Arrest records in Alabama are spread across three distinct layers: Alacourt, the statewide court case index covering all 67 Alabama counties, holds docket and disposition data for circuit and district court cases. Each county’s elected Sheriff maintains a jail register — open to public inspection under Ala. Code §§ 36-12-40 to 36-12-46 — for anyone booked locally. The Alabama Department of Corrections tracks anyone serving a state prison sentence, searchable through its inmate lookup at Inmate Search.
If someone you know was just booked tonight, our Alabama inmate search page has phone-first contact info for locating them.
Search Alabama Arrest Records by Name
A nationwide name search can surface records from other states, federal cases, and older Alabama records that predate Alacourt’s online window — filling gaps the official state portal doesn’t cover. The preliminary scan is free; a full report requires payment. Run the search below to see what’s indexed across multiple jurisdictions at once.
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This tool is not a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA and may not be used to screen anyone for employment, housing, credit, or any other purpose covered by that law.
How to look up arrest records in Alabama
Alacourt is the statewide trial-court index for all 67 Alabama counties. It covers circuit and district court cases — felonies, misdemeanors, and preliminary hearings. Access requires a paid account; there is no free statewide trial-court search in Alabama. The state’s free public portal covers appellate courts only and will not show a county criminal case. If you need a county-level docket, Alacourt is the right tool — but budget for the per-name search fee.
Some municipal courts sit outside the Alacourt index entirely. A charge filed in a city municipal court may not appear in any statewide search. If you’re tracking a municipal ordinance violation, contact that city’s court directly to confirm the record exists and request a copy.
For anyone currently in state custody, the Alabama Department of Corrections inmate lookup is the right tool. It shows people serving active state prison sentences. Someone arrested recently and awaiting trial is not in ADOC’s system — they’re held in the county jail under the custody of that county’s elected Sheriff.
Alabama law requires the Sheriff’s jail register to be open to public inspection. That means you can walk into a county Sheriff’s Office and ask to see the booking log. For a recent arrest, this is often the fastest path to confirming a booking date, charge, and bond status. The Sheriff’s office can also tell you whether someone has been transferred or released.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency at ALEA maintains statewide criminal-history records. ALEA handles official criminal-history background checks — the kind used for licensing, firearms purchases, and similar purposes. A full criminal-history report through ALEA typically requires a signed release from the subject or a qualifying agency request.
The county layer matters for everything local. Each of Alabama’s 67 counties has its own Clerk of Court and Sheriff’s Office. The Clerk holds court filings, case numbers, and disposition records for that county’s circuit and district courts. The Sheriff holds booking logs and jail records. Fees, hours, and request procedures vary by county. The county page for your specific county — listed in the index below this article — carries the Clerk’s name, phone number, hours, and current fee schedule.
Are arrest records public in Alabama?
Alabama’s Open Records Act, codified at Ala. Code §§ 36-12-40 to 36-12-46, establishes a default presumption that government records are open to public inspection. Arrest records and booking logs fall squarely within that presumption. Any person can request them without stating a reason.
The Sheriff’s jail register is specifically required by Alabama law to be open to public inspection — a stronger guarantee than the general open-records framework. Booking date, charges, and bond information are presumptively available at the county level.
Sealed and expunged records are the primary exception. Once a court grants an expungement petition under Ala. Code § 15-27-1, the record is removed from public access. It does not appear in Alacourt’s public index, and the Sheriff’s booking log entry is no longer publicly accessible. Law enforcement agencies retain access to sealed records; the general public does not.
Juvenile records carry their own restrictions. Records from Alabama’s juvenile court system are not public by default and require a court order to access in most circumstances. An adult arrest record is a separate matter — the juvenile-record shield does not extend to charges filed in adult court.
Victim-identifying information is routinely redacted from public copies of arrest records. Alabama also runs its own victim notification system through the Attorney General’s office — separate from any national network — for registered victims who want custody-status alerts.
Pending charges that were dismissed or resulted in acquittal remain in the public record unless the subject petitions for expungement. The record of the arrest itself does not automatically disappear when a case is dropped.
What’s in an Alabama arrest record?
What you see depends on which system you’re looking at. Alacourt’s court-side docket entries and the Sheriff’s booking entries are different systems with different visible fields.
On the Alacourt side, a case record typically shows the case number, the court (circuit or district), the county, the charges as filed, the filing date, the attorney of record, and the disposition if the case has concluded. Alacourt does not always show the original booking date — that’s a Sheriff-side field. Pending cases show the next scheduled hearing date.
The Sheriff’s booking record — the jail register entry — typically shows the full legal name, date of birth, booking date and time, the arresting agency, the charges at the time of booking, and bond amount or status. Some Alabama counties publish booking photos as part of the public jail log; others do not. Practice varies by county. Check the county page for your county or call the Sheriff’s Office directly to confirm what’s publicly available there.
A complete picture of a single arrest often requires pulling both records. The Alacourt docket shows what happened in court. The Sheriff’s booking record shows what happened at intake. The two records may list charges differently — prosecutors sometimes amend charges after booking.
Disposition information in Alacourt includes guilty pleas, verdicts, sentences, and case dismissals. If a case is still open, the disposition field will be blank or show a pending status. For older cases, disposition data may be incomplete depending on when the county’s records were digitized.
How to seal or expunge an arrest record in Alabama
Alabama’s expungement law, Ala. Code § 15-27-1, reaches further than most published guides suggest. Since 2021, the statute covers certain convictions — not only charges that were dismissed or ended in acquittal. A significant amount of older guidance, including some material from the state bar, still describes the pre-2021 law. Verify current eligibility against the statute itself or with an attorney.
Dismissed charges and acquittals have a relatively direct path. If your case was dismissed or you were found not guilty, you can petition for expungement without a conviction on the record. The petition goes to the circuit court in the county where the charge was originally brought.
Conviction expungements involve additional eligibility requirements — typically a waiting period after sentence completion and a clean record during that period. The statute sets out the specific criteria. Check Alacourt for your case details and the statute for current eligibility rules before filing, since the legislature has amended this area of law in recent years.
The petition process works like this: you file in the circuit court for the county where the charge was brought. The district attorney and the arresting agency are both entitled to receive notice and to object. The court schedules a hearing if there is an objection. If no objection is filed within the statutory period, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.
Filing fees apply. If you cannot afford the fee, Alabama courts have an indigency-waiver process. Ask the circuit court clerk about a fee waiver at the time you file.
You can file the petition yourself without an attorney. The circuit court clerk can provide the forms. For a more complex case — a conviction expungement, a case with an objection, or a record involving multiple charges — attorney assistance is worth considering. The Alabama State Bar’s Lawyer Referral Service can connect you with a criminal-records attorney. If you qualify financially, the public defender locator at Indigent Defense lists indigent-defense resources by county.
After a successful expungement, the record is removed from public access. It will not appear in Alacourt’s public index. Law enforcement agencies, however, retain access to sealed records — the expungement closes the public door, not the law-enforcement door. If you are asked on a job application whether you have been arrested, check the specific question’s wording and consult an attorney if you’re unsure how an expunged record affects your answer under Alabama law.
Statewide quick-contacts
| Resource | What it confirms | What it cannot confirm | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alacourt | Circuit and district court case records across all 67 Alabama counties | Municipal court cases outside the index; booking-only records with no court filing | Create a paid account at Alacourt and run a name search |
| Alabama Department of Corrections | Current and recent state prison inmates; sentence and release data | County jail detainees; people awaiting trial; federal inmates | Use the inmate lookup at Inmate Search |
| Alabama Law Enforcement Agency | Statewide criminal-history records; official background-check requests | Real-time booking data; court dockets; federal records | Submit a criminal-history request through ALEA’s official process |
| Ala. Code §§ 36-12-40 to 36-12-46 | Alabama’s open-records framework and your right to inspect public records | Sealed, expunged, or juvenile records | Cite this statute when making a formal public-records request to a county agency |
| Ala. Code § 15-27-1 | Expungement eligibility rules and petition procedure | Whether your specific case qualifies — that requires a case-by-case review | Read the statute, then consult the Alabama State Bar’s Lawyer Referral Service if needed |
| Nationwide Criminal Background Check | Records from other states, federal cases, name variants, and records predating Alacourt’s online window | Real-time Alabama court dockets; ADOC custody status | Run the name search above |
Related Alabama record searches
- Alabama warrant search — to check for an active warrant statewide.
- Alabama inmate search — to locate someone in custody.
Arrest record pages for each of Alabama’s 67 counties are listed in the county index below this article.
Sources & official Alabama records systems
Page verified 2026-09-15. Official sources consulted:
- Alacourt — Alabama’s statewide paid trial-court case index covering all 67 counties.
- Alabama Department of Corrections inmate search — official lookup for people serving state prison sentences.
- Alabama Law Enforcement Agency — statewide criminal-history records and official background-check requests.
- Ala. Code §§ 36-12-40 to 36-12-46 — Alabama Open Records Act; governs public access to government records including arrest logs.
- Ala. Code § 15-27-1 — Alabama expungement statute; covers misdemeanors, violations, traffic offenses, municipal offenses, and certain convictions.
- Alabama State Bar’s Lawyer Referral Service — attorney referrals for expungement petitions and criminal-records matters.
- Alabama indigent defense locator — public defender resources by county for those who qualify financially.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I look up an arrest record in Alabama?
For court case records, search Alacourt — the statewide paid index covering circuit and district courts in all 67 Alabama counties. For a recent booking, contact the county Sheriff’s Office directly; Alabama law requires the jail register to be open to public inspection. For someone serving a state prison sentence, use the Alabama Department of Corrections inmate lookup. Municipal court cases may sit outside Alacourt entirely — call that city’s court to confirm.
How do I get an Alabama arrest record sealed or expunged?
File a petition in the circuit court for the county where the charge was originally brought, under Ala. Code § 15-27-1. Dismissed charges and acquittals typically have a more direct path than conviction expungements, which require meeting additional eligibility criteria. The district attorney and the arresting agency both receive notice and may object. Filing fees apply; an indigency waiver is available if you qualify. The Alabama State Bar’s Lawyer Referral Service can connect you with an attorney for more complex cases.
Are Alabama arrest records free to search?
The Sheriff’s jail register is open to public inspection at no charge under Alabama law. Alacourt, the statewide trial-court index, charges a per-name fee — there is no free statewide court-case search in Alabama. The state’s free public portal covers appellate courts only and will not show a county criminal case. Some counties post recent bookings on their Sheriff’s website at no cost, but practice varies — check the county page for your county.