The recent shift in Georgia probation law comes from Senate Bill 105, which Governor Kemp signed on May 3, 2021. Despite what some summaries suggest, no major standalone probation reform passed in the 2023 session; when people refer to the new Georgia probation laws, they are almost always talking about SB 105 and its ongoing implementation. The core change is a pathway to early termination of felony probation for first-time offenders who stay compliant. Everything else in Georgia’s probation framework, including maximum sentence lengths, violation penalties, and supervision fees, largely works the way it did before.
Georgia still hands down some of the longest probation sentences in the country, so understanding what SB 105 actually did, and what it did not do, matters if you or someone you know is on supervision.
What SB 105 Changed: The Behavioral Incentive Date
SB 105 did not cap felony probation at three years, and that misreading circulates a lot. What the law actually requires is that sentencing courts set a “behavioral incentive date” of three years or less for eligible defendants. If the probationer meets every condition by that date, probation ends early. If they don’t, the original sentence continues to run.
Eligibility is narrow. SB 105 applies only to first-time felony offenders who were sentenced to probation or to no more than 12 months of imprisonment. To have probation terminated at the behavioral incentive date, you must satisfy three conditions:
- Your probation has not been revoked in the preceding 24 months, or since sentencing if the behavioral incentive date falls less than two years out.
- You have not been arrested for anything beyond a minor traffic offense since probation began.
- All court-ordered restitution has been paid in full. Outstanding fines and fees alone do not block eligibility, but unpaid restitution does.
The law reaches backward as well as forward. For people sentenced before SB 105 took effect, courts are required to add a behavioral incentive date to existing sentencing orders, set at three years from the original sentencing date. If you were sentenced to felony probation before mid-2021 and have already served three years while meeting the criteria above, you may already be eligible to petition for termination.1Georgia Justice Project. Early Termination of Probation
How Long Probation Can Still Last
Outside the SB 105 early-termination pathway, Georgia’s general rule on probation length is unchanged. A probation term cannot exceed the maximum prison sentence that could have been imposed for the offense. If a felony carries up to ten years in prison, the court can impose up to ten years of probation.2Justia Law. Georgia Code 42-8-34 – Sentencing Hearings
This is why SB 105 matters. Without it, a first-time felony probationer could spend five, ten, or twenty years under supervision. The behavioral incentive date gives eligible people a realistic exit, but only if they maintain compliance from the start of the term.
What Happens If You Violate Probation
Georgia treats probation violations seriously, but the consequences depend heavily on what kind of violation the court finds. This is the most misunderstood part of the current law.
Graduated Sanctions Before Court
When the sentencing court has included graduated sanctions as a condition of probation, your probation officer can respond to minor issues, such as a missed appointment or a failed drug test, with escalating consequences like increased reporting, curfew adjustments, or community service. No formal revocation petition is filed. The point is to keep small slip-ups from becoming courtroom matters. If the officer decides the circumstances are serious enough, or if graduated sanctions haven’t worked, the officer can still arrest the probationer and bring the case before a judge.3FindLaw. Georgia Code Title 42 Section 42-8-38
Revocation Hearings and Penalties
Once a revocation petition is filed, the court holds a hearing where the standard of proof is preponderance of the evidence, a lower bar than the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard used at criminal trials. If the court finds a violation, the maximum penalty depends on the type:
- General condition violations, such as missing appointments, failing drug tests, or breaking curfew: the court must first consider alternatives to incarceration, including community service, probation detention centers, and alternative incarceration programs. If none is appropriate, the maximum penalty is two years in confinement or the remaining balance of probation, whichever is less.
- New felony offense: the court can revoke up to the lesser of the remaining probation balance or the maximum prison sentence for the new felony.
- Special condition violations: if the sentencing order specifically designated a condition as “special” and stated in writing that violating it could result in serving the balance of the original sentence, the court can order the full remaining sentence served in confinement.
The distinction between general and special conditions is where people get tripped up. A general condition violation has a hard two-year ceiling on incarceration. A single special condition violation can send you to prison for the entire remaining term. Read your sentencing order and know which conditions carry which consequences.4Justia Law. Georgia Code 42-8-34.1 – Revocation of Probated or Suspended Sentence
At a revocation hearing you are entitled to notice of the alleged violations, a hearing before a judge, the opportunity to present evidence, and the right to cross-examine witnesses. The hearing must be held within a reasonable time after the petition is filed. Georgia courts generally allow counsel at these hearings, and if incarceration is on the table, having a lawyer is not optional in any practical sense.
Tolling: The Clock Stops If You Run
If you abscond from supervision or fail to appear for a revocation hearing, your probation clock stops running. Georgia calls this tolling. The court enters a tolling order, and the clock does not restart until you report to your officer, are taken into custody in Georgia, or are otherwise available to the court. The clerk must transmit the tolling order to the Georgia Crime Information Center within 30 days, so the warrant follows you.5Justia Law. Georgia Code 42-8-36 – Duty of Probationer to Inform Officer of Residence and Other Matters
You cannot wait out a probation sentence by disappearing. The warrant will be there when you resurface, and none of the time you spent avoiding supervision counts as time served.
Supervision Fees and Financial Obligations
One persistent misconception is that Georgia caps probation supervision fees at $30 per month. That figure applies to parolees supervised by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, not to probationers.6State Board of Pardons and Paroles. Supervision and Victim Fees For probationers there is no fixed statutory fee cap. Courts set supervision fees at their discretion, taking into account the probationer’s income, assets, financial obligations, dependents, and the length of the probation term.
There is a safety valve. Georgia law requires courts to waive, reduce, or convert fees when a probationer demonstrates significant financial hardship or inability to pay. Courts can also convert unpaid fines and fees into community service or educational advancement, so financial trouble does not automatically become a violation.7Justia Law. Georgia Code 42-8-102 – Probation and Supervision; Determination of Fees, Fines, and Restitution
Beyond court-imposed fees, other costs add up. Electronic monitoring, drug testing, and treatment program co-pays are typically billed to the probationer. If you are supervised by a private probation company, common for misdemeanor cases, the company may charge its own supervision fees on top of court-ordered obligations. Raise affordability issues with your attorney or probation officer before missed payments accumulate.
Standard Conditions Courts Still Impose
SB 105 did not change the range of conditions a Georgia court can attach to probation. The statute lists more than a dozen possibilities, and judges combine them as they see fit. Common conditions include:
- Regular reporting to a probation officer on a set schedule, including home visits.
- Working at suitable employment or pursuing education to the extent possible.
- Obeying all local, state, and federal laws.
- Completing residential or outpatient substance abuse or mental health treatment as indicated by a risk and needs assessment.
- Paying restitution to the victim in an amount set by the court.
- Wearing a GPS or other electronic monitoring device, with fees set by the Board of Community Supervision and collected from the probationer.
- Staying within a specified geographic area, though the court cannot restrict a probationer to an area smaller than a full judicial circuit.
- Accepting graduated sanctions imposed by the probation officer without a return to court for every minor issue.
Courts also routinely require probationers to support their legal dependents, avoid people and places likely to lead to trouble, and waive extradition if they leave the state.8Justia Law. Georgia Code 42-8-35 – Terms and Conditions of Probation
What SB 105 Did Not Change
A few areas people often assume are part of the reform are not.
Voting Rights
If you are serving a standard felony probation sentence in Georgia, you cannot vote until your sentence is complete, including any period of non-reporting probation. The exception is First Offender or Conditional Discharge sentences that have not been revoked; people serving under those provisions can vote while still on supervision. Once your sentence is fully completed, voting rights are automatically restored without a pardon or expungement. According to the Secretary of State’s office, any remaining fines are automatically cancelled upon completion of probation, and outstanding restitution does not prevent you from voting once the sentence itself is finished. Restoration is automatic; re-registration is not. You still have to re-register through the normal process.
Interstate Transfers
Moving to another state while on probation is not a matter of relocating and updating your address. Georgia participates in the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision, and there are two types of transfers. Mandatory transfers apply when you meet specific eligibility criteria, generally having a residence and means of support in the receiving state; in those cases the receiving state must accept you. Discretionary transfers cover everything else, and the receiving state can choose whether to accept you based on rehabilitation, public safety, and victim considerations. Your probation officer initiates the application through the ICOTS system. Do not move before the transfer is approved. Relocating without authorization is itself a probation violation.9Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision. Bench Book – 3.2.1 Eligibility Criteria
Private Probation Companies
Many misdemeanor probationers in Georgia are supervised by private companies that contract with local courts. Georgia law sets baseline requirements: officers must be at least 21, complete 40 hours of initial training and 20 hours of continuing education annually, and cannot have felony convictions themselves. Contracts between courts and private companies must address staffing, supervision standards, fee collection, and how indigent probationers are handled regardless of ability to pay.10Justia Law. Georgia Code 42-8-107 – Uniform Professional Standards for Probation Officers
If a private company is charging fees beyond what your sentencing order authorizes, or is failing to accommodate a genuine inability to pay, the sentencing court is your recourse. The court retains authority over your sentence regardless of who is providing day-to-day supervision.