Clarke County is one of the oldest in the state, being founded in 1812. It's in the south-western corner of Alabama and the county seat is Grove Hill which is also where the offices are where you can get Clarke County public records.

To make a request for a certified copy of many kinds of Clarke County public records, you will need to visit the health department office in Grove Hill or mail an application to the state Vital Records office in Montgomery. You can get copies of any Alabama records from the health department and they usually serve you while you wait as long as you have your forms ready.

If you mail your forms to the state office, it will take between 7 and 10 days to get your Clarke County public records back to you. At the office you can pay the associated search fees in cash, but through the mail you will have to send in a check or money order (made out to the State Board of Health). And you should take note that the fees are not returned should the records you request not be found.

Clarke County Birth Records

Birth records are the hardest vital records to access due to a 125-year long privacy period associated with them. Within that time period, you can only order copies of your own birth certificate or get copies for immediate family members (such as parents, children, siblings and current spouses). The main collection of Clarke County birth records will date from 1908, with a partial collection going back many years beyond that. The search fee to get a Clarke County birth record is currently $15 USD.

Clarke County Death Records

There are less strict rules about getting a copy of a Clarke County death record, with the privacy time-frame lasting only 25 years. The same relationship rules apply as with the birth records, with only immediate family members being allowed access to the records until they become public domain. Because they are public, you can also access many older records through the State Archives or even the local library. The cost is also $15 USD for each record retrieved.

Clarke County Marriage Records

Clarke County marriage records are also available through the health department office or the state Vital records office, with each search and copy costing you $15 USD. You can request a copy of anyone's marriage record regardless of when the marriage took place or your relationship to the people on the record. They are completely public domain records, and should be available in full since 1936 which is when the state started keeping the data.

Clarke County Criminal Records

The only people who are permitted to make requests for Clarke County criminal records are law enforcement officers and certain employers who are allowed to perform criminal background checks on new employees. Other than that, individuals are allowed to request a copy of their own criminal record for information purposes. The records are maintained by the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center, and each copy will cost $25 USD to access.