Alabama Expungement Laws: Eligibility, Process, and the 2021 REDEEMER Act
Alabama Expungement Laws: Eligibility, Process, and the 2021 REDEEMER Act
Alabama allows eligible people to expunge criminal records under Ala. Code § 15-27-1 et seq. (originally enacted 2014, significantly expanded in 2021 by the REDEEMER Act, Act 2021-286).
Information last verified on May 29, 2026. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed attorney.
Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Alabama state expungement law only. For a nationwide comparison, see Expungement Laws by State.
What Alabama's Expungement Law Covers
Alabama's expungement statute, codified at Ala. Code §§ 15-27-1 through 15-27-20, gives circuit courts authority to order records of criminal charges sealed and destroyed in certain circumstances. The law was first enacted in 2014 as a narrow remedy for people whose charges were never converted to convictions. Before 2021, only non-conviction outcomes qualified.
The Record Expungement Designed to Enhance Employment and Eliminate Recidivism (REDEEMER) Act, signed by Governor Kay Ivey on April 23, 2021, and effective July 1, 2021, fundamentally changed that framework. For the first time, Alabama permitted expungement of qualifying convictions. Ala. Code § 15-27-1 was amended to cover misdemeanor convictions meeting a 3-year waiting period, and § 15-27-2 was amended to allow pardoned felony convictions to be expunged 180 days after the Board of Pardons and Paroles issues a certificate of pardon.
The benefit of a granted expungement is significant: under § 15-27-9, a petitioner whose records are expunged is not required to disclose the charge or conviction on an application for employment, credit, or other type of application, subject to limited statutory exceptions for certain professional licenses and law enforcement.
Eligibility for Non-Conviction Records
A person whose charge did not result in a conviction may file a petition under § 15-27-1 (misdemeanors, violations, traffic violations, and municipal ordinances) or § 15-27-2 (felonies). The core non-conviction categories eligible for expungement include the following outcomes, each with its applicable waiting period after the disposition date:
- Dismissed with prejudice, nolle prossed without conditions, acquitted, or no-billed by a grand jury: 90 days (§ 15-27-1(a)(1), § 15-27-2(a)(1)).
- Dismissed after successful completion of a court-approved diversion program such as drug court, mental health court, or veterans court: 1 year (§ 15-27-1(a)(5), § 15-27-2(a)(5)).
- Dismissed without prejudice and not refiled: 1 year for misdemeanors; 5 years for felonies, with no intervening convictions (§ 15-27-1(a)(6), § 15-27-2(a)(6)).
During the applicable waiting period, the petitioner must not have been convicted of any other felony or disqualifying misdemeanor. There is no lifetime cap on expungements for non-conviction records.
Eligibility for Conviction Records Under the 2021 REDEEMER Act
Act 2021-286 added conviction-based expungement pathways to both § 15-27-1 and § 15-27-2, making Alabama one of a growing number of states to allow post-conviction record clearing.
Misdemeanor and violation convictions (§ 15-27-1): A person convicted of a misdemeanor offense, violation, traffic violation, or municipal ordinance violation may petition for expungement when all three of the following conditions are met: (1) all probation or parole requirements have been completed, including payment of all fines, costs, restitution, and other court-ordered amounts; (2) at least three years have passed since the date of conviction; and (3) the conviction is not for a violent offense, a sex offense, a crime of moral turpitude, or a serious traffic offense as defined in Article 9 of Chapter 5A of Title 32 (which includes DUI under § 32-5A-191, reckless driving, vehicular homicide, and boating under the influence). A petitioner may expunge a maximum of two misdemeanor or violation convictions over a lifetime.
Felony convictions (§ 15-27-2): A person convicted of a felony may petition for expungement only if all of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles has issued a certificate of pardon with full restoration of civil and political rights; (2) all civil and political rights forfeited by the conviction have been restored; (3) at least 180 days have passed since the issuance of the pardon certificate; and (4) the conviction is not for a violent offense under § 12-25-32, a sex offense under § 15-20A-5, an offense involving moral turpitude under § 17-3-30.1, or a serious traffic offense. A petitioner may expunge a maximum of one felony conviction over a lifetime.
Offenses Permanently Excluded from Expungement
Several categories of offenses cannot be expunged regardless of the passage of time or other circumstances:
- Violent offenses as defined by § 12-25-32 (including murder, manslaughter, robbery, kidnapping, and certain assaults).
- Sex offenses as defined by § 15-20A-5 (including rape, sodomy, sexual abuse, and child pornography offenses).
- Crimes of moral turpitude as defined by § 17-3-30.1 that constitute grounds for felony disenfranchisement.
- Serious traffic offenses under Article 9 of Chapter 5A of Title 32, including DUI (§ 32-5A-191), reckless driving (§ 32-5A-190), vehicular homicide (§ 32-5A-190.1), and boating under the influence (§ 32-5A-191.3). This exclusion applies to conviction expungements. Dismissed DUI charges that did not result in a conviction remain eligible for expungement under the non-conviction provisions of § 15-27-1(a).
- Offenses committed by a commercial vehicle operator at the time of the offense are also excluded under § 15-27-1.
Human trafficking victims who committed certain offenses during the period they were being trafficked may qualify for an exception to some of these exclusions under separate statutory provisions.
The Filing Process and Costs
Expungement petitions in Alabama are filed in the criminal division of the circuit court in the county where the original charges were brought. A petitioner must prepare and file the following documents:
- A completed Petition for Expungement of Records (Unified Judicial System Form CR-65, revised October 2023).
- A certified copy of the petitioner's criminal history record from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA).
- Certified copies of court records documenting the disposition.
- A sworn statement under penalty of perjury confirming the petitioner meets all statutory requirements and disclosing any prior expungement petitions.
The petitioner must serve copies of the petition on the district attorney's office and the arresting law enforcement agency. The district attorney has 45 days to file an objection and must notify any crime victim who has requested notification. If no objection is filed, the court rules on the merits of the petition without a hearing under § 15-27-5, though the court retains discretion to set a hearing in some circumstances.
Fees: Under § 15-27-4, the administrative filing fee is $500 per arrest event (a single fee covers all charges arising from the same arrest). Act 2024-407, effective October 1, 2024, confirmed this $500 amount and authorized courts to waive the fee upon a finding of indigency through an Affidavit of Substantial Hardship. The fee is in addition to any other court costs. All financial obligations including restitution, fines, and court-ordered fees must be paid in full before an order of expungement may be granted under § 15-27-12, absent an indigency finding.
Effect of an Expungement Order
When a court grants a petition for expungement under § 15-27-7, it orders all records of the charge or conviction in the possession of the clerk of court, ALEA, the arresting agency, and other specified agencies to be sealed or destroyed. ALEA must withdraw the underlying records from any national criminal records repository, including the FBI's National Crime Information Center.
Under § 15-27-9, after expungement a person is not required to disclose the existence of the expunged record when applying for employment, housing, credit, educational loans, or other purposes. However, the expunged record may still be considered in subsequent criminal proceedings and must be disclosed to certain licensing authorities in specific regulated professions. An expunged record is not the same as a record that never existed: law enforcement retains limited access and courts can consider expunged records in subsequent sentencing.
Disclaimer: This article summarizes Alabama expungement law as of May 29, 2026, and is provided for general informational purposes only. Alabama law, including Ala. Code §§ 15-27-1 through 15-27-20, is subject to legislative change. Individual eligibility depends on the specific facts of each case. Consult a licensed Alabama attorney before filing a petition for expungement.
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Sources
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RecordingLaw.com provides general legal information, not legal advice. Laws change; verify current statutes with an Alabama licensed attorney before taking action.