How to Search Dale County Court Records
Dale County does not run a stand-alone county case search for Circuit Court and District Court files. State trial court records start with Alacourt Access / Just One Look, Alabama's paid public access system for criminal, civil, small claims, traffic, domestic relations, and child-support records. Daily and near-term settings can also be checked through the Dale County docket search, which is tied to county location 58.
The first task is to route the record. Circuit and District Court files go through the Dale County Circuit Clerk and AOC systems. Probate, marriage certificates, recording, guardianship, conservatorship, adoptions, and commitments go through the Dale County Probate Office. Municipal traffic or ordinance cases may stay with the city court that issued the citation. Federal cases use PACER or the federal court system.
- Decide whether the matter is a state trial court case, probate matter, municipal case, jail record, state criminal-history file, or federal case.
- For Circuit Court or District Court records, open Alacourt Access and choose a name search or case-number search.
- For hearing dates, check the Dale County docket page and select a setting date before adding a last name if needed.
- For document images or certified copies, use the paid access path or contact the Dale County Circuit Clerk.
- For older, sealed, confidential, or non-electronic files, call or write the official custodian before visiting.
The Alacourt Access screenshot comes from the official Alacourt public access portal, the main statewide lookup path for Dale County trial court records.
That portal is useful for case details, but it does not replace the clerk's office when a certified copy, sealed-record question, or non-electronic file is involved.
Dale County Court System
Dale County is part of Alabama's Thirty-Third Judicial Circuit, which includes Dale and Geneva Counties. The circuit was created by Act No. 644 on November 20, 1959. Circuit Court is the general trial court for felony criminal cases, many domestic-relations matters, higher civil cases, and some appeals from lower courts. District Court handles many misdemeanor, traffic, small-claims, lower civil, juvenile, and child-support matters.
Probate Court is separate from the Circuit Clerk's trial-court record system. It handles estates, wills, administrations, guardianships, conservatorships, adoptions, involuntary commitments, marriage certificate recording, and land-record related functions. Municipal courts in Ozark, Daleville, Level Plains, Midland City, Newton, Pinckard, and other cities or towns may hold records for municipal ordinance and city traffic cases.
The official Dale County Thirty-Third Judicial Circuit homepage identifies the local state court site and gives the courthouse and clerk contact path.
The page is the local AOC entry point for court divisions, traffic court, jury service, judges, forms, and Circuit Clerk information.
| Court or Office | Role | Records Routed There |
|---|---|---|
| Dale County Circuit Court | General trial court | Felony, higher civil, domestic, appeals, circuit orders |
| Dale County District Court | Limited trial court | Traffic, misdemeanor, small claims, juvenile, child support |
| Dale County Probate Court | Probate and county probate functions | Estates, guardianship, conservatorship, marriage certificates, recording |
| Municipal Courts | City-level courts | Municipal ordinance and city traffic cases |
| Federal Courts | Federal jurisdiction | Federal civil, criminal, bankruptcy, and appellate records |
Dale County Courthouse Contacts
The main court building is the Dale County Courthouse on Court Square in Ozark. The Circuit Clerk's mailing address is P.O. Box 1350, Ozark, AL 36361, and the clerk phone is (334) 774-5003. The Probate Office is also listed at 100 Court Square, Ozark, AL 36360, with a separate mailing address and phone. County administrative records, when not court records, are routed through Dale County Commission channels.
Dale County Circuit Clerk
P.O. Box 1350
Ozark, AL 36361
(334) 774-5003
8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday
Dale County Probate Office
100 Court Square
Ozark, AL 36360
(334) 774-2754
Monday-Thursday, 7:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Dale County Commission
202 South AL-123
Ozark, AL 36360
(334) 774-6262
Monday-Thursday, 6:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
The Dale County Commission homepage is a county-government source, not the court case search system.
Use that office for county administrative open-records issues, while court case records should stay with the Circuit Clerk or Probate Office.
Dale County Court Record Types
Dale County court records include more than one kind of file. Civil records may show complaints, answers, motions, garnishments, judgments, executions, settlements, and appeal notices. Criminal records may show charges, warrants, bond, pleas, motions, hearing settings, judgments, sentences, fines, costs, and case-action summaries. Domestic records can include divorce, custody, child support, protection orders, modifications, and enforcement filings.
Probate records are a separate branch of local record access. The Dale County Probate Office publishes services for Probate Court, recording, marriage certificates, notary appointments, conservation, business licenses, driver-license renewal or replacement, elections, hunting and fishing, guardianships, conservatorships, adoptions, and involuntary commitments.
That probate source is especially important when the record sought is an estate, guardianship, conservatorship, marriage certificate, or recorded property instrument rather than a Circuit Court case.
- Criminal records show the court case after charges are filed and may include plea, disposition, sentence, costs, and bond history.
- Civil records show lawsuits, small claims, judgments, garnishments, orders, and appeal notices.
- Domestic records show divorce, custody, support, protection-order, contempt, modification, or enforcement activity.
- Probate records show estate, will, guardianship, conservatorship, name-change, legitimation, adoption, and commitment filings when public.
- Traffic records show citation, court, plea, disposition, fine, court date, and payment status.
What Dale County Court Records Show
A Dale County court record may show the court, county, case type, filing date, parties, attorneys, assigned judge, status, hearing dates, docket entries, orders, judgment, sentence, financial history, and document images if available. The exact fields depend on whether the matter is civil, criminal, traffic, domestic, probate, or municipal. A docket list is not the same as the full file.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case number | The court identifier for the file, with format varying by case type and court. |
| Case type | Criminal, civil, domestic, child support, traffic, juvenile, probate, or small claims. |
| Settings | Hearing, trial, arraignment, plea, docket call, review, or sentencing dates. |
| Docket entries | Filings, summons, service returns, motions, orders, continuances, hearings, and judgments. |
| Financial fields | Fees, costs, fines, restitution, bond, payments, refunds, and balances. |
| Restrictions | Sealed, expunged, juvenile, adoption, mental-health, or protected information limits. |
- Disposition
- The outcome of a case or charge.
- Case action summary
- A chronological court history of filings, settings, orders, and outcomes.
- Expungement
- A court process that can remove eligible records from public access.
- Sealing
- A limit on public access while the record remains available for authorized use.
Dale County Court Records Access Laws
Alabama public-records law gives residents a right to inspect and copy public records unless another law restricts access. For Dale County court records, that broad rule works with court-specific limits, AOC access systems, clerk custody, and confidentiality statutes. A public civil or criminal case may be searchable, while juvenile, adoption, mental-health, sealed, expunged, and protected-address material may be withheld or redacted.
The official Code of Alabama search landing page is published by the Alabama Legislature.
Statutes should be read with the current court order, clerk instructions, and record type because access can change when a case is sealed or expunged.
Key Statutes:
Ala. Code 36-12-40 gives residents the right to inspect and copy public writings unless another law applies.
Ala. Code 36-12-41 addresses copies of public records by public officers.
Ala. Code 12-15-133 treats juvenile court records and reports about children as confidential unless an exception applies.
Ala. Code 15-27-1 covers expungement for eligible misdemeanors, violations, traffic violations, and municipal ordinance matters.
Dale County Court Records Fees
Online and office costs vary by system. Alacourt Access lists paid name and case-number searches and separate document-image charges. Probate fees are published by the Dale County Probate Office, with different amounts for estate, guardianship, conservatorship, adoption, name-change, commitment, and marriage-certificate services. If a fee affects a legal deadline or certified copy, call the office first.
| Item | Published Amount or Note |
|---|---|
| Alacourt Access name search | $9.99 |
| Alacourt Access case-number search | $9.99 |
| Alacourt document images | $5.00 for first 20 pages, then $0.50 per page |
| Alacourt case monitoring | District case $19.99; Circuit case $29.99 |
| Marriage certificate recording | $77.00 |
| Probate wills or administrations | $57.00 |
| Commitment filing | $140.00 |
Restricted Dale County Court Records
Several Dale County record categories are not treated as ordinary public lookup records. Juvenile court and juvenile law-enforcement records are protected by Alabama statutes. Adoption records are generally sealed or restricted. Involuntary civil commitments involve mental-health privacy. Protection From Abuse cases may delete or protect a plaintiff's address, phone number, or related location information from filings.
Expungement is filed in the criminal division of the circuit court where the charge was filed. For Dale County charges, that local filing point is the Dale County Circuit Court and Circuit Clerk. The state petition instructions require, at minimum, a certified record tied to the charge from the local court or law-enforcement agency and a certified ALEA criminal record. A granted petition can restrict public access, but some agencies may retain access for statutory purposes.
Note: If an online search misses a case, contact the custodian before assuming the record does not exist.
Dale County Sheriff and Jail Records
Jail and booking records are not the same as court records. The Dale County Sheriff's Office app store listings advertise Inmate Information and Submit a Tip features. The research did not locate a full public county jail roster on the sheriff website, so inmate lookup may depend on the app, sheriff contact, or state and federal custody tools. State-prison inmates are searched through ADOC, while federal custody is searched through the Bureau of Prisons.
The Google Play and Apple App Store listings for the Dale County Sheriff's Office app are assigned to the traffic page in the manifest, but the sheriff app is relevant here because it provides the local app-only inmate information channel. The fuller jail lookup discussion belongs on Dale County inmate records.
Dale County Federal Court Records
Dale County federal cases do not appear through the Circuit Clerk, Probate Office, or Alacourt as county trial court files. Federal civil and criminal cases are handled by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. Bankruptcy cases are handled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Alabama, and appeals may move to the Eleventh Circuit.
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama is the federal district court source for Dale County federal cases.
Use the federal court site for court information, then use CM/ECF or PACER when a docket or document search is needed.
The PACER federal court records system is the national access path for many federal dockets and documents.
PACER registration may be required, and fees or exemptions are handled under federal court rules rather than Dale County court policy.
Dale County Court History
Dale County's current circuit structure dates to 1959, when the Thirty-Third Judicial Circuit was formed from Dale and Geneva Counties. Before that change, Dale County was in the old Third Circuit with Barbour County, and Geneva County was paired with Covington County. The current courthouse was built in 1968 by Madison Construction Company and updated in 2015.
The official court history also notes that Dale County is named for Samuel Dale. That local history matters for records research because older court records, archived filings, and past jurisdiction changes may require a clerk contact instead of a modern electronic search. Recent online systems make many current records easier to find, but they do not turn every older or restricted file into a public web record.
Dale County Court Records FAQ
Where do Dale County court records start?
State trial court records start with Alacourt Access and the Dale County Circuit Clerk. Probate and marriage certificate records start with the Dale County Probate Office. Municipal citations may require the city court, and federal records use PACER or the Middle District of Alabama.
Are Dale County docket dates free?
The Dale County docket search page provides setting-date options and an optional last-name field. Its disclaimer says some cases may not appear electronically, so the Circuit Clerk remains the fallback when a setting is unclear.
Who keeps certified court copies?
The office that keeps the record should be used for certified copies. For Circuit and District Court cases, that is the Circuit Clerk. For probate filings, marriage certificate recording, and related probate matters, use the Probate Office.
Can juvenile records be searched online?
Public pages should not treat Dale County juvenile records as broadly searchable. Alabama law protects juvenile court and juvenile law-enforcement records unless a statute, party right, agency role, or court order allows access.