Alabama

UCC filings: Limited Land records: Moderate

Judge-of-probate petition to nullify/expunge false instruments; no UCC pre-filing fraud screen What the badges mean

Last verified: July 27, 2026 — confirm current text on the official site; this date is not a promise the law is unchanged.

Specific items rechecked October 3, 2026: §13A-9-12(e) and §13A-9-22 as amended by SB 292 (in effect since October 1, 2026).

General information, not legal advice. Confirm current fees, forms, and deadlines on official government sites, and talk to an attorney about your situation. LienGuardAI does not file anything for you. See Legal Disclaimer & Terms of Use.

Relevant case law: Facing multi-million-dollar IRS assessments and a seizure of his Eufaula residence, a taxpayer filed “Notice of Lien and Claim of Lien” documents in Montgomery and Barbour County probate records against the IRS revenue officer and private contractors who helped with the levy, plus related “criminal complaint” and newspaper “commercial notice” papers. A jury also convicted him of tax obstruction based on those filings. In the civil follow-on, the Middle District of Alabama declared the liens and notices null and void, ordered them expunged, and permanently enjoined further common-law lien harassment of federal officials and contractors. Verified. (United States v. MacElvain, 858 F. Supp. 1096 (M.D. Ala. 1994).)

This is a plain-language summary of a published judicial opinion, not a complete report of the case. Confirm names, holdings, and procedural posture against the opinion itself.

UCC financing statements

Check if one exists

Search Alabama's UCC records

Free basic search. Alabama Secretary of State UCC Search By Debtor Name; free public form, no login.

Refusal / removal authority

Alabama has no current UCC pre-filing fraud refusal. Ala. Admin. Code r. 820-4-3-.02 (amended 2024) keeps filing-officer duties ministerial; refusal grounds are procedural only. Uniform §7-9A-516(b) / §7-9A-520(a) apply.

Citations No non-uniform pre-filing authority ide… Ala. Admin. Code r. 820-4-3-.02

Full citations

No non-uniform pre-filing authority identified
Ala. Admin. Code r. 820-4-3-.02

There is no pre-filing content/fraud review to invoke at the Secretary of State.

If it's already filed: §7-9A-518; §7-9A-625; petition to the judge of probate under §13A-9-12(e) where the record is held in probate records.

Real-property liens

Since October 1, 2026 (SB 292, the Property Protection Act of 2026, Act 2026-536), Ala. Code §13A-9-12(e) lets a person whose rights are affected petition the judge of probate to nullify or expunge a false or fraudulent lien, deed, or other instrument (14-day notice; 28-day deemed denial; appeal to circuit court). Before that date the petition ran to the "recording official." Subsections (a)–(d) are the companion criminal false-instrument offenses. SB 292 also made fraudulent sale or lease of residential real property a Class D felony (§13A-9-22). §35-4-433 is about private transfer fees.

Citations AL §13A-9-12 AL §13A-9-12 AL §13A-9-22

Full citations

Ala. Code §13A-9-12
Ala. Code §13A-9-12(e) (as amended by Act 2026-536, eff. Oct. 1, 2026)
Ala. Code §13A-9-22

A sworn petition goes to the judge of probate under §13A-9-12(e); a grant or denial can be appealed to circuit court.

If it's already recorded: Nullify/expunge under (e); criminal exposure under (a)–(d).

Real-property records are held by the probate / recording official where the property sits.

Get notified before it happens

A free "property fraud alert" service is available in at least part of Alabama — it emails or mails you whenever a document gets recorded against your name, so you find out right away instead of months later. Sign up for Jefferson County Recording Activity Notification →

Alabama's largest county (Birmingham). Other counties run separate, unconnected systems.

No official form: Petition to nullify or expunge a false lien or instrument

No official form was found for a §13A-9-12(e) petition. The statute itself says the petition is in writing, sworn under oath, and based on personal knowledge, and that a copy goes to the filer by certified and first-class mail. Since October 1, 2026 the petition goes to the judge of probate, who notifies the filer within 14 days; the filer then has 14 days to submit proof of validity, and a petition not granted within 28 days is deemed denied, with an appeal to circuit court.

Read §13A-9-12 on the Code of Alabama →

LienGuardAI does not publish templates or fill-in documents.

Citation AL §13A-9-12

How this usually works in Alabama

A summary of the tools Alabama law and filing offices provide — general information, not instructions for your facts. Confirm current practice with the filing office and talk to an attorney about your situation.

1Alabama's free public UCC debtor-name search is linked on this page.
2Alabama's Secretary of State has no pre-filing fraud refusal for UCC filings; the 2024 administrative rule keeps refusal grounds procedural.
3For a false land instrument, Alabama law provides a sworn petition to the judge of probate to nullify or expunge it under §13A-9-12(e) (since October 1, 2026).
4§35-4-433 concerns private transfer fees; it is not a fraudulent-lien statute.

What to expect

Alabama's useful tool is the post-recording petition under §13A-9-12(e), not a UCC clerk screen. Confirm the current fee on the state's official site — filing and search fees change and are not published here.

Sources: the LienGuardAI fifty-state survey and UCC search portal review (How we verify). No dollar fee amounts are published here — always confirm the current fee on the state's own site.