Misdemeanors do not go away on their own in Georgia. The state keeps criminal history information indefinitely, and there is no set number of years after which a conviction or arrest falls off your record automatically. To clear a misdemeanor from what employers and landlords can see, you have to use a legal process called record restriction, and whether you qualify depends on how your case ended and what the offense was.
Why Georgia Records Don’t Expire
Every arrest and conviction in Georgia is entered into the Computerized Criminal History database, which is maintained by the Georgia Crime Information Center within the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. That database holds records on nearly four million people and feeds the background checks run by employers, landlords, and licensing boards.1Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Georgia Crime Information Center A shoplifting charge from fifteen years ago sits in the same system as an arrest from last week.
Georgia also uses a different word than many states. The term here is “restriction,” not “expungement.” A restricted record is not destroyed. It becomes invisible to private employers, landlords, and licensing agencies, but it stays available to law enforcement and criminal justice agencies.2Justia. Georgia Code 35-3-37 – Criminal History Record Information A prosecutor can still see your history when deciding how to handle a future case.
Arrests That Never Led to a Conviction
If you were arrested for a misdemeanor but never convicted, clearing the record is relatively straightforward. Georgia law provides for restriction when charges were dismissed, the prosecutor declined to pursue the case, you were acquitted at trial, or you completed a pretrial diversion program. Many of these restrictions happen automatically once the GCIC receives notice of the disposition. For misdemeanor arrests that are never referred for prosecution at all, the record is restricted automatically after two years.2Justia. Georgia Code 35-3-37 – Criminal History Record Information
“Automatic” doesn’t always mean quick. Restriction depends on arresting agencies and courts actually sending paperwork to the GCIC, and backlogs are common. If your case ended favorably, check with the GCIC to confirm the restriction went through.3Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Georgia Criminal History Record Restrictions
For arrests on or after July 1, 2013, you can contact the prosecuting attorney’s office in the county of arrest directly. For older arrests, the request goes first to the arresting law enforcement agency, which forwards it to the prosecutor.4Georgia.gov. File Request to Expunge a Criminal Record The arresting agency or prosecutor’s office can charge up to $50, and the GCIC adds its own processing fee.
Clearing a Misdemeanor Conviction Under SB 288
For years, Georgia offered almost no way to clear an actual misdemeanor conviction. Senate Bill 288, often called the Second Chance Law, changed that on January 1, 2021. You can now petition the court that sentenced you to restrict and seal up to two misdemeanor convictions.2Justia. Georgia Code 35-3-37 – Criminal History Record Information
To qualify, every one of these has to be true:
- You have finished all terms of your sentence, including probation, fines, restitution, and community service.
- At least four years have passed since your most recent conviction in any jurisdiction, not counting minor traffic violations.
- You have no pending criminal cases.
- The conviction is not on the statutory exclusion list below.
The petition is filed in the court where you were originally sentenced, and the prosecutor must be served with notice. If a hearing is requested, the court must hold it within 90 days of filing.2Justia. Georgia Code 35-3-37 – Criminal History Record Information The judge then weighs whether the harm the record causes you clearly outweighs the public’s interest in keeping it available. Meeting the technical requirements does not guarantee the result; the balancing test is discretionary.
From filing to final GCIC processing, expect roughly three to six months, and longer in busier metro Atlanta jurisdictions. You are not legally required to hire a lawyer, but a petition that is missing required information or served improperly can be denied on procedural grounds before a judge ever reaches the merits.
Misdemeanors That Cannot Be Restricted
Even when you meet every eligibility criterion, Georgia permanently bars restriction for certain misdemeanor convictions.2Justia. Georgia Code 35-3-37 – Criminal History Record Information The excluded categories are:
Family violence offenses:
- Family violence simple assault, simple battery, and battery (unless you were a youthful offender at the time)
- Family violence stalking
- Violating a family violence protective order
Sex offenses and crimes against children:
- Sexual battery
- Public indecency
- Keeping a place of prostitution, pimping, and pandering by compulsion
- Peeping Toms
- Child molestation and enticing a child for indecent purposes
- Improper sexual contact by an employee, foster parent, or person in a position of trust
- Offenses related to minors under Georgia’s obscenity statutes
DUI and serious traffic offenses:
- Driving under the influence and all related traffic offenses under O.C.G.A. 40-6-390 through 40-6-397
Theft offenses:
- Most theft convictions under Chapter 8 of Title 16. Misdemeanor shoplifting and refund fraud are the notable exceptions and remain eligible.
A few details catch people off guard. Regular simple assault and simple battery without the family violence designation are eligible, so the original charging label matters. The family violence exclusions carry a youthful offender exception, generally for people who were under 21 at the time. And obstructing or hindering someone from making an emergency telephone call is on the excluded list, which matters because that charge often arises alongside family violence cases.
The First Offender Act as an Alternative
If you have not yet been sentenced, Georgia’s First Offender Act offers a different route that avoids a conviction in the first place. The judge sentences you without formally adjudicating guilt. If you complete every term of the sentence, you are exonerated and discharged as a matter of law, and you are not considered to have a criminal conviction.5Justia. Georgia Code 42-8-60 – Probation Prior to Adjudication of Guilt
The discharge alone does not seal the record. Your arrest and first offender sentence will still show up on background checks until you take the extra step of petitioning the sentencing court to seal the criminal file, docket books, court records, and criminal history information held by the clerk.6Justia. Georgia Code 42-8-62.1 – Limiting Public Access to First Offender Status Notice of that petition goes to both the clerk and the prosecuting attorney.
What You Actually Get After Restriction
Once a record is restricted, it drops out of the background checks that most private employers, landlords, and licensing agencies run. The GCIC will no longer release it for employment or licensing purposes.7Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Obtaining Criminal History Record Information Frequently Asked Questions For most practical purposes, the offense no longer exists in the public eye.
What restriction does not do is erase the record. Law enforcement agencies, courts, and criminal justice employers keep full access. If you apply for a job in law enforcement, corrections, or certain government positions that require a criminal justice background check, the restricted offense will still appear. Prosecutors can also pull it up if you face future charges.
Private background check companies sometimes lag behind the state database. Even after the GCIC updates your record, a third-party vendor may still be reporting the old information from a cached copy. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to dispute outdated information on a background report and require the company to correct it.
One federal consequence sits outside the state restriction system entirely. Anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is permanently prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm or ammunition, and that bar applies regardless of whether Georgia later restricts the state record.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts Because Georgia’s family violence battery and family violence simple battery convictions are also on the list of offenses that cannot be restricted under state law, a conviction in that category carries a lasting double impact.