Arrest Records for Mobile County, Alabama

Court filings for Mobile County criminal cases live in two distinct systems: the Mobile County Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court, accessible through its own Alacourt subdomain at Circuit Criminal, and the booking register maintained by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office. The Circuit Court portal covers felony cases; misdemeanor and traffic matters appear under the District Criminal docket on the same subdomain. If you want to search without driving downtown, Alabama’s statewide Alacourt index charges a per-name fee — it is not free. One free option: a public terminal on the 9th floor at 205 Government Street lets you search Alacourt at no cost during courthouse hours.

If someone you know was just booked tonight, our Mobile County inmate-search page has phone-first contact info.

Searching for records beyond Alabama

Mobile County’s court portals cover cases filed in Alabama, but records from neighboring counties — Baldwin, Washington, Clarke, Choctaw — or from other states won’t appear there. A nationwide search tool may help surface records from jurisdictions outside Alabama’s system, including cases filed under a prior name or address. The preliminary scan is free; a full report requires creating an account.

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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 Mobile County

As of the date this page was verified, Mobile County’s criminal court records are split across three distinct access points depending on how old the case is and which court handled it.

Circuit Court records (felonies): The Mobile County Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court maintains its own Alacourt subdomain. You can browse the Circuit Criminal docket index online. To get copies of specific documents, download the Circuit Court records request form from the court’s website, complete it, and submit it to the Clerk’s office. District criminal court hours at the Mobile County Courthouse run 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays; the public entrance is on Government Street. District criminal accepts cashier checks, money orders, or exact cash — cards are not accepted at that window.

District Court records (misdemeanors): Misdemeanor cases appear under the District Criminal docket on the same subdomain. A separate District Court records request form is available for document copies. The process mirrors the Circuit Court request — submit the completed form to the Clerk during weekday business hours.

Municipal Court records (city ordinance violations): Cases handled by the City of Mobile’s Municipal Court sit outside the Circuit and District dockets. The City of Mobile operates its own Municipal Court Record Search and Request portal. A roster of Mobile Municipal Court Magistrates is also published on the city’s website. Note that some municipal charges may not appear in the statewide Alacourt index at all — confirm directly with the city court if you’re researching an ordinance-level matter.

Recent bookings (Sheriff’s jail register): Alabama law requires the county sheriff’s jail register to be open to public inspection. For someone arrested recently and held at the Mobile Metro Jail, contact the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office directly. The Metro Jail opens at 8:00 a.m. Monday through Friday. Visiting hours run 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays. The Mobile Police Department can be reached at (251) 208-1700 for general inquiries; the Records Unit handles document requests.

Post-conviction transfers (ADOC): When someone has been sentenced and transferred out of the county jail to serve a state prison term, the Alabama Department of Corrections takes custody. Use the ADOC Inmate Search at doc.alabama.gov to locate anyone currently in state prison. That tool does not show people held at the county level — those remain with the Sheriff.

Practical note: Phones are not allowed inside the Mobile County Courthouse. If you plan to visit in person to review docket entries or request copies, leave your phone in the car or use the courthouse’s storage options. Confirm numbers and hours before visiting or calling, as schedules can shift.

Are Mobile County arrest records public?

Court filings are public records under Alabama law — sealed cases, juvenile records, and victim-protection redactions are the narrow exceptions. The governing framework is Ala. Code §§ 36-12-40 to 36-12-46, Alabama’s Open Records Act, which establishes a default presumption of public access to government records. Booking records and the jail register carry the same presumption: Alabama law explicitly requires the sheriff’s jail register to be open to inspection.

Arrest records and conviction records are both public, but they live in different systems. An arrest record originates with the arresting agency — the Sheriff or a municipal police department — and reflects the booking. A conviction record is a court document showing the outcome of the case. You may find an arrest with no corresponding conviction, or a conviction that followed a different charge than the one at booking. Neither record type is inherently more authoritative; they answer different questions.

Juvenile records are the most significant exception. Cases handled by the Mobile County Juvenile Court are not public by default. The court’s own forms — including petitions and motions — are available through the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court portal, but the underlying case records are restricted. If you believe a record involves a juvenile matter, confirm access rules with the Clerk before requesting documents.

Sealed and expunged records are also withheld from public view. Once a Mobile County Circuit Court judge grants an expungement petition under Alabama’s sealing statute, the record disappears from public-facing searches. Law enforcement agencies retain access, but the general public — and most background-check databases — do not. If a search returns no results for a name you expected to find, a prior sealing is one possible explanation.

Victim-protection redactions apply in certain cases, particularly those involving domestic violence or sexual offenses. Victim names, addresses, and identifying details may be removed from publicly accessible documents even when the underlying case record remains open.

What’s in a Mobile County arrest record?

Pull up a Mobile County arrest record and you’ll see the booking date, the arresting agency, the charge or charges as filed, a case number, and the defendant’s identifying information. That’s the Sheriff-side booking entry — it reflects what the arresting officer documented at intake.

The court-side docket is a separate document. It lives in the Circuit or District Criminal system and shows what happened after the arrest: arraignment date, attorney of record, continuances, plea, and — if the case resolved — the disposition. An arrest record shows charges filed; conviction status appears separately in the docket. A charge on the booking record may have been reduced, dismissed, or resulted in acquittal by the time the docket entry was written. Never treat the booking charge as the final legal outcome.

At the Mobile County Courthouse, the public entrance is on Government Street. Inside, the criminal docket terminals are accessible during weekday hours. If you’re looking for a specific document rather than just a docket summary, you’ll need to submit a records request form — the Circuit Court version is available as a PDF from the court’s website, and the District Court version is a downloadable Word document. Both ask for the case number, the defendant’s name, and the specific documents you want copied.

Municipal Court records — cases handled by the City of Mobile for ordinance violations — contain similar fields but are maintained separately from the county court system. The city’s Municipal Court Record Search and Request portal is the access point for those cases. Booking photos may appear in the official record depending on the arresting agency’s release policy; for the current policy of the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office or the Mobile Police Department, contact those agencies directly.

How to expunge an arrest record in Mobile County

Petitioning to seal an arrest record in Mobile County is a routine legal procedure handled through the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court — the same courthouse where the original charge was filed. Alabama’s expungement statute, Ala. Code § 15-27-1, governs the process for misdemeanors, violations, traffic offenses, and municipal charges. Since 2021, the law also reaches certain convictions — a significant expansion that much older guidance does not reflect.

Dismissed and acquitted cases: Juvenile records have separate, typically more accessible sealing procedures under Alabama law — if the matter involved a minor, ask the Clerk specifically about the juvenile expungement path rather than the adult petition process. For adult cases that were dismissed, nolle prossed, or ended in acquittal, the path to sealing is generally more straightforward than for convictions. The statute does not require a waiting period for non-conviction outcomes in many circumstances. File the petition in the Mobile County Circuit Court, which is the circuit court for the county where the charge was brought.

Conviction cases: Alabama law now permits expungement of certain convictions, but eligibility depends on the offense type and the record since conviction. The statute sets timing requirements; check the current text of Ala. Code § 15-27-1 or ask the Clerk of Court for the applicable waiting period — the exact figure is not supplied here, and stating an unverified number on a legal matter would be irresponsible. What the statute does make clear: a clean record after the conviction is a factor, and certain violent or sex-offense convictions are excluded from eligibility.

Filing the petition: The petition goes to the Circuit Court Clerk at the Mobile County Courthouse on Government Street. The district attorney’s office and the arresting agency — which may be the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office or the Mobile Police Department — are entitled to receive notice and may object. The court schedules a hearing if an objection is filed. If no objection is filed within the statutory window, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

Filing fee and indigency waiver: A filing fee applies. The exact current amount should be confirmed with the Clerk before you file, as fees can change. If you cannot afford the fee, an indigency waiver is available — the City of Mobile’s Municipal Court system publishes an Affidavit of Indigency and Order form that illustrates the standard format used in this jurisdiction.

Self-petition vs. attorney-assisted: Alabama law does not require an attorney to file an expungement petition. Many people file successfully on their own, particularly for straightforward dismissed cases. More complex situations — prior convictions, multiple charges, or cases where the DA is likely to object — benefit from legal help. The Alabama State Bar’s the state bar lawyer directory can connect you with a licensed attorney. If cost is a barrier, the Alabama indigent defense locator lists public defender resources.

What sealing does and does not do: After a Mobile County Circuit Court judge grants the petition, the record is removed from public-facing searches — Alacourt, background-check databases, and the Sheriff’s public register will no longer show it. Law enforcement agencies retain access. The record does not disappear entirely; it is sealed from public view, not destroyed.

Quick-contacts table

Frequently asked questions about Mobile County arrest records

What charges appear on a Mobile County arrest record, and does the record show whether the case was resolved?

A Mobile County arrest record shows the charges as filed at booking — what the arresting officer documented when the person was brought into custody. That charge may later be reduced, dismissed, or result in acquittal. The booking record itself does not update to reflect those outcomes. To see how a case resolved, you need the court docket: search the Circuit Criminal or District Criminal index on the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court’s Alacourt subdomain. The docket shows arraignment, plea, continuances, and final disposition separately from the booking entry.

How do I get a Mobile County arrest record expunged or sealed?

File a petition in the Mobile County Circuit Court — the circuit court for the county where the charge was brought — under Ala. Code § 15-27-1. For cases that were dismissed or ended in acquittal, the path is generally more direct and may not require a waiting period. For convictions, eligibility depends on the offense type and your record since the conviction; check the current statute text or ask the Clerk of Court for the applicable requirements, as the exact waiting period is set by the statute and should be confirmed before filing. The district attorney and the arresting agency receive notice and may object. A filing fee applies; an indigency waiver is available if you cannot afford it. After the court grants the petition, the record is removed from public searches — law enforcement retains access, but the public does not.