Chattooga County Arrest Records and Busted Mugshots

Chattooga County is in northwest Georgia near the Alabama border, with Summerville as its county seat and a population nearing 25,000. The Chattooga County Sheriff's Office handles all local jail bookings and is the primary source for arrest records and busted mugshots in the county. This page covers the tools available for searching records, how Georgia law governs booking photo access, and where to submit a formal request for certified documents.

Chattooga County Sheriff and Local Arrest Records

The Chattooga County Sheriff's Office in Summerville handles all local arrests and jail bookings. Each booking creates a public record that includes name, charges, booking date, and arresting agency. Georgia law bars law enforcement from posting booking photos on the internet, so the sheriff's office does not maintain an online mugshot gallery. The booking data is accessible through a direct request to the office.

Chattooga County sits in the northwest corner of Georgia, bordering Alabama to the west. The county's population is close to the 25,000 mark, making it a mid-sized rural county with a moderate jail booking volume. For custody status checks, calling the Summerville sheriff's office is usually the fastest method. For certified arrest records or booking photos, a written open records request is the proper channel.

Cases from Chattooga County go through Superior Court in Summerville. Felony convictions may result in state prison sentences, shifting records from the local county jail database to the Georgia Department of Corrections system. If you are researching someone with a longer criminal history, checking both the county and state databases gives you the most complete picture.

The screenshot below shows the GBI agency homepage, which oversees criminal records statewide including those from Chattooga County arrests.

The GBI manages the GCIC and maintains statewide criminal history that includes records from Chattooga County arrests and convictions.

State Tools for Chattooga County Arrest and Booking Records

Several Georgia state databases supplement the local Chattooga County Sheriff for arrest record searches. The Georgia Crime Information Center, part of the GBI, holds criminal history for every county in the state. A GCIC background check covers Chattooga County along with the rest of Georgia. Contact GCIC directly to start the process and ask about fees. The data comes from official state-maintained records.

The Georgia Felon Search costs $15 and provides fast results on felony conviction records statewide. It is a practical option when you want to check a person's felony history tied to a Chattooga County arrest or any other Georgia case. The service runs through georgia.gov and pulls from state-maintained data. No formal request is needed to use it.

The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search is free and shows photos. It covers state prison inmates only, not the local Chattooga County Jail. For someone convicted in Chattooga County and sent to a state facility, the GDC database has their current status and a photo. The local and state systems are separate and not linked.

The screenshot below shows the GDC offender search tool, which is free and includes photos for people in state prison including those convicted in Chattooga County.

The GDC database is a free, photo-enabled tool useful when a Chattooga County arrest led to a felony conviction and a state prison sentence.

Georgia Law Governing Chattooga County Busted Mugshots

Georgia has specific laws that govern booking photos from Chattooga County and all other counties in the state. The key statute is O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19, enacted in 2014. This law bars Georgia law enforcement agencies from posting booking photos on the internet. The Chattooga County Sheriff cannot publish mugshots on a public website under this rule. Booking photos remain public records, but accessing them requires a formal records request.

O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.5 (2013) addresses commercial mugshot websites. If such a site posted your Chattooga County booking photo, you can send a demand for removal by certified mail. The site must comply free of charge within 30 days. The Georgia Consumer Protection Division has full guidance on the demand process and which types of sites are covered.

The Georgia Open Records Act at O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 sets the rules for formal records requests. Agencies must respond within three business days. The first 15 minutes of staff time and the first 20 pages are free. Pages after that cost $0.10 each. These rules apply to requests made to the Chattooga County Sheriff's Office.

These statutes establish your rights both as someone seeking records and as someone who wants to limit the online spread of their booking photo.

Chattooga County Sex Offender Registry and GBI Access

The Georgia Sex Offender Registry, maintained by the GBI, covers registered sex offenders statewide including those in Chattooga County. You can search by name or address, and photos are included where available. The registry is free and does not require an account. It is a separate resource from the general arrest database and focuses on those required by law to register.

The GBI's open records portal handles requests for state-held records. If a Chattooga County case involved GBI investigation, records may be at the state level. The portal accepts online submissions and tracks requests. The same three-business-day deadline applies to GBI responses as to county-level requests.

The screenshot below shows the Georgia Sex Offender Registry, a GBI tool that covers Chattooga County and all of Georgia.

The GBI updates the registry regularly, and it includes photos for most registrants at no charge, making it one of the more accessible free tools for Chattooga County area searches.

How to Request Chattooga County Booking Photos and Records

The right way to get a Chattooga County booking photo or certified arrest record is a written open records request to the Chattooga County Sheriff's Office in Summerville. Include the subject's full name and the arrest date or case number if you have them. Written requests create a paper trail and start the three-business-day clock under Georgia law. Phone calls work for basic custody checks but not for obtaining documents.

For state-level records, use the GBI open records portal. Booking photos and jail records stay with the county. GCIC criminal history and GBI investigative files go through the state portal. If you need a full record history for someone with contacts in Chattooga County and other parts of the state, you may need to submit requests to both the county and GBI.

Chattooga County booking photos are public records. The 2014 law bars online posting by the sheriff but does not change the public status of the photos themselves. Your right to access them through the formal process is protected. Most straightforward requests fall within the free threshold and cost nothing to fulfill.

The screenshot below shows the Georgia Consumer Protection Division page on mugshot website removal, applicable to anyone with a Chattooga County booking photo on a commercial site.

Georgia law gives Chattooga County residents the right to demand free photo removal from commercial mugshot sites within 30 days under O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.5.

Cities in Chattooga County

No city in Chattooga County currently meets the 25,000 population threshold for a dedicated busted mugshots page. For arrest records in Summerville, contact the Chattooga County Sheriff's Office directly.

Nearby Counties

Chattooga County borders several northwest Georgia counties and sits near the Alabama state line.