Alabama Ten Codes: Meanings, Plain Language Shift, and Legality

Alabama ten codes are numeric radio shorthand that state, county, and city law enforcement officers use to communicate quickly on the air. A “10-4” acknowledges a message; a “10-50” reports a traffic accident. There is no statewide official list, so the exact meaning of a given code can shift from one Alabama agency to the next, and many departments are moving away from codes altogether in favor of plain English.

Common Ten Codes Used by Alabama Law Enforcement

The Alabama Department of Public Safety uses a set that overlaps heavily with the original APCO codes, with local additions. Below are the signals you are most likely to hear across Alabama channels, grouped by how they get used. Where the meaning meaningfully differs between departments, that is noted.

Routine and Administrative

10-4: Acknowledged, message received.
10-6: Busy, do not contact unless urgent.
10-7: Out of service, not available for calls. Alabama DPS distinguishes this from 10-10, which means out of service but still available if needed.
10-8: In service and available for calls.
10-9: Repeat your last transmission.
10-12: Stand by and remain alert for further details.
10-14: Report the current time.
10-18: Any messages waiting for this unit?
10-19: Return to the station.

Emergency and Priority

10-0: Use caution; details not yet known.
10-3: Stop all non-essential radio traffic, typically broadcast when the channel needs to stay open for an unfolding emergency.
10-17: Urgent; rush to complete your current assignment.
10-33: Emergency traffic only. All other units clear the channel. Some departments treat this as a general emergency alert; others reserve it specifically for an officer in danger.
10-80: Pursuit in progress.
10-99: Wanted or stolen individual or vehicle. Some Alabama departments use this to flag an active hit from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database.

Traffic and Field

10-1: Unable to copy the transmission; changing location for better signal.
10-2: Signal is clear and readable.
10-5: Relay a message. Alabama DPS subcodes specify whether the relay involves a person, property, prisoner, or documents.
10-13: Report weather and road conditions.
10-15: Subject or item in custody or possession.
10-28: Request vehicle registration information.
10-50: Traffic accident. Agencies often append details, such as “PD” for property damage only or “PI” for personal injury.
10-55: Suspected intoxicated driver.

Departments add and drop codes freely. A rural west Alabama sheriff’s office might carry codes for livestock on the roadway that a Birmingham city unit would never use.

Why the Same Code Can Mean Different Things

Alabama has no statute requiring agencies to use a uniform ten code set. Each department writes its own communications policy, so a “10-32” at one agency can mean something entirely different twenty miles down the highway. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) publishes guidelines, but adoption at the local level is voluntary.

The variation causes real friction during joint operations. When a county deputy and a city officer from a neighboring jurisdiction respond to the same incident, a misunderstood code can delay backup or misdirect resources. Multi-agency events like severe weather response, large searches, and interstate pursuits are the highest-risk scenarios for that kind of confusion.

The Shift Toward Plain Language

After September 11, 2001, the inability of police, fire, and emergency medical teams to communicate across agency lines became a national concern. The National Incident Management System (NIMS), managed by FEMA, now requires plain language during any multi-agency or multi-jurisdiction event. Starting in fiscal year 2006, federal preparedness grant funding was made contingent on agencies using plain language in incidents involving responders from different organizations.

Plain language means saying “send an ambulance” instead of a numeric code the neighboring county’s dispatcher might read differently. The requirement does not ban ten codes for everyday, single-agency operations. An Alabama city police department can still use its internal codes during routine patrol. But when a tornado triggers a regional response and state troopers, local police, volunteer fire departments, and National Guard units share a command channel, everyone is expected to speak in clear English.

Some Alabama departments have gone further and dropped ten codes entirely for daily use, reasoning that training officers in two systems creates unnecessary risk. Others, particularly agencies with veteran-heavy rosters, have kept them. The result is a patchwork: some Alabama channels sound like plain conversation, others still sound like alphabet soup.

Is It Legal to Listen to Alabama Police Radio?

Federal law generally allows you to listen to unencrypted police radio. Under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, intercepting radio communications from law enforcement systems that are “readily accessible to the general public” is not a crime.¹ That exception covers a traditional police scanner picking up unencrypted analog or digital transmissions.

Alabama’s own law is stricter. Section 13A-10-16 of the Alabama Criminal Code makes it a Class C felony to possess or use radio equipment capable of receiving law enforcement frequencies without written permission from the agency head, if the possession is connected to interfering with public safety communications.² The statute carves out exceptions for utility workers acting within their duties, wireless carrier employees, and anyone holding written authorization from the relevant agency. Equipment used in violation can be seized and either destroyed or forfeited to the arresting jurisdiction.

Passively listening to an unencrypted broadcast on a consumer scanner at home sits within the federal exception. Using radio equipment to monitor law enforcement channels while actively interfering with operations, or doing so in connection with criminal activity, is where Alabama’s felony statute bites. If you carry a scanner in your vehicle, confirm your use does not run afoul of Section 13A-10-16.

Encryption Is Closing the Door Anyway

The legal question is increasingly academic because many Alabama agencies are moving to encrypted digital radio. The Decatur Police Department, for example, transitioned to fully encrypted communications and described the move as part of a statewide trend among Alabama law enforcement.³ Encrypted transmissions cannot be picked up by consumer scanners regardless of legality. Agencies that encrypt generally say transparency is preserved through public records requests and press releases rather than live radio access.

Attempting to decrypt encrypted police communications is a separate federal offense under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which prohibits selling, distributing, or using tools designed to break encryption on protected communications.

The FCC does prohibit encryption on designated interoperability and mutual-aid calling channels, so those shared channels remain open even as day-to-day traffic goes dark.⁴

Transmitting on or Jamming Police Frequencies

Listening is one thing. Broadcasting is another. Alabama treats interference with public safety communication as a Class C felony under Section 13A-10-16, which covers knowingly transmitting on law enforcement frequencies without authorization, jamming signals, or otherwise disrupting reception of public safety messages.²

Federal law layers on top of that. Under 47 U.S.C. § 333, willfully or maliciously interfering with any licensed radio communication is prohibited.⁵ The FCC enforces this provision and can seize equipment, impose civil fines, and refer cases for criminal prosecution.⁶ Operating on public safety frequencies without an FCC license draws enforcement action even without any deliberate interference.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2511 – Interception and Disclosure of Wire, Oral, or Electronic Communications Prohibited
2
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-10-16 – Interference with Public Safety Communication
3
City of Decatur, AL. Decatur Police Department Transitions to Encrypted Radio Communications
4
Federal Communications Commission. Public Safety Licensing
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 333 – Willful or Malicious Interference
6
Federal Communications Commission. Unauthorized Radio Operation