Alabama Free Recording of Discharge Papers by the Probate Judge

The Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs' September 2026 booklet of Alabama laws affecting veterans, citing Ala. Code 31-1-1, says honourable discharges and certificates of honourable service are recorded free by probate judges, and that anyone holding a release from active duty or DD-214 from any branch may have it recorded "by the judge of probate of the county wherein he or she resides at no charge." Confidential. Once recorded, the record and certified copies are confidential. It is unlawful to let anyone inspect the record, disclose it or copy it except as the law allows or a court orders, and a violation is a misdemeanour with a fine of up to $5,000. Records may not be used for any commercial or speculative purpose. Who may see it, and the price. On proper identification, the person named, the spouse or next of kin, a person named in a power of attorney, the administrator, executor, guardian or legal representative, an attorney for any of them, or a county veteran service officer "may examine the record or obtain free of charge a copy or certified copy of all or part of the record." A related rule, Ala. Code 26-9-12, makes one copy of any public record such as a birth or marriage certificate or divorce decree free when VA requires it to decide eligibility for a benefit. Source note. The Code of Alabama's own site, ALISON, did not answer from this machine on October 1, 2026, so this entry rests on the Department of Veterans Affairs' booklet, an official State publication, rather than on the section text.