St. Clair County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

The county splits its court work in two. Cases from the northern end are heard at the Ashville courthouse, while the courthouse on Cogswell Avenue in Pell City hears the southern end. Each building holds Circuit and District Court. Inmates, though, stay at one place only: the Pell City jail, which keeps people awaiting trial and people already sentenced.

• Pell City jail: 100 18th Street North, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-814-3525
• Ashville courthouse clerk: 100 6th Avenue North, Suite 400, Ashville, AL 35953, 205-594-2184
• Pell City courthouse clerk: 1815 Cogswell Avenue, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-338-2511

So someone charged up in Ashville still spends the night on 18th Street. Either sheriff's office can write up most bonds.

A judge or magistrate decides the figure. Booking officers may start from the state schedule where the law allows, yet no deputy or jailer has power to cut it. Alabama Rule 4.3 expects a probable-cause ruling inside 48 hours for anybody still locked up after a warrantless arrest. For a warrant arrest, a person who stays locked up because the terms are out of reach should reach a courtroom within 72 hours.

Family-violence bookings move slower, since nobody walks out until a judge or magistrate writes conditions, and that may add a day. Ring the jail at 205-814-3525 with the full legal name and birthday handy to learn where things stand.

Whatever the order lists is what you may use, so read it closely before paying anybody. The common forms in Ashville and Pell City are:

• Signature release, where the accused simply promises in writing to return.
• Cash, meaning every dollar is paid up front and stays with the clerk while charges are pending.
• Surety, arranged through a licensed bonding company that keeps its fee.
• Property, where deed holders pledge real estate worth at least the bond.

No-contact terms and similar conditions keep running even after money is paid. For the rules that apply across Alabama, open our state bail laws page.

Rule 7.2 hands Alabama judges a suggested span for every class of offense. Judges can set more or less after weighing danger, prior record, money and local ties. The spans read:

• Class C misdemeanor: $300 to $1,000
• Class B misdemeanor: $300 to $3,000
• Class A misdemeanor: $300 to $6,000
• DUI: $1,000 to $7,500
• Class D felony: $1,000 to $10,000
• Class C felony: $2,500 to $15,000
• Class B felony: $5,000 to $30,000
• Class A felony: $10,000 to $60,000
• Drug manufacturing or trafficking: $5,000 to $1,500,000

The complete Rule 7.2 bail schedule has the fine print. What truly counts is the number printed on your person's own order.

Two sheriff's offices handle bonds, each staffed Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

• Pell City office: 1610 Cogswell Avenue, Suite 206, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-884-6840
• Ashville office: 48 6th Street, Suite 300, Ashville, AL 35953, 205-594-2140

Outside those hours, the jail lobby at 100 18th Street North, Pell City, AL 35125 stays open around the clock. Phone the jail at 205-814-3525 ahead of the drive and check if that particular bond is something the night shift handles. Bring photo identification plus the booking and case numbers, and hold on to every receipt and signed form.

Each bond written here carries a $35 bail bond transmittal fee set by state law. It is owed to the Circuit Clerk's Office, and only cash works; personal checks get refused. Think of it as a separate charge, sitting apart from the bond and apart from a bondsman's price.

Tuck exact change into your wallet so nothing stalls. Unsure which window collects it? Ask the Ashville clerk at 205-594-2184 or the Pell City clerk at 205-338-2511 which counter handles that case. Even when charges are later dropped, the $35 is not returned.

Here a relative or friend pays the entire amount the judge set, and the court sits on that money while the case stays open. It works like a deposit that guarantees the defendant shows up for each setting, not like a fee that disappears.

First ask jail staff which office accepts cash on that charge. Pay there, and make sure the receipt shows who paid. File that slip somewhere safe, since any refund later depends on it. The two clerk offices sit at 100 6th Avenue North, Suite 400, Ashville, AL 35953, 205-594-2184, and 1815 Cogswell Avenue, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-338-2511.

Deputies review every land pledge before it is accepted. Expect these rules:

• Misdemeanor bonds need one owner signing; felony bonds need two.
• The parcel's value has to reach the whole bond, and separate parcels cannot be combined.
• Each owner shows up in person carrying a photo ID and property records.
• Defendants may never put up their own land.
• Land elsewhere in Alabama needs that county's sheriff to approve it, and bonds above $50,000 also need sign-off here from a captain or higher.
• Out-of-state land gets turned down.

Questions go to the Cogswell Avenue office, 1610 Cogswell Avenue, Suite 206, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-884-6840, before you pull deeds.

A bondsman signs on as the guarantee that your loved one comes back for each Ashville or Pell City setting, and charges money for taking that risk. Pick a company holding an Alabama license. Search the name on the state bail bonding board's website to see whether a license is active.

That premium stays with the company, and it never gets credited toward fines, costs or restitution. Pell City and Ashville deputies are barred from steering you to a company, so don't ask them to choose. Before signing, get the premium, collateral terms and co-signer promises written down. Something feel off? Call the Cogswell Avenue sheriff's office at 205-884-6840.

Account money cannot be used for bond. Those funds pay for calls, video visits and commissary, and the jail will not shift them toward release, so treat them as two separate pots.

The Pell City jail refuses cash and money orders for accounts. Deposits go through the lobby kiosk at 100 18th Street North, Pell City, AL 35125 or the online service named on the sheriff's corrections page, and our inmate money guide shows how. To actually get someone out, use a sheriff's office, cash at the right counter, a land pledge or a licensed bondsman. Phone 205-814-3525 if you can't tell which fits.

Paying is just one piece. Paperwork has to reach the court, and jailers must run records and finish the discharge before the door opens. Other problems may also keep the person behind it:

• Another open file with a separate bond amount.
• Paperwork from Moody, Springville or some other county seeking the same person.
• A hold placed by probation.
• Federal orders or an immigration detainer.

Phone the 18th Street jail at 205-814-3525 before paying, and once more before heading over for pickup. Ask the officer to list every hold on that booking record. Your receipt proves payment, but on its own it does not order anybody freed.

Most people booked on 18th Street can get some kind of release, but there are exceptions. Capital cases can be held without it. Aniah's Law also lets the 30th Circuit District Attorney request a hearing on certain grave charges, including murder plus first-degree rape, robbery and burglary. A judge who finds the state's case strong enough there may order the person kept with no bond at all.

Amendment 1, passed by Alabama voters May 19, 2026, made the list longer. Now it reaches attempted murder, along with gunfire aimed at a house, car or building that has people inside. Seeing "no bond" on the roster can also just mean no ruling has come yet. Reach the prosecutor's office at 1815 Cogswell Avenue, Suite 221, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-338-9429.

Changing a bond takes a judge. Through a defense lawyer, the accused files a motion, and under Rule 7.4 the court may adjust terms for good cause once each side is heard. Proof of a job, relatives close by, a settled address and rides to court can all help.

Separately, Circuit Court must revisit conditions for anyone still jailed 90 days without a trial. That review offers no promise of a cut. To locate the file, try the Ashville clerk at 205-594-2184 or the Pell City clerk at 205-338-2511. Our state bail page covers review rules further.

Anyone unable to hire defense counsel may request one from the judge, most often at the first appearance. That means signing a sworn statement listing income, debts, property and dependents. Having made bond does not automatically disqualify someone, and Rule 6.3 allows a fresh look if finances shift.

Appointment is the judge's call. For the court file, ring the Ashville clerk at 205-594-2184 or the Pell City clerk at 205-338-2511. Alabama's Office of Indigent Defense Services, based in Montgomery, is at 100 North Union Street, Suite 680, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-242-7059. Get counsel in place before agreeing to any plea.

Skipping court in Ashville or Pell City brings real trouble. The judge can order a new arrest and open forfeiture, putting the cash or pledged land at risk. Rule 7.6 provides notice and a chance to answer, so hand every court envelope to defense counsel the day it arrives.

Then line up a defense lawyer and get the reset date from the clerk. You can look up the file on the county clerk's court site. Turning in alongside counsel is usually viewed more kindly than being picked up on I-20 or I-59 later. The Pell City clerk works at 1815 Cogswell Avenue, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-338-2511.

Often, though not always in full. Rule 7.6(e) has the court discharge a bond it no longer needs and order the deposit returned. Fines and court costs may get subtracted first, and a skipped hearing can mean the money is kept.

Certain payments never return: the $35 transmittal fee and whatever a bondsman charged. Save that first receipt, and tell the clerk whenever you move so any refund check reaches the right mailbox. Refund questions go to the Ashville courthouse, 100 6th Avenue North, Suite 400, Ashville, AL 35953, 205-594-2184.

Co-signers who want out must follow a set path. Simply dropping the person off in the jail lobby leaves your duty in place until the papers are finished.

1. Request the bondsman process paper from the circuit clerk.
2. Surrender the person at the jail, 100 18th Street North, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-814-3525.
3. Return the completed paperwork to the clerk's window, 1815 Cogswell Avenue, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-338-2511.

If your obligations confuse you, speak with a lawyer before taking step two.

Frequently they do. Pell City, Moody, Springville and other towns run municipal courts, and a city charge can carry a bond apart from any state count. Ask the arresting agency about each one. Busier town courts include:

• Pell City Municipal Court, City Hall, 1905 1st Avenue North, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-338-2244
• Moody Municipal Court, 670 Park Avenue, Moody, AL 35004, 205-640-0313
• Springville Municipal Court, City Hall, 160 Walker Drive, Springville, AL 35146, 205-467-6133
• Odenville Municipal Court, City Hall, 183 Alabama Street, Odenville, AL 35120, 205-629-6366
• Ashville Municipal Court, 211 8th Street, Ashville, AL 35953, 205-594-4151

Smaller towns such as Ragland, Riverside and Steele appear on our court page.

Federal cases skip the state bond ranges entirely. For this county, the federal trial court meets at its Anniston building, 1100 Gurnee Avenue, Anniston, AL 36201, 256-741-1533, as part of the Northern District's Eastern Division. A magistrate judge then weighs release conditions or detention under 18 U.S.C. section 3142.

Pretrial services interviews the defendant about work, housing and history, then reports to that judge. Prosecutors sometimes push to keep the person locked up. Before sentencing, the Marshals pick the jail; their Birmingham office is at 1729 5th Avenue North, Room 240, Birmingham, AL 35203, 205-829-6611. After a sentence, check the federal inmate locator.

Paying the Pell City bond leaves any immigration detainer standing. Through Form I-247A, federal immigration officers may request a heads-up before release, then keep the person on 18th Street for a 48-hour window, giving them time to arrive. The county bond still gets posted before any of that.

Once ICE has custody, search ICE's online detainee locator by A-number plus birth country. ICE handles this state from its Louisiana field office, 181 James Drive West, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360. Short ICE holds sometimes use Gadsden's lockup, Etowah County Detention Center, 827 Forrest Avenue, Gadsden, AL 35901, 256-549-5408.

Youths under 18 skip the adult bond system. Juvenile court meets in both Ashville and Pell City, and a juvenile probation officer decides at intake whether the child heads home, joins a program or stays locked up. Children a judge orders held ride over to Coosa Valley Regional Juvenile Detention Center, 4625 McClellan Boulevard, Anniston, AL 36204.

Reach juvenile probation through the circuit clerk to learn about the case and the child's location: Ashville at 205-594-2184 or Pell City at 205-338-2511. Kids never post bail, and any detained child gets a hearing inside 72 hours. Certain 16- or 17-year-olds facing the gravest charges are handled as adults.

Fraudsters sometimes phone relatives soon after someone is booked. They might already know a name and claim a quick payment will open the cell. Genuine jail and court workers never collect bond through gift cards, payment apps or wires.

When a caller pressures you like that, end the call. Next, dial the jail directly at 205-814-3525 to check the bond. Legitimate bonds get made at a sheriff's office, at the clerk or through a bondsman you picked yourself. You may report the call to the Ashville sheriff's office at 205-594-2140.