Alabama: Adult Non-Conviction Arrests (AL-NC-4)

Records relating to a charge for a felony criminal offense can be expunged by the court five years after the charge is dismissed without prejudice, so long as the charge has not been refiled and the petitioner has not been convicted of any offense other than minor traffic violations during that time. Code of Ala. § 15-27-2(a)(7).

Record Detail(s)

Charges resolved in favor of defendant

Previous Conviction Disqualifying

No statutory language

Mandatory / Discretionary

Discretionary

Hearing

Yes, if objection filed

Clearance Process

Petition-based

Remedy

Expunge

Ineligible Category or Citation

There is no statutory language regarding ineligible offenses.

Procedure General

The petition must be filed in the criminal division of the circuit court in the county in which the charges were filed. For the specific procedure, see Code of Ala. §§ 15-27-1 et seq. The court shall have the sole discretion over the number of cases that can be expunged after the first case is expunged. Code of Ala. § 15-27-5(c).

Fees

A $500 non-waivable administrative filing fee is required in addition to any court or docket fees. Code of Ala. § 15-27-4. A petitioner may apply for indigent status. If the court finds the petitioner is indigent, the court shall waive the filing fee. For more information about this procedure, see Code of Ala. § 15-27-4(c).

Effect

The court orders the expungement of records from agencies. Code of Ala. § 15-27-6(a). The proceedings regarding the charges are deemed never to have occurred. The court and other agencies will reply that no record exists in response to any inquiry. The petitioner need not disclose the fact of the record on an application for employment, credit, or other type of application. However, the petitioner must disclose the record to any government regulatory or licensing agency, any utility and its agents or affiliates, or any bank or other financial institution. These agencies have the right to inspect the expunged record after filing notice with the court. Code of Ala. § 15-27-6(b). Expunged records are not transmitted to the FBI, and the state criminal justice information center requests the withdrawal of records previously transmitted to the FBI that were later expunged. Code of Ala. § 15-27-7. Unauthorized, intentional, and malicious release of expunged records is a Class B misdemeanor. Code of Ala. § 15-27-16.

Forms

An expungement form is available here.

Waiting Periods

The petition can be filed five years after the charge is dismissed without prejudice.

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