Pardon - FAQs

If you lost your voting rights due to a felony conviction, you may be eligible to restore them if you meet the following criteria:

• No pending felony charges in any state or federal court
• All fines, court costs, fees, and victim restitution ordered by the sentencing court at the time of sentencing on disqualifying cases must be paid in full OR relief from these monies has been granted by the Board of Pardons and Paroles or the sentencing court.
• Completed your sentence, probation, or parole.
• Conviction does not include impeachment, murder, rape (any degree), sodomy (any degree), sexual abuse (any degree), incest, sexual torture, enticing a child to enter a vehicle for immoral purposes, soliciting a child by computer, production of obscene matter involving a minor, production of obscene matter, parents or guardians permitting children to engage in obscene matter, possession of obscene matter, possession with intent to distribute child pornography, or treason.

Please see THIS flyer and visit our CERV page for more information.

Alabama law allows convicted persons to apply for a pardon with or without remission, subject to the procedures specified by law. These procedures give the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles the discretionary authority to grant or deny pardon and remission applications.

To be considered for a pardon or remission, an applicant must have either completed his or her sentence or have successfully served at least three (3) years on parole for the sentence for which the applicant seeks a pardon.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, a pardon based on innocence may be granted upon the unanimous affirmative of the Board following receipt and filing of clear proof of his or her innocence of the crime for which he or she was convicted and the written approval of the judge who tried his or her case or district attorney or with the approval of a circuit judge in the circuit where he or she was convicted if the judge who tried his or her case is no longer serving.

Note: The Board will only grant a remission of fines and/or forfeitures in cases to which the State of Alabama is a party.

You may apply for a pardon by completing the PARDON APPLICATION linked HERE and the WAIVER OF LIABILITY AND AUTHORITY FOR RELEASE OF INFORMATION linked HERE  and submitting them via mail ATTN: Pardons Unit or email to pardons@paroles.alabama.gov.

Any pardon application received is treated as a full pardon request. No pardon investigation will be completed except at the request of the person whose conviction is at issue.

If the applicant is interested in a pardon, he/she should indicate if he/she needs a misdemeanor pardoned for purposes of obtaining a license (such as bonding or nursing, etc). If this is not indicated, it will be assumed that the applicant is only interested in having felony convictions pardoned.

We recommend that you collect the information below prior to completing the form:

• Name listed on conviction
• True Name (current legal name)
• Sex and race
• Date of birth
• Social Security Number
• AIS# (Alabama Prison number) if you have one
• Current physical address including county
• Current mailing address, if different from physical address
• Home and/or cell telephone number
• Work telephone number if you have one
• Complete list of convictions, including county of conviction and year of conviction
• Whether your conviction(s) were state or federal

Yes, if the sentence is complete.

A pardon with restoration of civil and political rights may be granted to applicants who reside in Alabama. If the applicant resides in another state, they must apply in the state of residence. Note: A pardon from Alabama on a federal case is only good in Alabama.

Complete the REMISSION OF FINE AND/OR FORFEITURE APPLICATION linked HERE and the WAIVER OF LIABILITY AND AUTHORITY FOR RELEASE OF INFORMATION linked HERE and submitting them via mail ATTN: Pardons Unit or email to pardons@paroles.alabama.gov.

No remission of fines and/or forfeitures investigation will be started without a signed application from the person whose fine or forfeiture is at issue. Upon receiving the application and waiver, the Bureau’s Pardon Unit will begin investigating the applicant’s case.    

If the Board grants a remission, the Board will also decide whether the remission applies to some or all imposed fines and/or forfeitures.

We recommend that you collect the information below prior to completing the form:

• Name listed on conviction
• True Name (current legal name)
• Sex and race
• Date of birth
• Social Security Number
• AIS# (Alabama Prison number) if you have one
• Current physical address including county
• Current mailing address, if different from physical address
• Home and/or cell telephone number
• Work telephone number if you have one
• Complete list of convictions, including county of conviction and year of conviction
• Whether your conviction(s) were state or federal
• All available information for the surety in a forfeiture, including name, address, phone numbers, race, sex, and date of birth.

Upon receiving the application and waiver, the Bureau’s Pardon Unit will begin investigating the applicant’s case. The investigation includes current information on the applicant’s home situation, job status, an updated criminal arrest record, written references, and other information as warranted. Additionally, pardon applicants must fully cooperate with the investigation of his or her criminal history, personal and social history, and the circumstances of his or her crime. If the applicant fails to cooperate, the investigation will be closed, and the applicant will not be able to reapply for one (1) year.

The remission investigation is identical to one for pardon application as stated above, except that the sentencing judge and district attorney will be contacted for their input.

The time needed to complete the investigation depends on numerous factors, and no estimate will be provided. When the investigation is complete, the case will be docketed for consideration by the Board, and once the case is docketed, required notification will be sent to the victim, certain officials in the jurisdiction of the conviction, and the applicant.

For a pardon, yes. However, if the Board declines to grant a pardon and/or to restore any or all civil and political rights, the applicant may not re-apply until at least two (2) years have passed from the date of the Board’s action, unless expressly ordered by the Board.

Any pardon application submitted within two (2) years of the applicant’s last application will be subject to rejection.

For a remission, no. If the Board declines to grant a remission of fines and/or forfeitures, the applicant may not submit a subsequent petition for remission in the same case.

Not necessarily.

If the Board grants a pardon, the Board will also decide whether to restore any or all civil and political rights lost as a result of the conviction. The Board may grant a full pardon, which restores all rights, or they may grant a pardon with restrictions. For example, the Board may restrict the right to possess a firearm and/or they may require that an applicant convicted of a sex offense continue to comply with all sex offender restrictions. They may also choose not to relieve an applicant of the consequences of the Habitual Offender Act.

The Board’s records are privileged under Ala. Code 1975 § 15-22-36(b), Ala. Code 1975 § 15-22-53(b), and Ala. Code 1975 § 15-22-115. Due to this privilege, courts are not authorized to order the expungement of the Board’s privileged records per Ala. Code 1975 § 15-27-6(a).

However, you may visit the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s website for more information on non-Board records.

You may contact us by mail, by phone at 334-242-8700, option 3, or by email at pardons@paroles.alabama.gov. Please provide the name listed on your pardon or remission certificate or CERV, your AIS or applicant #, and the date of your pardon, remission, or CERV.

No, but the Board encourages you to attend if you can in order to answer any questions the Board may have regarding your pardon or remission consideration. If you cannot attend, we recommend that you submit a statement to the Board and include the following information:

• Explanation of the criminal offense(s) for which you are requesting a pardon or remission and your role in that crime
• Explanation of your life and state of mind at the time of the crime versus now
• Explanation of what you are currently doing (i.e. job, living arrangements, familial status) and why you deserve a pardon for your crime or a remission of fines or forfeitures
• Discuss any current positive influences in your life

You and any other individuals who wish to submit a statement on your behalf may submit your statement via mail ATTN: Pardons Unit or via email to pardons@paroles.alabama.gov.

If you attend the hearing, you and other individuals may testify on your behalf. 

Yes, you may register as an interested party to receive a courtesy notice of the hearing. You may do so by completing THIS form and submitting it to us by email at pardons@paroles.alabama.gov, or by mail to our address ATTN: Pardons Unit. You may also call us at 334-242-8700 and select Option 7 to register.