Sell Land in Alabama for Cash | Free Parcel Review

Our status in Alabama

Alabama is an active market for StraightAcre. Alabama’s licensing law applies to anyone who buys, sells, or deals in options on real estate for another for a fee (Ala. Code 34-27-30), and it exempts an owner consummating a transaction in its own real estate (Ala. Code 34-27-2(b)(1)). TechStack Consulting LLC, the company behind StraightAcre, contracts for its own account. When we assign a contract instead of closing ourselves, the contract says so before you sign it.

Alabama’s 2023 wholesaling disclosure law, Senate Bill 228, requires written notices when a buyer assigns its equitable interest in a single-family residential property for a fee, and by its own terms does not apply to any other property. It does not reach vacant land, and nothing we read prohibits assigning a land contract. Whether a particular assignment for a fee could be treated as licensed activity is a question for an Alabama attorney, which is why we disclose the structure in writing.

Find the parcel and the county offices

In most Alabama counties one elected revenue commissioner both assesses and collects, and the probate judge records deeds. Larger counties split the jobs between a tax assessor and a tax collector. Search by owner name or parcel number, write down the parcel ID and the legal description, then confirm whether the current year is paid and whether any earlier year was sold. Assessed value in Alabama is a percentage of appraised value and is not a sale price.

Five counties account for most of the Alabama parcels we are asked about. The Jefferson County and Madison County sites turn away automated requests, so open those in a normal browser.

Find the parcel and the county offices
County	Assessor	Collector or tax sale	Probate recording	Planning	GIS	Flood
Baldwin	Property search	Tax lien auction	Probate recording	Planning and zoning	Baldwin GIS hub	Floodplain management
Jefferson	Board of equalization	Tax lien information	Probate recording	Development services	Recording fee calculator	Floodplain management
Mobile	Property search	Tax lien sale	Document recording	Development and zoning	Mobile GIS	Inspection services
Madison	Tax assessor	Tax sale information	Probate judge	Subdivisions	Madison GIS	FEMA map search
Shelby	Citizen access portal	Property tax commissioner	Probate records	Development services	Shelby GIS	Flood development permit

Two ways Alabama collects delinquent taxes

Alabama property taxes come due October 1 and are delinquent if not paid before January 1 (Ala. Code 40-11-4). Delinquent taxes carry 12 percent interest a year, and after January 1 the collecting official mails a written demand with a five dollar fee (Ala. Code 40-5-9 and 40-5-7). From there, each county’s tax collecting official chooses one of two tracks for the whole county (Ala. Code 40-10-180).

On the traditional track, the probate court orders the land sold after notice to the owner, and the sale is a public auction at the courthouse (Ala. Code 40-10-1, 40-10-4, and 40-10-15). If a private bidder buys, you may redeem within three years from the sale through the probate judge; if the state bids it in, you may redeem any time before title passes out of the state (Ala. Code 40-10-120). Redemption costs the sale amount plus the taxes the purchaser paid, with interest the Code now sets at eight percent a year (Ala. Code 40-10-122); the Department of Revenue’s own FAQ still says 12 percent, so confirm the figure with the county. An owner who stays in possession has no time limit to recover the land in court (Ala. Code 40-10-82).

On the tax lien track, which Baldwin, Mobile, Jefferson, and Madison counties use, the county auctions a lien to the bidder willing to accept the lowest interest rate, starting no higher than 12 percent, after at least 30 days’ mailed notice (Ala. Code 40-10-182 and 40-10-184). You redeem through the collecting official by paying the certificate amount plus interest at the bid rate, at any time before a foreclosure judgment; the lien holder cannot file to foreclose until at least four years after the auction, and the certificate expires after ten (Ala. Code 40-10-193 and 40-10-197). Either way, a sale through closing can clear the debt from your proceeds. Our back-taxes guide lists what to gather.

Inherited land and who can sign

Without a will, an Alabama surviving spouse takes the whole estate when there are no children or parents, and otherwise a fixed sum plus half, or half alone if the decedent had children by someone else; the rest goes to the children, then parents, then siblings (Ala. Code 43-8-41 and 43-8-42). An executor or administrator may sell estate land to pay debts, and the probate court may order land sold for division when heirs cannot split it fairly (Ala. Code 43-2-441 to 43-2-443). Expect the title company to ask for the will power or the court order before closing.

Alabama’s small estate procedure covers only the personal property of someone who owned no real property at death (Ala. Code 43-2-691), so it cannot move a vacant lot. There is no statutory affidavit of heirship that transfers land; whether a title insurer will accept an affidavit of descent instead of a probate proceeding is a title underwriting question that varies by insurer and parcel. Send us the death certificate, the will if there is one, and any letters, and ask every heir whether they are ready to sign. See selling inherited land.

Closing practice and costs

Alabama treats preparing deeds and other instruments affecting legal rights for another as the practice of law (Ala. Code 34-3-6), and the State Bar has long advised that closing documents be prepared by licensed attorneys or under their supervision, with non-lawyers limited to ministerial tasks. Plan on an Alabama attorney or an attorney-backed title company at the closing table. Title insurance agents are licensed by the Department of Insurance, and licensed attorneys are exempt from agent licensing (Ala. Code 27-25-4 and 27-25-3).

Recording a deed with the probate judge requires a deed privilege tax of 50 cents for each $500 of value, paid before the deed is accepted, with an exemption for nominal-consideration deeds that perfect title (Ala. Code 40-22-1). The deed must show the actual price or value, usually on Department of Revenue Form RT-1, and a false figure draws a penalty (Ala. Code 40-22-1(c) and (h)). The Code does not say who pays the deed tax or the recording fee; our contract does, along with who prepares the deed and what you net. The closing guide explains the sequence from contract to funding.

Zoning, access, floodplains, and current use

Zoning in Alabama is mostly a municipal power (Ala. Code 11-52-70). Outside city limits many counties have none unless a local act created it: Jefferson County zones unincorporated land, Baldwin County has a planning and zoning commission, and Mobile County states that its unincorporated area has no zoning. A city’s planning commission still regulates subdivisions, though not zoning, within a mile and a half of its limits (Ala. Code 11-52-30), and any owner who divides land into lots must have it surveyed and platted (Ala. Code 35-2-50).

If your tract touches no public road, Alabama lets the owner acquire a right-of-way up to 30 feet wide across intervening land to the nearest public road, by application to the probate court (Ala. Code 18-3-1 and 18-3-3). That is a condemnation process with compensation, not a free pass, and a landlocked parcel is priced with that in mind. Check the FEMA Map Service Center and the Office of Water Resources’ floodplain locator for the flood zone; filling wetlands needs a federal Section 404 permit, which cannot issue without a water quality certification from the Department of Environmental Management. In Baldwin and Mobile counties, ask whether the parcel sits inside the coastal management program boundary.

Agricultural, forest, and owner-occupied residential land is Class III, assessed at 10 percent of value instead of 20, and a Class III owner may ask the county to value the land at its current use rather than market value (Ala. Code 40-8-1 and 40-7-25.1). If current-use land is sold and converted to a non-qualifying use within two years, the county levies rollback taxes for the three prior years (Ala. Code 40-7-25.3), so expect a buyer to ask about intended use. Our agricultural assessment guide covers the trade-offs.

Questions Alabama sellers ask

Does Alabama require a lawyer to close a land sale?

Preparing a deed for someone else is the practice of law under Ala. Code 34-3-6, and the State Bar has advised that closing documents be prepared by or under the supervision of licensed attorneys. Expect an attorney at closing.

My county sold a tax lien on my land. Can I still sell?

Yes. You keep title until a court forecloses the right to redeem, which the lien holder cannot file for until at least four years after the auction (Ala. Code 40-10-197). The closing can pay the certificate amount plus interest at the bid rate from your proceeds.

How long do I have to redeem after a traditional Alabama tax sale?

Three years from the sale date if a private purchaser bought, through the probate judge (Ala. Code 40-10-120). Land bid in by the state can be redeemed until title passes out of the state (Ala. Code 40-10-82 covers owners who stay in possession).

Who pays the Alabama deed tax?

The Code sets the deed privilege tax at 50 cents per $500 of value and requires it before recording (Ala. Code 40-22-1), but it does not name the payer. Our contract does, so read that line before you sign.

Can heirs sell without opening an estate?

Alabama’s small estate procedure covers personal property only, and there is no statutory affidavit of heirship for land. Some title insurers accept an affidavit of descent for some parcels; the insurer decides, and we will tell you what the one we use is likely to ask for.

Is my timber tract zoned?

Possibly not. Outside municipal limits most Alabama counties have no zoning unless a local act created it, though a nearby city may regulate subdivisions within a mile and a half of its boundary (Ala. Code 11-52-30). Ask the county and the nearest city.

What happens to my current use valuation when I sell?

If the buyer converts the land to a non-qualifying use within two years of the sale, rollback taxes for the three prior years attach to the land (Ala. Code 40-7-25.3). The statute does not say which party owes them, so our contract addresses it.

Sources

Code of Alabama sections were read on the Legislature’s ALISON site on October 21, 2026, with the act number noted where the page shows one. County links were opened the same day.

Tell us about your land in Alabama

Send what you know about the parcel and your situation. You can start without a parcel number. Submitting this inquiry does not commit you to sell.