Records may be restricted if:

• Law enforcement never referred the case to the prosecutor

• The prosecutor dismissed the case after receiving it from law enforcement

Records may be restricted if:

• All charges were dismissed or reduced to a local ordinance

• You completed a First Offender, Conditional Discharge, or Pretrial Diversion program

• You completed a Veterans, Drug, or Mental Health Court treatment program and your charges were dismissed

Record restriction may be denied if:

• The prosecutor dismissed or reduced the charge because you accepted a plea resulting in a conviction for an offense arising out of the same underlying transaction or occurrence

• Critical evidence was suppressed or excluded

• The charges stemmed from a broader pattern of criminal activity

• You had diplomatic immunity

• Jury misconduct influenced your acquittal

As of 2020, some misdemeanor convictions may be restricted if:

• You completed your sentence, and

• You have had no new convictions (excluding minor traffic offenses) in the past 4 years

To take advantage of this new law, you must petition the court, and a judge must find that the potential harm to your privacy outweighs the public interest in having access to your criminal history.

Georgia Code 35-3-37(j)(4)(B) lists the criminal offense that cannot be restricted.  These offenses include, but are not limited to:

• DUI convictions

• Convictions involving family violence 

• Sex offenses