Question 1

Can you get a criminal record expunged in Alabama?

Accepted Answer

Alabama offers court-ordered expungement under Chapter 27 of Title 15 of the Code of Alabama. It covers records of charges that did not end in a conviction, certain misdemeanor and traffic convictions, and certain felony convictions that have been pardoned. A judge, not ALEA, grants an expungement. Juvenile court records can be sealed under a separate law. After an expungement, the proceedings are treated as if they never occurred.

Question 2

Can you clear an arrest or dismissed charge in Alabama?

Accepted Answer

A person charged with a misdemeanor, violation, traffic violation, municipal ordinance violation or any felony may petition when: the charge was dismissed with prejudice, no-billed by a grand jury, or ended in a not-guilty verdict, and more than 90 days have passed; the charge was nolle prossed without conditions, more than 90 days have passed and it has not been refiled; the indictment was quashed and the charge cannot or will not be refiled; or the charge was dismissed after completing drug court, mental health court, veterans court, diversion or another court-approved deferred prosecution program (file one year after completion). A charge dismissed without prejudice qualifies if it has not been refiled and the person has had no other convictions (excluding minor traffic violations): for misdemeanors, the dismissal must be more than one year old with no convictions in the previous two years; for felonies, more than five years old with no convictions in the previous five years. Human-trafficking victims may also qualify.

Question 3

Can a misdemeanor be expunged in Alabama?

Accepted Answer

A person convicted of a misdemeanor, violation, traffic violation or municipal ordinance violation (or adjudged a youthful offender on such a charge) may petition if three years have passed since the conviction and all probation or parole requirements are complete, including payment of fines, costs and restitution. Not eligible: violent offenses, sex offenses, crimes involving moral turpitude (with a narrow exception for crimes later reclassified from felony to misdemeanor), serious traffic offenses, and certain commercial-driver offenses. A person may be granted only two expungements in total under the conviction and program-completion categories; all charges from the same arrest count as one.

Question 4

Can a felony be expunged in Alabama?

Accepted Answer

A felony conviction can be expunged only if the person has received a pardon from the Board of Pardons and Paroles with restoration of civil and political rights, all forfeited rights have been restored, and 180 days have passed since the pardon was issued. Violent offenses, sex offenses, crimes involving moral turpitude (with a narrow exception) and serious traffic offenses are excluded, along with certain commercial-driver offenses. A few listed violent offenses may be expunged by human-trafficking victims. Only one pardoned-felony expungement is allowed in a lifetime.

Question 5

Does Alabama have automatic record clearing (clean slate)?

Accepted Answer

The expungement chapter sets out a petition process: the person must file in circuit court, and the court rules on the petition. No automatic record-clearing provision was found in the sections reviewed.

Question 6

Can a DUI be expunged in Alabama?

Accepted Answer

Generally no. Conviction expungement excludes serious traffic offenses under Article 9 of Chapter 5A of Title 32, and that article includes driving under the influence (§ 32-5A-191). A DUI charge that was dismissed or ended in acquittal may still qualify under the non-conviction rules.

Question 7

How do you seal a juvenile record in Alabama?

Accepted Answer

A person who was the subject of a delinquency or child-in-need-of-supervision case may ask the juvenile court to seal the court's legal and social files. The court may do so if two years have passed since final discharge from custody or supervision (or since the last order) and the person has no conviction or adjudication for a felony or for a misdemeanor involving sex offenses, drugs, weapons or violence, and nothing like that is pending. The prosecutor and record-holding agencies get notice. A later such adjudication or conviction cancels the sealing.

Question 8

How do you file for expungement in Alabama?

Accepted Answer

First get a certified copy of your criminal history from ALEA. File a sworn Petition for Expungement of Records (Form CR-65) in the criminal division of the circuit court in the county where the charges were filed, attaching a certified arrest record, disposition or case action summary and the certified ALEA record. The form allows one charge per petition. Serve the district attorney, the law enforcement agency and the clerk of court. The district attorney and any victim have 45 days to object; if an objection is filed, the court sets a hearing no sooner than 14 days later and weighs factors such as the offense, the person's age and evidence of rehabilitation. If no objection is filed, the court may rule without a hearing.

Question 9

How much does expungement cost in Alabama?

Accepted Answer

An administrative filing fee of $500 is due when the petition is filed, in addition to court costs and docket fees. Multiple charges from one arrest need only one fee; charges from separate arrests each need a fee. A person may file an Affidavit of Substantial Hardship with the petition, and if the court finds the person indigent it must waive the $500 fee.

Question 10

What happens after a record is expunged or sealed in Alabama?

Accepted Answer

After expungement, the proceedings are deemed never to have occurred, and courts and agencies respond to inquiries that no record exists. The person does not have to disclose the record on applications for employment, credit or other applications, but must disclose it to government regulatory or licensing agencies, utilities, and banks or other financial institutions, which may inspect the expunged records after giving notice to the court. Expunged records are kept by ALEA and remain available to criminal justice agencies for investigations. Expungement under state law may not change how federal immigration authorities treat a record.

Question 11

How do you get a pardon in Alabama?

Accepted Answer

The Board of Pardons and Paroles grants pardons, after conviction, in all cases except treason, impeachment and uncommuted death sentences. A pardon does not remove civil and political disabilities unless it says so. Generally, a pardon may not be granted until the person has completed at least three years of permanent parole, or the sentence has expired if it was shorter than three years; a pardon based on innocence has a separate process. A pardon with restoration of rights is the gateway to expunging an eligible felony conviction.

Question 12

How do I check my own criminal record in Alabama?

Accepted Answer

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), Criminal Records and Identification Unit, keeps the state criminal history record. To review your own record, complete the ALEA Application to Review Alabama Criminal History Record Information (ALEA CJIS Form 46), signed before two witnesses or notarized, and mail it with a copy of a valid photo ID, a set of your own fingerprints taken by a law enforcement agency on an FBI applicant card, and a $25.00 administrative fee (cashier's check or money order only; personal and business checks are not accepted) to ALEA, Criminal Records and Identification Unit, ATTN: Background Checks, P.O. Box 1511, Montgomery, AL 36102-1511. Allow at least 4-5 weeks. Errors can be challenged with Appendix A of the same form (not used for expungements). Questions: 334-676-7700.

What relief the state offers	Alabama offers court-ordered expungement under Chapter 27 of Title 15 of the Code of Alabama. It covers records of charges that did not end in a conviction, certain misdemeanor and traffic convictions, and certain felony convictions that have been pardoned. A judge, not ALEA, grants an expungement. Juvenile court records can be sealed under a separate law. After an expungement, the proceedings are treated as if they never occurred. Source: Ala. Code §§ 15-27-1, 15-27-2, 15-27-6; ALEA Criminal Record Expungement page
Arrests and dismissed charges	A person charged with a misdemeanor, violation, traffic violation, municipal ordinance violation or any felony may petition when: the charge was dismissed with prejudice, no-billed by a grand jury, or ended in a not-guilty verdict, and more than 90 days have passed; the charge was nolle prossed without conditions, more than 90 days have passed and it has not been refiled; the indictment was quashed and the charge cannot or will not be refiled; or the charge was dismissed after completing drug court, mental health court, veterans court, diversion or another court-approved deferred prosecution program (file one year after completion). A charge dismissed without prejudice qualifies if it has not been refiled and the person has had no other convictions (excluding minor traffic violations): for misdemeanors, the dismissal must be more than one year old with no convictions in the previous two years; for felonies, more than five years old with no convictions in the previous five years. Human-trafficking victims may also qualify. Source: Ala. Code §§ 15-27-1(a), 15-27-2(a)
Misdemeanor convictions	A person convicted of a misdemeanor, violation, traffic violation or municipal ordinance violation (or adjudged a youthful offender on such a charge) may petition if three years have passed since the conviction and all probation or parole requirements are complete, including payment of fines, costs and restitution. Not eligible: violent offenses, sex offenses, crimes involving moral turpitude (with a narrow exception for crimes later reclassified from felony to misdemeanor), serious traffic offenses, and certain commercial-driver offenses. A person may be granted only two expungements in total under the conviction and program-completion categories; all charges from the same arrest count as one. Source: Ala. Code §§ 15-27-1(b), 15-27-2.1
Felony convictions	A felony conviction can be expunged only if the person has received a pardon from the Board of Pardons and Paroles with restoration of civil and political rights, all forfeited rights have been restored, and 180 days have passed since the pardon was issued. Violent offenses, sex offenses, crimes involving moral turpitude (with a narrow exception) and serious traffic offenses are excluded, along with certain commercial-driver offenses. A few listed violent offenses may be expunged by human-trafficking victims. Only one pardoned-felony expungement is allowed in a lifetime. Source: Ala. Code §§ 15-27-2(b), 15-27-2(c), 15-27-2.1(a)(2)
DUI / DWI convictions	Generally no. Conviction expungement excludes serious traffic offenses under Article 9 of Chapter 5A of Title 32, and that article includes driving under the influence (§ 32-5A-191). A DUI charge that was dismissed or ended in acquittal may still qualify under the non-conviction rules. Source: Ala. Code §§ 15-27-1(b)(7), 32-5A-191 (Title 32, Ch. 5A, Art. 9, Serious Traffic Offenses)
Juvenile records	A person who was the subject of a delinquency or child-in-need-of-supervision case may ask the juvenile court to seal the court's legal and social files. The court may do so if two years have passed since final discharge from custody or supervision (or since the last order) and the person has no conviction or adjudication for a felony or for a misdemeanor involving sex offenses, drugs, weapons or violence, and nothing like that is pending. The prosecutor and record-holding agencies get notice. A later such adjudication or conviction cancels the sealing. Source: Ala. Code § 12-15-136

How to apply	First get a certified copy of your criminal history from ALEA. File a sworn Petition for Expungement of Records (Form CR-65) in the criminal division of the circuit court in the county where the charges were filed, attaching a certified arrest record, disposition or case action summary and the certified ALEA record. The form allows one charge per petition. Serve the district attorney, the law enforcement agency and the clerk of court. The district attorney and any victim have 45 days to object; if an objection is filed, the court sets a hearing no sooner than 14 days later and weighs factors such as the offense, the person's age and evidence of rehabilitation. If no objection is filed, the court may rule without a hearing. The form posted on ALEA's site is dated 7/2016, before the 2021 law that added conviction expungement; check with the circuit clerk for the current version. Source: Ala. Code §§ 15-27-3, 15-27-5; Form CR-65
Filing fee	An administrative filing fee of $500 is due when the petition is filed, in addition to court costs and docket fees. Multiple charges from one arrest need only one fee; charges from separate arrests each need a fee. A person may file an Affidavit of Substantial Hardship with the petition, and if the court finds the person indigent it must waive the $500 fee. Source: Ala. Code § 15-27-4
Automatic (clean slate) relief	The expungement chapter sets out a petition process: the person must file in circuit court, and the court rules on the petition. No automatic record-clearing provision was found in the sections reviewed. Absence of an automatic-clearing law was not confirmed by an official statement. Source: Ala. Code §§ 15-27-1 to 15-27-6
Getting a copy of your criminal record	The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), Criminal Records and Identification Unit, keeps the state criminal history record. To review your own record, complete the ALEA Application to Review Alabama Criminal History Record Information (ALEA CJIS Form 46), signed before two witnesses or notarized, and mail it with a copy of a valid photo ID, a set of your own fingerprints taken by a law enforcement agency on an FBI applicant card, and a $25.00 administrative fee (cashier's check or money order only; personal and business checks are not accepted) to ALEA, Criminal Records and Identification Unit, ATTN: Background Checks, P.O. Box 1511, Montgomery, AL 36102-1511. Allow at least 4-5 weeks. Errors can be challenged with Appendix A of the same form (not used for expungements). Questions: 334-676-7700. The form notes FBI identification records are corrected under a separate federal procedure (28 CFR 16.34); see https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/background-checks. Source: ALEA CJIS Form 46, Application to Review/Challenge Alabama Criminal History Record (rev. 3-8-2023)

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