Code of Alabama
Ala. Code § 30-2-5 (2026)
Residency Requirement for Plaintiff When Defendant Nonresident.
✓ official Alabama Legislature (ALISON) text, current July 2026
When the defendant is a nonresident, the other party to the marriage must have been a bona fide resident of this state for six months next before the filing of the complaint, which must be alleged in the complaint and proved.
(Code 1852, §1969; Code 1867, §2359; Code 1876, §2693; Code 1886, §2330; Code 1896, §1494; Code 1907, §3802; Code 1923, §7416; Code 1940, T. 34, §29; Acts 1945, No. 457, p. 691; Acts 1971, No. 2280, p. 3687.)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 32
cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1981–2026 · leading case: Skieff v. Cole-Skieff, 884 So. 2d 880 (Ala. Civ. App. 2003).
Skieff v. Cole-Skieff, 884 So. 2d 880 (Ala. Civ. App. 2003). “On May 22, 2002, the trial court granted the wife’s motion for relief from the final judgment, finding that the husband had not been a resident of Alabama for six months prior to filing his complaint and that the wife was not a resident of Alabama at the time the husband filed…”
Weith v. Weith, 263 So. 3d 715 (Ala. Civ. App. 2018). “On March 17, 2017, the husband filed a "Motion to Alter, Amend or Vacate" the judgment; that motion was denied on May 4, 2017. On June 1, 2017, the husband filed his notice of appeal.”
Alsaikhan v. Alakel, 173 So. 3d 925 (Ala. Civ. App. 2015). “Code 1975, provides that “[w]hen the defendant is a nonresident, the other party to the marriage must have been a bona fide resident of this state for six months next before the filing of the complaint, which must be alleged in the complaint and proved.”
Ware v. Ware, 743 S.E.2d 817 (S.C. 2013). “2012) (holding the trial court had jurisdiction to divorce the parties where the husband alleged that he had been a resident *14 of Alabama for more than six months when he filed his complaint for divorce and the wife did not challenge the fact that husband was an Alabama…”
Chavis v. Chavis, 394 So. 2d 54 (Ala. Civ. App. 1981). “The question thus becomes one of the husband's residence.”
Andrews v. Andrews, 697 So. 2d 54 (Ala. Civ. App. 1997). “I conclude that the trial court correctly held that it did not have subject matter jurisdiction over the divorce action because the husband did not satisfy the residency requirements of Ala.Code 1975, § 30-2-5. Therefore, I must respectfully dissent.”
Pierce v. Pierce, 50 So. 3d 447 (Ala. Civ. App. 2010). “In that September 23, 2009, order, the trial court determined that the father had relocated to Colorado and, as a result, that the father's residency in Alabama for the purposes of initiating a divorce action pursuant to § 30-2-5, Ala. Code 1975, did not resume, or start, until…”
Ferguson v. Ferguson, 15 So. 3d 520 (Ala. Civ. App. 2008). “For the purposes of § 30-2-5, residence is the same thing as domicile.”
Fuller v. Fuller, 51 So. 3d 1053 (Ala. Civ. App. 2010). “Alabama Code 1975, § 30-2-5, provides that when the defendant to a divorce action is a nonresident of this state, “the other party to the marriage must have been a bona fide resident of this *1058 state for six months next before the filing of the complaint, which must be…”
Burke v. Burke, 816 So. 2d 498 (Ala. Civ. App. 2001). “The wife alleged and proved her residence; see § 30-2-5, Ala.Code 1975. This was sufficient to allow jurisdiction over the wife and the marital res.”
McGonagle v. McGonagle, 218 So. 3d 1208 (Ala. Civ. App. 2016). “Analysis On appeal, the mother argues that the circuit court did not have jurisdiction to enter its judgment because, she asserts, “neither party was a ‘bona fide resident’ of the State of Alabama” for six months next before the filing of the father’s petition, as is required by…”
Coleman v. Coleman, 864 So. 2d 371 (Ala. Civ. App. 2003). “He contends that his contacts with the State of Alabama have been limited to two days when the parties wed and occasional visits with the children. [1] We first note that Alabama statutes do not require that a court have in personam jurisdiction over both parties to grant a…”
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