This paper reports on the behavior of Al/Ti/p-GaN interfaces as gate contacts for p-GaN/AlGaN/GaN normally off high electron mobility transistor (HEMTs), highlighting the impact of the thermal budget on the metal gate on the device characteristics. In fact, while the devices subjected to an annealing at 800 degrees C show a considerable high leakage current, those with nonannealed Al/Ti gate contacts exhibit a normally off behavior, with a pinch-off voltage V-po = +1.1 V and an on/off current ratio of 3 x 10(8). Temperature-dependent electrical measurements on back-to-back Schottky diodes allowed to determine a Schottky barrier height Phi(B) of 2.08 and 1.60 eV, for the nonannealed and 800 degrees C annealed gate contacts, respectively. Hence, the increase in the leakage current observed upon annealing at 800 degrees C was attributed to the lowering of the Schottky barrier height Phi(B) of the metal gate. The interfacial structural characterization explained the barrier lowering induced by the annealing. This scenario was discussed through the simulated band diagram of the heterostructures, considering the experimental values of Phi(B). These results provide useful information for the device makers to optimize the fabrication flow of normally off HEMTs with p-GaN gate.