Alabama · TitleAlabama adverse possession: ten years and the three ways to make it count

In Alabama, actions for the recovery of land or its possession must be commenced within ten years, unless another provision applies (Ala. Code §6-2-33(2)). But adverse possession can't confer or defeat title to land unless the party relying on it shows one of three things: a deed or other color of title purporting to convey title to that party has been duly recorded in the probate judge's office of the county for ten years before the action began; the party and those through whom it claims have listed the land for taxation in the proper county every year for ten years before the action, if the land is taxable; or the party derives title by descent or devise from a predecessor in title who was in possession. Recording periods of successive deeds in the chain can be added together to make the ten years, and an inadvertent failure to list the land for taxation or an unintentional mistake in the assessment doesn't defeat the claim. The rule doesn't affect boundary disputes between adjoining owners (Ala. Code §6-5-200).