Search Houston County Court Records Online
The main online channel for Houston County Circuit Court, District Court, small claims, domestic relations, child support, traffic, civil, and criminal case information is Alacourt ACCESS. It is an Alabama trial court records portal, not a free county website. The portal supports name searches and case-number searches. The listed public pricing is $9.99 for a name search, $9.99 for a case number search, $5.00 for the first 20 pages of document images, and $0.50 for each added page. Case monitoring is listed at $19.99 for district cases and $29.99 for circuit cases.
The local fallback is the Houston County Circuit Clerk at the courthouse. Circuit Clerk Carla H. Woodall's office handles circuit civil, district civil, small claims, circuit criminal, district criminal, traffic, domestic relations, child support, juvenile, and jury-related court records. Use the division phone first when the record type is clear: Circuit Criminal (334) 677-4858, District Criminal (334) 677-4869, Circuit Civil (334) 677-4859, Small Claims/District Civil (334) 677-4868, Traffic (334) 677-4870, Domestic Relations/Child Support (334) 677-4805, and Juvenile (334) 677-4880.
- Decide whether the file belongs in Circuit Court, District Court, Probate Court, municipal court, or an Alabama appellate court.
- Use Alacourt ACCESS first for state trial court case numbers, party names, case status, settings, and case action summaries.
- If the case is probate, marriage, land recording, estate, guardianship, or conservatorship related, use the Houston County Probate and Ingenuity channels instead.
- For city ordinance, municipal traffic, and municipal misdemeanor matters, contact the city court, especially Dothan Municipal Court when the event occurred inside Dothan.
- For certified copies, sealed-file questions, missing images, older files, or payment questions, call or visit the office that holds the record.
The Alacourt ACCESS trial court portal is the first image source for this records page.
That portal matters most when a Houston County court records search starts with a party name or a known case number.
Houston County Court Records Search Fields
Alacourt does not expose every purchase-flow field before payment or login, but its public landing material identifies the search routes and report contents. A person with a case number should start there because it is more exact. A name search can be useful when the case number is missing, but the portal states that a no-match result still counts as a search. Document images and attachments may cost extra after the case detail report opens.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search type | Tab or link | Yes | Name Search or Case Number Search. |
| Name | Text | Yes for name search | Use the party name tied to the case; exact purchase fields may appear later. |
| Case Number | Text | Yes for case search | Use the number from a notice, docket, citation, or clerk copy. |
| Login | Button/link | No | Available for account access, monitoring, and document image functions. |
| Purchase notices | Text | Yes | No Matching Records on File still counts as a search. |
The Alabama appellate public portal supplies the next image source for appellate court record access.
Use the appellate portal only after a Houston County case has moved beyond the trial court and into an Alabama appellate court.
Types of Houston County Court Records
Houston County court records split by court and by office. Circuit Court is the general trial court for felonies, major civil cases, domestic relations, appeals from some limited courts, and other matters. District Court handles lower-value civil cases, small claims, state traffic citations, some misdemeanors, and preliminary criminal work. Probate Court is separate and handles estates, guardianships, conservatorships, adoptions, involuntary commitments, name changes, marriage certificate recording, and recording functions.
Municipal court is a separate route. Houston County's magistrate material says misdemeanor charges inside Dothan, Taylor, Kinsey, Webb, Ashford, Cottonwood, and Gordon city limits must generally be handled through that municipal court unless a felony is part of the same event or unusual circumstances exist. Dothan Municipal Court is at 210 N. Saint Andrews Street, with the Magistrate's Office at 115 W. Adams Street, phone (334) 615-4150.
- Civil records may include complaints, answers, motions, service returns, judgments, garnishments, and appeals.
- Criminal court records may include charges, bond, arraignment, plea, motions, settings, disposition, sentence, and costs.
- Traffic court records may show citation number, court date, offense, plea, fine, failure-to-appear action, and disposition.
- Domestic relations files may include divorce pleadings, service, settlement terms, child-support issues, orders, and decrees.
- Probate records may show estates, letters, bonds, inventories, hearings, guardianship, conservatorship, and name-change filings.
The Houston County Probate recording and fees page is the image source for the separate probate and recording record channel.
That office split is important because a Probate Office record should not be requested from the Circuit Clerk.
What Houston County Court Records Show
A public case detail in Houston County can include the basic case identity, court, division, case type, party information, attorney information when applicable, filing date, setting dates, court actions, case status, case action summary, financial history, costs, and document images or attachments when the system has them. The exact fields vary by case type. Criminal records add charges, offense date, bond, plea, sentence, probation, and sometimes arrest or warrant references. Domestic files add decree and child-support issues. Traffic records add citation facts and payment status.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case number | The court's file number for search, copy requests, and docket checks. |
| Court and division | Whether the case is circuit, district, small claims, traffic, domestic, criminal, or probate. |
| Case type | The broad category, such as criminal, civil, small claims, domestic relations, child support, or state traffic. |
| Status and settings | Current status plus scheduled hearings, court dates, or settings. |
| Parties and attorneys | Names and roles of parties, and counsel when listed in the case detail. |
| Actions and rulings | Docket activity, orders, rulings, and case action summary entries. |
| Financial history | Costs, fines, fees, and payment entries when the case type includes money due. |
| Documents | Images or attachments when available, subject to extra image fees and access limits. |
The Houston County Probate recording guidelines page is the source for the second probate-records image.
Recording guidelines support the broader point that record content changes by office, subject, and filing system.
Public Access for Houston County Court Records
Alabama access law starts with the right to inspect and copy many public records. Ala. Code Section 36-12-40 states the general public-record inspection right, while Ala. Code Section 36-12-41 addresses certified copies from a public officer with custody of a record upon proper request and payment of lawful or reasonable fees. The newer Alabama public-records procedure sections exempt many judicial-branch offices, so court files still require court-office and clerk-specific handling.
The practical rule is simple: identify the custodian first. Circuit Clerk records go through Alacourt, the courthouse counter, phone, or mail channels. Probate and recording records go through Houston County Probate and Ingenuity. Sheriff's booking and jail information goes through the Sheriff's Office. City offenses may require a municipal court. Certified copies, older court files, restricted access questions, and records missing from the online portal should be checked with the relevant office instead of treated as unavailable.
Note: A paid online search result is not the same as a certified court copy from the record custodian.
The Alabama public record inspection statute is the source for this public-access image.
That statute supports access, while court rules, privacy statutes, and sealing orders can limit what the public receives.
Restricted Houston County Court Records
Some Houston County court records are not open public files. Juvenile legal and social records are confidential under Ala. Code Section 12-15-133. Adoption records in Probate Court are also confidential, with access limited before final decree and sealed after final decree except through limited lawful processes. Involuntary commitment files can contain medical or mental-health information and should not be treated as ordinary public probate files.
Criminal cases can also be restricted. Alabama expungement is governed by Title 15, Chapter 27, and eligibility depends on the charge, disposition, waiting period, prior record, and completion of court conditions. If a Houston County case is expunged or sealed by order, ordinary public access is reduced according to that order and statute. A protection-from-abuse order may delete a victim's home address, work address, phone number, or similar safety information from court records concerning that order. For the full criminal case file, use the Houston County criminal court records page.
The Alabama certified public copy statute is the final image source for this Houston County court records page.
Certified-copy access is useful only when the record is legally available to the requester and the proper custodian can issue it.
Houston County Court Record Requests
In-person and phone channels remain important in Houston County because the online portals do not solve every record problem. The Houston County Courthouse is at 114 N. Oates St., Dothan, AL 36303. The Circuit Clerk's public hours are Monday through Friday, excluding state holidays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with the office closed from noon to 1:00 p.m. for lunch. The primary Circuit Clerk number is (334) 677-4800. Mail on many court pages uses P.O. Drawer 6406, Dothan, AL 36302.
For divorce decree copies, Domestic Relations at (334) 677-4805 provides the cost estimate. The research states those copies can be requested in the Clerk's office with money order or cash, money orders payable to Houston County Circuit Clerk, and credit cards are not accepted for decree copies. For probate court records, call Probate Court or Recording at (334) 677-4701. Probate is at the Administrative Building, 462 N. Oates St., and the Probate Office is open Monday through Thursday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., closed Fridays.
Houston County Circuit Clerk
114 N. Oates St.
Dothan, AL 36303
(334) 677-4800
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; closed noon-1:00 p.m.