
Route context
Alabama offers summary distribution of a small estate (Ala. Code §§ 43-2-690 to 43-2-692) for personal-property-only estates whose value does not exceed a CPI-indexed "small estate amount" (§ 43-2-691), heard in the county Probate Court. The statewide grant-of-letters fee is $45.00, executor compensation is capped at 2.5% of receipts plus 2.5% of disbursements, and creditor claims run six months from the grant of letters (or five months from first publication, whichever is later).
Alabama allows summary distribution where the decedent owned no real property and the estate value does not exceed the "small estate amount" — a CPI-indexed sum of the homestead, exempt-property, and family allowances (Ala. Code § 43-2-691), adjusted every three years under § 43-8-116. Petition may proceed at least 30 days after publication of notice of its filing. Because the operative indexed figure is an administrative publication not sourced here, the threshold is published as UNKNOWN with its mechanism captured.
Compensation context
Ala. Code § 43-2-848(a) allows reasonable compensation subject to a ceiling of two and one-half percent (2.5%) of the value of all property received and under the personal representative’s possession and control PLUS two and one-half percent (2.5%) of all disbursements. The ceiling therefore applies to receipts and disbursements, not to the whole estate value. Extraordinary services may be allowed additionally (§ 43-2-848(b)), and a will or written agreement can vary the amount (§ 43-2-848(c)–(d)).
Ala. Code § 43-2-848(a) allows reasonable compensation subject to a ceiling of two and one-half percent (2.5%) of the value of all property received and under the personal representative’s possession and control PLUS two and one-half percent (2.5%) of all disbursements. The ceiling therefore applies to receipts and disbursements, not to the whole estate value. Extraordinary services may be allowed additionally (§ 43-2-848(b)), and a will or written agreement can vary the amount (§ 43-2-848(c)–(d)). The relevant base is money received and paid out during administration.
Deadline context
180 days; Claims must be presented within six months after the grant of letters, OR within five months from the date of first publication of notice, whichever is the later to occur; claims not so presented and filed are forever barred (Ala. Code § 43-2-350). The six-month period runs from the grant of letters (appointment), so the modelled figure is 180 days from the grant, extended when the publication-based five-month period ends later.
- Small estate threshold is a CPI-indexed administrative figure (§ 43-8-116) — published as UNKNOWN with base allowances ($15,000 homestead etc.) and mechanism captured; the current operative dollar amount must be read from the AOC/Treasurer publication.
- Filing fee $45.00 is the statewide floor; § 12-19-90(d) lets counties add local charges, so a county-specific total may exceed $45.00.
Court-material note: Probate is heard in the county Probate Court. Filing fees for the grant of letters are a $45.00 statewide figure (§ 12-19-90) but § 12-19-90(d) expressly preserves local fee laws, so individual counties may add charges. Alabama publishes no single statewide small-estate affidavit. The summary-distribution petition is filed with the Probate Court of the county of residence, and each probate court issues its own form, so the county court is the place to obtain it.
No numeric shortcut is available for Alabama
This registry does not establish a numeric Alabama ceiling from an accepted primary source. The safe next step is to follow the reason and source lane on this page, then ask the Probate Court for the current rule rather than importing a neighboring state\'s amount.
Next evidence to collect
Name the proceeding and ask for mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, and later filings separately.
- Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
- Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
- Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
- Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.
Official material
- Alabama Judicial System — eFormsAlabama Administrative Office of Courts
Probate is heard in the county Probate Court. Filing fees for the grant of letters are a $45.00 statewide figure (§ 12-19-90) but § 12-19-90(d) expressly preserves local fee laws, so individual counties may add charges.
Alabama publishes no single statewide small-estate affidavit. The summary-distribution petition is filed with the Probate Court of the county of residence, and each probate court issues its own form, so the county court is the place to obtain it.
Source trail
Records used by this Alabama map
- Ala. Code § 43-2-692Ala. Code § 43-2-692 — Petition for Summary Distribution; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Ala. Code § 43-2-691Ala. Code § 43-2-691 — Definitions (small estate amount); reviewed August 9, 2026
- Ala. Code § 43-8-116Ala. Code § 43-8-116 — Adjustments to Exemption Values (CPI); reviewed August 9, 2026
- Ala. Code § 43-8-110Ala. Code § 43-8-110 — Homestead Allowance; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Ala. Code § 43-2-848Ala. Code § 43-2-848 — Compensation of Personal Representative; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Ala. Code § 12-19-90Ala. Code § 12-19-90 — Judge of Probate; Schedule of Fees; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Ala. Code § 43-2-350Ala. Code § 43-2-350 — Time and Manner of Filing Claims; reviewed August 9, 2026
Filing-cost source
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
Ala. Code § 12-19-90
Reviewed source note: Grant of letters of administration with three certified copies of letters of administration and including final settlement when not more than 10 pages (when over 10 pages an additional charge of $3.00 per page) ..... 45.00
What this means: Statewide $45.00 for grant of letters of administration; § 12-19-90(d) preserves local fee laws so counties may add charges on top.