Legal Information: Alabama

Custody

Updated: 
February 11, 2022

In which state do I file for custody?

You can usually only file for custody in Alabama if Alabama is your child’s “home state.” However, there are exceptions to the home state rule.

Alabama usually qualifies as your child’s “home state” if:

  • your child lives in Alabama and has lived in Alabama for the last six months in a row;
  • your child no longer lives in Alabama but Alabama is the last state where your child lived for at least six months in a row; or
  • your child is less than six months old but has lived in Alabama since birth.1

Leaving Alabama for a short period of time, such as going on vacation, usually does not change the child’s home state.2

1 See Alabama Code §§ 30-3B-201(a)(1); 30-3B-102(7)
2 Alabama Code § 30-3B-102(7)

Legal Information

WomensLaw serves and supports all survivors, no matter their sex or gender.

© 2008–2021 WomensLaw.org is a project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Inc. All rights reserved. This website is funded in part through a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided). NNEDV is a 501©(3) non-profit organization; EIN 52-1973408.