Search Baldwin County Court Records

How to Search Baldwin County Court Records

Baldwin County court records split across two main systems. Circuit and District Court records go through the Circuit Clerk under the Twenty-Eighth Judicial Circuit. Probate Court records go through the Probate Office and its DuProcess iQuery portal. Most people searching for a criminal case, civil suit, divorce filing, traffic matter, or child support record should start with Alacourt ACCESS at pa.alacourt.com. People searching for a will, estate, guardianship, name change, or adoption should use the Probate portal instead.

Before you start, gather what you know. A case number gets you directly to one record. A full name works for name searches but can return multiple people with the same name. Knowing the approximate year the case was filed helps narrow results. For mail and in-person requests, you also need your own contact information and a payment method ready. The Circuit Clerk only accepts cash, money orders, or cashier's checks for in-person record fees.

1. Go to Alacourt ACCESS (pa.alacourt.com) and choose either a name search or a case-number search. Both cost $9.99 per search. Pay by credit or debit card before results are returned.
2. Review the case detail report. It includes court setting dates, court actions and rulings, party information, the case action summary, and financial costs. Document images cost $5.00 for the first 20 pages and $0.50 per page after that.
3. If the record is older, archived, or on microfilm, or if you need a certified copy, download and complete the Circuit Clerk record-search request form. Mail or fax it to the Bay Minette clerk's office. Allow two weeks for a response.
4. For Probate Court records (wills, estates, guardianship, name changes), go to the DuProcess iQuery portal and search by last name, first name, case type, or case number. This portal is free and open to the public.
5. If you need records from federal court (criminal prosecutions, civil cases, or bankruptcy), those are not held by the Baldwin Circuit Clerk. Use PACER for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, which covers Baldwin County.

The Alacourt ACCESS Public Portal

The official screenshot below shows the Alacourt ACCESS landing page, which is the state of Alabama's public trial-court records portal. Visit pa.alacourt.com to view pricing, search options, and the report contents list before you pay. The portal covers criminal records, civil records, small claims records, state traffic records, domestic relations, and child support for courts across Alabama, including Baldwin County.

Case monitoring is also available for people who need ongoing updates. A District Court case costs $19.99 for lifetime email notifications. A Circuit Court case costs $29.99. That option is useful if you are watching a case with future hearing dates or if you want to know when a judgment is entered. The search fields on the portal are straightforward, but the table below maps out exactly what the system asks for.

Subscribers who need bulk access or frequent searches can also use the login portal at v2.alacourt.com. That system requires a Customer ID, User ID, and Password issued through a subscriber account. The screenshot below shows the subscriber login page for reference.

The Circuit Clerk Records Request Form

Some records cannot be pulled through Alacourt. Archived and microfilmed files, older cases not digitized, and any request that needs a certified copy with the clerk's official seal require the paper request form. Circuit Clerk Brenda Ganey's office accepts requests by mail and by fax. The fax number is 251-937-0277. Mail goes to 312 Courthouse Square, Suite 10, Bay Minette, AL 36507. The form says to allow two weeks for processing.

There are a few things worth knowing before you send the form. A search fee applies even if no record is found, and the clerk does not issue refunds. The office handles only Baldwin County Circuit and District Court records. Federal court records, records from other counties or states, and municipal court records are outside the scope of what the Circuit Clerk can provide. If you need a federal record, you need PACER. If you need a record from a Baldwin municipality, contact that city directly.

The fee schedule for Circuit Clerk requests is set by the state and applies to all Baldwin County records requests through this office.

Probate Court Case Records in Baldwin County

The Baldwin County Probate Court is separate from the Circuit and District courts. Judge Harry M. D'Olive, Jr. presides over the Probate Court, which handles wills, estates, guardianship, conservatorship, adoptions, involuntary commitments, name changes, legitimation, and related probate filings. The Probate Court also oversees the Recording Division, which indexes and preserves permanent public documents such as real-estate records and marriage certificates. If the case you need is a will or estate rather than a lawsuit or criminal case, the Probate portal is your starting point, not Alacourt.

The screenshot below shows the Twenty-Eighth Judicial Circuit home page, which connects users to both the Circuit Clerk and the Probate Office for Baldwin County. The official circuit home page lists courthouse addresses, clerk contact details, and links to each court division.

For free public Probate case lookups, use the DuProcess iQuery portal. You can search by last name, first name, case type, or case number. The table below lists the fields found on a typical Probate case detail pane after a search returns a result.

Historic probate records from 1889 to 1944 are held by Baldwin County Archives at 305 East 2nd Street, Bay Minette, AL 36507, phone (251) 580-1897. The Archives maintains a collection guide for Probate Court records from that period, including index books, miscellaneous fee books, and historical court materials. For research into older estate or probate matters, the Archives is the right place to start rather than the live DuProcess system.

Types of Baldwin County Court Records

The Baldwin County court system produces several distinct categories of records depending on which court handled the matter. Circuit Court and District Court records are held by Circuit Clerk Brenda Ganey. Probate Court records are held by the Probate Office. Federal cases are held by the U.S. District Court in Mobile. Knowing which court has your record saves time.

The Circuit Court is the court of general jurisdiction. It handles felony prosecutions, civil cases over $20,000, family-law matters such as divorce and child custody, and appeals from District, Probate, Municipal, and some administrative courts. Six circuit judges sit in Baldwin County: Hon. J. Clark Stankoski (presiding), Hon. Byron Brackin, Hon. Laurie A. Hoyt, Hon. Karol J. Kemp, Hon. Ashley Siebert, and Hon. Scott P. Taylor. The District Court handles misdemeanors, preliminary felony hearings, civil cases up to $20,000, small claims up to $6,000, and traffic matters. Hon. William E. Scully Jr. and Hon. Michael J. Hoyt are the two district judges.

• Criminal records: indictments, informations, arraignment entries, plea records, sentencing orders, probation terms, restitution orders, and bench warrants for felonies (Circuit) and misdemeanors (District).
• Civil records: complaints, answers, motions, judgments, garnishments, executions, subpoenas, and certificates of judgment for both Circuit and District civil divisions.
• Domestic relations and family records: divorce complaints, divorce decrees, child-custody orders, child-support filings, withholding orders, and related family-court documents. The domestic relations page lists filing requirements for uncontested divorce, including a $227 filing fee (cash, money order, or cashier's check).
• Traffic records: citations heard in District Court, failure-to-appear notices, payment records, and license-suspension warnings tied to unpaid or unresolved traffic cases.
• Small claims records: Statement of Claim, answer, default affidavit, garnishment, execution, and judgment forms for disputes under $6,000 filed in District Court.
• Probate records: wills, letters testamentary, estate inventories, creditor claims, guardianship and conservatorship files, name changes, involuntary commitment orders, and marriage certificates recorded before and after August 29, 2019.

What a Baldwin County Court Record Shows

A case detail report from Alacourt ACCESS includes several standard fields. The same fields generally appear on paper records obtained through the Circuit Clerk. The Probate DuProcess system uses slightly different labels but covers the same core data. Understanding what each field means helps you read a record quickly and spot what you actually need.

Redactions are common. Alabama court-record privacy rules require clerks to withhold or redact Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, names of minors, home addresses in domestic violence cases, and medical or mental-health information. What you see in a public record will already have that material removed. If you need a field that is redacted, you would need a court order or documented legal standing to access it. The table below covers the fields most commonly found in a Baldwin County court record.

Public Access Law for Baldwin County Court Records

Alabama court records are public by default under Ala. Code § 36-12-40, which gives every citizen the right to inspect and copy public writings kept by public officers except where another statute says otherwise. That baseline right applies to Baldwin County court records held by the Circuit Clerk. You do not need to explain why you want a record, and no special status is required to make a request. You do need to pay the applicable fee.

Electronic access to Alabama's Alacourt databases is governed by Alabama Rule of Judicial Administration 33, which says access to AOC electronic data (Alacourt, AlaFile, AlaPay, AlaVault) is through registered or subscription programs. Rule 33 also says the traditional right to inspect and copy physical court records at the circuit clerk's office under § 36-12-40 continues unchanged. So you can always go in person to the Bay Minette clerk's office during business hours and inspect the paper record, even if you do not have an Alacourt account. The Alabama Rules of Court-Record Privacy and Confidentiality set limits on what parts of a record are public and provide procedures for redaction and sealing. Certified copies are authorized under Ala. Code § 36-12-41, and the Circuit Clerk charges $5.00 per certification. For ongoing Baldwin County court dockets and case scheduling, the circuit home page posts the annual court calendar as a PDF.

Restricted or Confidential Baldwin County Court Records

Not every Baldwin County court record is open to the public. Several categories are sealed, restricted, or confidential by statute or court rule, and the clerk cannot release them through a standard records request. Knowing these limits before you search saves time and avoids confusion when a search returns no results for a case you know exists.

Juvenile records are the most common restricted category. Ala. Code § 12-15-133 limits who can inspect juvenile court records. Access is generally available only to the juvenile, their attorney, parents or guardian, law enforcement with a legitimate purpose, prosecuting attorneys, or courts. The public cannot search for juvenile cases the same way they search adult criminal cases. Alacourt does not return juvenile records in a standard public name search.

Expungement under Ala. Code Title 15, Chapter 27 removes eligible criminal records from public access. Once an expungement order is entered in a Baldwin case, the record should no longer appear in Alacourt or Circuit Clerk responses to public requests. Ala. Code § 15-27-6 describes the effect of an expungement order and the limited situations in which expunged records can still be inspected, such as by certain licensing boards and law enforcement. Expungement is a court process filed as a petition through the Alabama courts, not an administrative request to ALEA.

Sealed records are different from expunged records. A sealed case may still have a docket shell visible to the clerk but is closed to general public inspection by law or court order. Adoption case files under Ala. Code § 26-10E are confidential; the public cannot view Probate adoption files as ordinary records. Involuntary commitment matters handled by the Probate Court involve medical and psychiatric information that is restricted by statute and court privacy rules. Divorce and custody records can include sealed financial data, minor-child information, and domestic-violence addresses that are redacted or withheld under the Alabama court-record privacy rules. If you believe a record exists but the clerk says it cannot be released, you may need to petition the court directly. The Alabama Rules of Court-Record Privacy and Confidentiality (Rule 301) govern sealing and unsealing procedures.

• Juvenile records: restricted under Ala. Code § 12-15-133; not available through public name searches.
• Expunged records: removed from public view after a court order under Ala. Code Title 15, Chapter 27.
• Sealed court files: closed by law or court order; a petition to the court is required for access.
• Adoption records: confidential under Ala. Code § 26-10E; Probate adoption files are not general public records.
• Involuntary commitment files: medical/psychiatric content; access restricted by statute and privacy rules.
• Personal identifiers: Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, minor names, and certain addresses are redacted from public copies under court privacy rules.

In-Person Record Requests in Baldwin County

The main courthouse for Baldwin County Circuit and District Court record requests is the Baldwin County Courthouse at 312 Courthouse Square, Suite 10, Bay Minette, AL 36507. Circuit Clerk Brenda Ganey's office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Bring the case number or the full name of the party and the approximate year of filing if you have it. Fees are due at the time of the request. In-person payment can be made in cash, money order, or cashier's check. The clerk does not accept personal checks.

Two satellite courthouses handle some court functions outside Bay Minette. The Fairhope Satellite Courthouse at 1100 Fairhope Avenue, Fairhope, AL 36532 serves residents on the eastern shore. The Foley Satellite Courthouse at 201 East Section Avenue, Foley, AL 36535 serves south Baldwin County. Check with the Circuit Clerk before traveling to a satellite location to confirm which services are available there, as not all record-request functions may be handled outside Bay Minette. Probate recording services are also available at the Fairhope and Foley locations, as well as at 22251 Palmer Street in Robertsdale.

The Probate Office warns that wait times are typically longer between 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and strongly encourages appointments for licensing and recording transactions. Marriage certificates are recorded at the Bay Minette Probate location only. Certified copies of marriage certificates cost $3.00 each and require a completed request form. For older courthouse and probate records, contact Baldwin County Archives at 305 East 2nd Street, Bay Minette, AL 36507, phone (251) 580-1897.

Related Baldwin County Record Searches

Court records are one part of the broader public-record system in Baldwin County. Depending on what you are researching, you may need to check more than one source. A criminal arrest, for example, produces both an arrest record held by the Sheriff and a court record filed with the Circuit Clerk. A divorce decree is a court record, but the marriage certificate it references is a Probate record.

The pages below cover the most common related searches for Baldwin County. Each page uses official sources and lists current contact information, search portals, and fees where applicable.

• Baldwin County court dockets: scheduled hearing dates, jury terms, motion dockets, and the 2026 circuit-court calendar.
• Baldwin County criminal records: arrest records, booking data through the Sheriff's Citizen Connect system, and ALEA criminal-history information.
• Baldwin County public records: the Open Baldwin portal, probate recording indexes, property records, and other county public-record resources.
• Baldwin County Clerk of Court: Circuit Clerk office details, filing procedures, court forms through the Alabama eForms portal, and fee schedules for civil, domestic relations, and other court filings.