"What Is Alabama's Real Estate Sales Validation Form (RT-1), and Who Reads It After Your Deed Is Recorded?"

The deed to your new Alabama home leaves the closing table with a single page clipped behind it. That page never mentions your loan, your rate or your lender. It names the seller and you, gives the address of the home and the date of the sale, and states one number: what you paid. The Alabama Department of Revenue calls it the Real Estate Sales Validation Form, form RT-1, and the probate office uses it to figure the tax on your deed.

In Alabama, a deed presented for recording has to come with proof of the purchase price, and the Department of Revenue's RT-1 Real Estate Sales Validation Form is the usual way to give it. The form declares who sold, who bought, the property address, the sale date and the price. The judge of probate then figures the deed tax from that figure.

I'm Jeff Moran, a mortgage broker in Bluffton, South Carolina, originating since 1996, licensed in fifteen states, including Alabama, NMLS #483943, through C2 Financial Corporation. This article stays on the form itself. Your contract decides who pays the deed tax, and who pays closing costs under the standard Alabama purchase agreement walks through that paragraph.

What is the Real Estate Sales Validation Form in Alabama?

It is the state's way of putting the price of your purchase on the record when the deed is recorded. The requirement comes from Alabama's recordation tax statute, Code of Alabama § 40-22-1. Under that section, a deed presented for recording has to come with proof of the actual purchase price paid for the property. If the property was not sold, the proof is of its actual value instead. The statute directs the Department of Revenue to provide a form for attesting to that information.

That form is the RT-1, and the Department of Revenue's Real Estate Sales Validation Form page is where the current version lives. The Mobile County Probate Court offers the same form for download.

In Alabama, deeds are recorded in the probate office of the county where the property is located, and under § 40-22-1 the judge of probate calculates the recordation tax due. So the RT-1 goes with your deed to the probate office, and that office records the deed and figures the tax on it.

The information the Alabama RT-1 asks for

According to the RT-1 form itself, the page asks for the following.

• The grantor's name and mailing address. The grantor is the seller, the person or persons conveying their interest in the property.
• The grantee's name and mailing address. The grantee is you, along with anyone else who will be on the deed.
• The property address, meaning the physical address of the home being conveyed, if it has one.
• The date of sale.
• A value. On a purchase, that is the Total Purchase Price. The form defines it as the total amount paid for the property, both real and personal, that the deed being recorded conveys. If there is no sale, the form asks for the Actual Value, or the Assessor's Market Value.
• The documentary evidence that supports the figure, chosen from a short list of checkboxes: a bill of sale, a sales contract, a closing statement, an appraisal, or other.
• An attestation and a signature. The signer attests, to the best of their knowledge and belief, that the information is true and accurate. The signature line lets the grantor, the grantee, the owner or an agent sign.

On an ordinary Alabama purchase, every one of those answers is already in your file: the price and date in your purchase agreement, the names on the deed. So the form takes a few minutes, and the care goes into spelling each name the way it appears on the deed and matching the price to your contract.

An Alabama deed that carries the price itself

The RT-1 is common, and it is not the only way to give the probate office what it needs. The form states that if the deed presented for recording already contains all of the required information, the form does not have to be filed.

Some Alabama deeds are drafted with all of that written into the deed itself. If the deed carries all of it, there is no separate page for you to sign. If it does not, the RT-1 goes with it. Your closing attorney or title company can tell you which way your deed is prepared.

Preparing a deed in Alabama is legal work. Code of Alabama § 34-3-6 reserves the drafting of deeds and other legal documents to lawyers, while a title company may conduct the closing itself. The Alabama mortgage page explains where that line falls and why it shapes who prepares your closing documents.

Your contract, your closing statement and the RT-1

The current text of § 40-22-1 says a person who uses the Department's form attests to the accuracy of the information on it. The statute then says that person "shall not be required to provide any further documentation or proof." In plain words, once the form is filled in and signed, the statute does not ask you for anything more to back up the price. The statute also says a form submitted and attested in good faith does not make the filer liable for presenting false proof.

The RT-1 itself still lists the documents that can back up the price or value: a bill of sale, a sales contract, a closing statement, an appraisal, or other. The signer ticks the box for the one that supports the number on the page.

On your RT-1, the box that gets ticked is usually the sales contract or the closing statement, and both are already in your closing file. You'll want a copy of whichever one is ticked kept with your closing papers. Under the statute, you do not have to hand that document over along with the form.

Who reads the RT-1 after closing in Alabama?

The judge of probate reads it first. Under § 40-22-1, when a deed is presented for record, the judge of probate calculates the tax due based on the actual purchase price paid or the actual value of the property. The Department of Revenue's recordation tax page describes the deed tax as one of two recordation taxes, the other being on the mortgage. Both are covered on the Alabama mortgage page.

If no proof of price is given, the statute supplies a different number. The judge of probate then figures the tax on the value from the most recent assessment, which is the county assessor's figure, and a penalty may apply. The RT-1 also warns that false statements on the form may result in the penalty set out in § 40-22-1(h).

The county's property tax offices work from the recorded deed next. Once the probate office records your deed, it goes into the county's property records. The Department of Revenue's mapping guidance for county offices says deeds filed in the probate office should be mapped within thirty days after they are filed or made available to the tax assessor's office.

Your own errand comes after that. The Department of Revenue's checklist for a new owner says to assess the property at the county revenue commissioner's office, with the deed in hand. In some counties that office is called the tax assessor's office. The homestead exemption is claimed at the county office too. How to claim the Alabama homestead exemption after you buy covers that visit and the October 1 date that decides which tax year it reaches.

The steps before your Alabama closing

1. You'll want to ask your closing attorney or title company early whether your deed will carry the sale information itself or go with an RT-1. Either one satisfies the probate office, and it helps to know which page to look for at the table.
2. Please provide the full legal name of each person who will be on the deed, exactly as it should appear there, along with the mailing address you will use after closing.
3. Please compare the price and the sale date on the RT-1 with your signed purchase agreement before you sign the form, and check that the property address matches the contract.
4. Please note which supporting document is checked, and keep a copy of that document, usually your sales contract or closing statement, with your closing papers.
5. After the deed records, you'll assess the property at the county revenue commissioner's or tax assessor's office and claim your homestead exemption if the home will be your main residence.

If you are signing from out of state, how remote notarization works for an Alabama closing covers how the signed originals get back to the notary before the deed goes to probate.

Common mistakes with the Alabama RT-1

Leaving a co-owner off the grantee line. If two of you are taking title, both names belong on the form, spelled the way they are spelled on the deed.

Writing a price that does not match the contract. If the price changed after a repair negotiation, the RT-1 should carry the final price in the amended contract and on the closing statement. The judge of probate figures the deed tax from the number on the page.

Using an old mailing address. The form asks for your mailing address. If you are moving from another state, you'll want the address where you will actually receive mail after closing.

Assuming the form is optional because nobody mentioned it. It is optional only when the deed itself carries all the required information. Otherwise the deed needs proof of the price, or the judge of probate figures the tax on the assessed value and a penalty may apply.

An example Alabama purchase

Details below are made up to show the mechanism. They are not a real file and not a quote.

Say you and your spouse are buying a home in Madison County for $410,000 with a mortgage. Your agent negotiated a $4,000 price reduction after the inspection, so the amended purchase agreement says $406,000.

At the table, the deed comes with an RT-1 clipped behind it. You check that both of your names match the deed, that the address is the new home, and that the Total Purchase Price reads $406,000, matching the amended contract and the closing statement. The box for the closing statement is checked, and the office's agent signs the attestation.

The attorney's office records the deed and your mortgage at the probate office, the probate judge figures the deed tax from $406,000, and the deed goes into the county's records. That fall, you take your recorded deed to the Madison County Tax Assessor's Office and claim your homestead exemption.

Your next step

If you are shopping for a home in Alabama, you can see your numbers before you write an offer. When you run your numbers on the homepage, you will see rates priced for your own scenario, your debt ratio, and closing costs that include both Alabama recordation taxes rather than a national average. It works without a credit pull or an account, and nobody will call you.

Once you are ready for a letter an Alabama seller will take seriously, getting pre-approved for an Alabama mortgage is where your income, debts and credit get reviewed with your documents in hand. The mortgage recording tax page shows how few states tax the mortgage the way Alabama does.

Nothing here is a loan approval, a denial, a commitment to lend, or legal or tax advice. The proof-of-value requirement is set by Alabama statute, the current RT-1 belongs to the Alabama Department of Revenue, and your county probate office decides what it needs to record your deed.

Common questions

Do I need an RT-1 when I buy a home in Alabama?

Usually, yes. Code of Alabama § 40-22-1 requires a deed presented for recording to come with proof of the actual purchase price, and the Department of Revenue's RT-1 Real Estate Sales Validation Form is the standard way to give it. The form itself says it does not have to be filed when the deed already contains all of the required information, including the names, addresses, sale date and price.

What does the Alabama Real Estate Sales Validation Form ask for?

The RT-1 asks for the grantor's and grantee's names and mailing addresses, the property address, the date of sale, and the total purchase price, or the actual value or assessor's market value when there is no sale. It asks which document supports the figure, such as a bill of sale, sales contract, closing statement or appraisal. The signer attests that the information is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge.

Do I have to attach my closing statement or contract to the RT-1?

Not under the statute. The current text of § 40-22-1 says a person who uses the Department's form attests to the accuracy of the information. In the statute's words, that person "shall not be required to provide any further documentation or proof," which means the signed form is enough. The RT-1 itself asks the signer to tick the box for the document that supports the price, such as the sales contract or the closing statement. You'll want a copy of that document kept with your closing papers.

Who uses the price on the RT-1 after the deed is recorded?

The judge of probate uses it first, to calculate the deed recordation tax under § 40-22-1. Once recorded, the deed goes into the county's property records, and the Department of Revenue's guidance has the assessor's office map it after filing.

What happens if no proof of the purchase price is given in Alabama?

Under § 40-22-1, the judge of probate figures the recordation tax on the value from the most recent assessment, which is the assessor's figure, and a penalty may apply. The RT-1 also warns that false statements on the form may bring the penalty set out in subsection (h) of the statute.