Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
Georgia · Macon · Middle Georgia · #329 Most Populous County in the US
Bibb County, Georgia
Macon - the "Little Apple," Mercer University, Ocmulgee National Historical Park, the Allman Brothers Band's birthplace, and a city of cherry blossoms and Antebellum architecture in the heart of Middle Georgia. A consolidated city-county whose music heritage rivals cities ten times its size. Property tax, courts, public records, probate, and senior services for Bibb County residents.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
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: Bibb County Sheriff’s Office – 668 Oglethorpe Street, Macon, GA 31201 | (478) 751-7500; Sheriff David Davis, in office since November 2012 (re-elected to a fourth term in November 2024), a graduate of the FBI National Academy’s 212th session and Region Five Vice President of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association. The office, established in 1823, has achieved Georgia State Law Enforcement Certification and was named Agency of the Year by the Georgia Chapter of the FBI National Academy Associates.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. Bibb County has operated a consolidated city-county government with Macon since a 2014 merger, joined in 2015 by the county’s only other municipality, Payne City.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-75 and I-16 intersect in Macon, the county seat, near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River in Central Georgia, roughly 85 miles southeast of Atlanta.
Notes: Bibb County was established December 9, 1822, named for William Wyatt Bibb, Georgia’s first U.S. Senator and Alabama’s first governor. Macon itself grew up around Fort Benjamin Hawkins, settled in 1809.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Bibb County Courthouse (J. Taylor Phillips Courthouse) – 601 Mulberry Street, Macon, GA (completed 1924, Neoclassical Revival, architect Curran R. Ellis; the county’s fourth courthouse). Renamed in 2012 for J. Taylor Phillips, a State Court judge from 1964 to 2012 and WWII/Korean War Marine Corps veteran.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Bibb County Veterans Services – confirm current contact via maconbibb.us.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Middle Georgia Regional Library System (Macon) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Allman Brothers Band Museum (The Big House, Macon), Mercer University, and downtown Macon’s historic district are among the county’s premier cultural attractions. Macon is genuinely a significant hub in American Southern rock history, having been the founding home of Capricorn Records and the Allman Brothers Band.
Notes: Confirm current parks and recreation facilities via maconbibb.us.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Bibb County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via maconbibb.us.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via maconbibb.us; Bibb County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Macon-Bibb County Solid Waste / Planning & Zoning – confirm current contact via maconbibb.us.
NOTES: Bibb County is the eleventh county completed in Georgia’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. Macon’s genuine significance as an American Southern rock music hub, home to Capricorn Records and the Allman Brothers Band, is 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 Bibb County
Heritage | Macon is one of Georgia’s great historic cities — the “Allman Brothers Band City” (the band formed here; the Capricorn Records era made Macon a Southern rock capital); Otis Redding was born in Macon; the Georgia Music Hall of Fame recognizes the city’s extraordinary musical legacy; the Hay House (1855–59 — one of the finest antebellum Italianate mansions in America — National Historic Landmark); Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park (one of the most significant Native American archaeological sites in the Southeast — Mississippian culture mounds; excellent museum); Cherry Blossom Festival (one of the world’s largest — 300,000+ Yoshino cherry trees bloom each spring) Outdoors | Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park; Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge; Lake Tobesofkee (reservoir — boating, fishing, camping); Ocmulgee River Notable | Mercer University (Macon — Baptist-affiliated; excellent law school; Bear Anderson Arena); Middle Georgia State University; Robins Air Force Base (adjacent Warner Robins, Houston County — the largest single industrial employer in Georgia); the Macon-Bibb County merger was one of Georgia’s most significant government consolidations Library | Washington Memorial Library — (478) 744-0800 | bibblib.org
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
CLERK OF SUPERIOR COURT (Records, Marriage Licenses)
Phone: (478) 621-6527
Address: 601 Mulberry St., Macon, GA 31201
Hours: Mon–Fri 8 AM–5 PM
Website: maconbibb.us/clerk
SUPERIOR COURT
Phone: (478) 621-6527
Address: 601 Mulberry St., Macon, GA 31201
Hours: Mon–Fri 8 AM–5 PM
Website: gasupreme.us | Macon Judicial Circuit
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)
601 Mulberry St., Macon, GA 31201
(478) 621-6527
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Probate Court of Bibb County (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above); holds marriage and probate records. County Clerk holds divorce, court, and land records from 1823.
Middle Georgia Regional Library System (17 branches, serving Bibb and 6 other counties), bibblib.org.
Historic Macon Foundation, 950 Third Street, Macon, GA 31201, (478) 742-5084.
Local societies
Middle Georgia Historical Society, 935 High Street / P.O. Box 13358, Macon, GA 31208-3358, (478) 743-3851.
Central Georgia Genealogical Society, 900 Georgia Highway 96 / P.O. Box 2024, Warner Robins, GA 31099-2024, (478) 987-7260 – since 1978, serves 27 contiguous counties in central Georgia including Bibb.
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 Bibb County 601 Mulberry Street, Room 207, P.O. Box 6518, Macon, GA 31208 (478) 621-6527
Bibb County has a consolidated city-county government, merged with its seat and largest city, Macon, in 2014 (Payne City joined in 2015) – officially “Macon-Bibb County.” Bibb is the largest county in the Macon metropolitan area, with a population around 157,000.
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 Bibb 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
65 Third St., Macon, GA 31201
(478) 751-7500
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS / VOTER REGISTRATION
2525 Pio Nono Ave., Macon, GA 31206
(478) 803-0640
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
GA Dept of Public Health — Central
(478) 745-0411
GA DFCS — Bibb
(478) 751-6051
GA Medicaid
(800) 869-1150
Atrium Health Navicent (formerly Medical Center of Central Georgia)
nhs.org (Level I Trauma — regional medical center)
Coliseum Health System
coliseumhealthsystem.com
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Bibb County Health Department – confirm current contact via maconbibb.us.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Macon (consolidated city-county)
Population: 155,000
Area: 255 mi²
Established: 1822
Tier: 2
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Bibb County facilities via Amazon.
