A Christian woman is taking legal action against Alabama county officials after she was told to remove her headscarf before taking a driver's licence photo.

Yvonne Allen, of Tuskegee, said she was told "only Muslim women have the right to cover their hair" when she tried to renew her licence last December. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on Tuesday on behalf of Allen, saying her religious rights were violated.

Allen described herself as a devout Christian women convicted by her faith to cover her hair. Her licence was approved but only after she felt obliged to remove her headscarf for the photo and felt ashamed doing so, according to the lawsuit.

Alabama officials consider head coverings in licence photo's "only acceptable due to religious beliefs or medical conditions", according to the complaint.

Becky Frayer, the chief clerk of the Lee County Probate Judge's Office, and probate judge Bill English, her supervisor, have been named as the two defendants in the case. Allen said Frayer had defended the policy and told her she was a Christian too but did not cover her hair.

The lawsuit accused the two officials of violating Allen's religious freedom and demanded she should be able to have her photo retaken with her headscarf. It also claimed unspecified damages.

Additional reporting from Reuters.