Alabama Animal Advocates

Public Records Requests in Alabama

Files of documents stacked on a desk

Whether you are seeking shelter census data, information on another animal topic, or a different type of record entirely, the information on this page aims to ease the process for citizens, researchers, and reporters alike through suggestions about effective requests and notes about fulfillment or lack thereof throughout the state.

How to Request Public Records

Who is the record holder? That’s who you’ll request from. Consider that more than one agency may be a source of information, and ask from another source if necessary. (If you are seeking court records, see this guide.)

Figure out what to ask for. Aubrie Kavanaugh, author of Not Rocket Science: A Story of No Kill Animal Shelter Advocacy in Huntsville, Alabama and Paws4Change.com, offers this advice:

I have found that seeking the correct document by name is key. They are not obligated to provide information. Just copies of records that already exist or should exist. It is sometimes necessary to determine the right thing to ask for. If you do not, they can just say ‘we don’t have a record like that.’ The best way to determine the name of the document you want is to engage with a cooperative municipality who will help when an uncooperative one will play games. I have sometimes sought records using a particular name and then included a qualifier that describes the information the document contains. For example, ‘the kennel cards for all dogs euthanized from January through May 2025 or comparable record which indicates the reason for the euthanasia.’

Call first. Especially if your request is fairly simple, the official may offer the information over the phone or may provide the document without a formal request. If not, calling can still be helpful to establish contact with the records holder and determine to whom and in what format the request may be submitted.

Submit the request. Prepare your request on the records holder’s public records request form, or if none, follow the template. You might follow up with a phone call to confirm receipt and to give the official the opportunity to tell you if anything else is needed. If you do not follow up, you may wait two weeks only to find out that your request was not received or had not been forwarded to the appropriate person, etc.

If your request is denied or unfulfilled, seek understanding of the situation. You may be able to provide more context or clarify what records are needed. Some records holders are fearful about what you might do with the information, so although you are not obligated to explain your intentions or interest, doing so may alleviate concerns. If the issue is an in-person requirement, see this guidance. Since Alabama’s law does not establish an appeals process or any other remedy, your best chance of getting the records is working with records holders (rather than viewing them antagonistically) and recognizing for their challenges or fears, while also knowing the Open Records law and firmly addressing violations.

For legal counsel, a specialist on the Alabama Open Records Act is J. Evans Bailey, a media law attorney in Montgomery who worked on the legislation with the Alabama Press Association, according to Alabama Reflector coverage of the law’s 2024 update. In our conversation, J. Evans Bailey spoke passionately about open access and provided the guidance shared above regarding in-person requirements. If you wish to challenge a denial beyond the suggestions above, a next step would be a demand letter that you write, or for additional weight, sent directly by an attorney. Since the Open Records Act provides no remedy for unjustified denials or unfulfilled requests, legal costs from a civil action cannot be recovered.

Resources on the Open Records Act and other FOIA requests:

Alabama Open Records Act

Access to most public records in Alabama is governed by the Open Records Act, Alabama Code §§ 36-12-40 to 46 — and, just as significantly, by the policy and responsiveness of the records holder and by the accessibility of the records in question. The Act grants Alabama residents access to digital and analog documents that are considered public records. Exceptions, listed in § 36-12-40, include court records, which are public records in Alabama but are excluded from the Open Records Act’s procedural requirements.

Request Format: The records holder may require submission on a certain request form. Many county commissions, for example, have adopted a PDF or web form which may or may not be posted or specified on the commission website. Links to commission request forms, where applicable, are provided in the notes. If the records holder has no form, requesters may follow the template in § 36-12-45.

Procedures: § 36-12-44 allows records holders to establish a “written procedure.” Such procedures (also linked in the county notes) typically specify a certain form and reiterate portions of the Open Records Act, such as the requirement that requesters be state residents. A procedure cannot be in conflict with the statute, yet many do conflict with the statute by requiring that requests must be submitted and/or picked up in person, as discussed next.

Residency: The requester may be asked to provide proof of residency. Alabama is one of nine states that permit denial of requests of non-residents, according to John Sharp on AL.com. Most request forms require an address; you might also include a photo of your drivers license. (I also made calls from a registered 205-prefix land line. Yet several officials still suggested that only my appearance in their office would allow verification of my residency or even my existence as a human.) Proxy requests are not prohibited, so a resident may request on behalf of a non-resident, as is documented by MuckRock.

In-Person Requirements: Some record holders espouse, whether via a written procedure or a verbally communicated policy, a requirement that requests be made and/or records be collected in person. Such requirements violate the Open Records Act’s statement that records holders “shall provide” the requested records. The intention of the law is to make records available to residents of the state; an in-person requirement effectively undermines the statutory right of access, since it is not reasonable for a requester to be required to drive across their own county, much less the entire state, to request and/or retrieve records. Whenever I encountered an in-person requirement, I spoke to the official and/or their superior about the requirement’s conflict with the statute, and in some cases the request was fulfilled or a compromise was reached (such as allowing me to mail the request). In other cases, the roadblock was averted by requesting the same record from another person or agency.

Fees: The records holder may require a “reasonable fee,” which is estimated in advance; the requester may then opt to pay the fee or to cancel the request. “Reasonable” is undefined. Probably because my requests have been simple, I have not been asked for a fee by any commission, municipal government, or animal shelter. (I have paid only for court records, which are not covered by the Open Records Act.) If you are asked for a fee, the following ideas may help mitigate costs:

Timing: Record holders are required by § 36-12-44 to acknowledge the request within 10 business days of receipt. For “standard” requests, defined as requiring up to eight hours of staff time, the records holder is granted another 15 business days after acknowledgement to provide a substantive response, such as delivering the records or access to the records, extending the deadline, or advising that the record does not exist or is held by another agency. “Time-intensive” requests bear a longer timeline.