Search Mobile County Court Records
Begin at the Mobile County Thirteenth Judicial Circuit site. It sends state trial-court users to Just One Look for on-demand Alabama records, the free public docket, AlaPay for eligible fines, and AlaFile for electronic filing. Circuit Clerk Ashleigh Long is the official record keeper for Mobile County Circuit and District Court proceedings. Her office maintains civil, criminal, domestic, child-support, traffic, juvenile, and warrant records, but access rules vary by file type.
Use a case number when available. A setting date and last name work for the public docket. The free docket can confirm that a case is set, while fuller case information may require a Just One Look account and a fee. AlaFile is an e-filing system, not a general public case search. AlaPay is a payment route for state traffic tickets, selected municipal tickets, and disposed criminal cases with balances. Each tool serves a different task.
- Identify whether the case is Circuit, District, Municipal, Probate, or juvenile.
- Open the official court channel for that venue and choose docket, record, filing, or payment access.
- Enter the setting date and optional last name for the free Mobile County docket.
- Use Just One Look when the docket does not provide the needed state trial-court detail.
- Contact the correct clerk division for a copy, certification, older file, or missing electronic entry.
The official county 02 docket is the best free starting point for a known court date. Its own warning matters: some cases may not appear electronically. If the result seems incomplete, confirm it with the Circuit Clerk rather than treating a blank screen as proof that no Mobile County court record exists.
Mobile County Court Docket View
The official docket screen shows how narrow the free search is. View the Mobile County Alacourt docket source before using the fields below.
This screen supports date-based docket checks, not unrestricted access to every document in a case file.
Mobile County Record Search Fields
The inspected public docket displayed a required setting-date choice, an optional last-name box, and a search control. Leaving the name blank returns the full docket for the chosen date. That can help when spelling is uncertain, but the list may be long. Dates shown by the portal change with the live court calendar, so a searcher should use the current choices rather than rely on an old saved screen.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setting Date | Date choice | Yes | Select a date offered on the live docket. |
| Last Name | Text | No | Narrow the selected date; leave blank for the whole docket. |
| Search | Control | Implied | Submit the selected date and any name filter. |
For fuller access, the Circuit Clerk points to Just One Look. The official Alacourt Access source shows the separate on-demand system used for Alabama state trial court records.
The account and payment layer explains why a free docket result and a complete Mobile County case record are not the same product.
Mobile County Court Record Types
Mobile County state records reflect the court division. Circuit Civil files can include complaints, answers, service returns, motions, orders, judgments, garnishments, and executions. District Civil and Small Claims files cover lower-value civil claims and unlawful detainers. Circuit Criminal keeps felony case material, pleas, sentencing entries, postconviction petitions, writs, and appeals. District Criminal handles district criminal and traffic matters. Domestic Relations maintains divorce, custody, and support case files, subject to limits on private family data.
Probate Court is separate. Its official systems cover wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, marriage records, land and recording records, election records, and deep historical archives. City misdemeanors, ordinance violations, and municipal traffic cases belong to Municipal Court. A user who searches only the state docket could miss both categories. Juvenile matters route through the Youth Center and carry much tighter access limits than ordinary adult files.
- Circuit records: felony, major civil, domestic-relations, and lower-court appeal files.
- District records: district criminal, traffic, civil, small-claims, and unlawful-detainer matters.
- Municipal records: City of Mobile misdemeanors, ordinances, traffic matters, bonds, and delinquency dockets.
- Probate records: estates, wills, guardianship, marriage, recording, land, election, and archive material.
- Juvenile records: Youth Center matters available only as allowed by confidentiality rules.
What Mobile County Records Show
A public Mobile County court record may identify the venue, parties, filing or setting dates, and events that move a case forward. Official local pages mention bond hearings, defaults, summary judgments, subpoenas, writs, garnishments, executions, appeals, court notices, pleas, probation orders, and judgments. Financial entries can concern fines, fees, costs, restitution, bonds, balances, and recovery charges. A record may also point to documents that are not displayed for free.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case or ticket number | The identifier used by the court or payment path; exact formats vary. |
| Court or division | Circuit Criminal, Circuit Civil, District Criminal, District Civil, Domestic Relations, Municipal, Probate, or Youth Center. |
| Party name | Plaintiff, defendant, petitioner, or respondent when the name is public. |
| Filing or setting date | When a filing was received or a matter is set on a docket. |
| Docket event | A filing, notice, hearing, motion, order, judgment, writ, plea, or appeal event. |
| Financial entry | A fine, fee, cost, restitution amount, bond, balance, or payment status when shown. |
| Disposition | The outcome of a case or charge when available in the full record. |
A docket line is not always the document itself. The Mobile County court docket tracks events and settings, while the complete file can include the pleadings, orders, and other filed material behind those entries.
Mobile County Municipal Case Records
City of Mobile cases need a separate route. The official Municipal Court record search and request page links the city-supported case and docket search. To obtain documents, the court directs requesters to make the request and payment at the Municipal Payment window on the ground floor of Government Plaza. The Municipal Court itself sits on the second floor of the North Tower and handles city-limit misdemeanors, ordinance violations, and municipal traffic cases.
The city-linked search screen is documented as an official municipal access channel, though the search service is hosted outside the city domain. Use the City of Mobile source page as the trusted entry point.
The separate municipal screen reinforces that city cases are not part of the Circuit Clerk's state trial-court record set.
Mobile County City Record Requests
City public records outside a court case may use a separate city request system, but court documents should follow Municipal Court's stated process. The official City of Mobile court instructions distinguish that court-specific route.
Use that city request channel only for records within city custody, not as a substitute for Circuit Clerk, Probate Court, or Sheriff's Office requests.
Mobile County Court Records Access
Alabama Code Section 36-12-40 states the broad rule for inspection and copying of public records, subject to legal exceptions. Sections 36-12-41 and 36-12-43 through 36-12-46 address fees, definitions, timing, duties, procedures, and request forms. Court files also fall under the Alabama Rules of Court-Record Privacy and Confidentiality, effective January 1, 2025. Rule 104 recognizes access while excluding material made private by law, rule, or court order.
The record holder controls the practical request path. Ashleigh Long's Circuit Clerk divisions handle Circuit and District records. Probate Court handles probate and recording files. Municipal Court handles city cases. Sheriff Paul Burch's office holds sheriff, jail, warrant, and civil-process records, with its own Central Records request instructions. Those custody lines prevent a public-record request from being sent to an office that cannot fulfill it.
Note: Public access is broad, but an online search does not override sealing orders, confidentiality rules, or the custodian's identity checks.
Restricted Mobile County Court Records
Juvenile files are not handled like adult public cases. Adoption records, sealed files, expunged criminal matters, mental-health records, and confidential personal identifiers also face limits. Social Security numbers, protected financial account data, minor identifiers, and other private information may be removed from public view. A portal may therefore show a case or event without exposing every field or document.
Sealing and expungement are different. Rules 301 through 303 govern requests involving sealed court records. Alabama Code Title 15, Chapter 27 provides the criminal expungement process for eligible records. A person cannot erase a booking or court entry merely by asking the jail or sheriff to delete it. Eligibility, notice, fees, objections, and court review depend on the statute and the case. No dismissal should be assumed to qualify automatically.
Restricted does not always mean nonexistent. It means public access is limited by a statute, rule, or order, and authorized access may require proof of identity or court approval.
Mobile County Copies and Payments
For state files, contact the division that maintains the case. Government Plaza is at 205 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama 36644. Circuit Criminal is in Room C-927, North Tower, at (251) 574-8430. District Criminal is in Room 338, North Tower, at (251) 574-8511. Circuit Civil can be reached at (251) 574-8420, while District Civil and Small Claims uses (251) 574-8525. Office hours listed by the court are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, with criminal payment windows closing at 4:30 p.m.
District Civil lists $5 for copies of one through twenty pages, plus fifty cents for each extra page. Certification is $5. Its search fees are $10 for computerized records, $20 for paper records, and $25 for archived or microfilmed records. These are division-specific published amounts, not a promise that every Mobile County office charges the same fee. Call first for the exact file and copy type.
Mobile County Court Record Payments
AlaPay may be useful when the goal is payment rather than record retrieval. The official AlaPay source shows ticket, fine, and receipt paths.
The portal charges a four percent online service fee. Cash or money-order payment options at the proper courthouse may avoid that convenience fee.
Mobile County Circuit Clerk
Government Plaza
205 Government Street
Mobile, AL 36644
Main court: (251) 574-8806
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Print or write down the case number and room before visiting. Mobile County bars cell phones inside the courthouse, so a screenshot stored on a phone may not be available at the counter.