Alabama's rules sit in the criminal code rather than a licensing statute — Title 13A, Chapter 8, Article 1A — which tells you something about how the state frames metal theft. The obligations below are enforced as offences, and they escalate.
Compliance Checklist
Every Alabama recycler should have procedures for:
- Seller verification
- Material documentation
- Payment tracking
- Record retention
- Employee training
The Photograph Requirement Is Specific
Section 13A-8-31 requires a legible record of all purchase transactions of ferrous or nonferrous metals. Two elements of that record are unusually prescriptive:
- A digital photograph or video recording of the person receiving consideration, with that person's facial features clearly visible
- A photograph or video recording of the metal property as delivered or sold, in which the type of metal property is identifiable
- The time and date digitally recorded on the photograph or video recording
"Facial features clearly visible" and "type identifiable" are the two failure points. A camera aimed at the scale from thirty feet away technically produces an image and satisfies neither. Nor does an untimestamped photo pulled off a phone.
Records must be maintained for not less than one year from the date of the purchase transaction — the shortest floor in this series, and a good argument for setting your own retention policy well above the statutory minimum.
Payment and Purchasing Limits
Section 13A-8-31.1 splits the cash ceiling by material:
- No cash transaction over $50 for copper, copper/aluminum air-conditioning coils, or catalytic converters
- No cash transaction over $500 for all other metals
- Payment by check may be made payable only to the person whose information was recorded on the transaction
Alabama also restricts when and from whom you may buy: no purchases of metal property from a person younger than 18, and no purchases between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
A time-of-day restriction is worth designing for rather than remembering. If your yard runs late loads or a second shift, the system should refuse to open a purchase ticket outside the lawful window instead of relying on whoever is at the scale to know the rule.
Catalytic Converters Require Registration
It is unlawful to purchase or otherwise acquire a used, detached catalytic converter, or any nonferrous part of one, unless the buyer is registered as a secondary metals recycler under § 13A-8-31.2 and the sale occurs at the fixed business address of a secondary metals recycler that is party to the transaction (§ 13A-8-37.3). The full record required by § 13A-8-31 has to be maintained for the transaction.
Why Compliance Is Becoming More Important
As states continue updating laws related to metal theft and catalytic converters, recyclers that rely on paper processes face increasing challenges.
Digital systems help reduce errors while creating an easily searchable audit trail.
Penalties escalate on a repeat-offence ladder: intentional violations of the recordkeeping requirements are a Class B misdemeanor for a first offence, a Class A misdemeanor for a second, and a Class C felony for a third or subsequent offence within a 10-year period. A ten-year lookback means an inconsistent process is a compounding liability, not an isolated one.
What Investigators Actually Ask For
When a detective walks into a yard with a theft report, the question is almost never "do you keep records?" It is far more specific than that, and it is always a search:
- Every purchase of one material class between two dates
- Every transaction tied to one seller, one ID, or one vehicle
- The ID scan and the photograph attached to a specific ticket
- What was paid, and by what method
- Whether the material is still on the ground or already shipped
Each of those is a query. If the answer lives in a drawer of carbon copies, it takes a day to assemble and still cannot be proven complete. If it lives in a system, it takes a minute and prints.
Common Compliance Mistakes
- Wide-angle yard cameras standing in for a required seller photograph
- Photographs with no embedded date and time
- Applying the $500 cash limit to copper, coils, or converters instead of the $50 limit
- Writing a check to a business name when the recorded seller is an individual
- Buying after 9:00 p.m. because the truck arrived late
- Purging records at one year and having nothing left when a two-year-old ticket is questioned
Alabama Scrap Metal Law FAQ
How much cash can an Alabama recycler pay?
Up to $50 for copper, copper/aluminum AC coils, and catalytic converters; up to $500 for other metals (§ 13A-8-31.1).
Are there hours when I cannot buy?
Yes. Metal property may not be purchased between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., and never from a person under 18.
How long must Alabama records be kept?
Not less than one year from the date of the purchase transaction — though most operators keep them substantially longer.
What are the penalties?
Class B misdemeanor for a first intentional violation, Class A misdemeanor for a second, and Class C felony for a third or subsequent offence within 10 years.
How ReSpark Helps
With ReSpark, recyclers can manage operations, customer data, reporting, accounting, maintenance, and compliance through one unified platform.
Cash ceilings that differ by material, a lawful purchasing window, timestamped images tied to a ticket, and payees that must match the recorded seller are all rules a system can hold. Asking a buyer to hold them at 8:55 p.m. on a Friday is how a Class B misdemeanor starts.
If you want to see what that looks like against your own volumes, book a demo or estimate your return first.
Where to read the law: Code of Alabama, Title 13A, Chapter 8, Article 1A — Secondary Metal Recycling (§§ 13A-8-30 to 13A-8-37.3), including § 13A-8-31 (record of purchases) and § 13A-8-31.1 (payment and purchase limitations).
This article is general information for recyclers, not legal advice. Statutes are amended every session and local ordinances may add obligations on top of state law — confirm the current text with Alabama regulators or your own counsel before changing a procedure.
