Municipal Court

This website is designed to help answer questions about schedules, policies, and procedures of the Saraland Municipal Court and provide access to become more familiar with our court personnel.

Saraland Municipal Court is located at 937 Highway 43 South, Saraland, AL 36571. Our telephone number is (251) 675-5393. Our presiding Judge is Honorable C. Mark Erwin. Prosecutor for Saraland Municipal Court is Jeffrey Perloff. Saraland Municipal Court utilizes the services of Court Referral/Probation officers, as well as Alabama Safety Institute and Insight Treatment Program. As laws and procedures update, the information provided on this website is subject to change.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations Violations (D.O.T. Tickets)

All Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations Violations are Court Required. You must appear in court on date and time assigned on the Ticket to enter your plea before the Judge. However, if you reside in another State, there may be other options available to handle your ticket.
You may submit a plea in writing to be placed before the Judge for consideration.

1.  If pleading Not Guilty, your case will be assigned a Trial date in which you will appear and go to Trial.
2.  If your ticket was for an equipment violation where something was correctable, you may submit proof of the correction along with your written request.
3.  If pleading Guilty, please read the Intent to Plead Guilty Form. If you still wish to plead Guilty, then print, fill out, and send in the form, along with the ticket and your contact information.

Any requests will be placed before the Judge, for ruling. The Court will forward the Ruling to you along with instructions on how to complete your case, if applicable. We must receive any submitted documents before the assigned court date in order to process in this manner.

Court Schedule and Appearance Information

The Saraland Municipal Court is held on Mondays and the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month. As of August 1, 2012, ALL dockets begin at 3:00 p.m.

What To Bring:

• Driver’s License
• Tag registration
• Insurance documents,or any paperwork concerning your case
• CASH, MONEY ORDER,VISA, MASTERCARD, or DISCOVER, with proper picture identification, are acceptable forms of payment when paying to the court clerk during Court.

Appearance:
Conservative dress is required in the courtroom. No hats or sunglasses, please, unless medically necessary.
Purses are not allowed in courtroom and cell phones and/or pagers must be turned off or on silent while court is in session. Sounding phones or pagers during court may result in a Contempt charge of up to $50.00 or (5) five days jail.

No photos or video allowed without prior permission from Judge

If you have questions concerning your case, please address them when you go before the judge.

Community Service

Saraland Community Service Program is held on Saturdays. If you have been ordered to perform Community Service, you must report to the Saraland Court Building located at 937 U S Hwy 43, So., Saraland, AL at 7:00 a.m. on the date the clerk assigns you in court.

Come dressed to work. An eight (8) hour work day is considered one (1) day of community service. You will receive one (1) hour for lunch on your own.

If you have questions or concerns regarding your community service, you may contact Sgt. E. G. Hearn at 675-5331 ext. 5362, Monday thru Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Please leave a voice mail if no answer. (Leaving a voice mail does not excuse you from reporting for community service).

Failure to report may result in a warrant issued for your arrest.

Drivers Education School

If you have a valid Driver’s License and have not attended in the last two years, you may be eligible to attend Traffic School. At the Judge’s discretion, he may allow you to go to Traffic School in lieu of other forms of sentencing on moving violations such as Speeding (less than 25 mph over posted speed limit), Running Red Light, Running Stop Sign, etc. If the Judge allows you to attend Traffic School in lieu of other forms of sentencing, upon presenting Certificate of Completion, the traffic ticket is Nol-prossed by the court.

• The cost to attend a (4) four hour course is $180.00.
• The (6) six hour Advanced course is $220.00.
• Course costs are subject to change. Please contact Alabama Safety Institute for more information.
• You may not request Traffic School if you possess a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).

If you are interested in attending Traffic School, you must take your Traffic Citation within 7 days, along with your driver’s license to Alabama Safety Institute located at 3201 Midtown Park South, Mobile, AL to register. If you do not register within 7 days, you must appear on your court date to request it from the Judge. There will be a Traffic School representative in court to explain procedures and sign you up if the Judge approves your attendance.

The Judge may also assess mandatory Traffic School as part of your sentencing.

Payment Options

Some traffic offenses do not require a court appearance unless you desire to contest the charge. If you wish to enter a guilty plea and pay your fine, you may do so by signing the back of a payable UTTC ticket and mailing the ticket with a money order or certified cashier’s check made payable to the address below:

Saraland Municipal Court
937 US Hwy 43, South
Saraland, AL 36571

If you would like a receipt mailed back, you must request it when mailing your payment.

*Payable tickets may be paid online via secured website @ www.saralandcourtpayments.com.  Note:  There is a Vendor Processing Fee associated with all credit card payments.

*NOW AVAILABLE* As of October 3, 2018, payable tickets can also be paid through our Bilingual call center @ 251-725-5090.

If you prefer to pay your fine in person, office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (closed on weekends and City of Saraland holidays). If you pay in person, additional forms of payment include cash, Visa, MasterCard, or Discover, with valid picture I.D.

If a payable citation is not paid prior to the court date, you must appear in court on the date and time shown on the citation. Failure to appear may result in a warrant being issued for your arrest and a notice to suspend your driving privileges may be forwarded to the Department of Public Safety. Please check the Magistrates’ Minimum Fine Schedule page for tickets listed as payable without court appearance.  *Note- If you receive more than one ticket during the same incident, Court appearance is required.

If you received a ticket for Insurance Violation, and insurance was in effect on the date of offense, on listed vehicle, you may bring the Insurance paperwork and your ticket to the court clerks’ office to determine if you may handle your ticket without court appearance.

No Driver’s License on Person tickets may possibly be handled at the clerks’ office, as well. You may call the court to determine if court appearance will be required for your ticket.

If you received a Ticket for Handicapped Parking Violation, and you have a valid Handicapped Parking placard, you may bring it along with your ticket to the Clerks office to determine if we may handle without court appearance.

Warrant Process

If someone has committed a Criminal Offense against you, and you wish to pursue a warrant for their arrest; the offense must have occurred within the police jurisdiction of the City of Saraland. You must report the crime or violation to the Saraland Police Department. Once you have obtained a copy of the Police report, you must bring it to Saraland Municipal Court and make an appointment to speak to a Magistrate. During the appointment, the Magistrate will determine if probable cause exists under the law and will prepare a complaint that you must swear or affirm under oath to be the truth. You will be required to complete a written and oral deposition with the Magistrate.

If determination of probable cause is made, a Warrant of Arrest will then be issued by the Magistrate. Once an Arrest Warrant has been issued, neither the complainant nor the accused will be able to drop the charges through the Magistrate. When the accused has been arrested and the case has been scheduled for court, you will be notified by subpoena to appear and testify. If the accused was arrested on the scene, the Magistrate warrant process is not necessary. Failure to appear in court may result in a Bench Warrant being issued for your arrest by the presiding judge.

If you wish to obtain a Restraining Order or a Protection From Abuse Order, please contact Family Court at Strickland Youth Center (251) 574-5260 or (251) 574-1450. If the accused is less than 18 years of age, please contact Strickland Youth Center at (251) 574-1450.

Felony warrants which occurred within the Saraland Police jurisdiction must be pursued through Saraland Police Department.