Ala. R. Jud. Admin. 30

(A) Copies. Conventional copies and certified copies of court records in

paper or electronic form may be obtained at the clerk's office. A fee may be charged

for any paper or electronic copy provided by the clerk. The clerk may require that

requests for copies be made in writing.

(B) Definitions. "Copies," as used herein, shall mean any document on

file or recorded in the office of the clerk or alternative repository of the clerk’s office,

which is reproduced by photocopy, by electronic printing, by electronic transmittal,

or by any other means. For purposes of this rule, the term clerk and clerk’s office

shall also include any repository, and/or custodian thereof, designated by law, rule,

or directive as an alternative source to whom temporary or permanent custody of

court records is assigned.

(C) Certification. A court document may be certified only if the original of

the document is on file with or recorded with the court. In addition to manually

certifying documents with a handwritten signature, any custodian of a court

document may also use an electronic signature and electronic seal to certify

documents that are in electronic format.

(D) Payment for copies. The clerk shall not release copies of records

until the payment is received or obligated by the requestor. The cost for copies

shall be established by directive of the Administrative Director of Courts. At the

clerk’s discretion, however, parties to the action, representatives of businesses that

are named parties to the action, or attorneys representing named parties to the

action may receive copies of the court records free of charge. At the discretion of

the clerk, copies of court records may be made at no charge for governmental

agencies, whether federal, state, county, or municipal. If the requesting individual

requests that the clerk forward the copies by mail, the clerk shall not pay for

postage.

(E) Intragovernmental requests for copies or certified copies. If a

governmental agency makes a request to a clerk for conventional copies or

certified copies of documents stored electronically or if the clerk is required by law

to forward copies of documents stored electronically to a governmental agency,

the clerk may satisfy the request by providing the copies in electronic form.

(F) Record searches. The clerk may, but is not required to, perform

background checks and archival record searches. The clerk may charge a fee for

such services. The procedures and costs for the services shall be established by

directive of the Administrative Director of Courts.

(G) Electronic signatures. The requirement that any court record or

document be signed is met by use of an electronic signature. An electronic

signature is considered to be the original signature upon the court record or

document for all purposes under these Rules and other applicable statutes or

rules. Electronic signatures shall either: (1) show an image of such signature as it

appears on the original document or appended as an image file or (2) bear the

name of the signatory preceded by an "/s/" typed in the space where the signature

would otherwise appear, as follows: /s/ Jane Doe. The Administrative Director of

Courts may also designate other means of verification to authenticate a document.

Such verification may include biometric measurements or computer-based

encryption methodology. When a clerk, judge, magistrate, or any custodian of court

records is required to provide a signature during the administration of his or her

duties, the requirement is satisfied if the document is signed by electronic means.

The Administrative Director of Courts may promulgate policies or procedures to

assure the security and reliability of signatures executed by officials of the Unified

Judicial System or through any application for electronic filing maintained or

operated by the Unified Judicial System.

(H) Integrity of the case files. No case file shall be removed from the

control of the clerk, except by order of the court, by statute, by rule of the Supreme

Court, or by directive of the Administrative Director of Courts, or only upon good

cause shown.

(I) Open records. The provisions of this rule shall not alter the provision

that court files shall be open to inspection free of charge; however, records sealed,

exempted, or otherwise restricted by law, rule, or court order may not be released

to the general public except by court order.

(J) Fee disbursal. Any fee collected pursuant to this rule shall be

distributed by the clerk in the same manner as described in Rule 4(H) of these

Rules.

(K) Authority of the Administrative Director of Courts. The Administrative

Director of Courts shall provide the Supreme Court with notice of any policies,

procedures, guidelines, directive, or any other standards that are implemented

pursuant to this rule. Notice shall be provided by filing the documentation of such

with the Clerk of the Supreme Court for circulation to members of the Court.