Search Georgia Busted Mugshots
Georgia busted mugshots and arrest records are held by county sheriff offices, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Georgia Department of Corrections. Finding them is not always simple. State law places strict limits on what can be posted online. This guide walks you through where to look for booking photos and inmate records across all 159 Georgia counties, and which state databases carry arrest information you can access right now.
Georgia Busted Mugshots Quick Facts
Georgia Booking Photo Law and Busted Mugshots
Georgia has some of the strictest laws in the country around mugshots. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19, which took effect July 1, 2014, law enforcement agencies in Georgia cannot post booking photographs on any public website. That covers county sheriffs, city police, and any arresting agency. The ban is firm. There is no general public exception to it.
The law defines a booking photograph as any image taken when a person was processed into jail or taken by an arresting agency for identification. It applies to posting on websites and publishing in online publications. Agencies can still use booking photos for internal purposes, for publications specifically required under state law Titles 16 and 40, for the sex offender registry, and for news organizations that have signed a use agreement. But routine public posting of arrest photos is off the table in Georgia.
The screenshot below shows § 35-1-19 as it appears on the Justia legal reference site, which hosts the full text of Georgia booking photo law.
This law does not mean arrest information is hidden. It means the method changes. You still have access to inmate rosters, arrest charges, and bond data through county jail websites. The state also runs criminal history and sex offender databases that include photos. Knowing which source to use is what matters most.
Note: The 2014 law applies to law enforcement agencies. Private mugshot websites operate under a different section of Georgia code.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Arrest Records
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is the primary statewide agency for criminal justice information. It is an independent agency that supports law enforcement through criminal investigations, forensic lab services, and computerized criminal justice data. The GBI was formally established in 1973 under Governor Jimmy Carter's executive reorganization act, growing out of a master plan developed in 1971.
Inside the GBI, the Georgia Crime Information Center carries out the agency's criminal history work. GCIC's mission is to protect the citizens of Georgia by providing accurate and timely criminal justice information and related services. The center gives law enforcement agencies around-the-clock access to criminal data and maintains Georgia's Computerized Criminal History system. That system stores arrest records, disposition records, and custody data for anyone processed through the Georgia criminal justice system. It is the most complete criminal history source in the state.
The GBI homepage links to all major services including GCIC, the open records request portal, and the sex offender registry. It is the starting point for most state-level criminal record searches in Georgia.
The GCIC office is open by appointment only for record inspections and fingerprinting. Call 404-244-2639 option 1 to set up a visit. For written record restriction applications, mail to: Georgia Crime Information Center, CCH/Identification, P.O. Box 370808, Decatur, Georgia 30037. Email criminal history questions to gacriminalhistory@gbi.state.ga.us. The GBI also accepts tips online or by phone at (800) 597-8477.
Note: GCIC lobby visits require an appointment and cannot be done as walk-ins.
Georgia Department of Corrections Inmate Mugshots
The Georgia Department of Corrections runs one of the most useful public tools for finding inmate photos and arrest data in Georgia. The GDC Offender Query tool lets you search for anyone currently in or previously held in a state prison. It is free to use and available any time of day. Booking photographs display automatically if they exist on file. This makes it one of the few ways to see a mugshot in Georgia without a special request or media agreement.
You can search the GDC database by name, GDC ID number, case number, or physical description such as height, weight, eye color, hair color, and tattoos. Results show the offender's name, year of birth, known aliases, GDC ID, current institution, sentence length, and expected release date. Each conviction lists the county where it occurred. The GDC maintains its main offices at 300 Patrol Road, Forsyth, Georgia 31029. For inmate questions by mail, write to Inmate Records and Information at P.O. Box 1529, Forsyth, GA 31029, or call (404) 656-4661.
The GDC warns that data on the site may not always be accurate. The agency makes no warranty as to the completeness of information obtained through the service. Verify anything important through written correspondence with Inmate Records before treating it as fact.
The GDC Find an Offender page explains the service in plain terms and lays out the disclaimer agreement you accept when you use results from this tool.
Georgia Felon Search and Criminal Records
The Georgia Felon Search is a state-run service that lets you check whether someone has been convicted of a felony in Georgia. It runs through the GCIC and returns results in about five minutes. The cost is $15 per search. That fee applies even when no record comes back. If multiple records match your search and you want to look at more than one, each additional record costs another $15.
To use the service at the direct search portal, you need the person's first and last name, date of birth, and sex. A valid credit card is required to pay the fee. The search is name-based, not fingerprint-based, so results may include people with similar names. An exact match can only be confirmed by fingerprint comparison. You are responsible for determining whether any record returned actually matches the person you searched. The service does not return sealed or expunged records, juvenile felony history, or misdemeanor records of any kind.
The Georgia Felon Search page describes the full process before you begin. Read it carefully before submitting payment.
Note: The $15 fee is charged at the moment you submit the search, not after results are shown.
Georgia Sex Offender Registry and Busted Mugshots
The GBI manages Georgia's sex offender registry as the central repository under O.C.G.A. § 42-1-12. This is one of the few places in Georgia where you can find actual booking photographs online without a special media agreement. Registry entries show the person's photo, full name, address, crime, conviction date, county of conviction, and registration date. Photos appear directly in search results without extra steps.
Search the registry at state.sor.gbi.ga.gov by name, address, city, or zip code. The full registry is also downloadable as a CSV data file at state.sor.gbi.ga.gov/SORT_PUBLIC/sor.csv if you want to analyze it offline. A bi-monthly report is also available. Because registry data comes from county sheriffs and other agencies, information changes often. The GBI says it works to keep the data accurate but makes no express or implied guarantee. Sexual offenders must register with the sheriff in their county of residence under Georgia law, so each county's data flows up to the state registry.
The registry is free to search and open to anyone. No registration or account is needed to view results.
Georgia Open Records Act and Arrest Records
Georgia's Open Records Act, found at O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq., gives the public the right to inspect and copy records held by government agencies. Initial police arrest reports and initial incident reports are specifically listed as public records under this law, even when an investigation is still open. That is the good news. The harder part is booking photographs. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72, the release of booking photos must follow § 35-1-19, which restricts them to news organizations with signed agreements. For general members of the public, booking photos are not freely distributed even with an open records request.
To submit an open records request in Georgia, contact the sheriff's office, police department, or other agency holding the record you want. Agencies must respond within three business days of getting your request. The first 15 minutes of staff time are free. The first 20 pages of copies are also free. After that, copies cost $0.10 per page and additional staff time may be billed. You can submit requests in person, by mail, or by email. The GBI Open Records Request portal handles records the bureau holds directly.
Some counties post their open records policy online. DeKalb County, for example, makes booking photos available only to news organizations that have signed a use agreement. Other counties follow similar procedures. Call the public information office at your specific county sheriff to ask about their policy before submitting a request.
Note: Booking photo requests may be denied under O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19 even if you file a proper open records request.
How to Find Busted Mugshots in Georgia
Getting a booking photo in Georgia depends on who the person is and what database they appear in. The approach is different for each situation. For state prison inmates, the GDC Offender Search tool shows photos automatically when they exist. That is the fastest free option in Georgia. For registered sex offenders, the GBI sex offender registry includes photos in every result. For people held in county jails, the process gets harder because county inmate search tools generally follow the 2014 photo law and do not show booking photos online.
If you work in media, you can get booking photos from county sheriff offices by signing a Booking Photo Use Agreement as required under Georgia law. Submit the inmate's name and their current booking number, which you can get from the county inmate search tool. Send the request to the sheriff's public information officer. For DeKalb County, use the email SheriffPIO@dekalbcountyga.gov. Each county has its own process, so call the PIO line first to confirm what they need. For requests covering multiple photos or historical records, the formal Open Records Act route is required.
For the general public, an Open Records Act request submitted in writing to the county sheriff is the path. Include your name, contact information, what you are looking for, and details that identify the specific record such as case number, name, and arrest date. Reference O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 in your request. Agencies may still deny booking photos under § 35-1-19. You can also go in person to the sheriff's office during business hours and ask to inspect records.
Mugshot Removal Under Georgia Law
Georgia protects people whose booking photos appear on commercial mugshot websites through O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.5, a law that took effect in 2013. This law requires mugshot companies to remove photos at no charge if the arrest is eligible for record restriction or if the record has already been restricted. Companies must complete the removal within 30 days of receiving a written request. The request must go by certified mail with return receipt or by statutory overnight delivery. It must include the person's name, date of birth, arrest date, and the name of the arresting agency.
If a mugshot company refuses or fails to act within 30 days, you can file a complaint with the Georgia Department of Law's Consumer Protection Division. Their page at consumer.georgia.gov explains the complaint process and provides contact information. Companies that do not comply face civil and criminal penalties.
Record restriction in Georgia runs through GCIC. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37, GCIC restricts access to criminal history records when no final disposition is provided after a set period. That period is two years for misdemeanors, four years for most felonies, and seven years for serious violent felonies or felony sex offenses involving a victim under age 16. Once a record is restricted, you can send a removal request to any mugshot website that shows that booking photo, and they must comply for free. If you need help with record restriction, mail your application to GCIC at P.O. Box 370808, Decatur, Georgia 30037.
Browse Georgia Busted Mugshots by Location
Georgia has 159 counties, each with its own sheriff's office and jail. Arrest records, inmate rosters, and booking data are held at the county level. Most arrests made inside city limits go to the county jail, so county resources are the best starting point for any local mugshot search. Browse the top counties below or view the full list of all 159 Georgia counties.
View All 159 Georgia Counties →
Georgia has 49 cities with a population of 25,000 or more. Most of these cities rely on county jails for holding arrested individuals. City police departments process arrests and then transfer inmates to the county detention center. Browse major cities below for location-specific arrest record resources, or see the full qualifying city list.