Arrest Records for Randolph County, Alabama

When you need a Randolph County arrest record, the records live across two distinct systems: the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office holds booking entries and the jail register at the Sheriff’s Office records page, while court-side docket entries are maintained by Circuit Clerk Chris May through the Fifth Circuit Court portal. Alabama’s statewide trial-court index, Alacourt, covers all 67 counties but charges a per-search fee — the free state appellate portal is a separate system and will not show Randolph County criminal cases. The Randolph County Detention Center sits at 340 Probilt Drive, Wedowee, Alabama 36278.

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

If your person has a history in other states

Randolph County’s official portals cover cases filed within the county’s jurisdiction, but records from neighboring Cleburne, Clay, or Talladega counties — or from federal courts — won’t appear there. A nationwide criminal database search may surface records across multiple states and jurisdictions that local portals often leave gaps on, which can be useful when you need to verify a complete history or check name variants across prior addresses.

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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 Randolph County

Weekday business hours apply at the Randolph County Courthouse — confirm current hours and walk-in availability before driving, as the Circuit Clerk’s office has limited days open per week and may not accept walk-ins on busy days. That practical note matters because the four main pathways to Randolph County arrest records each require different contact points, and some are online while others require an in-person or phone request.

Circuit Clerk Chris May — court docket records. Felony and misdemeanor case filings for Randolph County run through Randolph County Circuit Clerk Chris May, whose office page is at Circuit Clerk Chris May. This is the county-official source for docket entries — charges filed, case numbers, hearing dates, and dispositions. The Clerk’s office is inside the Randolph County Courthouse in Wedowee. Bring a valid photo ID when visiting in person. Appointment scheduling information may differ between the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency website and what courthouse staff tell you by phone, so confirm the current procedure through both channels before your visit.

Alacourt paid statewide index. Alabama’s trial-court index covers all 67 counties, including Randolph, and charges a per-name search fee. It is the fastest way to pull a name across multiple counties at once. The free state portal covers appellate courts only and will not return Randolph County criminal case results — do not confuse the two systems.

Sheriff’s Office — booking records and jail register. Recent bookings and the jail register are held by the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office. Alabama law requires the sheriff’s jail register to be open to public inspection, making this a direct and legally reliable path for recent arrest information. The Sheriff’s Office records page is at Sheriffs Office. Bring photo ID to enter the front of the facility. Cash payment is accepted at the time of appointment for records requests; personal checks are returned and cause processing delays, so use cash or an accepted electronic method. Processing times for certain services can run multiple weeks, so plan accordingly.

Alabama Department of Corrections — state prison sentences. Someone serving a state prison sentence is no longer in the county jail; that person is in the custody of the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC). The ADOC inmate search tool is at Inmate Search, and the Randolph County-specific ADOC directory page is at Randolph County. Use this path when the person you’re researching was sentenced rather than recently booked.

Magistrates, warrants, and traffic court. The Fifth Circuit Court’s magistrates and warrants roster for Randolph County is at Magistrates Warrants. Traffic-related court records are handled separately through the Randolph County Traffic Court page; the statewide traffic case search is available at the Alabama traffic court portal. Municipal charges filed by Roanoke, Wadley, or Wedowee city courts may sit outside the statewide index — contact those city courts directly to confirm whether a municipal case appears there.

Are Randolph County arrest records public?

Court filings and booking records in Randolph County carry a default-public status under Alabama law — sealed cases, juvenile records, and victim-protection redactions are the narrow exceptions. The controlling framework is Ala. Code §§ 36-12-40 to 36-12-46, Alabama’s Open Records Act, which establishes that government records are presumptively open to public inspection unless a specific statutory exemption applies.

The Sheriff’s jail register is separately required to be open to public inspection under Alabama law. That means a booking entry — the record created when someone is brought into the Randolph County Detention Center at 340 Probilt Drive — is public from the moment it exists, absent a court order sealing it. The official record may contain a booking photograph; that photograph is part of the public record under the same framework.

Juvenile records are the most significant categorical exception. Cases involving defendants under 18 are handled through the juvenile court system and are not part of the public record accessible through the Circuit Clerk or Sheriff’s Office. Researchers looking for juvenile records will not find them through the standard pathways described here.

Sealed and expunged records are the other major exception. When a Randolph County Circuit Court grants a petition to seal under Alabama’s expungement statute, the record is removed from public view — though law enforcement agencies retain access. A name search through Alacourt or the Clerk’s office will not return a sealed case for a member of the public.

Victim-protection redactions apply in certain cases involving sexual offenses or domestic violence, where identifying information about victims may be withheld even from an otherwise public record. The underlying case docket remains public; specific fields within it may be redacted.

Records requests made under the Open Records Act to the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office or Circuit Clerk’s office are subject to reasonable copying fees. The exact fee schedule is not published online — ask the Clerk’s office to confirm the current rate before submitting a written request.

What’s in a Randolph County arrest record?

Pull up the two systems separately, because they contain different fields. The Randolph County Circuit Clerk‘s docket entry and the Sheriff’s booking entry are generated by different agencies at different points in the process, and neither is a complete substitute for the other.

A booking entry — the Sheriff-side record — is created at the Randolph County Detention Center when a person is processed into custody. It typically contains: the person’s full name and date of birth, the booking date and time, the arresting agency, the charge or charges at the time of arrest (which may differ from what is later filed in court), bond amount if set, and a booking photograph. Alabama law makes this record presumptively public. The Sheriff’s Office records page is the county-official access point for this information.

A docket entry — the court-side record maintained by Circuit Clerk Chris May — is created when charges are formally filed with the Randolph County Courthouse. It contains: the case number, the formal charge or charges as filed by the prosecutor, the defendant’s attorney of record (if one has appeared), all hearing dates and their outcomes, continuances, plea entries, and the final disposition. A case that was dismissed, resulted in acquittal, or was nolle prossed will show that outcome in the docket. A conviction will show the sentence. Access the docket through the Circuit Clerk’s portal or through the paid Alacourt statewide index.

The gap between the two systems matters in practice. An arrest that did not result in charges being filed will appear in the Sheriff’s booking record but may have no corresponding court docket entry. Conversely, a case transferred from another county or filed directly without a local booking may appear in the docket but not in the local jail register. When you need a complete picture, check both.

Traffic cases in Randolph County have their own docket track through the Randolph County Traffic Court, separate from the Circuit Court criminal docket. A traffic-related arrest may generate entries in both systems. For the mugshot release policy specific to Randolph County, contact the Sheriff’s Office directly — the policy is not published online.

How to expunge an arrest record in Randolph County

Does the charge on your Randolph County record qualify for sealing? The answer depends primarily on whether the case ended in a conviction or not — and since 2021, Alabama’s expungement law reaches both categories, which is a significant change from older guidance that limited sealing to dismissed or acquitted cases only.

Non-conviction cases — charges that were dismissed, nolle prossed, or resulted in acquittal — generally have a more direct path to sealing under Ala. Code § 15-27-1. A person whose case ended without a conviction can petition the circuit court without the additional waiting-period requirements that apply to conviction-based petitions. This is the most common scenario for people who were arrested but never found guilty.

Post-conviction sealing is more discretionary. Since the 2021 amendments to the statute, certain convictions — including misdemeanors, violations, traffic offenses, and some municipal offenses — became eligible for expungement. The statute sets timing requirements for conviction-based petitions; AL law sets those requirements in the controlling statute itself. Check the current text of Ala. Code § 15-27-1 or ask the Randolph County Circuit Clerk’s office to confirm the applicable waiting period for the specific charge type, because the requirements vary by offense category.

Where to file. Petitions to seal a Randolph County arrest record are filed in the Randolph County Circuit Court — the circuit court in the county where the charge was brought. The Circuit Clerk’s office at the Randolph County Courthouse in Wedowee handles the filing. The petition must name the district attorney and the arresting agency as parties; both are entitled to object, and the court will schedule a hearing if an objection is filed.

Filing fees and indigency waivers. A filing fee applies to expungement petitions in Alabama circuit courts. The exact current fee is not published online — confirm the amount with the Randolph County Circuit Clerk before filing. If you cannot afford the fee, an indigency waiver petition is available; ask the Clerk’s office about the process for requesting a fee waiver.

Self-petition vs. attorney-assisted. Alabama’s expungement process is designed to be accessible without an attorney, and many people file their own petitions. That said, if the district attorney or arresting agency objects, having legal representation at the hearing is worth considering. The Alabama State Bar’s the state bar lawyer directory can connect you with a local attorney. If cost is a barrier, the Alabama indigent defense locator lists public defender resources.

What changes after sealing. Once a Randolph County Circuit Court grants the petition, the record is removed from public view — it will not appear in Alacourt searches or the Clerk’s public docket for members of the public. Law enforcement agencies retain access to sealed records. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) also retains access for certain licensing and background-check purposes. The sealing does not erase the record from law enforcement systems; it removes it from public-facing searches.

Quick contacts for Randolph County arrest records

Frequently asked questions about Randolph County arrest records

How do I find out if a bond has been set on a Randolph County arrest, and how is bail determined?

Bond information appears in the booking entry held by the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office and, once charges are filed, in the court docket maintained by Circuit Clerk Chris May. Alabama uses money bail with judicial discretion — a judge sets the amount at first appearance based on the charges, the defendant’s history, and flight risk. There is no fixed bail schedule tied to offense type. For certain violent offenses, a 2022 Alabama constitutional amendment allows a court to deny bail entirely after a hearing. If you need current bond status on a recent arrest, the Sheriff’s Office records page or a direct call to the Detention Center at 340 Probilt Drive, Wedowee, AL 36278 is the most direct path.

Can a Randolph County arrest record be expunged, and will it still show on background checks after sealing?

Petitioning to seal a Randolph County arrest record is a routine legal procedure available under Ala. Code § 15-27-1. Non-conviction cases — dismissals, acquittals, nolle prossed charges — generally qualify without a waiting period. Certain convictions, including misdemeanors and traffic offenses, became eligible after Alabama’s 2021 amendments to the statute; timing requirements vary by offense category, so confirm the applicable rule with the Randolph County Circuit Clerk or a licensed attorney. After the Randolph County Circuit Court grants the petition, the record is removed from public-facing searches like Alacourt and the Clerk’s docket. Law enforcement agencies retain access. The Alabama State Bar’s the state bar attorney search can connect you with local counsel if you want help with the petition.