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. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 24, 2026.
Houston County, Alabama, has about 109,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Its court cases are filed in the Houston County Circuit Court and the District Court, and the file of each case, kept by the Circuit Clerk, is the public record of it. This guide says which court hears what, where to look a case up and who keeps the files.
This guide covers the courts, the records page, criminal cases, kinds of files, directory links, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Houston County public records, Houston County arrest records, Houston County warrants, Houston County criminal records, Houston County police reports, Alabama arrest records and Alabama inmate search.
The Courts That Hear Cases from Houston County
In Houston County, the Houston County Circuit Court hears felonies, civil cases over $20,000, divorces and appeals from the district court.
Below it, the District Court takes misdemeanors, traffic cases, small claims and preliminary hearings in felony cases.
A city with a municipal court of its own tries the tickets written under its ordinances.
Divorces go to the Circuit Court, and the file stays with the Circuit Clerk.
The Circuit Clerk keeps the files, and a copy of anything in a file comes from that office, under the court's own rules rather than the Alabama Public Records Law.
Looking Up a Case from Houston County
For Houston County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at houston.alacourt.gov (page title: Houston County | Twentieth Circuit Court of Alabama), phone (334) 677-4800, Monday-Friday; 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
Statewide, Alacourt is the statewide online index of Alabama trial court cases, sold by subscription.
The appellate courts' case search is at publicportal.alappeals.gov/portal/search/case.
What Reaches the Court from Houston County
Together, the five agencies in Houston County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 6,064 arrests to the FBI that year; the District Attorney decides which of those arrests become cases in the Houston County Circuit Court or the District Court.
The Kinds of Court Files
The court file is one record with several readers: a criminal case from the arrest to the sentence, a divorce from the petition to the judgment, a traffic ticket from the citation to the conviction the court reports to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and an eviction or a lien on land.
The other Houston County guides take the kinds of file one at a time: Houston County criminal records, Houston County divorce records, Houston County traffic tickets and Houston County property records.
More Official Court Pages for Houston County
The SearchSystems directory, online since 1997, lists the official pages for Houston County and Alabama. These court pages from its Houston County listing were opened again on October 2, 2026 and each one still answers:
- Alabama Administrative Office of Courts (alacourt.gov)
- Civil Cases, Alacourt.com 2.0 (v2.alacourt.com)
Cities in Houston County
Wherever in the county a case arises, it is filed in the Houston County Circuit Court or the District Court; tickets under a city's own ordinances go to its municipal court where it has one.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Houston County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own court records guide opens there:
- Dothan (71,650)
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I look up a court case in Houston County?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at houston.alacourt.gov, phone (334) 677-4800. Statewide, Alacourt is the statewide online index of Alabama trial court cases, sold by subscription.
Which court hears felonies in Houston County?
The Houston County Circuit Court, which hears felonies, civil cases over $20,000, divorces and appeals from the district court. The District Court takes misdemeanors, traffic cases, small claims and preliminary hearings in felony cases.
Who keeps the court records in Houston County?
The Circuit Clerk. Copies come from that office under the court's own rules.
Is there a statewide court case search in Alabama?
Yes: Alacourt, the statewide online index of Alabama trial court cases, sold by subscription.
Is this the official Houston County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.