Blount County Circuit Clerk Office
The functional clerk of court for Blount County trial-court records is the Blount County Circuit Clerk. The official AOC site identifies the elected clerk as Cindy C. Massey. The office serves the Forty-First Judicial Circuit and handles Circuit Court and District Court records locally. Probate records, marriage certificates, and recorded instruments are handled by the Probate Office instead.
The clerk site says its purpose is to provide helpful online information about office procedures and services. It also directs users to Alabama court resources for forms, support, and services. The office may explain procedure, but the site states that the Circuit Clerk is prohibited from giving legal advice. Users who need legal advice are directed to an attorney.
Blount County Circuit Clerk
Clerk: Cindy C. Massey
Blount County Courthouse
220 2nd Ave E.
Oneonta, AL 35121
205-973-0499
8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday
Current access note: the official clerk site states that the office will be temporarily relocated to 1000 Lincoln Avenue, Oneonta, Alabama during courthouse renovations when that notice is active. Visitors should use the posted official instructions for the temporary service location.
Blount County Circuit Clerk Duties
The Circuit Clerk keeps the local court-record channels for case types assigned to Circuit Court and District Court. That includes felony and misdemeanor files, circuit civil, district civil, small claims, evictions, domestic relations, state and county traffic, child support, and juvenile division work. The clerk also handles absentee election manager duties, which the directory lists under Cindy Massey.
- Maintains Circuit Court and District Court case records for the Forty-First Judicial Circuit.
- Processes filings, fees, and court paperwork for civil, criminal, domestic relations, traffic, child support, and juvenile divisions.
- Provides copies of divorce decrees and other available court records when the request follows office rules.
- Supports AlaFile e-notice registration for pro se users who bring the printed registration form and state photo ID.
- Routes users to the correct division, including criminal, traffic, domestic relations, circuit civil, district civil, small claims, and juvenile staff.
Blount County Circuit Clerk Divisions
The clerk directory is useful because it shows how the office splits work by case type. A caller who knows the record category can avoid sending a traffic question to domestic relations or an eviction question to criminal staff. Extension numbers can change, so the main clerk phone remains the safest starting point if an extension fails.
| Division or Task | Staff or Extension Listed |
|---|---|
| Child Support / Circuit Criminal | Mary Putman ext. 3311 |
| Traffic | Anna Hathcock ext. 3313 |
| Domestic Relations / Circuit Civil / Protection From Abuse | Bonnie Hawkins ext. 3310 |
| Small Claims / District Civil / Evictions | Kari Kritner ext. 3060 |
| Traffic | Stephanie Smith ext. 3398 |
| Criminal misdemeanors and felonies | Tracey Hopper ext. 3242 |
| Juvenile | Lisa Massey ext. 3608 |
| Circuit Clerk / Absentee Election Manager | Cindy Massey ext. 3302 |
Request Blount County Certified Copies
Certified copies are used when a record must be accepted as an official court copy. Divorce decrees are the clearest researched certified-copy example for Blount County. The local domestic relations page says a decree copy costs $10. Mail requests must include a $10 money order and a self-addressed stamped envelope. In-person requests may be paid by money order or cash, correct change only.
- Identify the record type, such as divorce decree, civil order, criminal disposition, or traffic case record.
- Gather the case number if known, party names, approximate filing year, and the specific document requested.
- For a divorce decree by mail, send the request to Blount County Circuit Clerk Cindy C. Massey, 220 Second Ave. East, Room 208, Oneonta, AL 35121.
- Include the correct money order and a self-addressed stamped envelope when mailing a decree request.
- For old or archived records, confirm the higher copy and certification fees before sending payment.
Money orders for divorce decree copies are payable to Cindy C. Massey. Older archived decrees cost more than standard copies, and the research lists an added certification fee for those archived records. A requester should not assume all documents use the same copy fee.
Blount County Request Form Fields
The research did not locate one universal Blount County records request form for every clerk record. The practical request inventory comes from the divorce decree copy instructions and the clerk's division structure. A complete request should identify the document, the case, the parties, the return method, and the payment route.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Helpful when known | Use Alacourt ACCESS or prior court papers to locate it before requesting copies. |
| Party names | Yes | Include full names and any former names used in the case. |
| Record type | Yes | State whether the request is for a divorce decree, order, judgment, disposition, docket, or another document. |
| Approximate filing year | Helpful | Important for old or archived records. |
| Certified or plain copy | Yes | Certification affects fee and official use. |
| Return address | Yes for mail | Divorce decree mail requests require a self-addressed stamped envelope. |
| Payment | Yes when fee applies | Use the payment type stated by the clerk for the requested record. |
Blount County Circuit Clerk Fees
The local clerk pages provide several fee schedules tied to case type. The table below combines the researched copy, domestic relations, civil, district civil, small claims, and child support amounts. It should be used as a local reference point, but payment should be confirmed with the clerk before filing or mailing, especially while the office is using any temporary service location.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Divorce decree copy | $10 |
| Old or archived decree copy | $25 for one copy |
| Additional certification for old or archived decree | $5 |
| Domestic relations docket fee | $259 |
| Modify or enforce domestic relations order | $362 |
| Circuit civil, $20,000.01 to $50,000 | $311 |
| Circuit civil, $50,000.01 and over or unspecified | $411 |
| District civil, $6,000.01 to $20,000, one defendant | $312 |
| Small claims up to $1,500 | $102 |
| Small claims $1,500.01 to $3,000 | $176 |
| Small claims $3,000.01 to $6,000 | $265 |
| Jury demand | $100 |
| Subpoena | $12 |
| Garnishment, execution, or attachment | $30 |
| Child support filing fee | $119 |
Blount County Circuit Clerk Online Access
The clerk's online access chain has two main statewide tools. Alacourt ACCESS / Just One Look is the paid statewide trial-court access portal for public case searches. The public homepage identifies criminal, civil, small claims, state traffic, domestic relations, and child support records, with name and case-number searches. Full access is account and payment gated.
AlaFile is different. It is the e-filing and e-notice system. The Blount clerk instructions say pro se users who want e-notices should register through AlaFile, print the registration form, and bring it to the Clerk's Office during normal business hours with a state-issued photo ID. The office then processes the registration so court orders can be received by email.
| Portal Field | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alacourt ACCESS login email | Yes for account access | Used for paid statewide trial-court access. | |
| Password | Password | Yes for account access | Portal provides password recovery. |
| Search type | Portal choice | Required after login | Name search and case-number search are identified on the public homepage. |
| Case categories | Informational | No | Criminal, civil, small claims, state traffic, domestic relations, and child support. |
| AlaFile email | Yes for e-filing or e-notice login | Used for filing and pro se e-notice registration. | |
| AlaFile password | Password | Yes for e-filing or e-notice login | Login-gated portal field. |
Note: Alacourt helps locate case information, but certified copies still come from the clerk office that maintains the local file.
Blount County Circuit Clerk Limits
The Circuit Clerk cannot act as a lawyer, choose forms for a party, predict outcomes, or explain what a party should file. The office can give procedural information, receive filings, collect required fees, provide available copies, and direct users to official Alabama court resources. The distinction is important in domestic relations, protection from abuse, child support, and civil filing matters because a procedural mistake can affect deadlines or service.
The Circuit Clerk also is not the Probate Office. Marriage certificates, probate estate files, guardianships, conservatorships, recording, passports, licensing, and election administration run through Probate Judge Tamra D. Alldredge's office. When a record search involves both offices, such as a name change, marriage, divorce, or estate dispute, the record type decides which office should be contacted first.
The county government research also notes that circuit and district courts are state-operated offices housed in county buildings. That helps explain why a Blount County user may move from a county facility page to an Alabama AOC page, then to Alacourt ACCESS or AlaFile. The Circuit Clerk is the local trial-court contact, but the online tools and many rules are statewide Alabama court systems.