How to search Alabama court records

Alabama runs a single statewide case-lookup system, so one search — with the name spelled correctly — reaches courts across the entire state. Public access runs through a paid subscription vendor. Expect a per-search or per-month fee before you can see case details.

statewide fee criminal data

Open the official Alabama portal →

What's actually there

Trial-court records are sold through Alacourt one case at a time ($9.99 per search, document images extra); viewing at the circuit clerk's office is free. Appellate dockets are free.

Other official lookups for Alabama

How Alabama's courts are organized

Alabama runs a single, state-funded Unified Judicial System overseen by the Administrative Office of Courts (AOC) in Montgomery. At the top are three appellate courts: the Supreme Court of Alabama, the Court of Civil Appeals and the Court of Criminal Appeals. All three sit at 300 Dexter Avenue in Montgomery.

Trial work happens in two state courts. The circuit court is the court of general jurisdiction, organized into 41 numbered judicial circuits made up of one or more counties; it hears felonies, larger civil suits and domestic relations cases, and it is where jury trials take place. The district court is the limited-jurisdiction court, with a district in each county, handling misdemeanors, small claims and smaller civil cases. Cities may also choose to run municipal courts for ordinance and traffic cases. Probate courts, which handle wills, estates, guardianships and name changes, are part of the system on paper but are run locally by each county's probate judge.

Online, circuit and district court records are reached through Alacourt's pay-per-case service. Appellate cases are on a separate, free public portal.

Using the official online search

The AOC's own website links to a service it calls Just One Look at pa.alacourt.com, which sells on-demand access to state trial court records one case at a time. It covers criminal, civil, small claims, state traffic, domestic relations and child support cases, and you can search by name or by case number. You need to sign up for an account.

The published prices are $9.99 for a name search (one case detail included, then $9.99 for each extra case you open), $9.99 for a case number search, $5.00 for the first 20 pages of document images and $0.50 per page after that. Case monitoring, which emails you when a case changes, is $19.99 for a district case and $29.99 for a circuit case.

There is a free way in. Under Rule 401 of the Alabama Rules of Court-Record Privacy and Confidentiality (effective January 1, 2025), the electronic docket and the records filed in district and circuit court cases can be viewed by the public at no charge at the court clerk's office during business hours. Several counties, including Calhoun, Etowah and Russell, describe a public computer terminal in or near the circuit clerk's office for this purpose. The same rule says remote access is available through a subscribers' service.

Appellate dockets from the Supreme Court, Court of Civil Appeals and Court of Criminal Appeals are on the Alabama Appellate Courts Public Portal at no cost. Case pages show the case number, classification, filing date, originating court, parties, counsel and a docket of filings and orders. Appellate opinions issued after May 19, 2023 are found through the portal's Decision Search.

Getting copies and certified copies

Copies of circuit and district court records come from the circuit clerk in the county where the case was filed. Each county clerk has a page on alacourt.gov. Rule 401 lets clerks charge for copies (parties, their attorneys and government agencies are exempt), says copy fees are set by the Administrative Director of Courts, and makes the requester responsible for postage on mailed copies.

As an example of how one office handles it, the Calhoun County Circuit Clerk asks for a written request with your name, address and phone number, the documents you need, whether they must be certified, and identifiers such as case number, party names and dates of birth. Its posted fees are $5.00 for copies up to 20 pages, $0.50 for each additional page, $5.00 to certify a document, and $25.00 to search archived or microfilmed records. It takes personal checks, money orders and cashier's checks, and cash only in person. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope if you want copies mailed. Other counties may handle requests differently, so check the county's page first.

Records that are not public, and expungement

The Alabama Rules of Court-Record Privacy and Confidentiality start from the rule that the public may inspect and copy any court record unless state law, a court rule or a court order says otherwise (Rule 104). Rule 201 lists records exempt from public access, including juvenile court files and law-enforcement records about children. Rule 202 makes certain information inside public files confidential, such as full Social Security and account numbers, financial documents like tax returns and pay stubs, the names of minor crime victims, and the address of a plaintiff in a Protection from Abuse case. Sealed records can be released only by court order.

Alabama's expungement law is Ala. Code Section 15-27-1 and following. It is filed on Form CR-65 in the circuit court of the county where the charge was brought, one offense per petition. The current form (rev. 10/2024) covers dismissed, no-billed, nolle prossed and not-guilty charges after waiting periods (generally 90 days), charges dismissed after drug court, diversion or similar programs, and certain misdemeanor, violation, traffic and municipal ordinance convictions once three years have passed and all sentence terms are complete. A felony conviction can be considered only after a pardon with full restoration of rights, and violent, sex and serious traffic offenses are excluded. The petition must be served on the district attorney, the law enforcement agency and the clerk. This is a summary, not legal advice; talk to a lawyer or use the AOC's do-it-yourself forms page and the Alabama Legal Help link the AOC provides.

Alabama tips

If you only need to read a file, go to the circuit clerk's office: viewing the docket and filed records there is free under Rule 401(A).
Each county's division codes (CC, CV, DC, DR, SM, TR and others) are listed on the AOC's Judicial Circuits of Alabama sheet, which also shows which circuit a county belongs to.
Traffic tickets and criminal fines in state cases can be paid through AlaPay, which the AOC links from its home page.
An expungement petition needs both a certified local court record and a certified state criminal record.

Sources

Checked against the official sources above in October 2026. Court rules and fees change; the court's own site is the final word. This is general information, not legal advice.

Federal cases filed in Alabama

State portals don't cover federal court. If the case you're looking for might be a federal criminal prosecution, civil suit, or bankruptcy, use CourtRecordsFree's live federal search — it queries CourtListener/RECAP directly and isn't limited to any one state.

Search tips

Try both "Last, First" and "First Last" — courts index names inconsistently.
Middle initials and suffixes (Jr., III) often matter for common names.
A date of birth or case number is the only reliable way to confirm you found the right person.
An arrest or charge shown in a docket is not a conviction — read the disposition.

Frequently asked questions

Is it free to search Alabama court records online?

No — Alabama routes public case search through a paid vendor. Budget for a per-search or subscription fee to view full case details.

Does this include criminal records?

Yes. Alabama's portal includes criminal case records alongside civil cases, though sealed and expunged cases are not shown.

Does one search cover the whole state?

Alabama runs one statewide system, so a single search covers the whole state.

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