How to Check for Warrants in Jefferson, Shelby, or St. Clair County, Alabama
The safest way to check for an Alabama warrant is to have a criminal defense attorney check for you, or to search the court records for the county or city where the case started. Calling the sheriff’s office yourself and giving your name can tell them exactly where you are. Walking into a courthouse to ask can end with you in custody that afternoon.
Found a warrant? A walk-through bond lets you turn yourself in on a day you choose. Call Bail Bonds of Alabama at 205-401-8052, 24 hours a day.
Why you should not just call and ask
If a warrant is active, the agency holding it has a job to do. Announcing yourself, on a recorded line, with your name and often your phone number, is not a neutral act.
The same goes for showing up in person. People go to a courthouse intending to sort something out and are taken into custody at the counter, with no bond arranged, no childcare in place, and no way to tell an employer.
Having a third party check keeps you in control of the timing. That is the whole point.
The ways to check, from safest to riskiest
1. Have a criminal defense attorney check. An attorney can also move to recall the warrant and reset the court date. Best option when there is an underlying case to fight.
2. Have someone else check public records for you. Alabama court records are searchable through the state judicial system’s public portal, and some sheriff’s offices publish warrant lists. Have a trusted person search rather than doing it yourself, and understand these sources are incomplete and often out of date.
3. Calling the sheriff’s office or clerk yourself. Accurate, and it identifies you. Only after you have a bond arranged.
4. Walking in to ask in person. This is how people get arrested on a Tuesday afternoon.
What a bail bondsman cannot do. A bail bondsman does not have access to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the FBI database police use to check for warrants nationwide, and cannot call every county in Alabama for you. Most people already know where a warrant would come from: the county or city where they got a ticket, missed a court date, or were arrested. Start there. Once you know there is a warrant, a bondsman can set up a walk-through bond so you turn yourself in on a scheduled day and go home the same visit.
County by county
Jefferson County
The largest system in Alabama, roughly 43,000 bookings a year, and the most fragmented. Some cities, including Hoover, Homewood, and Gardendale, run their own city jails, so check with the city as well as the county.
There are two jails — Birmingham and Bessemer. The Bessemer facility at 1822 2nd Avenue North serves the Bessemer Cutoff and western Jefferson County; an arrest there never touches downtown Birmingham.
- Birmingham switchboard: 205-325-5670
- Bessemer: 205-481-4160
- Inmate portal: searches by name, subject number, or booking number, and covers both facilities in one search
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Warrant Detail serves warrants continuously, and the county runs coordinated multi-agency sweeps. See Find an Inmate for the portal links.
Shelby County
Shelby County Jail, 380 McDow Road, Columbiana, 500 beds.
- Jail Division: 205-670-6066
Two Shelby procedural traps worth knowing before you go: a property bond secured by real estate in another county must be approved by that county’s sheriff first, and purge bonds in Shelby County are only accepted as a money order or cashier’s check. Arriving with cash or a card for a purge bond means a wasted trip.
St. Clair County
St. Clair County Jail, 100 18th St. North, Pell City, 205-814-3525. The lobby is open to the public 24 hours a day.
Bonds are not posted at the jail. They are posted at the Sheriff’s Office, and there are two:
- Ashville — 48 6th St.
- Pell City — 1610 Cogswell Ave.
And the rule that costs families the most time: all felony bonds in St. Clair County require two property owners. A misdemeanor needs one signer if there is only one property owner. Show up for a felony bond with one owner and you are going home to find a second.
What kind of warrant is it?
Not all Alabama warrants behave the same way.
Alias warrant — issued after a missed court date. Extremely common, and usually the most straightforward to clear with a walk-through bond. See failure to appear in Alabama.
Arrest warrant — issued on a new charge after a judge or magistrate finds probable cause.
Bench warrant — issued by a judge for something that happened in the case itself, such as violating a condition of release.
Probation violation warrant — often held without bond pending a hearing, which makes this the one where you most need an attorney early.
Warrant sweeps are scheduled, not random
Waiting it out is a strategy that works right up until it does not.
Operation Safe Summer, run by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office with the Birmingham Police Department and the FBI, announced results on July 3, 2026:
| Result | Count |
|---|---|
| Outstanding warrants cleared | 193 |
| Arrests | 76 |
| Traffic stops | 150 |
| Citations | 193 |
| Illegal firearms seized | 13 |
Operation Alliance Shield added 53 more arrests.
These are announced, coordinated, multi-agency operations. A warrant does not expire — it just waits for a traffic stop, a background check, or a sweep.
If you find one: the walk-through bond
A walk-through bond, sometimes called a turn-in bond, is arranged before you go in. You are booked, processed, and released in the same visit.
You choose the day. You arrange childcare. You take one planned day off instead of disappearing for a weekend and losing the job.
Compare that to being picked up on a Friday night, when there may be no judge available until Monday.
Cost is a standard Alabama bail bond: normally 10% to 15% of the bail amount, non-refundable, with creative financing available upon approval at 0% interest if paid in full within 12 months. Approval always depends on a co-signer assessment.
With the Virtual Bail Office™, the whole thing is arranged from your phone before you ever leave the house.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if I have a warrant in Alabama? The safest way is to have a criminal defense attorney check for you, or to search the court records where the case started. A bail bondsman cannot search the national NCIC warrant database. Calling the sheriff’s office yourself identifies you and your location.
Can I check for a warrant online in Alabama? Partially. Alabama court records are searchable through the state judicial system’s public portal and some sheriff’s offices publish lists, but these sources are incomplete and often out of date.
Do warrants expire in Alabama? No. A warrant stays active until it is cleared.
Will I be arrested if I turn myself in? You are booked and processed. With a walk-through bond arranged in advance, you are released in the same visit rather than held.
How much does it cost to clear a warrant in Alabama? The bond costs normally 10% to 15% of the bail amount.
Where to go next
Found a warrant? Call 205-401-8052 about a walk-through bond, 24 hours a day. Serving Alabama families since 2014.
This article is general information about the Alabama court process, not legal advice. For advice about a specific case, talk to a licensed Alabama attorney.