How to Get a Misdemeanor Expunged in Georgia: Filing and Costs

Georgia doesn’t technically expunge misdemeanor convictions — the state uses a process called record restriction instead. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37, you can petition the sentencing court to restrict up to two misdemeanor convictions from your Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) history, which hides them from most private employers, landlords, and licensing boards.¹ To qualify, you need a completed sentence, four years with no new convictions, no pending charges, and a conviction that isn’t on the state’s excluded list. This guide walks through what expungement actually means in Georgia, who qualifies, which misdemeanors are permanently off-limits, and how to file.

One thing to understand upfront: a restricted record isn’t deleted. Law enforcement and judges can still see it. What changes is that civilian background checks pulled through GCIC no longer display the arrest or conviction.² For most people trying to pass an employment or rental screening, that’s the practical outcome they’re after.

Who Qualifies to Restrict a Misdemeanor Conviction

Georgia’s Second Chance provisions set four requirements, and you have to meet all of them before filing:

You’ve completed every part of your sentence: any jail time, probation, community service, and all fines and restitution.
You haven’t been convicted of any crime in any jurisdiction for at least four years before you file. Minor traffic violations don’t count against you.
You have no pending criminal cases.
The conviction isn’t one of the offenses the statute permanently excludes (see below).

The four-year clock starts when you finish your sentence, not when you were convicted. If probation ended in 2022, the earliest you can file is 2026.¹

There’s also a lifetime cap. You get two misdemeanor restriction petitions, total. If a single arrest produced several misdemeanor charges and you were convicted on all of them, that counts as one conviction toward the cap. Pick the two convictions that will do the most to clear your record.¹

Misdemeanors That Can Never Be Restricted

Certain misdemeanor convictions are permanently excluded no matter how much time has passed or how clean your record has been since. Check your charge code against this list before paying any fees:

Family violence offenses — simple assault, simple battery, battery, and stalking when classified as family violence. An exception exists if you were a youthful offender at the time.
Violating a family violence protective order.
Sexual offenses, including child molestation, enticing a child, sexual battery, public indecency, and improper sexual contact by someone in a position of trust.
Prostitution-related offenses: keeping a place of prostitution, pimping, and pandering by compulsion.
Most theft convictions. Misdemeanor shoplifting and refund fraud are the exceptions and remain eligible.
Serious traffic offenses under Article 15 of Chapter 6 of Title 40, including DUI, reckless driving, and hit-and-run.
Peeping, obstructing an emergency phone call, and offenses related to minors under the obscenity statutes.

If your conviction appears here, record restriction isn’t available to you under § 35-3-37.¹ A pardon from the State Board of Pardons and Paroles is a separate remedy with different criteria.

How to File the Petition

Restricting a conviction isn’t a form you drop off at an agency. It’s a formal petition filed in the court where you were convicted, and it functions more like a civil action than a paperwork request. You must serve the petition on the prosecuting attorney, and either side can request a hearing.¹

The judge applies a balancing test. Restriction will be granted only if the harm to you from the record remaining publicly available clearly outweighs the public’s interest in access. This is not automatic. The court weighs factors like the nature of the offense, how long ago it happened, and what you’ve done since. If a hearing is requested, it must take place within 90 days of your filing.¹

Deliver your petition by certified mail or in person so you have a stamped receipt or tracking confirmation. That proof matters if the 90-day clock runs and you haven’t heard back.

Documents to Gather Before Filing

Start by pulling your Georgia criminal history (the GCIC report) from a local sheriff’s office or police department. It typically costs $10 to $25.³ The report lists every arrest, the arresting agency, the arrest date, the charges, and final court dispositions. You need those details to draft an accurate petition.

You’ll also want your court sentencing documents showing the conviction, the sentence terms, and the completion date. If probation was involved, confirmation that it was successfully discharged helps.

Every detail in your petition has to match the state’s internal records exactly. A mismatch in the disposition description, charge code, or dates gives the prosecutor an easy reason to object. Cross-reference the GCIC report against your court paperwork before you file anything.

Costs and Timeline

Expect fees from more than one source:

GCIC criminal history report: $10 to $25.³
Court filing fee for the petition. Amounts vary by court.

If a hearing is held, the court must hold it within 90 days of filing.¹ After a favorable order, the GCIC typically processes complete submissions within two to three weeks.⁴

After the Court Grants It

Once the restriction is entered, the conviction drops off GCIC background checks used by private employers and licensing boards.² You should receive confirmation that the update has been made.

Here’s what to do next, and it’s the step most people miss. The GCIC restriction controls only the state database. The clerk of court still holds a separate paper and electronic file: the case file, docket books, and court minutes. Private background check vendors regularly scrape those court records directly, which means a restricted conviction can still surface on a thorough screening if nothing is done at the courthouse. For conviction restrictions, file a companion petition asking the court to seal the clerk’s records as well.² Without that second order, the GCIC restriction alone may not accomplish what you expected.

If the Court Denies the Petition

A denial doesn’t end your options permanently. You can refile a petition on the same conviction two years after the final order on your first attempt.¹ Use those two years to build the kind of record that moves a judge on the balancing test: steady employment, community involvement, and no new charges.

A Note on First Offender Sentences

If you were sentenced under Georgia’s First Offender Act (O.C.G.A. § 42-8-60), you’re on a different track and the four-year waiting period doesn’t apply the same way. Successful completion of a First Offender sentence results in exoneration and discharge as a matter of law, and the GCIC should seal the charge on your state criminal history.⁵ To close the court-records gap described above, you can petition the sentencing court under O.C.G.A. § 42-8-62.1 to seal the criminal file, docket books, and related clerk records; the court must rule within 90 days and grants the order when privacy harm outweighs the public interest in access.⁶ If this describes your case, your path runs through § 42-8-62.1 rather than the Second Chance petition process.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 35-3-37 – Criminal History Record Information
2
Georgia Courts. Record Restrictions/Expungement
3
Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Obtaining Criminal History Record Information Frequently Asked Questions
4
Georgia.gov. File Request to Expunge a Criminal Record
5
Justia. Georgia Code 42-8-60 – Probation Prior to Adjudication of Guilt
6
Justia. Georgia Code 42-8-62.1 – Limiting Public Access to First Offender Records