How to Search Perry County Court Records
Alacourt Access is the statewide paid search channel for Alabama trial-court cases. It covers criminal, civil, small claims, state traffic, domestic relations, and child-support records. Name and case-number searches cost $9.99. A case detail can include basic case data, court action, status, setting dates, party information, financial history, and a detailed case action summary. Document images carry separate charges.
The Perry County docket search is narrower. It searches by setting date and optional last name, and it warns that some cases may not appear. Use the Circuit Clerk when an electronic result seems missing or stale.
- Identify the court level and record type before searching.
- Use Alacourt for a paid name or case-number trial-court search.
- Use the Perry docket page for a scheduled setting date.
- Review the status, parties, actions, dates, and financial history.
- Call the Circuit Clerk for omissions, older records, or certified copies.
- Use Probate channels for estates, recorded instruments, and marriage records.
The Perry County Circuit Clerk source is the local court starting point shown below.
It connects users to local divisions, office details, forms, and case-access routes.
Perry County Case Search Fields
Alacourt’s public pages expose the available search modes but not every internal field without login. The Perry County docket page exposes a separate date-and-name workflow. This field table stays within the controls verified in the research.
| Field | System | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Name search | Alacourt Access | Use when the party name is known. |
| Case Number search | Alacourt Access | Use a citation, notice, summons, or prior filing number. |
| Setting Date | Perry docket search | Select the court setting date. |
| Last Name | Perry docket search | Optional; leave blank for the date’s full displayed docket. |
A no-match result still reflects a paid Alacourt search. Confirm spelling and court level before repeating a purchase.
Perry County Judicial System
Perry County is part of Alabama’s Fourth Judicial Circuit. Municipal Court handles city ordinance and municipal cases. District Court handles limited civil claims, small claims, traffic, misdemeanors, and juvenile matters. Circuit Court hears felonies, domestic relations, workers’ compensation, larger civil disputes, and lower-court appeals. Probate Court is separate. Civil and criminal appeals proceed to the matching Alabama appellate court and may reach the Supreme Court of Alabama.
The Alabama Judicial System source illustrates the statewide framework that includes Perry County courts.
Local court roles fit within that unified state structure.
The Fourth Judicial Circuit judge list gives Perry County a local point within a circuit that also serves nearby counties. Presiding Circuit Judge Marvin W. Wiggins is listed in Greensboro. Circuit Judge Donald L. McMillan has a Perry County location at 300 Washington Street, Suite 202, and Circuit Judge Robert Bryan Jones is listed in Selma. District Judge Robert Bryant is listed at the Perry County Courthouse. These locations do not create four separate Perry County record systems. District and Circuit filings still route through the Circuit Clerk, while the assigned judge and division depend on the case.
Municipal, Probate, and federal matters do not merge into that clerk file merely because they involve a Perry County resident. Venue and subject matter determine the correct court.
Local case path: Marion Municipal Court handles city matters; Perry County District Court handles limited civil, traffic, misdemeanor, and juvenile work; Circuit Court hears felonies, divorce, larger civil cases, and lower-court appeals; the Alabama appellate courts then review eligible appeals. Probate Court follows a separate path for estates, wills, recorded instruments, marriage records, guardianships, and conservatorships.
Perry County Courthouse Offices
The Perry County Courthouse at 300 Washington Street in Marion is the main local access point. The Circuit Clerk occupies Suite 110 and publishes 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. hours. Its direct number is (334) 683-6106. The Probate Office uses the same street address and (334) 683-2210. District Judge Robert Bryant also has a courthouse address. Circuit Judge Donald L. McMillan’s Perry County location is Suite 202.
Perry County Courthouse
300 Washington Street
Marion, AL 36756
Circuit Clerk: (334) 683-6106
Probate Office: (334) 683-2210
No official page inspected publishes courthouse parking rates, a garage, an ADA entrance, screening rules, or a banned-item list. Confirm entry and access needs before a deadline or hearing.
Perry County Court Record Types
District and Circuit records span civil, criminal, domestic, juvenile, traffic, child-support, and protective-order work. Civil categories include small claims, evictions, contracts, torts, condemnation, workers’ compensation, judgments, garnishments, executions, and appeals. Criminal files add charges, pleas, settings, dispositions, sentences, costs, and case actions.
- Civil: claims, answers, service, motions, judgments, and collection activity.
- Criminal: charges, pleas, hearings, dispositions, sentences, and costs.
- Domestic: divorce, child support, service, orders, and decrees.
- Traffic: UTC or citation data, court date, payment, disposition, and failure-to-appear action.
- Probate: estates, wills, recorded instruments, marriages, and protective matters in a separate office.
Juvenile files are confidential. Protection from Abuse records can involve temporary and final court orders with sensitive family facts.
What Perry County Court Records Show
A case detail may show more than a docket date. Alacourt describes core case information, court actions, current status, setting dates, parties, financial history, and a chronological action summary. Perry County instructions also rely on case numbers, UTC numbers, ticket numbers, service dates, response deadlines, trial dates, judgments, appeal notices, and certificates of judgment.
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Case number | The court’s main file identifier. |
| Parties | The people or entities named in the case. |
| Setting date | A scheduled court event, not necessarily a final outcome. |
| Case action summary | A dated sequence of filings, orders, and court activity. |
| Disposition | The result of a case or charge. |
| Financial history | Recorded costs, fees, fines, or payment activity. |
A charge is an allegation. A disposition shows how the court resolved it. Do not treat an arrest or filed charge as a conviction.
Perry County Court Public Access
Alabama law begins with a public-records baseline, but other statutes restrict certain court records and data. Online visibility is not the full legal test. A record can be public yet absent from a portal, available only at the office, redacted, or limited by a specific confidentiality rule.
Key Alabama statutes:
Ala. Code § 36-12-40 generally opens public writings to inspection and copying unless another law restricts access.
Ala. Code § 12-15-133 makes juvenile court and law-enforcement records confidential.
Ala. Code § 15-27-6 describes the effect of an expungement order on covered court and agency records.
Ala. Code § 30-2-8.1 protects specified personal and financial data in divorce filings.
Certified, older, or non-digitized public records should be requested from the office that created or keeps them.
Restricted Perry County Court Records
Juvenile, sealed, and expunged files are not ordinary public case records. Adoption and mental-commitment matters carry strong privacy limits. Social Security numbers, financial account data, minor-identifying facts, and other protected information may be redacted. An unserved arrest warrant is not public under the local warrant guidance.
Expungement is a Circuit Court petition process, not a request to delete a portal entry. Eligibility depends on Alabama’s offense-specific statutes. Agencies may object, and a judge may hold a hearing. A granted order directs eligible records to be expunged, subject to statutory exceptions. Ask the Circuit Clerk about filing procedure, but seek legal advice elsewhere.
Perry County Sheriff and Jail
Sheriff Roy Fikes leads the Perry County Sheriff’s Office. The office and jail use (334) 683-6534, and the jail is at 202 Pickens Street in Marion. No official county-hosted jail roster was found. The Perry County Sheriff’s Office mobile app listing includes alerts, news, contacts, and other public-safety features, but the research did not verify a current inmate roster field set. Do not assume the app or county website provides a complete booking search.
ADOC’s statewide search covers people currently incarcerated in Alabama state prisons, not the Perry County Jail and not historical custody. Youthful Offenders are excluded from ADOC’s public search. For local custody, call the Perry County jail. For state custody, use ADOC.
Perry County Marriage Divorce and Probate
Alabama’s current marriage process uses a notarized Marriage Certificate delivered to a county probate court for recording. Perry County Probate Court records marriages but does not perform ceremonies. Divorce cases belong to Circuit Court Domestic Relations. Uncontested divorces have a 30-day waiting period after filing before a judge may sign a decree if all papers are in order.
Probate Court also handles estates, wills, deeds, mortgages, adoptions, guardianships, conservatorships, mental commitments, licenses, and elections. Its Syscon index is intended to be free to search and paid to view or download, with coverage from August 26, 2008. Yet the county currently posts that Probate software is down and staff cannot conduct searches until further notice. The online payment portal has a separate outage notice.
Perry County Court Fees
Fees vary by case and service. Perry County’s civil sheet confirms the filing amounts below. Alacourt has separate search and image charges. Certified-copy rates were not found and must be confirmed with the Circuit Clerk.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Small Claims, $1,500 or less | $102 |
| Small Claims, $1,500.01 to $3,000 | $176 |
| District Civil, $6,000.01 to $20,000 | $307 |
| Domestic Relations initial filing | $254 |
| Alacourt name or case-number search | $9.99 |
| Alacourt images, first 20 pages | $5 |
The Alabama Administrative Office of Courts supports the unified court services shown here.
State systems complement the local Circuit Clerk counter and mail channels.
Perry County Municipal and Federal Courts
Marion Municipal Court handles city matters at 123 East Jefferson Street and can be reached at (334) 683-8969. Misdemeanor warrant matters inside Marion generally use this municipal channel unless tied to a felony or extraordinary county circumstance.
This city court is separate from Perry County District and Circuit Court records.
Federal matters use the Southern District of Alabama, PACER, and federal court systems. Bankruptcy records use the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Alabama.
Neither federal docket belongs to the Perry County Circuit Clerk or Alacourt.
Perry County Court History
The National Park Service says construction of the Perry County Courthouse began in 1844 and finished in 1855. The courthouse later became a major local site in the voting-rights struggle. Demonstrations outside it in the mid-1960s helped shape the modern civil-rights movement. In 2024, the site joined the African American Civil Rights Network.
The National Park Service courthouse history provides the official historic account shown below.
The same courthouse remains a working center for Circuit Clerk, Probate, judge, and county services.
Perry County Court Visit Details
Jurors should register promptly through the Alabama online juror portal when summoned. The Perry County jury page warns that clerk staff will never call and ask for a Social Security number, credit-card number, or other sensitive information. The office may call a juror when court is cancelled for the day, so the difference lies in what information is requested. Verify a doubtful call through the published Circuit Clerk number. Circuit Clerk Mia Jacobs-Turner’s official profile confirms her record-keeping role at the Perry County Courthouse.
Published jury qualifications include United States citizenship, age over 19, at least 12 months of Perry County residence, English literacy, physical and mental ability to serve, and no disqualifying moral-turpitude conviction affecting voting rights. These rules concern jury service, not public record eligibility.
Bring the case notice, citation, summons, or jury paperwork that identifies the matter. Confirm whether phones, recording devices, pocketknives, large bags, or other items are restricted because Perry County’s official pages do not publish a local security list. The same caution applies to parking and accessibility. A call before travel is safer than relying on details from another Alabama courthouse.
Perry County Record Limits
Each system has a defined scope. The docket page may omit cases. Alacourt charges for a search even when no match is found. ADOC includes current state prisoners but not historical custody or Perry County Jail bookings. Syscon begins its stated coverage in 2008 and is affected by the county’s posted outage. An online result should be read as one access channel, not a full statement that no other record exists.
Spelling, court division, filing date, and record status can all affect results. If a case should exist but does not appear, confirm the name and case number with the correct office. Do not infer dismissal from a missing docket entry, release from a missing jail page, or a clean history from one no-match search.
Note: Confirm court dates and legal status with the originating Perry County office before relying on an electronic record for action.
Perry County Court Questions
Where are Perry County trial records kept?
The Circuit Clerk keeps District and Circuit Court records in Suite 110 at the Perry County Courthouse. Online case access uses Alacourt, while scheduled settings use the county docket page.
Are all Perry County dockets online?
No. The docket search itself warns that some cases may not appear. Contact the Circuit Clerk when a setting is missing or uncertain.
Who keeps Perry County probate records?
The Probate Court and Probate Office keep estates, wills, recorded instruments, marriages, guardianships, and related county records. Posted software and payment outages should be checked before relying on online access.
Can the Circuit Clerk give legal advice?
No. Clerk staff manage records, filings, notices, fees, and administrative process, but they cannot advise a party how to complete forms or present a legal claim.