Georgia

Recent / Pending Legislation

• SB 29 (2025/6, died) – Arrestees charged with certain qualifying felonies (murder, armed robbery, rape, aggravated assault, burglary) must submit DNA at booking.
• SB 116 (2026, pending/legislature adjourned) – Mandatory DNA collection provisions would apply to anyone charged with a misdemeanor or subject to an ICE immigration detainer.

Arrestees: No law. Not Booking Station Rapid Ready.

Recent legislation: SB 29 (died on April 2, 2026). Arrestees charged with certain qualifying felonies (murder, armed robbery, rape, aggravated assault, burglary) must submit DNA at booking. But if an individual is arrested without a warrant, the bill stipulates that DNA sample cannot be taken until a formal probable cause determination has been made by a judge or grand jury.

Convicted Offenders: Yes.

Qualifying Crimes: Collection is limited to the felonies listed below; misdemeanor convictions do not qualify.

• 1. Someone who has been convicted of a felony and is currently incarcerated in a detention facility, serving a probation sentence, or serving under the jurisdiction of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles for such felony;
• 2. Someone who has been charged with a felony, and sentence for such offense has been imposed pursuant to Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 42 (First Offender probation) or pursuant to subsection (a) or (c) of Code Section 16-13-2 (conditional discharge for certain drug/property offenses); See HB 470 (2019)
• 3. Who has been convicted of a felony and is subject to an immigration detainer notice.

Time of Collection: Within the first 30 days of incarceration, at the receiving unit of the detention facility (or another place the Department of Corrections designates); or, in the 12 months preceding release, at the place the department designates.

Expungement: Occurs within 30 days after receipt of a certified copy of one of the following: (i) a court order reversing the conviction, together with an order or documentation showing the charges were dismissed; (ii) a judgment of acquittal; (iii) a sentencing order showing all felony charges were reduced to misdemeanors; or (iv) a court order showing successful completion of a first-offender sentence (O.C.G.A. Title 42, Ch. 8, Art. 3) or of a § 16-13-2 first-time drug offender conditional discharge. See O.C.G.A. § 35-3-165(a)(4).

Statutes / Case Law

• GA. ST. § 35-3-160. Samples required; storage in DNA data bank
• 35-3-161. Time and procedures for withdrawal of samples
• 35-3-165. Expungement of records
• Padgett v. Donald, 401 F.3d 1273 (11th Cir. 2005) (Georgia statute requiring extraction of saliva from incarcerated felons pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 24–4–60 (old version of § 35-3-160) for DNA profiling did not violate prisoners’ rights to privacy under the Georgia Constitution and Fourteenth Amendment).
• Padgett v. Ferrero, 294 F.Supp.2d 1338 (N.D. Ga. 2003) aff’d 401 F.3d 1273, cert. denied 126 S. Ct. 352, 546 U.S. 820 (Georgia statute requiring DNA sampling of all convicted felons was not invalid as an unreasonable search and seizure and does not violate felons’ privacy rights, the ex post facto clause or due process requirements).
• U.S. v. Hinton, 113 F. Supp. 3d 1277, 1283-85 (N.D. Ga., 2015) (because defendant was incarcerated and deemed a convicted felon during his incarceration, even as a first offender, Georgia’s DNA Act required prison officials to take defendant’s DNA’s sample, which does not violate the Fourth Amendment)
• U.S. v. Hinton, 676 Fed. Appx. 842, 2017 WL 191930 (2017) (Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s creation of defendant’s DNA profile following prior felony offense and retention in database after his incarceration ended, and the running of comparison to other DNA profiles after his release constituted reasonably searches under the Fourth Amendment).
• Quarterman v. State, 282 Ga. 383, 386, 651 S.E.2d 32, 35 (2007) (The privilege against self-incrimination in the United States Constitution does not protect an individual from government compulsion to provide blood or other biological samples)

Legislative History

Ga. L. 2005, p. 60, § 24, HB 95, Amendment to predecessor. This is an omnibus code corrections bill, not a standalone DNA bill. Section 24 specifically amended § 24-4-60 to extend collection to inmates in private correctional facilities operating under contract with the Department of Corrections, and to persons serving extended sentences (including those in probation detention centers and boot camps). Technical and stylistic corrections were also made throughout. The GBI noted this as the year Georgia “laws were amended to include inmates serving extended sentences.”

Ga. L. 2007, p. 408, § 1, HB 314, Amendment to predecessor. Effective July 1, 2007. This is the first expansion of collection beyond incarceration to include certain felony probationers. However, it was a targeted expansion — it did not apply to all felony probationers, only those convicted of specific offense categories: crimes against persons (Title 16, Ch. 5), sex offenses, burglary, robbery, armed robbery, obstruction of an officer, dangerous instrumentalities, and controlled substances. This left a significant gap (felons on probation for other felonies), which SB 80 later closed. The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously upheld the statute in Quarterman v. State, 282 Ga. 383 (2007).

Ga. L. 2011, p. 264, § 3-1, SB 80 Created current § 35-3-160; post-conviction felony mandate. This bill created the current statutory framework — repealing former § 24-4-60 and enacting the current OCGA Article 6A (§§ 35-3-160 et seq.). The key substantive change: it closed HB 314’s gap by requiring DNA from all convicted felons, not just specific categories, and expanded coverage to those incarcerated, on probation, or under parole supervision. It also applied retroactively to pre-2011 felony convicts still in any of those statuses. The bill was originally drafted to allow pre-conviction collection upon a probable cause finding after arrest, but that provision was stripped in House committee over Fourth Amendment concerns; only post-conviction collection survived into law.

Ga. L. 2019, p. 299, § 1, HB 470, Major expansion; added charged-but-not-convicted first offenders. Effective April 28, 2019. The most significant substantive expansion since 2000. Added a new collection trigger for persons who are charged with a felony but receive a first offender sentence under the First Offender Act (OCGA § 42-8-60 et seq.) or certain drug first offender provisions (§ 16-13-2(a)/(c)) — meaning someone who is never formally “convicted” can still be required to submit DNA. Also expanded the definition of “detention facility” to add county correctional facilities, and tightened language on the “identifying characteristics” stored in the database.

No program or law found. In addition, Georgia is not an arrestee state yet. So, booking station not possible.

Some use at Savannah State University for student teaching forensics students.

No program or law found.

No program or law found.

No program or law found. Legislation possible in 2027.