Find Divorce Records in Mobile County
Divorce records in Mobile County are kept by the Circuit Court Clerk. The office is at the Mobile Government Plaza downtown. This is Alabama's second biggest county. About 420,000 people live here. The county sees a lot of divorce cases each year. It's part of the 13th Judicial Circuit. There's a Domestic Relations Division just for family law stuff. They handle divorce, custody, and child support. You can look up cases online through Alacourt ACCESS. Or go to the courthouse in person. The clerk keeps all divorce petitions, decrees, settlements, and custody orders. Mobile County also borders Florida. Sometimes cases involve folks from more than one state.
Mobile County Quick Facts
Mobile County Circuit Court Clerk
The Circuit Court Clerk is where you go for divorce records in Mobile County. This office handles all requests. Need a decree? Go here. Want a full case file? Same place. Ashleigh Long runs the office. Her staff deals with a lot of family law cases each year. The main office is in the Mobile Government Plaza. That's the big building downtown that has most county and state courts under one roof.
| Circuit Clerk | Ashleigh Long |
|---|---|
| Address | 205 Government Street, Room C-913 Mobile, AL 36644 |
| Phone | (251) 574-8806 |
| Hours | Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (no lunch closure) |
| Website | mobile.alacourt.gov |
Domestic Relations Division
Mobile County has its own section just for family law. They call it the Domestic Relations Division. It handles divorce filings, kid custody fights, child support stuff, and changes to old orders. If you have questions about a case in progress, try this office first. They know the process cold. The main clerk's office is often too busy to dig into details, but the domestic relations staff has more time for questions about how things work.
| Phone | (251) 574-8441 |
|---|---|
| 13jcdomesticrelations@alacourt.gov | |
| Location | Mobile Government Plaza |
The Domestic Relations Division also works with the Friend of the Court office to help resolve custody and visitation issues. They can provide information about mediation services and parenting classes that are often required in contested divorce cases involving children.
How to Search Mobile County Divorce Records
Online Search
You can search Mobile County cases through Alacourt ACCESS at pa.alacourt.com. It costs $9.99 per search. Look up by name or case number. You'll see basic case details. Names of both parties show up. So does the case type, filing date, and outcome. Want the actual documents? That's $5 more for up to 20 pages. This is the fastest way to check if a case exists. No need to go to the courthouse.
In-Person Request
Go to the clerk's office at the Mobile Government Plaza. Regular business hours only. The office is on the C level, Room C-913. Bring both names. Have a rough date if you can. If you know the case number, that speeds things up a lot. Staff can look it up and print copies while you wait. That works for recent cases. Older ones in storage take longer.
Mail Request
Send a letter to the Circuit Court Clerk. Mail it to 205 Government Street, Room C-913, Mobile, AL 36644. Include both names. Add the year of the divorce if you know it. Put your phone number and address so they can reach you. Include a check or money order for the search fee. The clerk will mail copies back. Or call you if more fees are needed.
Request Tips
More info makes the search go faster. Get the exact names if you can. Women often filed under their married name. Know who filed first? That helps. The year narrows things down a lot. Even "sometime in the 2010s" is better than nothing.
What's in Mobile County Divorce Records
Mobile County Circuit Court keeps full divorce case files. These have way more detail than a simple divorce certificate. Here's what's in there.
Divorce Decrees
The decree is the final judgment. It ends the marriage. It has all the judge's orders. How to split property. Whether anyone pays alimony. Who gets custody of kids. You need a certified copy to prove you're divorced. This is what you show to remarry. Same for changing your name back.
Property Settlements
These show how the couple split their stuff. The house, cars, bank accounts, and retirement funds. Debts too. Sometimes this is in the decree itself. Other times it's a separate agreement the court approved. Messy divorces might have long lists of who gets what.
Custody and Support Orders
When kids are involved, the file has custody stuff. The parenting plan is in there. So are visitation schedules. You'll see how much support one parent pays. These orders can change over time. Life changes, so orders get modified. A long case file might have several versions.
Complete Case File
The full file has everything. The initial petition. The response from the other spouse. Any motions filed during the case. Temporary orders and financial disclosures. And the final decree at the end. Messy divorces can have thick files. Simple ones might just have a few documents.
Free Legal Help in Mobile County
Need help with divorce records? Have questions about filing? Free legal help is out there. These groups help folks who can't afford to pay a lawyer.
South Alabama Volunteer Lawyers Program
This group links up folks who can't pay with lawyers who help for free. They do divorce, custody, and child support cases. Since the lawyers give their time for nothing, there's often a wait.
| Phone | (251) 438-1102 |
|---|---|
| Eligibility | Income guidelines apply - call for details |
Legal Services Alabama - Mobile Office
Legal Services Alabama helps low-income folks for free. Their Mobile office does family law stuff. They can help with divorce paperwork and custody fights. Protective orders too. You have to qualify based on income.
| Phone | (251) 433-6560 |
|---|---|
| Services | Divorce, custody, child support, domestic violence |
Mobile County Bar Lawyer Referral Service
Don't qualify for free help? Need to find an attorney anyway? The Mobile Bar has a referral service. They can connect you with family law attorneys nearby. Some offer cheaper rates for first meetings.
Mobile County Divorce Certificates
Just need proof a divorce happened? Don't need all the details? Get a certificate instead. These are simple documents. They verify the divorce took place. They show both names, the date, and the county. No property details. No custody info. No private stuff from the case.
Where to Get Divorce Certificates
You can get Alabama divorce certificates from the Center for Health Statistics. Or from the Mobile County Health Department. The state office has records from 1950 on. Older records might only be at the court.
Alabama Center for Health Statistics
| Address | 201 Monroe Street, RSA Tower, Suite 1350 Montgomery, AL 36104 |
|---|---|
| Phone | (334) 206-5418 |
| Fee | $15 for certified copy |
Mobile County Health Department
The local health department can issue divorce certificates too. They can get certificates for divorces from anywhere in Alabama. Not just Mobile County.
| Address | 251 N. Bayou Street, Mobile, AL 36603 |
|---|---|
| Phone | (251) 690-8158 |
Cities in Mobile County
Mobile County has the city of Mobile plus lots of smaller towns. All divorce records go through the same place. The Mobile County Circuit Court Clerk handles them all. The city of Mobile is the only one over 100,000 people.
Other towns in Mobile County include Prichard, Saraland, and Chickasaw. There's also Citronelle, Satsuma, Bayou La Batre, Semmes, and Theodore. All of them file divorces at the county level.
Nearby Counties
Need records from a neighboring county? Mobile County borders several others in Alabama. Escambia County, Florida is just to the east too.