St. Clair County, Alabama Arrest Records Search

Pull up the Alacourt paid name-search index to find St. Clair County Circuit and District Court case filings, then cross-reference with the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office booking roster for recent jail entries. The Sheriff’s Office jail is located at 100 18th St. North in Pell City; the courthouse operates Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For someone serving a state sentence rather than awaiting trial, the Alabama Department of Corrections inmate search is the correct tool.

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

If you need records outside St. Clair County

A name search on Alacourt covers all 67 Alabama counties but stops at the state line. A nationwide criminal database search may surface records from other states, federal court cases that county portals never index, or charges filed under a prior name or in a county where the person once lived. The preliminary scan is free; a full report requires creating an account.

Sponsored: Nationwide Criminal Background Check (we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you).

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 St. Clair County

Records scattered across Pell City and Ashville — the county has two courthouses — mean a single search rarely finishes the job. The pathways below each cover a different slice of the record, and a complete picture usually requires checking more than one.

Alacourt paid name search. Alabama’s statewide trial-court index charges a per-search fee and covers St. Clair County Circuit and District Court filings. It is the most efficient way to pull case numbers, charge descriptions, and disposition status for a named individual across all 67 counties at once. Note that Alacourt covers trial courts only — the state’s free appellate portal is a separate system and will not show a county criminal case. Some municipal court charges filed in Moody or Pell City may sit outside the Alacourt index; confirm those directly with the relevant city court.

Sheriff’s Office booking roster and records request. The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office maintains the county jail at 100 18th St. North, Pell City, and publishes a live inmate roster at Stclairsheriff. Alabama law requires the sheriff’s jail register to be open to public inspection, so recent booking information is accessible on request. The Sheriff’s Office accepts written public records requests; printable procedures are posted on the website. Call (334) 676-6054 to reach the office directly. The Sheriff’s Office is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Clerk of Court records request. Court filings — charging documents, case dockets, sentencing orders — are held by the Circuit Clerk. St. Clair County has two courthouse locations: the main Pell City courthouse and the Ashville courthouse. Confirm which location holds the case you need before driving, as the county’s split-seat arrangement can add a trip. The Clerk’s office is open weekday business hours; call to confirm current hours and any per-page copy fees before visiting.

ADOC inmate lookup. If the person you are researching is serving a state prison sentence rather than being held in the county jail, the Alabama Department of Corrections inmate search is the right tool. Searching by AIS number produces the most precise match. The St. Clair Correctional Facility is an ADOC state prison located in Springville — distinct from the county jail in Pell City — and ADOC holds records for people sentenced to state custody.

Municipal arrests in Moody. Arrests made by the Moody Police Department may generate municipal court records that sit outside the Alacourt index. Contact Moody’s municipal court directly to confirm whether a charge appears there or was transferred to St. Clair County District Court.

Confirm numbers and hours before visiting or calling any of these offices, as staffing and schedules can vary.

Are St. Clair County arrest records public?

Roughly 67 counties in Alabama operate under the same default-public framework — and St. Clair is no exception. Court filings, booking records, and the sheriff’s jail register are presumptively public under Ala. Code §§ 36-12-40 to 36-12-46, Alabama’s Open Records Act. That statute gives any person the right to inspect and copy public records; agencies may charge reasonable copying fees but cannot simply refuse access to records that fall within the public category.

Sealed and expunged records are the primary exception. Once a St. Clair County Circuit Court judge grants a petition to seal under Alabama’s expungement statute, the record disappears from public view — it no longer appears on Alacourt, and the Clerk will not confirm its existence to a member of the public. Law enforcement retains access, but the general public does not. A person whose record has been sealed can lawfully deny the arrest in most non-law-enforcement contexts.

Juvenile records carry their own separate protection. Arrests and adjudications involving minors are not part of the public record in Alabama and are not accessible through the standard Alacourt search or a Sheriff’s Office records request. Specific statutory procedures govern when and to whom juvenile records may be disclosed.

Victim-protection redactions apply in certain cases. Identifying information for victims of sexual offenses and domestic violence may be withheld from otherwise public records. The Clerk’s office will apply those redactions before releasing a copy; you receive the record, but some fields may be blacked out.

Booking photos are part of the official arrest record in Alabama and may appear in records the Sheriff’s Office releases. The state has no statute restricting their publication, but obtaining a booking photo requires a records request to the Sheriff’s Office — not a third-party browsing service.

What’s in a St. Clair County arrest record?

“Arrest record” is a shorthand that actually describes several distinct documents generated by a single arrest — and they live in different systems with different visible fields.

The booking entry is created by the Saint Clair County Jail at the time of intake. It typically shows the arrested person’s name and date of birth, the booking date and time, the arresting agency, the charges as listed at booking (which may differ from what the prosecutor later files), bond amount if set, and current custody status. This is the Sheriff-side record. It appears on the live roster at stclairsheriff.org and in the jail register, which is open to public inspection under Alabama law.

The court-side record is a separate set of documents held by the Circuit or District Clerk at the St. Clair County Courthouse. It includes the charging instrument (complaint, information, or indictment), the case number assigned by the court, all docket entries showing hearings and rulings, the attorney of record for both sides, and the disposition — guilty plea, verdict, dismissal, or nolle prosequi. Alacourt surfaces the court-side record; the Sheriff’s roster does not. A charge that was dismissed before arraignment may appear on the booking entry but show a dismissal disposition in Alacourt.

One arrest can produce multiple records across these systems. A person arrested by the Moody Police Department, booked into the St. Clair County Jail, and later charged in St. Clair County District Court generates a Moody PD incident report, a Sheriff’s booking entry, and a District Court docket — three separate documents in three separate systems, each with different access procedures.

For someone transferred to state custody after sentencing, a fourth record layer exists at the Alabama Department of Corrections. The ADOC record shows the AIS number, facility assignment, sentence length, and projected release date. It does not duplicate the court docket; it picks up where the county court record ends.

For St. Clair County’s mugshot release policy, call the Sheriff’s Office at (334) 676-6054 — the policy is not posted online.

How to expunge an arrest record in St. Clair County

“Ala. Code § 15-27-1” is the controlling statute for sealing criminal records in Alabama, and it reaches further than most published guidance suggests. Since a 2021 amendment, the law covers convictions in addition to charges that were dismissed or ended in acquittal — a significant expansion that older materials from the state bar and many county-level guides still do not reflect.

Petitioning to seal an arrest record in St. Clair County is a routine legal procedure. Many people pursue it after a charge is dropped, after completing a sentence, or after enough time has passed that the record no longer reflects their current circumstances. There is no stigma in the process itself — it exists precisely because the legislature recognized that arrest records can follow people long after the underlying matter is resolved.

Non-conviction cases. Charges that were dismissed, nolle prossed, or resulted in acquittal typically have the most accessible sealing path. Alabama law does not impose a waiting period for many non-conviction outcomes, meaning you may be able to petition promptly after the case closes. The petition is filed in the St. Clair County Circuit Court — the circuit court for the county where the charge was brought — using the Petition to Seal form available from the Clerk’s office.

Conviction cases. The 2021 expansion means certain misdemeanor and felony convictions are now eligible, subject to a waiting period and a clean record requirement. The statute sets the timing requirements; check the current text of Ala. Code § 15-27-1 or ask the Clerk of Court for the applicable waiting period for your specific charge type, as the legislature has amended these provisions and the exact figures are not reproduced here.

The petition process. File the completed petition at the St. Clair County Circuit Clerk’s office. The district attorney and the arresting agency are both entitled to receive notice and may object. A judge then reviews the petition and any objections before ruling. Filing fees apply; an indigency waiver path exists for those who cannot afford the fee — ask the Clerk about the fee waiver form when you pick up the petition.

Self-petition vs. attorney-assisted. Alabama allows self-represented petitions. The Clerk’s office can provide the form, but staff cannot give legal advice about whether your specific charge qualifies. If your case involved a conviction, multiple charges, or an objection from the DA’s office, an attorney familiar with Alabama expungement practice can assess eligibility and navigate the hearing. The Alabama State Bar Lawyer Referral Service connects you with attorneys by practice area; the Alabama indigent defense locator lists public defenders for those who qualify.

What sealing does and does not do. After a successful petition, the record disappears from Alacourt and from the public-facing Sheriff’s records. The general public — including most background check services that draw from public court data — will not see it. Law enforcement agencies retain access. Juvenile records have separate, typically more accessible sealing procedures that operate outside the Ala. Code § 15-27-1 framework; if the record you are trying to seal involves a juvenile adjudication, ask the Clerk specifically about the juvenile records process.

Quick-contacts: St. Clair County records resources

Frequently asked questions about St. Clair County arrest records

How do I find out what’s on my own St. Clair County arrest record?

Run a paid name search on Alacourt to pull every Circuit and District Court case filed under your name in St. Clair County — and across all 67 Alabama counties simultaneously. That covers the court-side record: charges, case numbers, and dispositions. For the booking entry, contact the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office at (334) 676-6054 and submit a written public records request. If you were ever sentenced to state prison, the Alabama Department of Corrections inmate search holds that layer of the record. Checking all three sources gives you the complete picture — Alacourt alone will not show a booking that never resulted in a court filing, and the Sheriff’s roster will not show a case disposition.

Can I get a St. Clair County arrest record sealed, and what happens to bail or bond information after sealing?

If your charge was dismissed, nolle prossed, or resulted in acquittal, you may be able to petition the St. Clair County Circuit Court to seal the record under Ala. Code § 15-27-1 without a waiting period. Since 2021, certain convictions are also eligible after a waiting period and clean-record requirement — check the current statute or ask the Clerk for the applicable timeline for your charge type. Once a judge grants the petition, the record — including any bond or bail information attached to the case — disappears from Alacourt and from public Sheriff’s records. Alabama uses money bail with judicial discretion; a 2022 constitutional amendment also allows courts to deny bail outright for certain violent offenses after a hearing. After sealing, that bail history is no longer visible to the public, though law enforcement retains access. The filing fee for the petition is set by the court; ask the Clerk about a fee waiver if cost is a barrier.