Adverse Possession in Alabama: Ten Years and Three Statutory Gateways
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Alabama · Last updated October 5, 2026
Adverse possession is the doctrine that lets long, open occupation of land belonging to someone else end with the occupant holding the title instead. Alabama limits actions for the recovery of lands, tenements or hereditaments, or the possession thereof, to 10 years (Ala. Code 6-2-33(2)), and then puts a gate in front of that clock. Adverse possession cannot confer or defeat title to land in Alabama unless the claimant shows one of three things: a deed or other color of title purporting to convey title, duly recorded in the office of the judge of probate of the county where the land lies for 10 years before the action; annual listing of the land for taxation in the proper county for 10 years; or title by descent cast or devise from a predecessor in the title who was in possession (Ala. Code 6-5-200(a)). Those three are alternatives joined by or, so the tax route is one option rather than a universal condition, and an inadvertent failure to list or an unintentional mistake in the assessment does not bar the claim (Ala. Code 6-5-200(b)). The gate also has a carve-out: Section 6-5-200 is not construed to affect cases involving a question as to boundaries between coterminous owners (Ala. Code 6-5-200(c)), and neighbours get a separate circuit court proceeding to have the line established (Ala. Code 35-3-2). Public land is handled by removing the deadline entirely. There is no limitation of the time within which the state may sue to recover the land listed in Ala. Code 6-6-281, or a county or municipal corporation for its lands (Ala. Code 6-2-31). Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in Alabama
Which side of the boundary question are you on?
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How long does adverse possession take in Alabama?
Ten years. Alabama requires actions for the recovery of lands, tenements or hereditaments, or the possession thereof, to be commenced within 10 years (Ala. Code 6-2-33(2)). Each of the three alternative gateways in Ala. Code 6-5-200(a) is also measured across 10 years, so both halves of the test use the same figure.
Do you have to pay the property taxes to claim adverse possession in Alabama?
Not necessarily. Annually listing the land for taxation in the proper county for 10 years is one of three alternative requirements in Ala. Code 6-5-200(a). A recorded deed or other color of title on record for 10 years, or title by descent cast or devise from a possessing predecessor, satisfies the section instead.
Which three requirements does Alabama Code 6-5-200 set out?
Adverse possession cannot confer or defeat title unless the claimant shows a deed or other color of title recorded with the judge of probate for 10 years, or annual listing of the land for taxation for 10 years, or title by descent cast or devise from a predecessor who was in possession (Ala. Code 6-5-200(a)).
Can land owned by the State of Alabama or a county be taken by adverse possession?
Alabama removes the deadline for public owners. There is no limitation of the time within which the state may commence actions to recover the land mentioned in Ala. Code 6-6-281, which includes state land and school lands, and no limitation for a county or municipal corporation recovering its lands (Ala. Code 6-2-31).
Alabama adverse possession at a glance
Adverse possession is the rule that can move title to land from the record owner to a person who has openly occupied it for the full period the statute sets. Alabama sets that period at 10 years for actions to recover land (Ala. Code 6-2-33(2)), but the distinctive feature of Alabama law is the gate in Ala. Code 6-5-200(a): adverse possession cannot confer or defeat title at all unless the claimant shows a recorded deed or other color of title on record for 10 years, annual tax listing for 10 years, or title by descent cast or devise from a possessing predecessor. The gate is written in the alternative, and it is switched off entirely for questions as to boundaries between coterminous owners (Ala. Code 6-5-200(c)).
A pole barn on a Winston County timber line, and the carve-out that changes the test
Take a gravel drive and a pole barn sitting about forty feet over a timber tract line in Winston County, in place since 2013 and used every season. Run the gateway test in Ala. Code 6-5-200(a) and the occupant looks stuck: no deed describing that strip is on record with the judge of probate, the strip has always been assessed inside the neighbour's parcel, and there is no descent cast or devise in the chain. Then read subsection (c). Section 6-5-200 is not construed to affect cases involving a question as to boundaries between coterminous owners, and Ala. Code 35-3-2 lets either landowner sue to have the boundary lines established. Which statute governs these facts is a question for the circuit court.
Relevant Laws
Ala. Code 6-2-33 (ten year limitation on actions to recover land)
Requires actions for the recovery of lands, tenements or hereditaments, or the possession of them, to be commenced within 10 years, except as otherwise provided in the article. This is the Alabama limitation period that an adverse possession claim runs against.
Ala. Code 6-5-200 (the three gateways, tacking, and the boundary carve-out)
Subsection (a) provides that adverse possession cannot confer or defeat title to land unless the party shows a deed or other colour of title recorded with the judge of probate for 10 years, or annual listing of the land for taxation for 10 years, or title by descent cast or devise from a predecessor in possession. Subsection (b) allows recording time to be added across predecessors and forgives an inadvertent listing failure. Subsection (c) excludes questions as to boundaries between coterminous owners.
Ala. Code 6-2-31 (no limitation for the state, a county or a municipality)
Provides that there is no limitation of the time within which the state may commence actions for the recovery of any of the land mentioned in Section 6-6-281, and no limitation of the time within which a county or municipal corporation may commence an action for the recovery of its lands.
Ala. Code 6-6-281 (which public lands the unlimited window covers)
Identifies the land that must be sued for in the name of the State of Alabama, namely land belonging to the state, sixteenth section lands, school indemnity lands and all other school lands, the lands of the University of Alabama, Auburn University, and any other public educational or governmental institution of the state.
Ala. Code 6-6-280 (ejectment and action in the nature of ejectment)
Gives a plaintiff suing for the recovery of lands or the possession of them an election to proceed by an action of ejectment or by an action in the nature of an action of ejectment, and sets out what the complaint in the latter must allege.
Ala. Code 6-6-286 (defendant's suggestion of adverse possession and improvements)
Lets a defendant in a land recovery action suggest on the record three years of adverse possession, defined as the same character of possession as will put in operation the statute of limitations, so the jury assesses the value of permanent improvements against the value of the use and occupation.
Ala. Code 6-6-540 and 6-6-541 (action to settle title, and the complaint)
Section 6-6-540 lets a person in peaceable possession, actual or constructive, claiming to own land whose title is denied or disputed, commence an action to settle the title and clear up all doubts or disputes. Section 6-6-541 requires the complaint to describe the lands with certainty and allege the plaintiff's possession and ownership.
Ala. Code 6-6-560 (verified in rem complaint to establish title)
Provides a separate route for a claimant in actual peaceable possession, or who has held colour of title and paid taxes on the land for 10 or more consecutive years, to file a verified complaint in the circuit court of the county where the lands lie against the lands and all persons claiming any interest in them.
Ala. Code 35-3-1 through 35-3-3 (establishing disputed boundary lines)
Authorises a circuit court proceeding to establish or determine disputed land lines or boundaries between coterminous owners, lets any landowner sue the owner of adjoining land to have the boundary lines established, and provides for a judgment locating the line by reference to permanent landmarks.
Ala. Code 35-4-69 (recorded affidavits as notice of the facts recited)
Provides that recorded affidavits showing the ownership and adverse possession of lands, that other persons have not owned or possessed the land, and affidavits stating any other fact affecting title, are notice of the facts recited, and may be made by any person whether connected with the chain of title or not.
Ala. Code 6-2-8 (suspension of the limitation for disability)
Gives a person who is below the age of 19 years or insane when the right to make an entry on land accrues three years after the disability ends, or the ordinary period if shorter, while capping the total extension so that no disability allows an entry or defence after 20 years from accrual.
Regional Variances
Alabama adverse possession rules at a glance
Statutory period
Ten years. Actions for the recovery of lands, tenements or hereditaments, or the possession of them, must be commenced within 10 years (Ala. Code 6-2-33(2)), and every gateway in Ala. Code 6-5-200(a) is measured across 10 years.
Property taxes
One of three alternative gateways, not a universal element and not a period shortener. Annual listing of the land for taxation in the proper county for 10 years satisfies Ala. Code 6-5-200(a)(2), but a recorded colour of title or title by descent cast or devise satisfies the section instead.
Tolerance for listing errors
An inadvertent failure to list the land for taxation, an unintentional mistake in the description of the assessment, or an unintentional omission of part of it from the assessment during the 10 years does not bar the action or defence (Ala. Code 6-5-200(b)).
Colour of title
Does not shorten the period. Gateway one requires a deed or other colour of title purporting to convey the land, duly recorded in the office of the judge of probate of the county where the land lies, for 10 years before the action (Ala. Code 6-5-200(a)(1)), with predecessor recording time addable (Ala. Code 6-5-200(b)).
Boundary disputes between neighbours
Carved out. Section 6-5-200 is not construed to affect cases involving a question as to boundaries between coterminous owners (Ala. Code 6-5-200(c)). Ala. Code 35-3-2 lets a landowner sue the owner of adjoining land to have the boundary lines established in circuit court.
Acreage cap
None. No acreage limit appears in the Alabama limitations chapter, in Ala. Code 6-5-200, in the ejectment sections at Ala. Code 6-6-280 through 6-6-289, in the quiet title divisions, or in Ala. Code 35-3-1 through 35-3-3.
Government owned land
Protected by an open window rather than a flat bar. There is no limitation of the time within which the state may sue to recover the land mentioned in Ala. Code 6-6-281, and none for a county or municipal corporation recovering its lands (Ala. Code 6-2-31).
Perfecting title
An action in the circuit court to settle the title by a person in peaceable possession claiming to own the land (Ala. Code 6-6-540(a)), on a complaint describing the lands with certainty and alleging possession and ownership (Ala. Code 6-6-541), or the verified in rem complaint of Ala. Code 6-6-560.
Frequently Asked Questions
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