An individual who is legally barred from obtaining a specific occupational license due to a conviction may apply to the court for an “Order for Limited Relief” to permit discretionary consideration on the merits. Effective 2025, the OLR was expanded to eliminate the “specific license” requirement and to enhance its legal effect in the licensing process. The 2025 amendments also made an OLR a defense fo negligent hiring.
Also in 2025 Alabama enacted a broad law regulating consideration of criminal record in occupational licensing, prohibiting consideration of certain convictions and imposing a “direct relationship” standard. It has no law regulating consideration of conviction in public or private employment, except for a “certificate of employability” that provides a defense to negligent hiring liability.
