Civil Division

The Civil Division is responsible for serving all civil papers processed by the Elmore County Circuit Clerk's Office. The civil papers may consist of Subpoenas, Evictions, Garnishments, Divorce Papers, Small Claims, Writs, Executions, Protection from Abuse Orders and various other Civil Process papers. All civil papers to be served must come from the Courts. Civil papers will be attempted to be served several times, and door hangers to contact the Sheriff's Office are left if no contact is made. If no contact is made, the papers will be returned to the Clerk's Office. If any assistance is needed regarding the processing of civil papers or information regarding the eviction process, please contact Lt. Hinson at 334-567-5546 ext: 3021. Leave a message with your name and phone number and he will return your call.

Out of State Papers:
Out of state paper request to be served in Elmore County, please provide the following:

Fee: $20.00 per paper to be served
Check or Money Order payable to the Elmore County Sheriff's Office
Affidavit of Service to return
Court addressed and stamped envelope to return to the court they were issued out of.
Attach any special instructions to papers to be served.

*Papers will not be returned to an attorney's office or an individual*

Listed below are the 5 most common scenarios for the eviction process. If you have any questions or need additional assistance, please feel free to contact Lt. Hinson.

Eviction Scenario (1): Non Payment

Complainant: What do I need to do to have someone evicted for not paying their rent in two months?

Deputy: To have someone evicted for nonpayment of rent, the first step is for you to serve them with a SEVEN DAY CURE NOTICE. You have to write a letter explaining that they are behind XXX amount of money for rent and any late fees. In the letter you inform the tenant that they have 7 business days to pay the full amount (do not take partial payments) or move out and surrender the property back to you, if they do not, you will proceed with eviction actions. You can give the letter to them personally. If they are not home, or if you feel threatened by them and do not want to confront them, you can post the notice on the front door of the residence. If they pay the balance they can stay.

Complainant: What if they don't pay or move out?

Deputy: Take a copy of the SEVEN DAY CURE NOTICE you gave (or posted) along with a copy of your lease to the Clerk's Office and file an Unlawful Detainer. Do not accept any monies from the tenant after this point. The Clerk's Office will send the paperwork to the Sheriff's Office and a deputy will serve or post the notice. The tenant will have seven business days to respond to the notice. The response could be that they move out within the 7 business days or they can go to the Clerk's Office and file a response. If they file a response, a court date will be given and you notified by mail from the Clerk's Office.

Complainant: What happens if they don't move out or file a response?

When the Writ of Possession is issued you will have to go back to the Clerk's Office and pay a $20 fee before they will send the writ to the Sheriff's Office. Once the Sheriff's Office receives the writ, a sheriff's deputy will contact you to inform you of a date and time to go and set them out. On that day you will need to have at least four able-bodied individuals ready to go inside the residence and remove all personal property from the residence. At this time you may change the locks and/or secure the property.

Eviction Scenario (2): Violation of Lease Agreement

Complainant: What do I need to do to have someone evicted because they have not cut their grass and have junk piled up all over the place?

Deputy: If the tenant has violated their lease agreement and you want to evict them due to a rules violation, the first step is for you to serve them with a FOURTEEN DAY CURE NOTICE. You have to write a letter to the tenant explaining to them they are in violation of the rules of the lease. In that letter you inform them they have 14 business days to correct the violations or move out and surrender the property back to you. If they do not, you will proceed with eviction actions. You can give the letter to them personally. If they are not home, or if you feel threatened by them and do not want to confront them, you can post the notice on the front door of the residence. If they correct the violations they can stay.*If they don't pay or correct the violations, then you take a copy of the FOURTEEN DAY CURE NOTICE you gave (or posted) along with a copy of your lease to the Clerk's Office and file an Unlawful Detainer. The clerk will send the paperwork to the Sheriff's Office and a deputy will go and serve or post the paperwork. The tenants will have seven business days to respond to the notice. The response could be that they correct the violations within the seven business days or they can go to the Clerk's Office and file a response. If this happens they will be given a court date and you will be notified by mail.

Complainant: What happens then if the tenants don't move out or file a response?

Deputy: After the seventh business day you will have to go to the Clerk's Office and file for a default judgment. When the judge awards the default judgment the tenant has 10 business days to file an appeal. If they do not file an appeal after the 10th business day you will go back to the Clerk's Office and file for a Writ of Possession. If they do appeal, you need to check with the Clerk's Office, you may have to file a motion for the judge to set a court date. When the Writ of Possession is issued you will have to go back to the Clerk's Office and pay a $20 fee before they will send the Writ of Possession to the Sheriff's Office. Once the Sheriff's Office receives the writ, a sheriff's deputy will contact you to inform you of a date and time to go and set them out. On that day you will need to have at least four able-bodied individuals ready to go inside the residence and remove all personal property from the residence. At this time, you may change the locks or secure the property.

Eviction Scenario (3): Owner wishes to no longer use as rental

Complainant: What do I need to do to have someone evicted because I don't want to rent the property anymore?

Deputy: If you want to evict a tenant because you do not want to rent the property anymore (or to them), the first step is for you to serve them with a 30 day lease termination. This is done by you writing a letter explaining to them, you are giving them a 30 day notice to vacate the property because you no longer wish to rent the property to them. Include in the letter, they have 30 days to move out and surrender the property back to you, and that if they do not, you will proceed with eviction actions. You can give the letter to them personally. If they are not home, or if you feel threatened by them and do not want to confront them, you can post the notice on the front door of the residence. If they don't move out within 30 days, you then take a copy of the 30 day lease termination notice you gave (or posted) along with a copy of your lease to the Clerk's Office and file an unlawful detainer. The clerk will send the paperwork to the Sheriff's Office and a sheriff's deputy will go and serve or post the paperwork. The tenant will then have 7 business days to respond to the notice. The response could be they move out or they can go to the Clerk's Office and file a response. If they file a response, a court date will be given and you will be notified by mail from the Clerk's Office.

Complainant: What happens if the tenants don't move out or file a response?

Deputy: after the 30th day you will go to the Clerk's Office and file for a default judgment. When the judge awards the default judgment, the tenant has 10 business days to file an appeal. If they do not file an appeal after the 10th business day, you will go back to the Clerk's Office and file for a writ of possession. If they do appeal you need to check with the Clerk's Office and may have to file a motion for the judge to set a court date. When the writ of possession is issued you will have to go back to the Clerk's Office and pay a $20 fee before they will send the writ to the Sheriff's Office. Once the Sheriff's Office receives the writ, a sheriff's deputy will contact you to inform you of a date and time to go and set them out. On that day you will need to have at least four able-bodied individuals ready to go inside the residence and remove all personal property from the residence. At this point you may the locks or secure the property.

Eviction Scenario (4): Eviction with Non-Lease Agreement (associate)

Complainant: What do I need to do to have someone who lives on my property with no lease agreement and several months have passed?

Deputy: If you let them move in and there is no lease then you do not have to evict them. What you need to do is give them a written trespass notice. Give them a date and time, (that is reasonable), to vacate the residence. If they fail to leave by that date and time then you will need to call the Sheriff's Office and file a report for trespassing. You will then take the report to the Clerk's Office to have a warrant signed on them.

Eviction Scenario (5): Eviction with Non-Lease Agreement (companion)

Complainant: what do I need to do to have someone evicted? We have been in a relationship for several years but have just recently separated.

Deputy: If you are the property owner, you have been living together as a couple for a long period of time and now wish for them to leave, you will need to contact an attorney to file for an Ejectment.