House Bill 384 Alabama 2026 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Ronald BoltonRepresentative

Republican

Session

2026 Regular Session

Title

Tuscaloosa County; service of process fee for personal service amended

Summary

HB384 amends Tuscaloosa County's service-of-process rules to set a $60 per-document personal service fee (and $85 for out-of-state documents), with specified distribution of the funds, effective June 1, 2026.

What This Bill Does

It requires the clerk, sheriff, or other court official to assess a $60 fee for documents personally served by the sheriff's office, with certain documents exempt. Of each fee, $3 goes to the circuit clerk's fund and $3 to the probate office for their operations; the remaining net balance is split 50/50 between the Sheriff's Law Enforcement Fund and the District Attorney's Solicitor Fund. For out-of-state documents, the fee is $85 per document with the same distribution. The act also updates language and excludes specified documents from the fee.

Who It Affects

• Sheriff's Office in Tuscaloosa County — collects the $60 (or $85 for out-of-state) per document and gains access to the net balance through the 50/50 split for operational funds.
• Circuit Clerk's Office — receives $3 of each domestic document fee to fund its operations.
• Office of the Judge of Probate — receives $3 of each domestic document fee to fund its operations.
• District Attorney's Office (Solicitor's Fund) — receives 50% of the net balance for its operations (via the 50/50 split).
• Civil case litigants in Tuscaloosa County — pay the new fee per document when service is personal; out-of-state documents cost more ($85).
• Documents exempt from the fee — circuit court-issued documents and mental health documents or probate orders are not charged this fee.

Key Provisions

• Sets a $60 per-document service-of-process fee for documents personally served by the Tuscaloosa County sheriff's office (or its designee), with 'document' including multiple papers served at once; exceptions apply for circuit court documents and mental health or probate orders.
• Fees are collected by the designated court official; $3 of each fee is kept by the circuit clerk for the Circuit Clerk's Fund and $3 by the probate office for the Judge of Probate's operations.
• After the $3 allocations, the net balance is distributed 50% to the Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Fund and 50% to the Solicitor's Fund of the District Attorney for their operations.
• For out-of-state civil documents, a fee of $85 per document is charged, with 50% to the Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Fund and 50% to the Solicitor's Fund.
• The act is accompanied by non-substantive, technical revisions to update language to current style.
• Effective date: June 1, 2026.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano-2025-08-07 on Mar 17, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Tuscaloosa County