Access DeKalb Probate Court

DeKalb Probate Records Scope

DeKalb County Probate Court is the local court for wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, marriage licenses, weapons carry licenses, mental-health matters, auditing, orders to apprehend, and related records. Georgia probate jurisdiction includes probate of wills, letters testamentary, letters of administration, controversies involving executors or administrators, and powers tied to estates and protected persons. DeKalb County probate records may include petitions, oaths, bonds, letters, inventories, annual returns, accountings, creditor notices, orders, and discharge documents.

Estate and will records are different from family, felony, traffic, or small-claim case files. The correct custodian is Probate Court, not the Clerk of Superior Court, unless the issue becomes a separate Superior Court case. Marriage records also sit with Probate Court, while divorce files are Superior Court family records. That split is important when a probate name search fails or a certified copy is needed for a bank, title company, benefits office, or another court.

Testator

The person who made a will.

Executor

The person named to carry out the will after the court accepts the appointment.

Intestate

A death without a valid will, which can require administration under Georgia law.

Guardianship

A probate appointment for personal decision-making for a minor or incapacitated adult.

Conservatorship

A probate appointment for managing another person's property or finances.

DeKalb Probate Court Contacts

DeKalb has one Probate Court with multiple service locations in the courthouse complex. The court states that all services continue to be handled by appointment only. Location #1 handles mental health, auditing, orders to apprehend, guardianships, conservatorships, and records. Location #2 handles marriage licenses, weapons carry licenses, and wills or estates. The court also notes a sanitizing closure between morning and afternoon appointment blocks, so courthouse-wide hours should not be treated as Probate Court service hours.

Note: Customers filing lay affidavits for orders to apprehend must arrive by 2:00 PM for processing.

Appointment-Only Probate Records

DeKalb Probate Court's appointment model affects records access as much as filings. A person cannot assume that a same-day walk-in request will be handled just because the courthouse is open. Bring photo ID, the case or estate name, any known case number, original will or certified death/legal documents when applicable, completed forms, payment method, and any required certified translation. Paid parking is available behind the courthouse at 125 West Trinity Place, and the Decatur MARTA station is next to the courthouse.

1. Identify whether the matter is an estate, will, guardianship, conservatorship, mental-health/order-to-apprehend matter, marriage record, or copy request.
2. Schedule the correct Probate Court appointment before going to the courthouse.
3. Bring the original or certified documents that support the filing or record request.
4. File or request the probate record at the correct service location.
5. Track notices, hearings, bond, oath, letters, inventories, annual returns, orders, and discharge steps after filing.
6. Request certified copies from Probate Court when letters, orders, marriage certificates, or estate papers are needed for official use.

The DeKalb Misdemeanor Mental Health Court page is not a probate filing page, but it helps distinguish treatment-court case management from Probate Court mental-health/order-to-apprehend records.

Probate Court mental-health matters remain sensitive court records even when other DeKalb court programs publish public information about treatment-court goals.

Search DeKalb Probate Records

Probate's online access channel is a Tyler-hosted path for marriage and weapons-carry application or search functions after a disclaimer is accepted. The disclaimer says data is subject to change without notice and tells users to search all spelling variations plus other criteria to maximize results. For estate, guardianship, conservatorship, mental-health, and order-to-apprehend records, the appointment or direct court request path is often more reliable than relying on an online index.

The online index should be treated as a starting point. Certified records, complete estate files, and records with restricted content must be handled through Probate Court.

DeKalb Probate Records Fees

The official fee schedule located in the research is strongest for marriage records and certified marriage copies. Estate and guardianship filing fees were not located in the official sources reviewed, so they should not be added from memory or from another county. For estate, guardianship, conservatorship, or mental-health filings, contact Probate Court for the current filing cost before mailing payment or appearing for an appointment.

The MMHC about page explains treatment planning in a separate DeKalb misdemeanor program, which should not be confused with Probate Court filing fees.

Fee checks for probate filings should still go to Probate Court, because specialty-court program pages are not probate fee schedules.

DeKalb Probate Record Contents

An estate probate file can show a petition to probate a will, petition for letters of administration, oath, bond, letters testamentary or letters of administration, inventory, annual return or accounting, creditor notice, court order, and discharge. A guardianship or conservatorship file can include petitions, medical or capacity information, appointment orders, financial accountings, and reports. These documents are not all equally public.

For a practical search, start with the decedent, ward, or estate name, then add the approximate year, case number if known, requested document, certified or plain copy preference, and return address. For marriage-related probate records, use the applicant names and marriage date if known. For weapons carry or mental-health records, expect tighter access limits and identity checks.

The MMHC target population page describes eligibility for a separate misdemeanor accountability court.

That public program description does not make Probate Court mental-health records open for general inspection.

Restricted DeKalb Probate Records

Mental-health matters, orders to apprehend, guardianship records, conservatorship records, protected identifiers, and filings involving minors or medical facts can be restricted, redacted, or available only by court order. Probate Court handles mental health and orders to apprehend by appointment in Location #1. These records can contain medical facts, safety-sensitive allegations, and information about incapacitated people, so they are not treated like basic estate docket entries.

Georgia open-records principles do not override every court confidentiality rule. The correct approach is to ask Probate Court what portion of a record is public and what proof or order is needed. A search result, index entry, or appointment receipt is not a full record. In some matters the public may receive only docket-level information, while parties or authorized representatives may need to prove identity and authority before receiving copies.

The MMHC duration page and program statistics page provide public program context outside the Probate Court record file.

Program duration and completion statistics may be public, while individual probate mental-health filings remain access-limited.

The program statistics source is the final successful probate manifest image assigned to this page.

Those statistics belong in public program context, not in a personal probate record search result.