Access Randolph County Circuit Clerk Records

Randolph County Circuit Clerk Office

Chris May is the Randolph County Circuit Clerk and also serves as clerk for District Court. The Alabama state examiner's 2025 report confirms his role during the period reviewed and describes the office's receipt, disbursement, and accounting for court costs, fines, forfeitures, fiduciary funds, and other case receipts. The clerk also acts as Randolph County's Absentee Election Manager for county, state, and federal elections.

Office instructions explain procedure but are not legal advice. Alabama law bars the Circuit Clerk from giving legal advice, choosing forms for a litigant, or predicting what a judge will decide. The clerk can identify filing requirements, locate public records, quote available fees, issue process, and explain office steps.

The office is the working record hub for two different trial-court levels. Circuit Court files include felony, major civil, domestic, and qualifying lower-court appeal matters. District Court files cover limited-jurisdiction criminal and civil work, small claims, preliminary felony proceedings, and assigned traffic cases. The 2025 state examination reviewed Randolph County Circuit and District Court operations from September 2021 through March 2025 and reported no significant noncompliance in the tests performed. That audit also confirms the clerk's duty to account for case receipts and fiduciary funds. It does not turn the County Commission into the custodian of judicial files. A requester seeking a court order, case action summary, certified judgment, or older case document should therefore start with Chris May's office and identify the correct court division.

Randolph County Circuit Clerk Duties

The office interacts with the public each business day while moving filings through Circuit and District Court. It images court records, enters pleadings, issues notices for trials and hearings, prepares subpoenas, receives fines and fees, and manages jury functions. Ten record and operations divisions include Civil, Criminal, Domestic, Child Support, Traffic, Juvenile, and Warrants.

• File and preserve pleadings, orders, notices, and case action entries.
• Collect and account for court costs, fines, forfeitures, and fiduciary funds.
• Prepare subpoenas and issue notices for settings, trials, and hearings.
• Support jury summons, reporting, payment, security instructions, and trial administration.
• Serve District Court as well as Circuit Court under Alabama's unified clerk structure.

The official Fifth Judicial Circuit judges source identifies the circuit judges whose filings and orders move through clerk operations.

The circuit roster includes Presiding Judge William Isaac Whorton and Circuit Judges James Luke Farmer and Kevin M. Hall.

The official District Judge source identifies Amy M. Newsome and the local District Court contact.

Because one Circuit Clerk serves both court levels, requesters should name the division and court when asking for a record.

Request Randolph Certified Copies

A certified copy bears the clerk's authentication and is often requested when a court order, judgment, or other filing must be presented for an official purpose. An online image is not automatically a certified copy. The source set does not publish Randolph's current counter certification price, so confirm cost, payment form, turnaround, and mailing needs before sending a request.

1. Identify the court level, division, full party names, and exact case number if known.
2. Name the precise item needed, such as a final order, judgment, disposition, or complete case action summary.
3. Call (256) 357-4551 to confirm public availability, page count, certification cost, accepted payment, and delivery method.
4. Submit the request at 1 Main Street South or mail it to P.O. Box 328, Wedowee, AL 36278, as directed.
5. Check the received copy for the correct case, document, certification, and all requested pages.

Note: Older, restricted, sealed, juvenile, or party-limited files may require identity proof, authorization, or a court order before release.

Randolph Record Request Fields

Judicial record requests should go directly to the Circuit Clerk, not through the County Commission form. The Commission's public-records request form and its separate request procedures apply to records in Commission custody. They are useful models for a clear written description, but they are not Circuit Clerk forms. For court files, the case number and exact document description are the strongest search keys. Avoid a broad request for “everything” when a specific order or date range will work.

Randolph County Circuit Clerk Fees

AlaCourt ACCESS publishes prices for on-demand trial record searches, images, and case monitoring. A name search and a case-number search each include one case detail. A search that finds no match still counts. Child-support instructions publish two local amounts, but those are filing and service costs, not general copy fees.

The official child-support source documents the filing process and published local charges.

After filing, processing generally takes one to two weeks before assignment of a case number, court date, and service.

Randolph County Circuit Clerk Forms

State forms are available through Alabama's e-forms system. Local instructions specifically point to Protection from Abuse and child-support forms. A PFA petition may be printed or obtained from the office, and no filing charge is collected up front. A judge may issue a temporary order and schedule a final hearing, with service handled by the sheriff.

• Alabama court e-forms for statewide approved court forms.
• Protection from Abuse instructions for petition, temporary order, service, and hearing steps.
• Child-support instructions for filing, service, processing, and change notices.
• AlaFile registration for the pro se e-notice process described by the clerk.

The public garnishment notice source shows how the clerk posts names, case numbers, notices, written orders, and publication dates.

Those notices demonstrate why a public notice may identify a case without displaying its full narrative or every filed document.

Randolph Clerk Online Access

Most electronically imaged Circuit and District case information is accessed through AlaCourt ACCESS or Just One Look. The paid case detail can show status, settings, parties, court actions, financial history, and a detailed case action summary. Probate files use the Probate Judge and ING portal instead, and city court records may stay at municipal level. Mail requests for court copies should use the Circuit Clerk's P.O. Box rather than the County Commission open-records address.

A self-represented litigant who wants electronic orders can register at AlaFile, print the registration form, and bring it to the Clerk's Office during business hours with state-issued photo identification. Once processed, orders entered in the case are sent by email. This e-notice path does not replace filing, service, or a court appearance.

Randolph County Circuit Clerk Jury Work

Jury management is another core clerk duty. Summoned jurors should register through the Alabama juror portal, report to the Main Courtroom, arrive early for parking and screening, and leave cell phones outside. Parking around the courthouse is free. The office states that normal jury hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., most trials last one to five days, and juror pay is $10 per day plus $0.05 per mile for one round trip each day.

The official Randolph jury source also warns that the clerk will not call to ask for Social Security or credit-card numbers.

Family emergencies for a juror can be relayed through the Clerk's Office because phones are not allowed in the courthouse.