Employers hiring in Georgia work under two layers of rules. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act sets the baseline for any employer that orders a background check through a third party consumer reporting agency. Georgia law adds its own rules on top, covering who can request a state criminal history record, when a record can be legally restricted from view, and how state agencies handle criminal history questions on job applications. None of this is legal advice, and employers with specific hiring questions should talk to counsel, but the framework below explains what the primary sources actually say.
The federal baseline: FCRA disclosure, authorization and adverse action
If an employer uses a consumer reporting agency to run a background check on an applicant or employee, the Fair Credit Reporting Act applies regardless of which state the hiring happens in. Before ordering the report, the employer must give the applicant a clear, standalone written disclosure that a consumer report may be obtained, and get the applicant’s written authorization. These duties, along with the permissible purpose requirement for pulling a report at all, sit in 15 U.S.C. 1681b.
If information in the report leads the employer toward a decision not to hire, not to promote, or to terminate, the employer generally must send a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and the Summary of Rights, give the applicant a reasonable chance to respond, and then send a final adverse action notice if the decision stands. The adverse action obligations are set out at 15 U.S.C. 1681m. These steps apply the same way to an employer in Atlanta as to one in any other state; Georgia has not layered additional standalone disclosure or authorization requirements on top of the federal rule.
Who can actually pull a Georgia state criminal history record
A common assumption is that any employer can request a fingerprint based check straight from the state. That is not quite right. The Georgia Crime Information Center, operated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, maintains the state’s criminal history database, and access for employment screening is authorized under O.C.G.A. 35-3-35 mainly for public agencies, political subdivisions, and state or federally authorized licensing and regulatory bodies. Many private employers do not have direct access to that database and instead rely on a consumer reporting agency that searches county court records and other public sources.
Where fingerprint based access is authorized, for example for certain licensed occupations, schools, and healthcare settings, the request is processed through the Georgia Applicant Processing Service, a live scan fingerprinting network. Results are typically returned to the authorized agency within one to two business days of the applicant being fingerprinted, according to the GBI’s GAPS program description. The GCIC does not run name only searches for employers; those requests go to local law enforcement instead, per the same GBI guidance above. A fingerprint based GCIC record, when it is released, excludes juvenile, restricted, and sealed records.
Record restriction: Georgia’s version of expungement
Georgia does not use the word expungement in its current statute. Instead, O.C.G.A. 35-3-37 allows certain criminal history records to be restricted from public, non criminal justice access when a prosecuting attorney approves the request. How the process works depends on timing: for arrests on or after July 1, 2013, there is no separate application, the individual contacts the prosecuting attorney directly; for arrests before that date, the individual applies to the arresting agency using a request to restrict arrest record form. A restricted record is removed from the results a standard employer background check would return, though it is not necessarily destroyed and remains visible to criminal justice agencies.
Georgia’s First Offender Act is a related but separate mechanism. It lets a court sentence certain first time defendants without entering a conviction, provided probation or the sentence is completed without violation; once that happens, the case generally does not count as a conviction for most purposes and can become a candidate for restriction. Because eligibility turns on the specific charge, court, and whether probation was completed cleanly, an employer or applicant with a question about a specific case should check with the relevant clerk of court or GBI record restriction unit rather than assume how a given record will appear.
Georgia’s ban the box policy: state agencies only
Georgia has applied a ban the box style policy to its own executive branch hiring. An executive order directed state agencies to remove the criminal history question from initial job application forms so that applicants are screened for qualifications first, with a criminal history inquiry coming later in the process. That order is available directly from the governor’s office archive, see Executive Order 02.23.15.03. It binds state government hiring, not private employers. Georgia has not enacted a statewide ban the box law covering private sector employers, so a private employer’s own application timing for criminal history questions is generally a matter of internal policy rather than a specific Georgia statute, unless a local ordinance or an individual city or county government has adopted its own rule for its own hiring.
Title VII and the EEOC’s 2012 guidance: now rescinded
For years, employers referenced the EEOC’s 2012 enforcement guidance on criminal records as a touchstone for how a blanket criminal history exclusion could create disparate impact liability under Title VII. That specific guidance document has since been rescinded by a Commission vote, effective October 29, 2026, as announced in the EEOC’s own notice. The rescission removes that guidance document as official policy, but it does not change the underlying statute. Title VII itself, including its protection against race and national origin discrimination described on the EEOC’s Title VII page, still applies, and a criminal history policy that functions as a proxy for discrimination can still draw scrutiny under ordinary disparate impact principles. Employers in Georgia should treat criminal history screening as a job related, individualized decision where practical, and loop in counsel before adopting a blanket exclusion policy, since the legal landscape just shifted and state or local rules can still apply on top of Title VII.
What can be reported, and when: a quick reference
| Type of record | Can an employer see it on a report | Georgia or federal note |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal conviction | Generally yes, no federal lookback cap on convictions | FCRA places no time limit on reporting a conviction itself |
| Arrest with no conviction | Reportable for up to 7 years in most cases | See the FCRA reporting period rule at 15 U.S.C. 1681c; the cap lifts for roles with an annual salary expected to reach 75,000 dollars or more |
| Restricted record under O.C.G.A. 35-3-37 | No, excluded from standard access once approved | Applies once a prosecutor approves restriction; record is not automatically destroyed |
| Sealed or juvenile record | No, excluded from GCIC releases to employers | Per GBI guidance on fingerprint based record releases |
| First Offender discharge completed successfully | Generally not treated as a conviction | Specific eligibility depends on the sentencing court and the charge |
A practical compliance checklist
- Confirm whether your organization is a type of entity authorized for direct GCIC or GAPS fingerprint access, or whether you need a consumer reporting agency for a standard check.
- Use a standalone FCRA disclosure form, separate from the job application, and get signed authorization before ordering any report.
- Follow the pre-adverse action and final adverse action steps in order, with the required waiting period and Summary of Rights copy, any time a report could affect a hiring decision.
- If you are a state agency, keep the criminal history question off the initial application consistent with the governor’s order.
- Apply criminal history findings in a job related, individualized way rather than a blanket exclusion rule, and check in with counsel given the recent change to EEOC guidance.
- Do not report or act on a record you have reason to believe has been restricted or sealed under Georgia law.
For employers comparing how another state’s statute layers on top of the FCRA, our guide to Texas background check laws for employers walks through a different state’s approach to the same federal baseline. For more on how ban the box and fair chance timing rules work across jurisdictions generally, see our overview of ban the box and fair chance hiring laws. You can also start a screening program built around these federal requirements at Reveal Background.
Frequently asked questions
Can any employer in Georgia pull a state criminal history record directly from GCIC?
No. Direct fingerprint based access to the Georgia Crime Information Center database is authorized mainly for public agencies and certain state or federally authorized licensing and regulatory bodies. Most private employers use a consumer reporting agency that searches county and other public records instead.
Does Georgia have a statewide ban the box law for private employers?
No. Georgia’s ban the box policy, set by executive order, applies to state executive branch hiring. There is no statewide law requiring private employers to delay a criminal history question on their own applications, though a specific city or county may have its own local rule for its own hiring.
What does it mean for a Georgia criminal record to be restricted?
Restriction under O.C.G.A. 35-3-37 removes a record from the results a standard background check would return for non criminal justice purposes once a prosecuting attorney approves the request. The record is not necessarily destroyed and remains available to criminal justice agencies.
Is the EEOC’s old guidance on criminal records still in effect?
The EEOC’s 2012 enforcement guidance on the consideration of arrest and conviction records was rescinded effective October 29, 2026. Title VII’s underlying protections against race and national origin discrimination still apply, so a criminal history policy that functions as a proxy for discrimination can still raise concerns.
Does a completed First Offender case show up as a conviction in Georgia?
Generally, a successfully completed First Offender sentence is not treated as a conviction, and the underlying record can become a candidate for restriction. Specific outcomes depend on the sentencing court, the charge, and whether probation was completed without violation.
How long can an arrest that did not lead to a conviction appear on a background check?
Under the FCRA, an arrest record generally can be reported for up to 7 years. That cap does not apply to convictions, and it lifts for positions where the annual salary is expected to reach 75,000 dollars or more.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Employers should consult qualified counsel about how these rules apply to a specific hiring decision.
