Expungement in Alabama: Who Qualifies to Clear a Criminal Record in 2026?
Updated: Oct 6
An Alabama charge can remain visible on a background check after dismissal, acquittal, or successful completion of a diversion program. Expungement is the court process that can protect qualifying government records from ordinary public use. It is not automatic, and it is not the same as a pardon.
Eligibility begins with the exact charge, final disposition, disposition date, prior record, and any payment or program-completion documents. “The case was dropped” is not enough information. Dismissal with prejudice, dismissal without prejudice, nolle prosequi, no bill, acquittal, youthful-offender adjudication, misdemeanor conviction, and pardoned felony conviction follow different statutory paths.
Which nonconviction records may qualify?
Alabama Code Section 15-27-1 addresses misdemeanors, violations, traffic violations, and municipal-ordinance violations. Section 15-27-2 addresses felony charges.
Both sections include routes for records involving:
a dismissal with prejudice after more than 90 days;
a grand-jury no bill after more than 90 days;
a not-guilty finding after more than 90 days;
an unconditional nolle prosequi after more than 90 days, if the charge has not been refiled;
a quashed indictment after the refiling period has expired or the prosecuting agency confirms it will not refile;
dismissal after successful completion of an approved diversion or specialty-court program, with a one-year waiting period; and
qualifying offenses committed while the petitioner was a human-trafficking victim, upon the proof specified by statute.
A dismissal without prejudice follows a longer route. For the lower-level offenses covered by Section 15-27-1, the current text requires more than one year since dismissal, no refiling, and no disqualifying conviction during the previous two years. For a felony under Section 15-27-2, the dismissal-without-prejudice period is more than five years, with no refiling and no disqualifying conviction during the previous five years. Minor traffic violations are excluded from those lookback provisions.
These are statutory categories, not a substitute for reading the case-action summary. A conditional dismissal, plea to a related charge, later refiling, multiple cases from one arrest, or an inaccurate disposition code can change the analysis.
Which convictions may qualify?
Alabama allows some conviction records to be expunged, but the category is narrower than “nonviolent record.”
Under Section 15-27-1(b), a person convicted of a misdemeanor, violation, traffic violation, or municipal-ordinance violation—and a person adjudged a youthful offender on an underlying offense in one of those categories—may petition if every statutory condition is met. Among other requirements, three years must have passed since conviction; probation or parole and court-ordered obligations must be completed, subject to the statute's indigency provisions; and the conviction cannot be a violent offense, sex offense, offense involving moral turpitude, or serious traffic offense as those terms are defined by the cross-referenced laws. Commercial-driver restrictions can also apply.
A felony conviction generally requires the route in Section 15-27-2(c): a certificate of pardon with restoration of civil and political rights from the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles, restoration of the affected rights, a 180-day waiting period after the certificate, and satisfaction of the statute's offense and commercial-driver restrictions. Limited human-trafficking provisions apply to specified offenses under Section 15-27-2(b).
Do not assume a pardon automatically expunges a record or that every pardoned felony is eligible. A pardon and an expungement are separate decisions by different bodies. Section 15-27-2.1 also limits the number of expungements available in certain categories. For example, the statute permits only one expungement under the pardoned-felony route, while treating all charges or convictions from the same arrest or incident as one expungement for those limits.
What records are required before filing?
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency's expungement page states that the court—not ALEA—grants expungement and instructs a petitioner to obtain a certified Alabama criminal-history record before filing. ALEA's expungement kit explains the fingerprint, identification, and certified-history request process.
Section 15-27-3 requires the petition to include:
a sworn statement that the statutory requirements are met;
disclosure of earlier expungement applications and grants;
a certified arrest record, disposition, or case-action summary from the appropriate source;
a certified official criminal record;
the particular charges to be considered; and
the agencies that arrested, booked, incarcerated, or detained the person on those charges.
The current Alabama court form CR-65 is a useful starting form, but it does not decide eligibility or collect missing proof. Compare the ALEA history with every municipal, district, and circuit record. Resolve aliases, case numbers, amended charges, and incomplete dispositions before asking a judge to enter an order that must identify records precisely.
Where is the petition filed, and who receives it?
The petition is filed in the criminal division of the circuit court in the county where the charge was filed. Section 15-27-3 requires service on the district attorney, the arresting law-enforcement agency, and the clerk of court for the jurisdiction involved. The district attorney and victim have 45 days to object under the statute.
Section 15-27-5, amended in 2025, requires a hearing no sooner than 30 days after an objection and permits the court to set a hearing even when no objection is filed. The court considers the nature and seriousness of the offense, circumstances, date, age, whether the event was isolated or repeated, contributing conditions, available supervision records, related pleas, rehabilitation, prior expungements, and other relevant matters.
The statute says there is no right to expungement and places the ruling within the court's discretion, while directing the court to grant a petition when reasonably satisfied that the petitioner has complied with and met the chapter's requirements. Eligibility therefore allows a person to petition; it does not guarantee an order.
What does filing cost?
Section 15-27-4 sets a $500 administrative filing fee in addition to other court costs or docket fees. Multiple charges from one arrest require one administrative fee; charges from multiple arrests require a fee for each arrest. A petitioner may submit an Affidavit of Substantial Hardship, and the statute directs the court to waive the administrative fee if it finds the petitioner indigent.
The certified criminal-history request has its own ALEA charge, currently listed as $25 in the agency kit. Verify all amounts and payment instructions when ordering records and filing; forms and local court costs can change.
Section 15-27-12 generally requires satisfaction of all terms and conditions, including restitution, interest, court costs, fines, and statutory fees, absent a court finding of indigency. Obtain written proof rather than relying on a remembered zero balance.
What an expungement does not erase
An expungement order changes access to qualifying government records; it does not make every copy of the history cease to exist. Sections 15-27-7 and 15-27-8 require records to be forwarded to ALEA and archived. The chapter preserves specified access for criminal-justice, prosecutorial, child-protection, financial-regulatory, civil-litigation, and other statutory purposes. Section 15-27-10 also allows listed agencies to maintain investigative files and evidence.
Private websites or background vendors may possess older data. The court order should be compared with later reports, but no lawyer can promise that every remote copy will disappear.
An expungement also does not itself restore firearm rights. Section 15-27-15 says an expungement order does not entitle a person to ship, transport, possess, or receive a firearm; it addresses restoration through a certificate of pardon with restoration of civil and political rights.
Frequently asked questions
Does dismissal automatically remove the arrest?
No. A qualifying disposition and waiting period may allow a petition, but the petitioner still must obtain records, file in the correct court, serve the required parties, and receive an order.
Can a felony conviction be expunged merely because it was nonviolent?
No. The current felony-conviction route generally requires a qualifying pardon with restored rights, a waiting period, and satisfaction of every exclusion and procedural requirement.
Can the judge hold a hearing if nobody objects?
Yes. The 2025 amendment to Section 15-27-5 permits the court to set a hearing even without a prosecution or victim objection.
Audit the record before preparing the petition
Elliott Owen Lipinsky practices criminal defense from Selma and teaches criminal procedure. The firm reviews the certified history, court file, disposition, offense definitions, payment records, prior expungements, and service requirements before recommending a filing. Learn about Alabama criminal defense or request a case evaluation without sending confidential records through the initial form.
Reviewed October 6, 2026. This article provides general information, not legal advice. Reading it or contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Representation begins only after the firm accepts the matter in writing. Do not send criminal histories, confidential information, or time-critical material through a website form.
