Alabama Criminal Records

Choose personal history, employer access or a court file

Alabama criminal records are available through different products. ALEA’s Alabama Background Check system (ABC) is restricted to qualifying employers checking current or prospective employees. ALEA directs public personal-history applicants to its review application. A person looking for a particular court judgment should instead identify that case and obtain the court record. Neither a jail entry nor a court-name search substitutes for the requested ALEA history.

Confirm the purpose and recipient before assembling fingerprints. A state employment, licensing or certification request may have agency-specific fees and instructions. Do not send the personal-review packet assuming it satisfies every employer’s or licensing board’s requirement, and do not seek ABC access under an invented role. The personal application is for the applicant’s own history and requires their authorization.

Prepare a complete personal-review packet

Complete the ALEA Application to Review Alabama Criminal History Record Information and sign it with two witnesses or have it notarized. Include a copy of valid photo identification and a classifiable set of your own fingerprints taken by an authorized law-enforcement agency with an FBI-issued ORI. The application instructions specify an FBI-approved applicant fingerprint card or approved printout.

For a personal request, the linked form lists a $25 administrative fee by money order or cashier’s check payable to ALEA, Criminal Records and Identification Unit. Personal or business checks are not accepted by the form’s instructions. ALEA’s service page lists additional copies at $5 each. Fingerprinting or notarization arranged elsewhere may involve separate charges; ask that provider rather than assuming those services are included.

The form asks for full name and aliases, current address, Social Security number, birth date, driver-license details and contact numbers, as well as applicable work and recipient information. Check the form, identification and fingerprint card for consistent names and dates. Enter the authorized result recipient where requested, retain a copy of the submitted application, and keep payment and mailing evidence. Incomplete identification or unusable fingerprints can prevent the agency from matching the correct record; guessing omitted fields is not a safe substitute for completing the packet.

Use the review address and allow processing time

Mail a review request to ALEA, Criminal Records and Identification Unit, ATTN: Background Checks, P.O. Box 1511, Montgomery, AL 36102-1511. ALEA also lists in-person submission at 301 S. Ripley Street, Montgomery, AL 36104, on the Adams Avenue side. Call 334-676-7897 or 1-866-740-4762 for process questions before traveling or mailing an unusual request.

Appendix B asks applicants to allow at least four to five weeks from ALEA’s receipt for a review request. That timeframe does not cover a challenge, which requires additional verification. Use your submission date and identifying reference for a status inquiry; avoid treating a cashed payment or delivery confirmation as proof that the history has already been produced.

Obtain a case document when that is what you need

Alacourt’s public-access service offers Alabama trial-court searches by name or case number. It lists $9.99 for a name search with one case detail included, another $9.99 per additional case detail, and $9.99 for a case-number search with its case detail. Document images cost $5 for the first 20 pages and $0.50 per page after that. An online image purchase is not stated to be a certified copy.

Use the case number and dated filing to ask the holding clerk for a certified judgment or disposition if an official recipient requires it. Distinguish the charge from the final ruling, and carry forward references to later proceedings. For a document absent from the online service, ask the clerk about availability and restrictions rather than calling the search a complete statewide history.

Challenge the exact incorrect entry

Appendix A is the record-challenge form. Identify each disputed arrest or disposition, date and agency or court; explain the error, proposed correction and source of the supporting information. Include the history being challenged and official supporting documentation. Send the challenge to the same ALEA post-office box, marked ATTN: Record Challenge.

The form requires a challenge under that request within one year; after that, it directs a new review/challenge request. ALEA may refer the issue to the originating agency, and verification can take several weeks or longer. Keep the disputed entry and court order together so the issue is a specific factual discrepancy, not an unsupported request to remove all adverse information.

Separate correction from court-ordered expungement

ALEA says an Alabama court, rather than ALEA, grants expungement. Before filing, its expungement page directs you to obtain a certified criminal-history record through the form linked on that page and then consult the court petition instructions. A routine history review or correction does not establish eligibility or automatically seal a case.

If an accurate entry is the problem, identify the specific case and seek advice about the court process appropriate to it. If the record is inaccurate, use the documented challenge route. After receiving a response, compare the named charge and outcome with the supporting order before describing what changed; restriction of public access and factual correction are different results.