Pickens County Circuit Clerk Office
Keith "Booty" Cox is the Pickens County Circuit Clerk. His official Circuit Clerk biography says he was appointed in March 2015 after Bobby Cowart retired and was elected to a full term in 2018. Cox is a lifelong Carrollton and Pickens County resident and a fourth-generation Circuit Clerk. The biography also records past service with the Aliceville Police Department, 24th Circuit Drug Task Force, and 24th Circuit District Attorney's Office.
That local background connects the records office with the 24th Judicial Circuit, which covers Fayette, Lamar, and Pickens counties. Sheriff Jordan Powell's office may serve papers and support court security, but the Circuit Clerk is the records officer for local state trial-court case files.
Pickens County Circuit Clerk
Clerk: Keith "Booty" Cox
20 Phoenix Avenue
Carrollton, AL 35447
Mail: P.O. Box 418, Carrollton, AL 35447
(205) 367-2050
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Closed noon-1:00 p.m.
Pickens County Circuit Clerk Duties
The Circuit Clerk receives pleadings and keeps the case file as court action occurs. That work spans Circuit Civil, District Civil, Small Claims, Domestic Relations, criminal, and traffic divisions. A processed complaint receives a case number. Service documents, answers, motions, subpoenas, settings, judgments, and appeal notices then become part of the record. The office also supports juror check-in, accepts charges listed on official division pages, and gives procedural instructions without giving legal advice.
- Maintain Circuit Court and District Court case files and docket activity.
- Receive civil, small claims, domestic relations, criminal, and traffic filings.
- Issue or process service, subpoenas, notices, judgments, and appeal papers.
- Answer questions about office procedure, record availability, current charges, and certification.
- Support juror registration and courthouse check-in for local trials.
The clerk cannot choose a claim, draft legal strategy, predict a result, or advise a party what to file. Represented parties should work through counsel. Probate cases, deeds, land records, and marriage certificates go to Judge of Probate David H. Pate instead of the Circuit Clerk.
Request Pickens County Certified Copies
A certified copy carries the clerk's certification that it matches the official court record. It may be needed to prove a judgment, disposition, decree, or filing to another court, agency, employer, licensing body, or private institution. An online case-detail view can help identify the document, but it should not be treated as certified unless the issuing court provides certification.
- Identify the case with its case number. If that is unknown, gather the full party names, case type, court division, and an approximate filing or disposition date.
- Call the Pickens County Circuit Clerk to confirm that the file is held there, is open to the requester, and can be certified. Ask for the current copy and certification charge.
- State the exact document needed, such as a judgment, divorce decree, disposition, order, or case action summary. Confirm the number of copies and delivery method.
- Submit the request at the counter or by mail with the payment and return materials the clerk instructs. Do not assume an online report is the certified court copy.
- Check the names, case number, document, and certification when received. Contact the clerk promptly if the item does not match the request.
Older, restricted, sealed, expunged, juvenile, adoption, or mental-health records may not be available through ordinary public channels. The office can explain the access procedure, but it cannot provide legal advice about obtaining a court order.
Pickens County Record Request Fields
No separate local public request form was captured. The research identifies the facts a requester should provide to help the Circuit Clerk locate and reproduce a file. Complete identifiers reduce the risk of retrieving the wrong person or case, especially when names are common.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case Number | If known | Best identifier; use it whenever contacting the court |
| Party Names | Yes | Give full names as they appear in the case |
| Case Type or Division | Yes | Circuit Civil, District Civil, Small Claims, Domestic Relations, criminal, or traffic |
| Document Type | Yes | Name the order, decree, judgment, disposition, pleading, or report |
| Approximate Date | If known | Helps narrow older or similar-name files |
| Number of Copies | Yes | State whether each copy must be certified |
| Delivery and Contact | Yes | Provide mailing or pickup choice and a phone number for questions |
A user who needs broad case discovery can start with Alacourt ACCESS. The statewide service offers paid name and case-number searches. For a certified record, the practical fallback remains the Pickens County Circuit Clerk by phone, mail, or in person.
Pickens County Circuit Clerk Fees
The clerk's official division pages publish filing and process charges, not a local per-page certified-copy schedule. Users should call for current copy and certification charges. The selected amounts below are published for Pickens County case work and show why the case type and amount in dispute matter.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Circuit Civil, $20,000.01-$50,000 | $286.00 |
| Circuit Civil, $50,000.01 or more/unspecified | $386.00 |
| Circuit Civil jury demand | $100.00 |
| District Civil, one defendant, $6,000.01-$20,000 | $287.00 |
| Small Claims up to $1,500 | $92.00 |
| Small Claims $1,500.01-$3,000 | $166.00 |
| Small Claims $3,000.01-$6,000 | $255.00 |
| Domestic Relations docket fee | $234.00 |
| Domestic Relations modify/enforce/contempt | $337.00 |
| Plain or certified court-record copy | Call for current charge |
The published pages also list service and filing add-ons. Circuit Civil and District Civil additional sheriff-served defendants are $40 each; civil subpoenas are $42; and default, summary, or default-judgment motions are $50. Fees can change, so confirm the amount and accepted payment method before filing or mailing funds.
The Pickens Circuit Civil page displays the major civil jurisdiction and fee information used by the clerk.
Its chart applies to Circuit Civil work, not to every copy request or to Probate Court services.
Pickens County Circuit Clerk Forms
The Alabama court eForms repository supplies statewide forms linked from Pickens County division pages. Common examples include a Statement of Claim or complaint, Affidavit of Substantial Hardship, default-judgment papers, subpoenas, and domestic-relations child-support forms. The correct form depends on the division and relief sought.
The repository is a form source, while the Pickens County Circuit Clerk can explain filing procedure and current charges without choosing legal strategy.
- Statement of Claim or Complaint
- Identifies the parties, address, amount sought, and facts supporting a civil or small-claims filing.
- Affidavit of Substantial Hardship
- Asks a judge to defer prepayment of court costs when the filer cannot pay.
- Default Judgment Application and Affidavit
- Requests action when a defendant has not answered; the local page says it must be notarized.
- Subpoena forms
- Request a witness's attendance; local guidance says to allow at least two weeks for service.
- Child-support forms
- Include income statements, guidelines, compliance notices, and employment-change documents.
The District Civil instructions explain complaint processing, service, answers, evictions, and linked forms.
That division advises parties to use the assigned case number and says service dates are mailed with a computer printout rather than checked by phone.
Pickens County Clerk Access Channels
Alacourt ACCESS is the main online search path for Alabama trial-court records. It covers criminal, civil, small claims, state traffic, domestic relations, and child-support records. A name search or case-number search is $9.99. A case detail report includes basic case data, court action, status, settings, parties, financial history, and a detailed action summary. Document images cost $5 for the first 20 pages and $0.50 per page after that.
Mail requests go to P.O. Box 418, Carrollton, AL 35447. In-person requests go to 20 Phoenix Avenue during office hours, with the noon lunch closure in mind. Phone questions go to (205) 367-2050. For older files, unavailable images, or certification, contact the clerk instead of assuming the paid portal contains the needed official copy.
The Pickens County Small Claims page shows filing steps and the $6,000 local claim ceiling.
Small Claims is a District Court division with no jury, and either party may appeal its judgment to Circuit Court.
Pickens County Clerk Court Divisions
Domestic Relations is a Circuit Court division used mainly for divorce and child-related orders. The clerk's office does not supply fill-in-the-blank forms for many pleadings and cannot give legal advice. For an uncontested divorce, the local source states that 30 days must pass after filing before a judge can sign the decree if all papers are complete.
The Pickens Domestic Relations page identifies the division's filing notes and charges.
Divorce case files and decrees stay with the Circuit Clerk, while marriage certificates are recorded through the separate Judge of Probate.
District Civil covers local civil claims, including evictions and unlawful detainers, while Small Claims handles informal disputes up to $6,000. Traffic citations are District Court matters. Felony prosecutions and major civil matters go through Circuit Court. Users who need the broader file types and search paths can consult the Pickens County court records access routes.
Note: The Circuit Clerk can explain forms, fees, and office process but cannot tell a party what claim to make or how to argue it.