What are the guidelines or statutes in the state of Alabama indicating
the length of time client records in private counseling must be
retained once a licensed counselor moves to another state or retires?

Hi,
Thanks for using Google.

Here is a link to a pdf file, which has the exact info about the
retention period for client records in Alabama. Check out page 20 of
it.
[pdf] [ www.aallnet.org/products/2001_01.pdf ]
According to this link, the retention period depends on the private
counseller.They have also suggested to retain it for a period of six
years.

Check out this page also. A similar question is asked for Montana
state but it gives a very good info, which I thought might help you in
your case.
[ http://www.montanabar.org/ethics/ethicsopinions/910510.html ]

I hope this is what you were looking for. Feel free to ask for any
clarifications and if I answered it correctly, don't forget to rate
it.

Search terms used :
legal records retention in Alabama
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=legal+records+retention+in+Alabama

Regards,
netcrazy-ga

addressed legal counseling, not mental health counseling( I was
ambiguous.)  but answer gave good guidelines and principles. Thank
you.

Just a point of interest ...

In the US the the term "counselor" is usually assumed to mean a mental
health professional, whereas in Great Britain and Canada the term is
used more regularly in conjunction with attorneys.

Perhaps this was the source of the mix-up  :-)

-K~