Georgia Second Chance Law: Who Qualifies, Filing, and Limits

Georgia’s Second Chance Law lets you hide certain misdemeanor convictions, pardoned felony convictions, and arrests that didn’t lead to conviction from the background checks that private employers, landlords, and most licensing agencies run. The state calls this “record restriction” rather than expungement because the record still exists — it’s removed from public-facing results while law enforcement and certain government agencies keep full access.¹ Whether you qualify, and what you have to do, depends on which of three situations you’re in.

Who Qualifies

Misdemeanor Convictions

To petition for restriction of a misdemeanor conviction under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37(j)(4), all of the following must be true:

You’ve finished every part of the sentence, including probation, community service, and fines.
You’ve had no criminal convictions in any jurisdiction for at least four years before filing. Minor traffic tickets that aren’t serious offenses don’t count against you.
You have no pending criminal cases.
The offense isn’t on the excluded list.

Two other limits matter. Georgia caps you at two misdemeanor restrictions over your lifetime, and multiple charges consolidated into one trial or arising from a single incident count as one conviction against that cap. If a petition is denied, you can refile on the same conviction two years after the denial order.¹

Meeting the technical checklist doesn’t guarantee approval. The judge applies a balancing test, and restriction is granted only if the harm the record causes you clearly outweighs the public’s interest in keeping it visible. That gives the court real discretion.

Pardoned Felony Convictions

If the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles has pardoned your felony, you can petition to restrict it as long as the offense isn’t a serious violent felony or a sexual offense.² There’s no fixed waiting period in years; the statute requires that you’ve had no convictions in any jurisdiction since the pardon (minor traffic offenses excluded) and no pending charges.¹

The pardon itself is a separate process through the Pardons and Paroles Board and can take years. The restriction petition comes afterward, in the original sentencing court.

Arrests That Didn’t Lead to Conviction

If your case was dismissed, the prosecutor declined to prosecute, or you were acquitted, restriction is much easier. Georgia treats these records differently because no finding of guilt ever occurred.

Some arrest records restrict automatically when the state fails to file charges within set windows after the arrest:

Two years for misdemeanors
Four years for non-violent, non-sexual felonies
Seven years for serious violent felonies or sexual offenses involving a victim under 16

If no charging document reaches the Georgia Crime Information Center within those windows, the arrest is automatically restricted for non-criminal-justice purposes. If an indictment is later filed, the record becomes visible again.¹

You don’t have to wait for those windows. For arrests that ended in dismissal, acquittal, or nolle prosequi, you can request restriction now.

A Few Other Situations

You can also petition to restrict:

A felony charge that resulted only in a misdemeanor conviction, where the misdemeanor wasn’t a lesser included offense — filed within four years of the arrest.
A conviction that was vacated or reversed on appeal, if the prosecutor hasn’t retried the case within two years of the final reversal.
A charge that has sat on the dead docket for more than 12 months.¹

Offenses That Can Never Be Restricted

Georgia keeps certain offenses permanently visible regardless of time, rehabilitation, or good behavior.

Excluded Misdemeanors

Under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37(j)(4)(B), the following can’t be restricted:¹

Family violence offenses, including simple assault, simple battery, and battery committed as family violence, plus family violence stalking and violating a family violence protective order. Family violence battery has a narrow exception if you were under 21 at the time of arrest.
Sexual and child-related offenses: child molestation, enticing a child for indecent purposes, sexual battery, improper sexual contact by an employee or agent, public indecency, and peeping.
Prostitution-related offenses: keeping a place of prostitution, pimping, and pandering by compulsion.
All DUI and related traffic crimes under O.C.G.A. §§ 40-6-390 through 40-6-397, including reckless driving and aggressive driving.
Most theft convictions. Shoplifting and refund fraud remain eligible.
Obstructing emergency calls.

Excluded Pardoned Felonies

Even with a pardon, you can’t restrict a serious violent felony or a sexual offense. Georgia defines serious violent felonies as murder, felony murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, and aggravated sexual battery.³ The sexual offense exclusions in O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.2 reach further, including statutory rape when the defendant was 21 or older, incest, and sexual exploitation of children.

How to File

Before you file anything, get your official Georgia criminal history record from a local sheriff’s office or police department.⁴ It lists your arrest dates, arresting agencies, charges, and dispositions. If dispositions are missing, the clerk of court in the county where the case was heard can provide sentencing orders.

Convictions and Pardoned Felonies

File the petition in the court where the conviction was entered. The prosecuting attorney is served. Either side can request a hearing, and if one is requested, the court must hold it within 90 days.¹ Bring documentation of employment rejections, housing denials, or other concrete harms the record has caused you; that’s what the judge is weighing against the public interest.

Arrests on or After July 1, 2013

There is no application form. Contact the prosecuting attorney’s office in the county where the arrest occurred. The prosecutor can approve the restriction directly, and in some cases does so at the time of sentencing or case disposition, with the restriction noted in the court paperwork without any further action on your part.⁵⁶ The prosecutor has 90 days to approve or deny. If denied, you can appeal to the Superior Court of that county within 30 days.

Arrests Before July 1, 2013

Complete the Request to Restrict Arrest Record form. You fill out section one, the arresting agency fills out section two, and the prosecutor completes section three with an approval or denial. If approved, the prosecutor either enters the restriction directly into the GCIC database or returns the form so you can mail it to the Georgia Crime Information Center with the processing fee.⁶

Fees

The arresting agency can charge up to $50 for processing a restriction application. If the approved form has to be mailed to the Georgia Crime Information Center, the GBI charges a $25 fee by money order or certified check.⁶ Conviction petitions filed in court also carry standard filing fees that vary by county, and an attorney’s fee if you hire one. Total costs range from about $25 for a straightforward arrest restriction the prosecutor enters directly to several hundred dollars for a contested conviction petition with legal representation.

What Restriction Actually Does

Once the order is entered and the GCIC updates its database, the record drops off standard commercial background checks. Private employers, landlords, and most licensing agencies won’t see it. The GBI sends a confirmation letter to the address on your application. The update can take several weeks.

What restriction does not do: erase the record. Law enforcement retains full access. Certain government agencies involved in public safety hiring or security-related decisions can also see restricted records, and any position requiring a law-enforcement-level background check rather than a commercial one will surface them.

Federal Processes Ignore State Restriction

Restriction is a Georgia action, and several federal processes look past it entirely. The SF-86 questionnaire for federal security clearances requires full disclosure of criminal history; withholding or misrepresenting information can result in denial of clearance, removal from federal service, or criminal prosecution, and federal investigators reach records that state restriction can’t hide.⁷ Disclose everything.

A Georgia pardon plus record restriction also does not automatically restore federal firearms rights after a felony conviction. Federal law prohibits firearm possession by convicted felons, and the Department of Justice runs a separate restoration process under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c).⁸ Talk to a federal firearms attorney before assuming your rights are back.

When a Restricted Record Still Shows Up

Commercial background check companies pull from courthouse records, law enforcement databases, and third-party aggregators. Older snapshots of your record often linger in those private databases even after the GCIC has been updated. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, background check companies must maintain accurate records, and you have the right to dispute inaccurate information.⁹

If a restricted record turns up on a commercial check, dispute the report directly with the background check company in writing and include a copy of the restriction order. The company is legally required to investigate and correct the record. If an employer takes adverse action based on a report that includes a restricted record, the employer must give you a copy of the report and a chance to dispute it before making a final decision. The state database updates on its own timeline; the private data brokers often need to be pushed.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 35-3-37 – Criminal History Record Information; Review; Corrections; Restriction of Access for Certain Dispositions
2
State Board of Pardons and Paroles. Pardons and Restoration of Rights
3
Justia. Georgia Code 17-10-6.1 – Punishment for Serious Violent Felonies
4
Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Obtaining Criminal History Record Information Frequently Asked Questions
5
Georgia.gov. File Request to Expunge a Criminal Record
6
Georgia Courts. Record Restrictions/Expungement
7
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Questionnaire for National Security Positions (SF-86)
8
U.S. Department of Justice. Federal Firearm Rights Restoration
9
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act