Expungement Petition

ALABAMA EXPUNGEMENT PETITION PREPARATION GUIDE

Ala. Code §§ 15-27-1 et seq. — Use Current Form CR-65

DO NOT FILE THIS GUIDE AS THE PETITION.

Alabama uses Unified Judicial System Form CR-65, Petition for Expungement
of Records. Complete the current form and its certificate-of-service pages.
Each petition is limited to one charge or conviction, even when one court case
contains multiple counts.

1. COURT AND PETITIONER INFORMATION

File in the criminal division of the circuit court in the county where the charge
was filed.

County: [________________________________]

Underlying court case number: [________________________________]

Charge or conviction to be expunged: [________________________________]

Petitioner name exactly as shown in the underlying case: [________________]

Current address: [________________________________]

Email: [________________________________]

Telephone: [________________________________]

Date of birth: [__/__/____]

Social Security number — last four digits only: [____]

2. SELECT THE CORRECT CR-65 ELIGIBILITY SECTION

Check only the route that matches the current official form and supporting records.

A. Section I — Non-Conviction Misdemeanor, Violation, Traffic, or Municipal Charge

☐ Dismissed with prejudice and more than 90 days have passed

☐ No-billed by a grand jury and more than 90 days have passed

☐ Found not guilty and more than 90 days have passed

☐ Nolle prossed without conditions, more than 90 days have passed, and not refiled

☐ Indictment quashed and the limitations period expired, or the prosecutor confirms no refiling

☐ Dismissed after successful completion of an approved diversion or deferred-prosecution program; at least one year has passed, unless expungement was a court-ordered program condition

☐ Dismissed without prejudice more than one year ago, not refiled, and no disqualifying conviction during the previous two years

☐ Human-trafficking-victim route supported by a preponderance of the evidence

B. Section II — Conviction for a Misdemeanor, Violation, Traffic, or Municipal Offense

This route also includes a person adjudged a youthful offender when the underlying
charge falls within these offense categories. Act 2024-407 added youthful-offender
eligibility effective October 1, 2024.

Confirm every applicable condition on current Form CR-65, including:

☐ All probation or parole requirements and all required financial obligations are complete

☐ Three years have passed from the conviction date

☐ Commercial-driver restrictions do not bar relief

☐ The conviction is not a violent offense under Ala. Code § 12-25-32

☐ The conviction is not a sex offense under Ala. Code § 15-20A-5

☐ The moral-turpitude restriction in Ala. Code § 17-3-30.1 does not bar relief, or the reclassified-felony exception applies

☐ The conviction is not a serious traffic offense under Title 32, Chapter 5A, Article 9

☐ The statutory limit on prior expungements is satisfied

C. Section III — Non-Conviction Felony Charge

☐ Dismissed with prejudice and more than 90 days have passed

☐ No-billed by a grand jury and more than 90 days have passed

☐ Found not guilty and more than 90 days have passed

☐ Nolle prossed without conditions, more than 90 days have passed, and not refiled

☐ Indictment quashed and the limitations period expired, or the prosecutor confirms no refiling

☐ Dismissed after successful completion of an approved diversion or deferred-prosecution program; the current timing and numerical limits are satisfied

☐ Dismissed without prejudice more than five years ago, not refiled, and no disqualifying conviction during the previous five years

☐ Human-trafficking-victim route supported by a preponderance of the evidence

D. Section IV — Specified Trafficking-Related Violent-Felony Conviction

Use only if the conviction is one of the specific offenses printed in Section IV of
current Form CR-65 and the applicant can prove that the felony occurred while being
trafficked and would not have been committed but for the trafficking.

E. Section V — Pardoned Felony Conviction

Confirm every condition printed in current Form CR-65, including a pardon with
restoration of civil and political rights, passage of 180 days after the pardon,
completion of required obligations, offense exclusions, commercial-driver restrictions,
and the statutory limit on prior felony expungements.

3. REQUIRED RECORDS AND ATTACHMENTS

Before filing, obtain the certified Alabama criminal-history record required by ALEA.
Attach:

☐ Either a certified arrest record or a certified disposition / case-action summary

☐ A certified official criminal record obtained from ALEA

☐ Records showing satisfaction of probation, parole, restitution, fines, costs, and other ordered amounts, unless excused by an indigency finding

☐ Documents supporting the selected eligibility route

☐ A separate list of every court, law-enforcement agency, jail, booking facility, or other entity holding records to be expunged

4. INFORMATION REQUIRED BY THE PETITION

Charge or conviction: [________________________________]

Grounds for expungement:

[____________________________________________________________]

Arresting agency: [________________________________]

Every agency or facility where Petitioner was booked, incarcerated, or detained:

[____________________________________________________________]

Prior expungement petitions in any jurisdiction:

☐ None

☐ Prior petition details: County [____________] Case No. [____________]
Outcome: ☐ Granted ☐ Denied

5. FILING FEE AND MULTIPLE CHARGES

The current CR-65 instructions identify a $500 filing fee, subject to an indigency
waiver. A separate petition is required for each charge or qualifying conviction. When
multiple charges arise from one arrest, the form states that only one filing fee is paid;
multiple arrests require separate filing fees. Confirm the clerk's current fee and waiver
procedure before filing.

6. SERVICE CHECKLIST

Under the CR-65 instructions and Ala. Code § 15-27-3(c), serve and identify all
record-holding entities. At minimum, address service to the appropriate:

☐ District attorney

☐ Arresting or other law-enforcement agency

☐ Clerk of the court for the jurisdiction whose records are sought

☐ ALEA / State Troopers, when applicable

☐ Municipal police chief, sheriff, municipal clerk, district clerk, or other custodian, when applicable

Complete enough certificate-of-service pages to document service on every entity.

7. VERIFICATION

Form CR-65 must be signed under oath before an officer authorized to administer oaths
or a notary public. Disclose every prior expungement petition and do not omit any charge,
custodian, or material eligibility fact.

8. EFFECT AND CONTINUING ACCESS

Expungement does not eliminate every authorized use. Current Alabama law and Form
CR-65 identify continuing access or disclosure for specified criminal-justice,
prosecutorial, child- or vulnerable-adult-protection, utility, banking, insurance, and
related legally authorized purposes. Expunged or pending-expungement charges may also
be used in related civil matters as provided by law.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Criminal Record Expungement:
  https://www.alea.gov/criminal-record-expungement

• Alabama Unified Judicial System, Form CR-65 Rev. 10/2024:
  https://eforms.alacourt.gov/media/aojnchjg/cr-65-expunge-petition-10-2024.pdf

• Alabama Legislature, enrolled SB 153 (Act 2024-407):
  https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/files/pdf/SearchableInstruments/2024RS/SB153-enr.pdf