Shelby Marriage and Divorce Custodians
Shelby County Probate Court maintains marriage certificates issued in the county. Circuit Court maintains divorce cases through its Domestic Relations division. These are separate records and separate custodians. A request for a certified marriage certificate should not go to the Circuit Clerk, and a divorce decree request should not go to the Probate recording office.
Alabama's Probate Court jurisdiction statute supports the local Probate Court role in matters assigned by state law.
The statute context helps identify Probate as a distinct court, while Shelby County's own instructions control the certificate-copy process.
Shelby County Marriage Certificate Process
The Shelby County marriage license page links to the Alabama Marriage License Application supplied through Alabama Public Health and to local instructions. Alabama does not require a courthouse ceremony to create the marriage certificate. Shelby County offers the courthouse gazebo at no charge, first come and first served, for couples who choose to have a ceremony.
The official page is the starting point for the current state form and Shelby filing directions. A ceremony choice does not replace completion and filing of the required certificate form.
- Open the Shelby County Probate marriage page and use its link to the Alabama Marriage License Application.
- Complete the state certificate form and follow the local instruction document linked by Probate.
- Sign and complete the form as required, using notarization where the state form and instructions direct it.
- Deliver the completed original through the Shelby County Probate process.
- Keep or request a certified copy from Probate for proof of the filed Shelby County marriage certificate.
The research does not supply a complete field-by-field capture of the initial state application. It does capture the exact data required for a later Shelby County certified-copy search, which is shown below without adding unsupported application fields.
Shelby Marriage Record Request Fields
A mail request must identify both parties as their names appeared at the time of marriage. It also needs the date of marriage and a daytime telephone number. Payment and the return envelope are part of a complete mailed request.
| Field or item | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Both parties' full names at marriage | Text | Yes | Used to locate the certificate. |
| Date of marriage | Date or text | Yes | An exact date is preferred. |
| Daytime telephone number | Phone | Yes | Allows Probate staff to contact the requester. |
| Payment check | Payment | For mail | Payable to Shelby County Probate Judge. |
| Self-addressed stamped envelope | Mailing item | For mail | Required for return of the copy. |
Probate can provide copies only for marriage certificates issued in Shelby County. Its active office coverage begins in October 1981. Earlier marriage material routes to the Shelby County Museum and Archives at (205) 669-3912.
Order Shelby Marriage Record Copies
The official certified marriage certificate instructions provide three local channels. Mail requests go to Shelby County Probate Court, Marriage License Division, P.O. Box 825, Columbiana, AL 35051, with the required information, payment, and postage-paid return envelope.
The source confirms the county coverage, request items, copy cost, and alternate in-person and phone options.
- Confirm that Shelby County issued the marriage certificate and that the record falls within local coverage.
- Provide both full names at the time of marriage, the marriage date, and a daytime telephone number.
- For mail, add the check and postage-paid self-addressed envelope, then send the request to P.O. Box 825.
- For in-person service, go to Probate in Room A101 at the Shelby County Courthouse in Columbiana.
- For phone and card service, call Probate at (205) 670-5220 and account for the card service charge.
Shelby Marriage and Divorce Fees
Marriage certificate copy charges come from Probate, while divorce case charges come from the Circuit Clerk's Domestic Relations schedule. The research does not state an initial marriage certificate filing amount or a certified divorce decree amount, so neither is invented here.
| Item | Amount or rule |
|---|---|
| Certified Shelby marriage copy | $3 each |
| Phone or counter card service charge | 3.5% or $2.99 minimum |
| Domestic Relations docket fee | $280 |
| Modify, enforce, contempt, or counterclaim | $383 |
| Additional defendant served by sheriff | $20 |
| Subpoena | $20 |
| Garnishment or execution | $30 each |
| Motion for judgment, default, or summary judgment | $50 |
| Sheriff service | $50 per document per party |
The Probate recording fee page is an official source for recording-office charges and other recorded documents.
Recording fees should not be substituted for the specific certified marriage copy charge or Circuit Court divorce fees.
Shelby Probate Recording Search
The Probate recording office links to the county's recording functions and ROAM search. ROAM may help with recorded marriage-related material, but it is not the certified marriage certificate order process and does not replace a copy request.
Use Probate copy instructions when proof of a Shelby-issued marriage certificate is required. The Recording Office is in Room A401 at 112 N. Main Street, Columbiana, and can be reached at 205-670-5220.
Correct Shelby Marriage Certificates
A certificate correction uses the Amendment to Alabama Marriage Certificate and Decree of Correction. Print and complete that form, have it notarized, and deliver the original notarized document to the Probate Office with the filing fee. Probate must receive and file the original within 30 days after signing. Shelby Probate then supplies a certified copy for personal records.
This is a correction process, not a request for an extra copy of an unchanged certificate. Contact Probate at 205-670-5220 when the current form, filing amount, or delivery requirement needs confirmation.
Note: A copy order reproduces the filed record; correcting names or other certificate data requires the notarized amendment process.
Find Shelby County Divorce Records
Divorces are primarily filed in the Circuit Court Domestic Relations division. Search the County 58 Alacourt docket by setting date and optional last name for scheduling information, use Alacourt Access where available for broader state trial-court records, or contact Domestic Relations at (205) 670-5238. A complete decree or case file can be requested from the Circuit Clerk by case number or approximate filing year.
The Circuit Clerk warns that divorce is complex and cannot provide legal advice or fill-in-the-blank forms for many pleadings. In an uncontested divorce, the judge cannot sign the decree until after a 30-day waiting period and only when the paperwork is correct. A contested divorce is assigned to a judge and set for trial; notices, settings, and the final decree are mailed to the attorney.
A divorce file may include pleadings, service, motions, orders, settings, and the final decree. Private identifiers, juvenile information, sealed material, or other confidential content may be restricted or redacted. The Shelby County court record request process explains copy fields and general clerk charges.
- Check the County 58 Alacourt docket when a setting date and party last name are known.
- Call Domestic Relations at (205) 670-5238 when the docket is absent or the correct case number needs confirmation.
- Complete the Circuit Clerk record request with the specific decree or case documents sought.
- Give the case number, or provide the approximate filing year plus party identifiers when the number is unknown.
- State whether certification is required and follow the clerk's deposit, balance, and return-envelope instructions.
The Circuit Clerk request form requires a $10 deposit and says to allow two weeks. Computerized searches from 1993 to the present have no search charge, while paper and archive or microfilm searches cost $20. Copies for pages one through 20 cost $5, each later page costs $0.50, and each certification costs $5. These are general court-record request charges, not a quoted flat price for a divorce decree of unknown length.
Separate Shelby Probate Case Records
Marriage record custody does not make all family-related matters marriage records. Probate also handles guardianship and conservatorship files, which concern personal care or financial management. The Shelby County guardianship source illustrates one separate Probate judicial function.
Those judicial records use Probate Judicial in Room A101 and 205-670-5210. They are not marriage certificates, divorce decrees, or publicly available through the Probate inquiry system.
Alabama Marriage Form Channel
Alabama Public Health supplies the statewide marriage certificate form linked by Shelby County Probate. For Shelby-issued certified copies, however, the local Probate instructions provide the mail, in-person, and phone routes. Start with the local office when the request is for a Shelby County certificate and use the state form channel for the current application document.
Shelby County Probate Court
Marriage License Division
112 N. Main Street, Room A101
Columbiana, AL 35051
205-670-5220
Mail: P.O. Box 825, Columbiana, AL 35051
Older marriage records before October 1981 are outside the active Probate Office copy range. Call the Shelby County Museum and Archives at (205) 669-3912 for those earlier records.