Dekalb County Alabama Probate Office - Judge Ronnie Osborn

04/29/2026

UPDATE: As of 12:00 today, 4/30/26, service has been restored and our system is currently working. Boat registrations are available at both the Fort Payne and Rainsville offices. Thank you for your patience!

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As of today, 4/29/26, the ALEA Boat Registration system is currently down.

Service has been intermittent for the last 3 weeks, so many of our customers have been unable to obtain new or updated registrations. We apologize for the inconvenience.

We have been in contact with both the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and Tyler Alabama, the state’s online services provider. There is currently no estimated repair time.

We will update this post as we receive new information.

02/25/2026

📢 EXCITING NEWS 📢

You asked, we listened! The Dekalb County Property Notification system is now LIVE!

We have been working closely with our software company over the past few years to implement a system to help safeguard your property and offer peace of mind. We’ve all seen the commercials about title and property fraud, a threat that is becoming more prevalent each day as scammers have become more sophisticated.

Thankfully, we now have a tool to help property owners in our county monitor changes made to their property tax accounts. In no way does this system guarantee that you can’t become a victim of title fraud, but it does act as a line of defense in protecting your land.

Singing up is free and only takes a couple of minutes! Using the link in the comments, you’ll search for property using your name, PIN, or parcel number. Click the blue “Details” button, verify that you’re viewing the correct property, then click the blue “Property Notification” button. Enter your phone number and email address, then submit. You’ll need to repeat this process for each property that you own.

Share this with your friends and family, and offer to help those who are not tech savvy. Let’s work together to make Dekalb County an unsavory target for property fraud!

We’d like to give a special thanks to Assurance and the Dekalb County Revenue Office for helping to make this possible.

10/31/2025

Wishing everyone a fun and safe Halloween! 🕸️🎃👻

10/27/2025

Huge shoutout to The Poppery on Main for bringing us these goodies when renewing their business license! Thank you very much! 🍿

Remember, business license renewals are due by October 31st.

06/11/2025

Our offices will be closed on June 19, 2025 in observance of Juneteenth.

05/13/2025

May Marine Memo, Part 2: Numbering Your Vessel

One of the most common questions that we get when someone first registers a boat is, “What about the numbers on the side of the boat?” We’re glad you asked! Here are the guidelines from ALEA:

The registration number and validation decals must be displayed as follows.
➡️ Number must be painted, applied as a decal, or otherwise affixed to both sides of the bow and placed where it can be easily read.
➡️ Number must read from left to right on both sides of the bow.
➡️ Number must be in at least three-inch-high BLOCK letters (not slanted).
➡️ Number's color must sharply contrast with its background.
➡️ Letters must be separated from the numbers by a space or hyphen: AL 3717 ZW or AL-3717-ZW.
➡️ No other numbers may be displayed on either side of the bow.
➡️ Decals must be affixed on each side of the vessel. They should be placed within six inches before or after, and in line with, the registration number.

See below ⬇️ for a visual from ALEA, and several examples of both good and bad displays of AL numbers!

05/01/2025

☀️ With beautiful boat weather and summer holidays quickly approaching, here are some reminders so that your trip to our office is smooth sailing! Both Fort Payne and Rainsville locations can process your boat registrations. You can also renew online - 🔗 in comments!

🔄 RENEWAL:
•You must provide the AL number for each boat that you wish to renew.
•We are unable to search for your boat(s) using your name. Previously issued control numbers on the registration decal are also not acceptable. •Your previous registration certificate or a clear picture of the boat showing the AL number is required. The format is [AL - 0000 - ZZ] with 4 numbers and 2 suffix letters.
•We understand that this might seem inconvenient, but it protects our customers and prevents mistakes.

🔀 TRANSFERS:
So, you found a great deal on a boat at a yard sale? We love that for you! Granddaddy gifted you his pond boat? That’s awesome! Just be sure to get all of the information required to register the boat before you head home with your newfound treasure or gift.

All transfers require:
1. A bill of sale from the last registered owner, including their address
2. The most recent registration certificate, including the state issued vessel number (State abbreviation, 4 numbers, 2 suffix letters)

To answer some common transfer questions:
• No, we cannot make up an AL number.
• No, we cannot make up a hull identification number (HIN).
• No, we cannot make up an address for the person you bought the boat from.

We really do want for you to be able to register your boat, so please gather all of the required information before you complete the sale.

PRO TIP ➡️ Get the sellers phone number in case you need more information.
BONUS PRO TIP ➡️ Locate and take a clear picture of the hull ID number before coming in the office. It will be located on a metal plate, or stamped into an aluminum hull. It’s made up of 12 characters including letters and numbers.

🇺🇸 HOLIDAYS:
We all love a good day at the lake. Don’t let a statewide system crash ruin your plans! The system used to issue boat registrations is statewide, and it is managed by Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), Marine Patrol Division in Montgomery. As with any form of technology, there is always a possibility that the system will be down for maintenance or become overloaded and crash.

Website traffic increases dramatically on Fridays during the spring and summer months. The system almost always crashes the day before a holiday weekend and can be down for multiple days at a time. That being said, do not wait until the last minute to renew. You have the entire month to do so, and it’s always the same month that your car tags are due.

🚤 NEW BOATS:
Alabama passed a law that requires new boats (2024 and newer) to be titled. There are a few exceptions to the law, but if you purchase a new boat you should be prepared to title and register your boat just like you would a vehicle.

🔹🔹🔹

During the month of May, we will share more information specific to boating and vessel registration.

✨ Follow, like, and share to help us spread the word! ✨

Please boat responsibly, and have a safe, fun summer!

04/23/2025

All DeKalb County Government and Administrative Buildings will be closed on April 28, in observance of Confederate Memorial Day.

03/21/2025

📢 We’re hiring! Come join our team as a license clerk. See attached job description. Resumes must be submitted by 4PM on March 28th.

02/18/2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️ STAR ID INFORMATION ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hopefully this post will provide some clarification in regard to the STAR ID that you’ve seen on the news recently. Please read this information carefully to avoid travel delays.

In accordance with FAA requirements for air travel, STAR ID OR PASSPORT will be required for all domestic flights beginning on May 7, 2025.

There is no deadline to obtain a STAR ID - the state WILL NOT stop issuing STAR IDs after May 7, 2025. You will still be able to get a STAR ID after this date.

HOWEVER, if you have a flight planned on or after May 7th, the date of your flight becomes your own personal deadline to get the STAR ID or a passport.

You do not need a STAR ID if you have a valid passport, UNLESS you take a domestic flight and do not want to carry your passport.

STAR ID does NOT replace a passport where a passport is required.

ALEA offices are the only place that can issue the STAR ID - this is where you go to get a permit or take a driving test for the first time. Office locations and hours can be found on alea.gov

County offices CANNOT issue a STAR ID - this includes probate offices and annexes which can only renew or replace an existing license.

Other things to note:

STAR ID and REAL ID are the same thing.
Alabama began issuing STAR IDs in October of 2011. They have been available to all Alabama residents since early 2012. Our offices in particular have had signage posted and information available to the public since 2012. The FAA has moved the deadline several times since the program was initiated, and the state has made changes in order to accommodate more traffic in their offices. Unfortunately, many people have waited until now to get their STAR ID so you can expect longer than usual wait times at the state offices.

This link provides additional information from the State of Alabama

Need help deciding what documents are needed to obtain a STAR ID? Applying for an Alabama Driver License or Non-Driver Identification Card The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is extending the enforcement deadline for the REAL ID (called STAR ID in Alabama) to May 7, 2025, in response to COVID-...