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Rule 81.Applicability in general.

Last verified July 6, 2026

In one sentenceRule 81 maps the boundaries of the civil rules by listing specific categories of proceedings governed primarily by their own statutes, excluding non-court tribunals altogether, abolishing the old writ of scire facias, preserving the office of register, and translating outdated legal terminology into the rules' modern vocabulary.

Full Text of Rule 81

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(a) Proceedings controlled by statute. In the following proceedings, these rules shall be applicable to the extent that the practice in such matters is not provided by statute:
(1) Abatement of nuisances.
(2) Administration of trust for payment of security of debts.
(3) Claim and contest of exemptions.
(4) Condemnation under § 2-2-31 Code of Alabama 1975.
(5) Contest of probate of will.
(6) Contested elections.
(7) Corrections of errors in the Probate Court.
(8) Delayed birth certificate.
(9) Determination of paternity of illegitimates.
(10) Disposition of property of educational corporations.
(11) Dissolution, liquidation, or consolidation of corporations.
(12) Forfeiture of contraband property.
(13) Habeas corpus.
(14) Impeachment.
(15) Injunctions by or in the name of the state, or by or against a state agency, agent thereof, or a state official.
(16) Injunctions by or against a municipality or against its officers, agents or employees.
(17) Insolvent banks.
(18) Liquidation of the assets of a public warehouse.
(19) Mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and other remedial writs of a supervisory nature.
(20) Negligence action against a municipality.
(21) Proceedings in rem to establish title to land.
(22) Protection of estates of intemperates or inebriates.
(23) Quo warranto or actions in the nature thereof.
(24) Redemption of real estate.
(25) Relieving disabilities of non-age.
(26) Removal of property of a minor or a trust estate to this state or to another state.
(27) Substitution of a lost or destroyed record or instrument.
(28) Summary motion proceedings under Title 6, Chapter 6, Article 16, Code of Alabama 1975.
(29) Vacating and annulling maps, plats, streets, alleys and roads.
(30) Validation of obligations.
(31) Workers’ compensation.
(32) All other actions or proceedings removed, appealed, taken by certiorari or otherwise brought into the courts enumerated in Rule 1. The applicability of these rules as provided in this subdivision (a) shall not affect the scope of review or hearing.
(b) Applicability to tribunals other than courts. These rules are not applicable to any proceeding in which the adjudication of the controversy is by any selected individual or individuals, by any official or officials, or by an administrative agency or official body of any kind, other than the courts enumerated in Rule 1. Any statute applicable to such a proceeding, in effect at the date of approval or enactment otherwise into law of these rules, and adopting circuit court procedures therefor, in whole or in part, shall be understood to refer to these rules.
(c) Scire facias abolished. The writ of scire facias is abolished. Relief heretofore available by scire facias may be obtained by appropriate action or appropriate motion under the practice prescribed in these rules.
(d) Office of register preserved. Nothing in these rules shall be construed as abrogating the office of the register; whenever “clerk” is referred to in these rules, the term shall include the register. ”Court” and “judge” as used in these rules and the language of Rule 77(c) shall not be construed to prevent the register from performing any judicial or quasi-judicial function authorized outside these rules.
(e) Modernization of terminology. Any device or procedure referred to in any decision, statute, or rule, shall be taken and understood to mean the device or procedure proper under these rules; thus, and these examples are intended in no way to limit the applicability of this general statement: “Bill of complaint,” “bill,” or “bill in equity” shall mean a complaint as specified in these rules;
“Plea in abatement” shall be understood to mean “motion”;
“Demurrer” shall be understood to mean “motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim” or “motion to strike an insufficient defense” as set out in Rule 12;
“Plea” shall mean “motion” or “answer” whichever is appropriate under these rules;
“Plea of set-off” or “set-off” shall be understood to mean a permissive counterclaim;
“Plea of recoupment” or “recoupment” shall refer to a compulsory counterclaim; “Cross-bill” shall be understood to refer to a counterclaim, a cross-claim, or a third-party complaint, whichever is appropriate under these rules;
“Revivor,” “revive,” or “revived,” used with reference to actions, shall refer to the substitution procedure set out in Rule 25;
“Decree pro confesso” shall be understood to mean entry of default as provided in Rule 55;
“Decree” shall mean a judgment, as defined in Rule 54;
“Scire facias” or “writ of scire facias” shall be understood to mean a motion or action under these rules, as provided in subdivision (c) of this Rule;
“Rendition,” or “render” or “rendered” with reference to a judgment, order, or decree shall be understood to mean “entry” of the judgment or order as provided in Rule 58(c); so that all applicable statutes outside of these rules, attaching legal consequence to the “rendition” of a judgment, order, or decree, may be harmonized with Rule 58(c).
References in these rules to title and section of “Code of Ala.” or “Code of Alabama 1975” primarily refer to title and section of the Code of Alabama 1975 as last amended when these rules were revised in 1995. References in “Committee Comments on 1973 Adoption” to title and section of Code of Ala. or Code of Alabama primarily refer to title and section of the Code of Alabama 1940 (Recomp. 1958) as last amended when these rules were adopted.
(dc) District court rule. Rule 81 applies in the district courts except that reference to all proceedings other than actions based on negligence against municipalities, actions seeking substitution of lost or destroyed records or instruments, summary motion proceedings, or proceedings relieving disabilities of non-age are deleted.

Amendment History

[Amended eff. 10-1-95.]

Committee Comments

Committee Comments on 1973 Adoption

While Rule 1 deals in general terms with the applicability of these rules to certain courts, this Rule treats the applicability of these rules in certain specialized proceedings. Because court structures in Alabama differ from those in the Federal system, this Rule contains little of the language of Federal Rule 81. Subsequent notes indicate the rare instances in which the language is taken from Federal Rule 81.

Rule 81(a) contains a catalog of proceedings which, in varying degrees, contain within themselves a certain procedural provision. Rule 81(a) does not purport to make these proceedings exempt from the operation of the rules, but rather, this provision alerts the practitioner to the fact that statutory requirements within these proceedings which may be inconsistent with these rules should be consulted as these statutory requirements govern. Unless specific statutory provision requires otherwise, portions of these rules not inconsistent or rendered impracticable by the terms of the statutes, are available. The rationale for the inclusion of these proceedings for special treatment is based upon (1) the statutory procedures for such a proceeding embodied some policy justifying retention, but conflicting in some respect with these rules, or (2) the proceeding was statutory in nature and, as such, it was doubtful whether it would be considered a suit of a civil nature cognizable at law or in equity under Rule 1, to which these rules would apply at all, unless listed here. A number of proceedings which might be termed special proceedings were not listed because the statutory procedures to be retained conflicted in no way with these rules and because there was no doubt that the proceeding was the suit of a civil nature under Rule 1, to which the rules would apply in their entirety. For example, detinue, ejectment, divorce.

Plain-English Summary

Rule 1 establishes that these rules generally govern civil actions in Alabama's trial courts, but some proceedings do not fit neatly into that framework because they were built around detailed statutory procedures long before the rules existed. Rule 81 addresses those situations directly. It lists dozens of specific kinds of proceedings — spanning matters like probate contests, election contests, habeas corpus, injunctions against government entities, corporate dissolutions, workers compensation, and many other statutory actions — and says that for each of them, the civil rules apply only to the extent the governing statute leaves a gap. Where the statute speaks, the statute controls; where it is silent, the rules fill in.

Rule 81 also draws a firm outer boundary: these rules apply only in the courts identified in Rule 1, not in front of administrative agencies, hearing officers, or other individuals or bodies deciding disputes outside the court system. When a case originating before one of those non-court bodies is brought into a qualifying court, whether by appeal, certiorari, removal, or a fresh action to obtain review, these rules take over once the matter enters that court, without altering the scope of the review itself.

Beyond mapping applicability, Rule 81 clears out remnants of the old legal system. It abolishes the ancient writ of scire facias, replacing it with an ordinary motion or action under these rules. It preserves the traditional office of register separately from the clerk, making clear that references to the clerk throughout the rules include the register and that the register may still perform judicial or quasi-judicial functions authorized elsewhere. And it provides a translation key for outdated terms — old words like bill in equity, demurrer, plea, decree, and rendition are each given their modern equivalent under these rules, so that older statutes and decisions using that vocabulary can still be read and applied consistently with current practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main purpose of Rule 81?

It defines where the civil rules apply in full, where they yield to specific statutory procedures, and where they do not apply at all, while also cleaning up leftover terminology and devices from the pre-rules system.

Does Rule 81(a) exempt the listed proceedings from the civil rules entirely?

No. It means that for those listed proceedings, the civil rules fill in only where the governing statute does not already address the practice; the statute controls first, and the rules apply otherwise.

Do these rules apply to administrative agency hearings?

No. Rule 81(b) makes clear that the rules apply only in the courts identified in Rule 1, not to proceedings decided by administrative agencies, hearing officers, or other non-court bodies, unless and until the matter is brought into a qualifying court.

What happened to the writ of scire facias under Rule 81?

Rule 81(c) abolishes it. Any relief that used to require that writ is now obtained through an ordinary motion or action under these rules.

Does Rule 81 eliminate the office of register?

No. Rule 81(d) preserves the register as a distinct office from the clerk, specifies that references to the clerk in these rules include the register, and confirms the register may still perform judicial or quasi-judicial duties authorized outside the rules.

What does the terminology section of Rule 81 do?

Rule 81(e) translates older legal terms used in statutes and prior decisions, such as bill in equity, demurrer, plea, decree, and rendition, into their modern equivalents under these rules, so older language can still be applied consistently with current procedure.

Source & verification. The rule text, amendment history, and Committee Comments are reproduced verbatim from the official Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure (Ala. R. Civ. P. 81). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Alabama (Ala. Const. amend. 328, § 6.11). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 6, 2026. · Official source
Also known as: applicability of civil rulesscire facias abolishedoffice of registermodernization of terminologystatutory proceedings exceptionAla. R. Civ. P. 81