Public Records Access in Alabama

County Commission Records Access

Charted above are the results of a small sample of public record requests, as per Alabama’s Open Records Act, §§ 36-12-40 to 46. Only county commission requests are included on the map. The notes below include documentation of other requests within the county.

• Fulfilled: The Commission fulfilled a records request in accordance with the Open Records Act.
• Posted Online: The record or information sought was already posted and easily accessible on an official website.
• Did Not Fulfill: The commission refused or otherwise did not fulfill the request in accordance with the Open Records Act. Circumstances are detailed below.
• Hurdles to Fulfill: These commissions did not respond within the 10 business day acknowledgement window, or initially refused but ultimately fulfilled, or had no feasible means of searching due to records not having been digitized, or had other circumstances that significantly impaired fulfillment.

The County Notes below include details on how each request was handled. For guidance on requesting, see Public Records Requests in Alabama.

Open Access Highs & Lows

The notes below describe how records request(s) and other requests for information were handled in each Alabama county.

Autauga County

See Animal Services in Autauga County.

Baldwin County

See Animal Services in Baldwin County.

Bibb County

See Animal Services in Bibb County.

Blount County

See Animal Services in Blount County.

Calhoun County

See Animal Services in Calhoun County.

Cherokee County

See Animal Services in Cherokee County.

Chilton County

Commission: A Commission staff member stated in Apr. 2025 that records requests had to be submitted in person. I did not challenge that policy since the SO provided the document.

Sheriff’s Office: ACO Sgt. Rocky Mims provided the record on Apr. 24, 2025, the day after I emailed an informal request.

Municipalities: I emailed the two addresses posted on the Jemison website. After four business days with no reply, I spoke with City Clerk Vicki Potts, who emailed the City of Jemison public records request form and policy; I submitted the form on July 3, 2025. On Aug. 19, Vicki emailed that she had submitted a request that the city’s animal ordinance be added to the city's Ordinances page and that she would let me know when it was done. I checked for the ordinance over the next several weeks and found it on Oct. 24. ✪ In Maplesville, my request had marked as spam; Town Clerk Dawn Smitherman found the email and provided the ordinance soon after I called.

Colbert County

See Animal Services in Colbert County.

Cullman County

See Animal Services in Cullman County.

Dale County

Commission & SO: After a few phone calls, Commission officials provided a decisive answer.

Dallas County

See Animal Services in Dallas County.

Elmore County

See Animal Services in Elmore County.

Etowah County

See Animal Services in Etowah County.

Geneva County

Commission: Dogs-at-large research required only a single call to Geneva County, since Cindy Williams, county administrator, was able to answer.

Hale County

Commission: Dogs-at-large research required only a single call to Hale County.

Jackson County

See Animal Services in Jackson County.

Jefferson County

See Animal Services in Jefferson County.

Lauderdale County

See Animal Services in Lauderdale County.

Lawrence County

See Animal Services in Lawrence County.

Lee County

See Animal Services in Lee County.

Limestone County

See Animal Services in Limestone County.

Lowndes County

Commission: County Administrator Jackie Thomas said in Apr. 2025 that she would not be able to look for the record for the next three months since she was working on an audit.

Macon County

Commission: Josetta Stewart, office manager at the Compliance Office, searched for the document in question, which I requested via phone on Mar. 31, 2025. After several follow-up attempts, on Apr. 29 Josetta emailed that she did not find the document (it may not exist).

Madison County

See Animal Services in Madison County.

Marion County

See Animal Services in Marion County.

Marshall County

See Animal Services in Marshall County.

Mobile County

See Animal Services in Mobile County.

Monroe County

Animal Shelter: Trisha Davis, director, was glad to share information.

Montgomery County

Commission: See at Dogs at Large by County Notes for a record of the challenges of obtaining records from Montgomery County Commission, including a records request portal that was supposed to have been de-activated and replaced with a new Montgomery County records request form (the original is a docx; here is a PDF); a records request policy that requires in-person submission; and the commendable handling of the situation by Executive Assistant Tammy Nix.

Animal Shelter: Steve Tears, director, was glad to share information.

Morgan County

Commission: I submitted a request on Apr. 11, 2025 using the template, since there was no form posted on the County website. Archivist John Allison replied on Apr. 14 with a public records form and procedure which I am including here to perhaps save someone a step in the future. Upon resubmitting on Apr. 14, I included a rebuttal to the in-person requirement. On Apr. 21, the record was provided via email.

Municipalities: Ashley Patterson, Trinity town clerk, provided animal control ordinances on June 27, 2025, the morning after I sent an informal request.

Perry County

SO: Dogs-at-large research required only a single call to Perry County.

St. Clair County

See Animal Services in St. Clair County.

Shelby County

See Animal Services in Sheby County.

Talladega County

See Animal Services in Talladega County.

Walker County

See Animal Services in Walker County.

Winston County

See Animal Services in Winston County.