Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Calera, Alabama, in Shelby County, has about 19,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A DUI arrest in Calera starts two cases, a criminal case in the District Court or a municipal court and a license case before ALEA, and leaves three records. This guide follows the arrest from the roadside to the court file and the driving record.
This guide covers the law, the arrest, booking, the court case, the license case, the records and common questions.
Related guides: Calera public records, Shelby County DUI, Calera arrest records, Calera warrants, Calera inmate search, Calera criminal records, Alabama arrest records and Alabama inmate search.
The DUI Law in Alabama
In Alabama the offense is DUI, and the limit is 0.08.
Driving in Alabama is consent to a breath or blood test when an officer has cause to suspect DUI; the license case that follows a refusal or a failed test is run by ALEA, separately from the criminal case.
Who Makes DUI Arrests in Calera
The Shelby County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Calera (filed by the FBI as Calera Police Department) make the DUI arrests in and around Calera.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Shelby County: the University of Montevallo (campus police).
Together, the eight agencies in Shelby County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,526 arrests to the FBI that year, all offenses together; the FBI's count for Shelby County does not break DUI out.
The Vestavia Hills Police Department, the Hoover Police Department, the Birmingham Police Department and one more are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Shelby County, so their arrests are not broken out for Shelby County here.
Booking After a DUI Arrest in Calera
A driver arrested for DUI and kept in custody goes to the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The jail, run by the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, held about 500 people on an average day in 2023 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a custody page SearchSystems verified at inmatelisting.shelbyal.com. The Calera inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
The Court Case
The case is heard in the District Court or a municipal court, brought by the District Attorney or, in a municipal court, by the city's own prosecutor.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at shelby.alacourt.gov, phone 205-669-3760.
Statewide, Alacourt is the statewide online index of Alabama trial court cases, sold by subscription.
The License Case
The court case is only half the record. ALEA runs a separate administrative case over the license, which can suspend it before the criminal case is decided, and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency keeps the driving record the conviction goes on.
The Records a DUI Leaves
- The arrest report: from the agency that made the arrest, under the Alabama Public Records Law.
- The court file: from the District Court or a municipal court, kept by the Circuit Clerk.
- The driving record: from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
More on each: Calera arrest records and Calera court records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the DUI limit in Alabama?
0.08 percent blood alcohol.
Where is a DUI case from Calera heard?
In the District Court or a municipal court. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at shelby.alacourt.gov.
Where is a person arrested for DUI in Calera held?
At the county jail, run by the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
Who handles the license after a DUI arrest in Alabama?
ALEA, in an administrative case separate from the court case.
Is this the official Calera website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.