The Cobb County assessor and the Cobb County Tax Commissioner work in the same building, at 736 Whitlock Avenue in Marietta. The assessor's office is Suite 200. The Tax Commissioner is in Suite 1001,2.
Your deed is in neither office. The Clerk of Superior Court keeps it at 10 East Park Square, on the Marietta Square. The Tax Commissioner describes its office as "just a mile outside of the Square"2,3.
So one Cobb home leaves three public records in three offices. This guide maps them, shows how to use all three to confirm you still own your home, and says who to call when a filing looks wrong.
Most owners never face a forged deed, and every check here is free. Our deed theft guide explains the crime itself, so this page sticks to Cobb's offices.
Which Cobb County office holds which property record?
The assessor keeps your home's value and owner record. The Tax Commissioner keeps your bill and homestead exemption, and the Clerk of Superior Court keeps your deed.
Cobb has no office called the recorder of deeds. The Clerk's Real Estate Division records "all Cobb County real estate deeds," plats and liens3. The Clerk is elected, while the assessors are a board picked by the Board of Commissioners4,5.
Board of Tax Assessors
Sets the fair market value of every taxable property as of January 1 and mails the yearly Notice of Assessment, which you have 45 days to appeal1. Its free search shows who owns a property. 736 Whitlock Ave., Suite 200, 770-528-3100.
Tax Commissioner
Bills and collects property taxes, holds tax sales and takes homestead exemption applications (due July 20 for 2026)1,6. Bills go to the January 1 owner by August 15 and are due by October 156. 736 Whitlock Ave., Suite 100, 770-528-8600.
Clerk of Superior Court, Real Estate Division
Records deeds, security deeds and liens, and keeps the official copies. Its online index is free to search by name5,7. 10 East Park Square, Building C, 770-528-2000.
County Clerk
Keeps the records of the Board of Commissioners, not deeds. Its own page tells people looking for "deeds, or real estate records" to search court records instead8.
- Deed
- The signed document that moves a property from one owner to the next. In Cobb, it is recorded with the Clerk of Superior Court.
- Title
- Your legal right to own the property. The recorded deeds are the public proof of it.
- Security deed
- The most common document behind a home loan in Georgia. It is also called a deed to secure debt9.
- Parcel number
- The county's ID number for your lot. It is printed on your tax bill and your assessment notice2.
- Homestead exemption
- A tax break for an owner who lives in the home as a main residence.
What can the Cobb County assessor, Tax Commissioner and Clerk each tell you?
Each office answers different questions about your home, so checking only one leaves gaps. The assessor's search is a quick way to see who the county lists as the owner. Only the Clerk's index shows the documents behind that name.
| Your question | Board of Tax Assessors | Tax Commissioner | Clerk of Superior Court |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who owns it? | The owner on file, on the free qPublic search | The January 1 owner, on the tax bill | Every recorded deed under your name |
| Where does my mail go? | Mailing address for value notices, changed with its own form | Mailing address for tax bills, changed with a separate form | Not kept |
| What is it worth? | Fair market value as of January 1; taxes use 40% of it | Uses the assessor's value to bill | Not kept |
| Any loans or claims? | No | Unpaid taxes and tax sale notices | Security deeds, their cancellations and liens |
| Any free alert? | No | Tax bill e-Alerts by email or text | Recording Activity Notification, plus statewide FANS |
Sources: Cobb Tax Assessor's Office1, assessor FAQs5, Tax Commissioner FAQs2, Clerk of Superior Court3, pages read October 25, 2026.
The two Whitlock Avenue offices each keep their own mailing address for you. The assessor takes changes on a Mailing Address Change form, and requests after August 1 count toward the next tax year5. The Tax Commissioner has a separate change of address form for bills2.
How do you check that you still own your Cobb County home?
Look yourself up in all three offices. Check the Clerk's index for new documents, the assessor's search for the owner, and your tax bill for your name and exemption. Do it once now, and again if county mail stops reaching you.
- Search your name in the Clerk's index. Open the Clerk's free Official Records Search and pick "name search." The quick search menu also has "I want to see all documents with my name on them"7. Look for any deed, security deed or lien you don't recognize.
- Look up your home on the assessor's search. The qPublic property search finds a parcel by owner name, address or parcel number10. Make sure the owner is you.
- Check the undeliverable list. On the same qPublic site, the "2026 Undeliverable Notices Search" takes a parcel number11. If your parcel is listed, the county could not deliver this year's value notice. Send the assessor a new mailing address5.
- Read your notice and your bill. The assessor posts copies of value notices on its website, and the Tax Commissioner posts tax bills on cobbtax.gov5. The 2026 notice lists your exemptions in Box 101. Confirm your name, your address and your homestead exemption.
- Turn on the free alerts. Sign up for both filing alerts in the next section. You can also get tax bill e-Alerts. Real ones come from no-reply@govhub.com or, by text, from (678) 244-03612.
The Clerk's site says its office "cannot research information about recorded documents by telephone"7. So run the name search online, or ask at the deed room on the first floor of 10 East Park Square3.
If you paid off a loan, check that its cancellation was filed too. Cancellations go back to the borrower unless the lender says otherwise12.
Does Cobb County have a property fraud alert?
Yes, two free ones. The Clerk runs its own Recording Activity Notification, and the state's clerks run FANS for every Georgia county. Both tell you about a filing after it happens, so sign up for both.
Recording Activity Notification
Run by the Clerk of Superior Court. You give a personal or business name, an email and a phone number. Then add the property's street address, parcel number and legal description, and click "Send Confirmation Email"13.
FANS
The Filing Activity Notification System, run by the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority at fans.gsccca.org. The Cobb Clerk calls it "a free, voluntary, opt-in program"14.
Read the fine print on both. On the Clerk's page, the sentence that explains the service stops halfway, after "alerts a subscriber via email every time a"13. If you are unsure what it watches, call the Real Estate Division.
The FANS terms spell out three limits15:
- Creating an account alone sends nothing until you add a name request.
- It only watches human names, so a home owned by an LLC needs other checks.
- Each request expires after one year unless you log in and renew it.
Our map of county fraud alerts shows how Georgia's statewide setup compares with other states.
Which Cobb County office do you call about a suspicious filing?
Start with the Clerk's Real Estate Division to see and copy the document. Then report it to the Cobb County Sheriff's Office Fraud Unit. The assessor and the Tax Commissioner don't record deeds, so they are not the place to start.
| If you see | Call | Number |
|---|---|---|
| A deed, security deed or lien you never signed | Clerk of Superior Court, Real Estate Division | 770-528-2000 |
| Signs of forgery or a stolen identity | Cobb County Sheriff's Office Fraud Unit | 770-499-4725 |
| A letter saying your home is going to a tax auction | Tax Commissioner, Levy Department | 770-528-8623 |
| The wrong owner or address on the assessor's site | Board of Tax Assessors | 770-528-3100 |
| A pushy or misleading offer to buy your home | Georgia Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division | 404-651-8600 |
| You need a lawyer and can't afford one | Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Cobb office | 770-528-2565 |
Sources: Clerk of Superior Court3, Cobb County Police16, Tax Commissioner6, assessor1, Georgia Attorney General17, Atlanta Legal Aid18.
Each phone number and sign-up page here matches the office's own website as checked on October 25, 2026.
Cobb County Police say identity theft is handled by the Sheriff's Office, but also tell you to make a police report "with the Police Jurisdiction where you live"16. So if you live in a city such as Marietta or Smyrna, start with that city's police. The Sheriff's Forgery/Fraud Unit covers forgery and identity fraud under Georgia law19.
Undoing a fake deed usually takes a court case, and the Clerk's staff can't give legal advice4. Our fraudulent deed guide covers the court side step by step.
Since May 2, 2024, Georgia law also lets you sue anyone who knowingly records a false or forged deed against your property. You can recover your actual damages or $5,000, whichever is greater, plus reasonable attorney's fees20.
What do Cobb County cases show?
In both recent cases, a driver's license convinced people at the sale, and the owner's side found out only after the sale was done. Cases like these are uncommon, and our look at how often title theft really happens puts them in context.
That case is a form of seller impersonation, where someone poses as the owner to sell.
Georgia's Attorney General warns that undeveloped land is often targeted, and suggests checking on it often17. Since January 1, 2025, anyone filing their own deed in Georgia must file it online and pass an ID check that includes a photo. Lawyers, lenders, title companies and a few other groups can still file on paper3.
Frequently asked questions
Is a tax assessor the same as a tax collector?
No. In Cobb, the Board of Tax Assessors sets values, and the Tax Commissioner bills and collects the tax. The assessor's own site says "The billing and collection of taxes is the responsibility of the Tax Commissioner"4. The Board of Commissioners sets the tax rate.
Who is the Cobb County tax commissioner?
How can I search for a Cobb County property deed by name?
What is the phone number for the Cobb County Clerk of court?
Is a property fraud alert a free service?
What is the senior exemption for property taxes in Cobb County?
If you are 62 on or before January 1, you can get your home exempted from all school general and school bond taxes. A separate state exemption at 65 takes $4,000 off some tax categories if your net income is $10,000 or less. You apply for both with the Tax Commissioner24.
Run the three-office check this week
Search your name in the Clerk's index, look up your parcel with the assessor and sign up for both free alerts. Then see what a recorded notice can add.
Sign up for the Clerk's free alertSee what Still My Home addsSources
- Tax Assessor's Office, Cobb County Government, checked October 25, 2026
- Property Tax FAQs, Cobb County Tax Commissioner, checked October 25, 2026
- Real Estate, Cobb County Clerk of Superior Court, checked October 25, 2026
- About Us, Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors, and Duties, Cobb County Clerk of Superior Court, both checked October 25, 2026
- Frequently Asked Questions, Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors, checked October 25, 2026
- Property Tax, Cobb County Tax Commissioner, checked October 25, 2026
- Official Records Search, Cobb County Clerk of Superior Court, checked October 25, 2026
- County Clerk, Cobb County Board of Commissioners, checked October 25, 2026
- Deeds, Cobb County Clerk of Superior Court, checked October 25, 2026
- Property search, Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors on qPublic (Schneider Geospatial), checked October 25, 2026
- 2026 Undeliverable Notices Search, Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors on qPublic, checked October 25, 2026
- Real Estate FAQs, Cobb County Clerk of Superior Court, checked October 25, 2026
- Recording Activity Notification Registration, Cobb County Clerk of Superior Court, checked October 25, 2026
- Filing Activity Notification System (FANS) flyer, Cobb County Superior Court Clerk's Office, December 2024
- FANS Terms, Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority, checked October 25, 2026
- Identity Theft Resources, Cobb County Police Department, checked October 25, 2026
- Title Theft and Unsolicited Real Estate Brokerage and Mortgage Solicitations, Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division, checked October 25, 2026
- Atlanta Legal Aid Society, office list, checked October 25, 2026
- Fraud and Forgery Unit, Cobb County Sheriff's Office, checked October 25, 2026
- O.C.G.A. § 51-9-12, civil action for recording fraudulent or forged deeds, 2025 Georgia Code via Justia, effective May 2, 2024
- Missing Cobb County man's home goes up for sale as police believe brother stole his identity, Michele Newell, WSB-TV, April 20, 2026
- Cobb man says his land sold, but he didn't put it on the market, Justin Gray, WSB-TV, September 15, 2023
- Cobb County Tax Commissioner, home page, checked October 25, 2026
- Exemptions, Cobb County Tax Commissioner, checked October 25, 2026
