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Office: Albany County Emergency Management & Homeland Security – 2374 W. Jefferson Street, Laramie, WY 82070 | (307) 721-1815 | Fax: (307) 721-1816 | Email: [email protected]
Services: Coordinates mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery countywide, reporting to the Albany County Board of Commissioners; maintains the county’s public warning system and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
Notes: The Cheyenne/Laramie County Emergency Management Agency (neighboring Laramie County) is a separate entity – confirm you’re contacting Albany County (seat: Laramie), not Laramie County (seat: Cheyenne), a common naming confusion in Wyoming.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-80 and US-287 serve Laramie, the county seat, at 7,165 ft elevation; the Snowy Range lies about 30 miles west
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: City of Laramie Building Permits and Inspections – (307) 721-5271 (confirm via cityoflaramie.org)
Services: The City of Laramie follows the 2024 International Building Code (with exceptions per Laramie Municipal Code Chapter 15.24); electrical permits, egress window requirements, and deck-building guidance are all covered by published city bulletins
Notes: Excavation projects require contacting One-Call of Wyoming (dial 811) at least 2 full business days before digging. Confirm whether your property falls under city or county jurisdiction for unincorporated Albany County.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Albany County Veterans Service Office – Laramie, WY
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Albany County Public Library – 310 S. 8th Street, Laramie, WY 82070 | (307) 721-2580 | Fax: (307) 721-2584 | Email: [email protected] | Hours: Mon/Tue/Thu 10 AM–6 PM (closed Wed), Fri 11 AM–6 PM (some sources list 10 AM), Sat 10 AM–6 PM, Sun 11 AM–6 PM (confirm current Wed status, as sources conflict)
Services: A member of the WYLD (Wyoming Libraries Database) system – cards from any WYLD library in the state are honored here; free library cards for anyone who lives or shops in Albany County; offers audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, free computers/internet, radon test kits, blood pressure monitors, and a bookmobile
Related: Additional branches include the Rock River branch (321 Avenue D, Rock River, WY 82083) and Centennial Valley Library (Centennial, WY)
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Albany County is home to one of the most historically significant sites in the American West – the WYOMING TERRITORIAL PRISON STATE HISTORIC SITE, located just outside Laramie at 975 Snowy Range Road; built in 1872 and opening to prisoners in early 1873, this was the ONLY FEDERAL PENITENTIARY IN WYOMING TERRITORY and one of only a handful of federal prisons between the Mississippi River and the Pacific coast at the time; the prison genuinely and famously held the outlaw BUTCH CASSIDY (born Robert LeRoy Parker) from 1894 to 1896, serving 18 months of a two-year sentence for horse theft before his release and pardon by Wyoming Governor William Alford Richards in January 1896 – it was the ONLY PRISON EVER TO HOLD BUTCH CASSIDY, who would go on to lead the infamous “Wild Bunch” gang; operated under the strict Auburn Prison System (silence required, lockstep movement, striped uniforms, numbers replacing names), the facility later became the Wyoming State Penitentiary after statehood in 1890, closed in 1903, and was transferred to the University of Wyoming, which used the site as an agricultural experiment/livestock breeding station until 1989; the site opened to the public in 1991 and was designated a Wyoming State Historic Site in 2004, having been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978; today the restored 197-acre site hosts an annual Butch Cassidy Festival each June and interprets frontier justice, outlaw history, and Wyoming’s agricultural past; Laramie is also home to the University of Wyoming, the state’s only four-year public university
Notes: The Wyoming Territorial Prison’s genuine, well-documented status as Butch Cassidy’s only prison – and one of the few federal penitentiaries in the entire American West – is an extraordinary and directly InmateAid-relevant piece of frontier justice history.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Albany County GIS – accessible via albanycountywy.gov
Parcel Search: Albany County Assessor
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Albany County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Laramie Animal Shelter (City of Laramie Animal Control Division) – Laramie, WY | Details via cityoflaramie.org/254/Animal-Control
Services: A municipal, OPEN-ADMISSION shelter serving both the City of Laramie and Albany County, accepting any pet from those jurisdictions free of charge; handles roughly 800+ animals annually (returned to owners, adopted, or placed in rescue) and responds to an estimated 1,200 animal-related calls per year; all adopted dogs, cats, and rabbits are spayed/neutered at no cost (in partnership with the Laramie Animal Welfare Society) and microchipped; found animals held for 5 days before being evaluated for adoption; all dogs, cats, and ferrets residing within Laramie city limits must be licensed
Related: Laramie Animal Welfare Society (LAWS) – 1104 S. 2nd St., Laramie, WY | (307) 460-3775 – a nonprofit partner funding TNR, foster/adoption, pet rehoming, and medical care (including spay/neuter) for animals at the Laramie Animal Shelter.
Notes: Contact Albany County or the City of Laramie directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Albany County’s Wyoming Territorial Prison is a genuinely extraordinary and directly InmateAid-relevant piece of American frontier history – the only prison that ever held the outlaw Butch Cassidy, and one of the few federal penitentiaries that once served the entire American West. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Albany County County
Albany County is Wyoming’s university county – the University of Wyoming’s presence transforms Laramie from a small high-plains city into a genuine college town with cultural amenities, research employment, and athletic traditions that give Albany County an identity distinct from Wyoming’s energy and ranching counties. The Snowy Range and Medicine Bow Mountains rising to the west add outdoor recreation character that makes the county a destination for skiers, hikers, and anglers.
Laramie (the county seat, population ~32,000) is Albany County’s governmental and university hub, a high-altitude city on I-80 and US 287 whose University of Wyoming campus, historic downtown, and mountain access define its character.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Albany County Assessor at 525 Grand Avenue, Laramie, WY 82070, phone 307-721-2520. WY assessed at 9.5% of market value.
Courts & Legal
Albany County District Court at 525 Grand Avenue, Laramie, WY 82070, phone 307-721-2534, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
525 Grand Ave, Laramie, WY 82070
(307) 721-2541
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT
525 Grand Ave, Laramie, WY 82070
(307) 721-2450
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Albany County Clerk of District Court, Laramie (probate case files – see Probate section above); Albany County Clerk’s Office (separate office) for recorded deeds, small-estate affidavits, and summary distribution decrees.
University of Wyoming’s American Heritage Center, in Laramie, is a major genealogical and historical archive.
Local societies
No dedicated Albany County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
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
Albany County Clerk of District Court (Second Judicial District) 525 Grand Avenue, Suite 305, Laramie, WY 82070 (307) 721-2508
Albany County was founded December 16, 1868, named for Albany, New York, home to the University of Wyoming, county seat Laramie. Wyoming has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code – it runs its own probate framework under Title 2 of the Wyoming Statutes (“the Wyoming Probate Code”). Probate is filed with the DISTRICT COURT for the county where the decedent lived, administered day-to-day by that county’s Clerk of District Court. Note that Wyoming counties have TWO separate elected clerk offices relevant here: the Clerk of District Court (handles probate case filings) and the County Clerk (a separate office that records deeds, small-estate affidavits, and summary distribution decrees).
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Wyoming Statutes Title 2 governs probate.
Small Estate Affidavit (Wyo. Stat. §2-1-201) – available when the decedent’s entire estate, including personal property (and, per a 2025 update, mineral interests), does not exceed $400,000 (increased from $200,000 effective July 1, 2025, via 2025 Enrolled Act 85/SF0104), less liens and encumbrances. This estate must consist ONLY of personal property (no real estate) for the pure affidavit-to-County-Clerk route. Available 30 days after death; skips court entirely – filed with the County Clerk, who issues a certified copy the claimant presents to banks or other asset holders.
Summary Distribution (Wyo. Stat. §2-1-205) – for small estates up to $400,000 that DO include real property. Requires filing an Application for Decree of Summary Distribution with the District Court (not just the County Clerk); requires 2 consecutive weeks of published notice; the court issues a decree that gets recorded with the County Clerk to clear title.
Full Probate Administration – required for estates exceeding $400,000 or otherwise not eligible for the small-estate or summary paths. File a Petition for Probate with the Albany County District Court.
Step 2: filing for administration
File a Petition for Probate with the Albany County District Court.
Notice must be published for 3 consecutive weeks (Wyo. Stat. §2-7-201).
Once a personal representative is appointed, creditors have 3 months from the date of first publication to file claims (Wyo. Stat. §2-7-703).
The personal representative pays valid debts and expenses, then distributes remaining assets to heirs/beneficiaries.
Close the estate with a final accounting to the District Court.
Wyoming courts are increasingly moving toward e-filing; check with the Clerk of District Court for current e-filing requirements for pro se (self-represented) filers.
Wyoming does NOT have a statutory percentage fee schedule for personal representatives or attorneys – unlike many states. Fees must be “reasonable” and are subject to court approval (Wyo. Stat. §§2-7-803, 2-7-804).
A bond may be required (Wyo. Stat. §§2-3-102, 2-3-111) unless waived by the will or all beneficiaries.
Wyoming does NOT impose a state estate tax, inheritance tax, or state income tax – one of the most tax-friendly states in the country for estate administration. Only the federal estate tax may apply, with a $15,000,000 per-person exemption for 2026.
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
525 Grand Ave, Laramie, WY 82070
(307) 721-2526
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(307) 721-2541
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Public Health
Albany County Public Health, 907 Ivinson Ave, Laramie, WY 82070
(307) 721-2561
DFS Office
Albany County DFS Office, 1400 Village Rd, Laramie, WY 82070
(307) 745-8878
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Albany County Public Health – Laramie, WY
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Laramie
Population: 39,000
Public Records
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