Lead paint disclosure in Alabama

The federal lead disclosure rule applies to most housing built before 1978, covering both sales and rentals. This is the rule that governs what you have to be told about lead paint in Alabama.

The seller or landlord has to:

• share anything they know about lead-based paint or lead hazards in the home
• pass along any records or reports on lead in the home that they have
• hand you the EPA pamphlet about lead
• put a Lead Warning Statement into the contract or lease

This statement is a short, standard warning in the paperwork telling you that older homes may have lead paint. Buyers have 10 days to have the home tested for lead before the sale binds them.

There isn't one. State law in Alabama doesn't set a seller disclosure form, so for lead, the federal paperwork is what you'll get.

One state rule still helps you. A licensed real estate agent or broker who knows about a hidden defect and stays quiet about it, whether you're buying or renting, can face state discipline under Ala. Code 34-27-36(b)(3).

A big portion of Alabama's homes were built before 1980, per the US Census. Rented homes are a bit more likely than all homes to be that old.

The Alabama Lead Reduction Act of 1997 says you can't do lead-based paint work, or say you're qualified for it, without certification from the state. Two exceptions exist: an owner fixing up their own home, and an owner making minor repairs on their own property.

Two agencies split the responsibility, per Ala. Code 22-37A-6. Safe State, which is part of the University of Alabama, handles approval of lead training courses and maintains the state's list of trained lead workers. Certifying the firms that do the work falls to the Alabama Department of Public Health.

If you break Alabama's lead law, a civil penalty can be charged for each day the violation continues, under Ala. Code 22-37A-7. No single violation can total more than $5,000.

The State Health Officer can look into lead in a home at the request of the owner or the person who lives there, per Ala. Code 22-37A-4. State staff can only go into a home where lead work happened if the owner or another adult living there says yes.

Renters who think their home has a lead paint hazard shouldn't remove the paint themselves, so the state health department asks tenants to call their area's health department or the Alabama Lead Contractors Certification Program instead.

Every child should get a blood lead test when they're 12 months old and once more when they're 24 months old, the Alabama Department of Public Health recommends. Kids between 3 and 6 who haven't been tested yet should be tested as well.

When your child's blood lead level goes above 3.5 ug/dL, the CDC's benchmark, the Alabama Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program steps in with case management, visits to your home, and checks of the home.

Under Alabama Administrative Code 420-4-1, physicians, laboratories, school heads, and day care operators must all report blood lead results to the state health department.

The Alabama Department of Public Health put forward a proposal in 2026 to replace its lead abatement rule, which covers work that permanently removes or seals off lead paint hazards. The department also proposed replacing its renovation rule. The public hearing was held on October 8, 2026. You can still send written comments until November 4, 2026, if you'd like to have your say.

The proposed abatement rule would let an owner skip the training and certification for abatement work on their own home, but only if all 3 of these hold:

1. The owner is the one on record.
2. They live in the home as their main residence.
3. No child lives there who has a raised blood lead level.