Alabama Expungement: Eligibility, Filing, and Judge’s Discretion

Alabama expungement is a court process under Chapter 15-27 of the Alabama Code that can remove certain arrests, dismissed charges, and a limited set of convictions from public criminal records. It is not automatic. You file a petition, pay a $500 filing fee, and a circuit court judge decides. Eligibility turns on three things: whether the case ended in a conviction, whether the offense falls into an excluded category, and how much time has passed.

Who Can Petition

Alabama treats four situations differently. Find yours before anything else.

Misdemeanor Charge, No Conviction

You can petition 90 days after the charge was dismissed with prejudice, no-billed by a grand jury, ended in a not-guilty verdict, or was nolle prossed without conditions and not refiled. The same 90-day rule applies if an indictment was quashed and either the statute of limitations has expired or the prosecution has confirmed it will not refile.¹

If the charge was dismissed after you completed drug court, mental health court, a diversion program, or veteran’s court, you can petition one year after program completion. If the dismissal was without prejudice, you must wait more than one year, the charge cannot have been refiled, and you must have no convictions for any offense (excluding minor traffic violations) in the previous two years.¹

Misdemeanor Conviction

Actual convictions are harder to clear. You must have finished all probation or parole, paid every fine, cost, and restitution amount, and waited at least three years from the date of conviction. The conviction cannot be for a violent offense under Section 12-25-32, a sex offense under Section 15-20A-5, a moral turpitude offense under Section 17-3-30.1, or a serious traffic offense (including commercial motor vehicle offenses committed while holding a CDL). One narrow exception exists for felonies later reclassified as misdemeanors.¹

The statute does not list eligible crimes. It lists ineligible categories. Anything outside those categories potentially qualifies, so the question is not “Is my offense on an approved list?” but “Does my offense fall into any excluded group?”

Felony Charge, No Conviction

The rules track the misdemeanor side, with a longer wait for one path. You can petition 90 days after a dismissal with prejudice, a grand jury no-bill, an acquittal, or a nolle prosequi that was not refiled, and the same applies when an indictment is quashed and the statute of limitations has run or the prosecution has confirmed it will not refile. Charges dismissed after drug court, mental health court, diversion, or veteran’s court are eligible one year after program completion, and expungement can be built into the program as a condition.²

For a felony dismissed without prejudice, you must wait more than five years, the charge cannot have been refiled, and you must have no convictions of any kind (excluding minor traffic violations) during that entire five-year period.² That is four extra years and a longer clean-record requirement compared with the misdemeanor version.

Felony Conviction

Expunging a felony conviction is the hardest path and requires an extra step before you can even file. You must first obtain a Certificate of Pardon with Restoration of Civil and Political Rights from the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. All forfeited civil and political rights must be fully restored, and at least 180 days must pass from the date the pardon was issued before you can petition. The same exclusions that block misdemeanor convictions apply here: violent offenses, sex offenses, moral turpitude offenses, and serious traffic offenses cannot be expunged.²

Offenses That Cannot Be Expunged

The statute defines exclusions by cross-reference rather than by listing crimes:

Violent offenses under Section 12-25-32, which covers crimes like murder, manslaughter, assault, kidnapping, robbery, and domestic violence.
Sex offenses under Section 15-20A-5, which includes offenses requiring sex offender registration such as rape, sexual abuse, and crimes involving child exploitation.
Moral turpitude offenses under Section 17-3-30.1, including bribery, embezzlement, and other offenses involving dishonesty or corruption.

These exclusions apply to convictions. If you were charged with one of these offenses but never convicted, you can still petition under the non-conviction rules, because those rules apply to any charge regardless of the offense type.²

Exception for Human Trafficking Victims

Alabama allows people who committed offenses while being trafficked to petition even for charges or convictions that would otherwise be ineligible. You must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that you were a trafficking victim, that you committed the offense during the period you were trafficked, and that you would not have committed the offense otherwise.¹ The exception covers both misdemeanors and felonies. For felony convictions, it is limited to three specific violent offenses: first-degree promoting prostitution, third-degree domestic violence, and production of obscene matter involving a minor.²

Youthful Offender Adjudications

If you were adjudged a youthful offender and the underlying charge was a misdemeanor, violation, traffic violation, or municipal ordinance violation, you can petition under the same rules that apply to misdemeanor convictions: sentence completed, three years since conviction, and none of the excluded offense categories.¹ Alabama may have separate provisions for juvenile record sealing outside Chapter 15-27, so an attorney is worth consulting if your case does not fit neatly here.

How to File

You file in the criminal division of the circuit court in the county where the original charge was filed. Alabama uses a standard form, CR-65, available through the Alabama Administrative Office of Courts.³ The petition must include a sworn statement explaining why expungement is warranted, along with two supporting documents.

The first is a certified copy of your criminal history record from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA). It costs $25, paid by cashier’s check or money order made out to the ALEA Records and Identification Division. You submit a completed request form, a set of fingerprints taken by a law enforcement agency on an FBI-approved card, and a copy of your photo ID. Processing takes 5 to 10 business days.⁴ The second is a certified case action summary from the court that handled your case. The CR-65 form recommends getting certified copies from all clerks who may hold related records, including municipal, district, and circuit court clerks.⁵

The administrative filing fee is $500 per petition, and it must be paid before the court will issue an expungement order. If you cannot afford the fee upfront, the court can consider your financial situation and set up a payment plan, but the full $500 has to be paid before the order is granted.⁶ The $500 does not include the $25 ALEA fee or the cost of certified case action summaries.

After filing, you must serve notice on the district attorney, the arresting law enforcement agency, and any alleged victims. The district attorney then has 45 days to file an objection. If no one objects, the court may grant the petition without a hearing, though the judge is not required to.

The Hearing and the Judge’s Discretion

If the district attorney or another party objects, the case goes to a hearing before a circuit court judge. You present evidence that expungement serves the interests of justice, which usually means showing concrete harm from the record (lost jobs, denied housing) and evidence of rehabilitation. The opposing side can raise the seriousness of the original charge, your criminal history, or public safety concerns.

Alabama law is explicit that there is no right to expungement and that a request may be denied at the court’s sole discretion.⁷ Meeting every statutory requirement gets you in front of the judge; it does not guarantee an order.

What an Expungement Actually Does

If the court grants your petition, the record is removed from public access. Employer and landlord background checks will not reveal the expunged charge or conviction, and you can legally state in most situations that the arrest or charge never occurred.

The record is not erased. Law enforcement agencies, prosecuting attorneys, and certain state agencies retain access for purposes like future criminal investigations. Courts can unseal records if you are charged with another crime. Some professional licensing boards, particularly in education, healthcare, and law enforcement, may still request access when evaluating applicants for sensitive positions.

Firearms Are a Separate Question

Expungement by itself does not restore your right to possess a firearm. Alabama law specifically states that an expungement order does not entitle you to ship, transport, possess, or receive a firearm.⁸ Restoring firearm rights requires a separate Certificate of Pardon with Restoration of Civil and Political Rights from the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. If you already obtained that pardon as part of qualifying for felony conviction expungement, your firearm rights may already be covered, but confirm directly with ALEA or an attorney.

If Your Petition Is Denied

Denial is not permanent. You can appeal, and you can file again in the future. Because the judge has sole discretion, a second petition needs something new: more time without any legal trouble, additional evidence of rehabilitation, or a stronger showing of concrete harm from the record. If you were denied, an attorney can help you identify what the court found lacking and whether refiling has a realistic chance.

1
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 15-27-1 – Petition to Expunge Records – Misdemeanor Offense, Violation, Traffic Violation, or Municipal Ordinance Violation
2
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 15-27-2 – Petition to Expunge Records – Felony Offense
3
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Criminal Record Expungement
4
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Criminal Record Expungement Kit
5
Alabama Administrative Office of Courts. Petition for Expungement of Records – Form CR-65
6
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 15-27-4 – Administrative Filing Fee; Indigency
7
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 15-27-5 – Objections; Hearing
8
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 15-27-15 – Applicability – Right to Ship, Transport, Possess, or Receive a Firearm