ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — OK, let’s see, somebody in the house has to renew their driver’s license, and get a hunting or fishing license. Somebody else has to renew the tags for their car. And don’t forget, but that businesses license needs renewing.

No, you don’t have to take two cars to get it all done. And you don’t have to drive very far, either. The Probate Office in the Baldwin County Central Annex can handle all those transactions and more.

“We can take care of tags, titles for cars, boats, manufactured home registration, hunting and fishing licenses, business licenses and drivers license renewals and updating and recording,” said Amy Williams, supervisor of the Robertsdale facility.

“They can record deeds here,” added David Wood, the chief clerk of the Baldwin County probate office. ”You can do almost anything that you could do at any other (probate) office.”

There are two things the office does not do.

“We do not sell marriage licenses here,” said Wood, adding that they are only available in the Bay Minette office.

The reason prospective brides and grooms have to head to Bay Minette is because so many couples opt for a civil ceremony at the time they purchase the marriage license. By keeping all the paperwork in one office, officials can be sure someone qualified to perform the ceremony is there.

The office also does not issue “CDL” licenses and because there are not license examiners in the office, no first-time licenses can be issued.

But, being able to transact most routine business close to home is a big convenience for area residents.

“Our goal is to cover population centers,” said Wood, adding that the office opened Aug. 1.

The Foley office opened in 1985, and the Fairhope office came on line in 1986. Williams, who lives in Robertsdale, was the supervisor of the Fairhope office.

Besides offering convenience for the public, the new office is convenient for the staff as well.

“Most of the staff in the office live here,” said Wood.

Williams joined the probate office in 2001, and despite the high-stakes transactions that flow through the office, “there’s never been anything bad.”

But Williams and her staff are gearing up for their first big test.

“October and November tend to be busy,” said Williams. She added that about 20,000 to 25,000 notices for license renewals were being prepared to go out to local businesses.

“We have a lot of annual renewals,” said Williams. “All the business licenses, manufactured homes, and commercial vehicles renew in October.”

And don’t think that you will have to wait to be served.

“All the clerks can do all types of licenses at each station. They are all cross-trained on the equipment,” said Wood.

In fact, Wood added that all the county offices are connected with fiber-optic cable so wait and computer lag time is kept to a minimum. The computer system has been tweaked as well, so all the paperwork comes out on one or two laser printers, further adding to office efficiency.

“We have increased efficiency and proficiency by 25 per cent,” said Wood.

Other offices have taken note, and Wood proudly adds that people “from counties all over the state have come to look at the system.”

Part of the credit, Wood added goes to the Baldwin County Commissioners for initiating the fiber optic connection in county facilities.

“Judge (Adrian) Johns believes in using all the technology available,” said Wood.

Wood added that a number of routine transactions can be handled va the Internet. Currently renewal for autos, businesses, manufactured homes and boats can be handled on-line.

“Right now, we handle bout 18 percent of our renewals by mail and 7 percent on-line,” said Wood. “It helps us maintain a good level of service.”