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Georgia · South Georgia · #650
Berrien County, Georgia
On the Alapaha River in south Georgia between Tifton and Valdosta, Berrien County's Nashville (yes, Nashville, Georgia) is a peanuts and timber community that has carried its Tennessee namesake's name for more than a century and a half without feeling the need to explain itself.
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What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Berrien County Sheriff’s Office – 500 County Farm Road, Nashville, GA 31639 | (229) 686-7664; Sheriff Paulk. A full-service agency of 50+ personnel operating out of a Law Enforcement Justice Center and Adult Detention Center, serving over 20,000 residents across 500 square miles. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-5 PM.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-129 and SR-135 serve Nashville, the county seat and largest city, along with the incorporated municipalities of Alapaha, Enigma, and Ray City.
Notes: Berrien County was created February 25, 1856, from portions of Coffee, Irwin, and Lowndes Counties, Georgia’s 116th county, named for John Macpherson Berrien, a Savannah lawyer who served as a state senator, U.S. senator, judge, and U.S. Attorney General under President Andrew Jackson; he was also the first president of the Georgia Historical Society. The county contains one of Georgia’s oldest post roads, the Coffee Road, opened in 1823 to move settlers’ crops toward Florida.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Berrien County Courthouse – Town Square, Nashville, GA (present structure built 1898, replacing an 1858 log courthouse on the same site; National Register of Historic Places since 1977).
Notes: Nashville, incorporated in 1892 and known as the “City of Dogwoods,” is named for General Francis Nash of North Carolina, a Revolutionary War soldier.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Berrien County Veterans Services – confirm current contact via berriencountygeorgia.com. Berrien County is home to one of the very first “Spirit of the American Doughboy” sculptures, honoring county residents who died in World War I; the names of the war dead are engraved on a memorial on the courthouse grounds, one of the first such memorials of its kind.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Berrien County Public Library (Nashville) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Old Berrien County Jail (built 1901-1903, restored 1976, National Register of Historic Places), site of the county’s last hanging before capital punishment moved to state administration; the Berrien County Courthouse and its WWI memorial; and the William G. Harrison/Eulalie Taylor House (built 1904, Queen Anne). The county Recreation Department serves over 1,200 area youth annually across baseball, softball, basketball, football, and soccer, with seven public tennis courts.
Notes: Berrien County is officially known as the “Bell Pepper Capital of the World.”
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Berrien County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via berriencountygeorgia.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Berrien County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Division – 500 County Farm Road, Nashville, GA | (229) 686-7664.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Berrien County Solid Waste / Planning & Zoning – confirm current contact via berriencountygeorgia.com.
NOTES: Berrien County is the tenth county completed in Georgia’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine “Bell Pepper Capital of the World” designation and the county’s early WWI memorial are among the standout local facts covered in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Berrien County
Berrien County’s Nashville, Georgia – named for Francis Nash, a Revolutionary War general, like its Tennessee counterpart – is a traditional south Georgia agricultural county seat serving a peanut, timber, and poultry economy in the Alapaha River basin. The county’s agricultural character is straightforward: peanut production, managed pine timber with Conservation Use enrollment, and poultry operations represent the primary economic activities. Nashville provides governmental and commercial services for the county’s rural population. Proximity to Tifton (Tift County) to the north provides access to regional healthcare and retail.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Georgia assesses property at 40% of fair market value. Property owners have 45 days from the notice of assessment to appeal to the Board of Assessors. Georgia offers school tax exemptions for seniors 62 and older. Georgia has no estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
Berrien County Probate Court: 201 North Davis Street, Nashville, GA 31639 | (229) 686-5421.
Senior Services
South Georgia Regional Commission – Area Agency on Aging | (229) 333-5277
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF SUPERIOR COURT (Records, Marriage Licenses)
201 N. Davis St., Nashville, GA 31639
(229) 686-5421
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Probate Court of Berrien County (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Berrien County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories; a published local history, “The History of Berrien County” (Berrien County Chamber of Commerce, 1977), is a useful starting resource.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Probate Court of Berrien County P.O. Box 446, Nashville, GA 31639-0446 (229) 686-5213
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Georgia is NOT a Uniform Probate Code state and doesn’t use a simple dollar-threshold “small estate affidavit” like many states. Instead it offers several distinct shortcuts, each suited to a different situation:
Banking Affidavit – for intestate estates with less than $15,000 in bank deposits and no other assets requiring administration. No court filing needed at all.
No Administration Necessary (Standard Form 9) – available when all heirs agree on how to divide the property and there are no debts (or all creditors consent). Can transfer real estate without full administration, but requires unanimous heir agreement – any disagreement forces the estate into formal probate.
Year’s Support (Standard Form 10, O.C.G.A. Chapter 53-3) – a distinctively Georgia protection: the surviving spouse and minor children can petition for property sufficient to maintain their standard of living for 12 months from the date of death. This takes priority over virtually all creditor claims and even most specific bequests in the will. Must be filed within 24 months of death. No bond, no inventory filing, no creditor claims period required – the fastest and simplest path when it applies.
Formal Administration – Petition to Probate Will (Common Form or Solemn Form) or Petition for Letters of Administration, when none of the above shortcuts fit.
COMMON FORM VS. SOLEMN FORM (a distinctively Georgia choice)
Common Form: the executor files the will with supporting evidence and the court admits it without notifying all heirs – faster and cheaper, but leaves a 4-year window during which interested parties can challenge the will.
Solemn Form (Standard Form 5): requires notice to all heirs; once granted, it’s final and binding much sooner, closing off future challenges.
If formal administration is needed
File the appropriate petition with the Berrien County Probate Court – Petition to Probate Will (Common or Solemn Form) if there’s a will, or Petition for Letters of Administration if not.
The court issues a citation, published in the county’s legal organ once a week for four weeks (O.C.G.A. § 53-5-2), giving interested parties a chance to object.
After the publication period, attend the hearing for appointment as personal representative.
Once appointed, the court issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without one).
Send certified copies of the death certificate and Letters to all banks, brokerages, insurers, and retirement custodians; request date-of-death valuations and begin marshaling assets.
Obtain an EIN via IRS Form SS-4 and open an estate checking account.
Prepare an inventory of assets with date-of-death fair market values; the court may require this under O.C.G.A. § 53-7-30.
Pay debts and expenses in Georgia’s priority order (see below), then distribute remaining assets per the will or intestacy law.
What it costs
No Georgia state estate tax or inheritance tax.
Court filing fees typically range $100–$300 depending on the county.
Certified copies of Letters typically cost around $10 each.
Indigent petitioners may file an Affidavit of Indigency to request a fee waiver.
E-filing is available and encouraged statewide through platforms like PeachCourt or Odyssey eFileGA.
DEBT PRIORITY ORDER IF THE ESTATE CAN’T PAY EVERYTHING (O.C.G.A. §§ 53-3-1, 53-7-40)
Year’s Support for surviving spouse and minor children under 18.
Funeral expenses.
Costs of probate administration.
Expenses of the decedent’s last illness.
Taxes.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
201 N. Davis St., Nashville, GA 31639
(229) 686-7776
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS / VOTER REGISTRATION
201 N. Davis St., Nashville, GA 31639
(229) 686-5421
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
GA Dept of Public Health — South
(229) 686-2481
GA DFCS — Berrien
(229) 686-7780
GA Medicaid
(800) 869-1150
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Berrien County Health Department – confirm current contact via berriencountygeorgia.com.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Nashville
Population: 19,500
Area: 453 sq mi
Established: 1856
Tier: 4
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Berrien County facilities via Amazon.
