Which new Georgia misdemeanor offenses require fingerprinting on arrest, after the 2025 legislative session?

Plain-English summary

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr issued the annual update designating new misdemeanor offenses for which arresting agencies must fingerprint suspects and submit prints to the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC).

Under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-33(a)(1)(A)(v), the AG has the statutory authority to designate misdemeanor offenses as fingerprintable. Felonies are automatically fingerprintable; misdemeanors are not, unless the legislature designates them by statute or the AG designates them by opinion.

The 2026-2 opinion designates seven new fingerprintable misdemeanors:

1. O.C.G.A. § 4-11-10.1(b) — transferring (selling, giving away) dogs, cats, or domestic rabbits in public areas like roadsides, sidewalks, parking lots, parks, fairs, or flea markets. Often called the "puppies in the parking lot" prohibition.
2. O.C.G.A. § 6-1-4(d) — operating a drone (unmanned aircraft system) within 400 feet of or above a ticketed entertainment event without authorization.
3. O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1181(a) — knowingly or recklessly disrupting the operation of a public school, public school bus, or designated school bus stop.
4. O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1181.1(b) — making a terroristic threat against a school.
5. O.C.G.A. § 21-5-16 — candidates, campaigns, or PACs soliciting minors to fraudulently organize political events on local school property.
6. O.C.G.A. § 45-11-8(a)(2) — county, municipal, or consolidated-government officials engaging directly or indirectly in the bail bond business in the jurisdiction where they hold office.
7. O.C.G.A. § 16-10-35(b) — knowingly igniting fireworks within 150 feet of EMTs, firefighters, or law enforcement officers, or causing them injury, with intent to hinder or disrupt their duties.

What this means for you

If you are a law enforcement officer or booking agent

Add these seven offenses to your fingerprintable-misdemeanor list. When you arrest or take a person into custody for any of them, capture fingerprints and submit them to GCIC per the established protocols. Failure to fingerprint a designated offense creates gaps in the criminal-history database that affect downstream decisions (sentencing, future bond determinations, license eligibility checks).

If you are a prosecutor

These designations affect:
- Whether your office's intake forms identify each charge as fingerprintable.
- Whether the defendant has a complete criminal history available at arraignment and sentencing.
- Whether records can be expunged later (the expungement process turns on what's in GCIC).

If you are a defense attorney

A client charged with any of these seven misdemeanors will be fingerprinted on arrest, and the charge will appear in the GCIC database. That has implications for:
- Background checks for employment, licensing, and housing.
- Future criminal proceedings (priors).
- Potential record restriction or sealing eligibility.
Even if the case is dismissed or pled down, the fingerprint and arrest record may persist absent a successful restriction action.

If you are a candidate, campaign committee, or PAC operating in Georgia

Do not solicit minors to organize events on local school property when the event is meant to influence an election, recall, or referendum and would otherwise be prohibited by law or school policy. § 21-5-16 violations now result in arrest fingerprinting.

If you are a local elected official (county, municipal, consolidated government)

You cannot engage directly or indirectly in the bail bond business in the jurisdiction where you hold office. Violations are now fingerprintable. Review your business interests and divest if needed.

If you are an animal seller in Georgia

Do not sell, trade, or give away dogs, cats, or rabbits at roadsides, parking lots, sidewalks, parks, flea markets, or fairs. Violations are now fingerprintable misdemeanors. Use a licensed pet store, an animal rescue, or your own private property (subject to other licensing rules).

If you are a drone operator

Within 400 feet of or above a ticketed entertainment event, you cannot operate a drone unless you fall within an exemption. Operating in this restricted zone now triggers fingerprinting on arrest.

If you are a school administrator

The school-disruption (§ 20-2-1181) and terroristic-threat (§ 20-2-1181.1(b)) misdemeanor designations help build complete criminal history records for individuals who threaten or disrupt school operations. Coordinate with your school resource officers to ensure these arrests result in fingerprinting per the new designations.

If you are a fireworks user

Don't set off fireworks within 150 feet of EMTs, firefighters, or law enforcement officers, especially in ways intended to hinder or disrupt their duties. § 16-10-35(b) violations are now fingerprintable.

Common questions

Q: What does "fingerprintable" mean for a misdemeanor?
A: When a person is arrested for a fingerprintable offense, the arresting agency must take fingerprints and submit them to GCIC. The offense and the prints become part of the person's criminal-history record. For non-fingerprintable misdemeanors, only a citation or local record may exist.

Q: Why does the AG do this annually?
A: O.C.G.A. § 35-3-33(a)(1)(A)(v) gives the AG the discretion to designate misdemeanors as fingerprintable. The General Assembly creates new misdemeanor offenses regularly; the AG's annual update keeps the GCIC fingerprinting list current. The opinion cites the chain of prior annual updates: 2017-1, 2018-3, 2019-3, 2020-1, 2020-4, 2021-1, etc.

Q: Are felonies always fingerprintable?
A: Yes. The fingerprintable designation matters only for misdemeanors, where it's not automatic.

Q: Can the AG remove a misdemeanor from the fingerprintable list?
A: The opinion process is one of designation; removal is theoretically possible by subsequent opinion or by legislative action. But once a fingerprint is in the GCIC database, removal of the print or record requires a record-restriction or expungement action.

Q: What if a person is arrested for a designated offense but never charged?
A: The fingerprint and arrest record may still be in GCIC. The person may seek record restriction under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 if eligible (no charges filed, charges dismissed, etc.).

Q: Does this opinion apply retroactively?
A: Designations apply going forward. Persons arrested for these offenses after the date of the opinion (March 24, 2026) should be fingerprinted under the new designation.

Q: What about non-Georgia residents arrested in Georgia for these offenses?
A: Fingerprinting follows the offense location, not the suspect's residency. Anyone arrested in Georgia for a fingerprintable offense is fingerprinted by Georgia authorities and the prints submitted to GCIC (and onward to the FBI's IAFIS).

Background and statutory framework

Georgia uses a two-track system for criminal-history record-keeping:

• Felonies are automatically fingerprintable. Arrests are reported to GCIC, prints are taken, and the record becomes part of the centralized database.
• Misdemeanors are fingerprintable only if (a) the legislature explicitly designates the offense as such, or (b) the Attorney General designates the offense by opinion under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-33(a)(1)(A)(v).

The annual AG opinion serves the second function. Each year, the GCIC sends the AG a list of newly enacted misdemeanors (and previously enacted ones not yet designated) for review. The AG considers each offense's nature, severity, and impact, and issues a designation opinion that local arresting agencies use to update their booking practices.

This 2026-2 opinion follows a long line of similar updates. The list of prior opinions referenced — 2017-1, 2018-3, 2019-3, 2020-1, 2020-4, 2021-1 (and presumably 2022, 2023, 2024 sequence) — reflects the steady incorporation of new misdemeanor categories into the fingerprintable list.

The 2025 legislative session was active in school-safety and election-integrity areas, which is why several of the new designations cluster around those topics: §§ 20-2-1181, 20-2-1181.1(b), and 21-5-16 all relate to school-property and school-event situations.

Citations and references

Statutes:
- O.C.G.A. § 35-3-33 (Powers and duties of GCIC)
- O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 (Record restriction)
- O.C.G.A. § 4-11-10.1 (Public-area animal transfer)
- O.C.G.A. § 6-1-4 (Unmanned aircraft system regulation)
- O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1181 / § 20-2-1181.1 (Disrupting school operations / terroristic threats)
- O.C.G.A. § 21-5-16 (Soliciting political events on school property)
- O.C.G.A. § 45-11-8 (Bail bond business by local officials)
- O.C.G.A. § 16-10-35 (Obstructing emergency personnel)

Prior AG opinions in the fingerprintable-offenses series:
- 2017 Op. Att'y Gen. 2017-1
- 2018 Op. Att'y Gen. 2018-3
- 2019 Op. Att'y Gen. 2019-3
- 2020 Op. Att'y Gen. 2020-1
- 2020 Op. Att'y Gen. 2020-4
- 2021 Op. Att'y Gen. 2021-1

Original opinion text

You have requested in your letter of January 8, 2026, my opinion concerning whether any of the following misdemeanor offenses, some of which were enacted during the 2025 Session of the General Assembly and others which were enacted prior to that time (but for which no request for a fingerprintable designation was made), should be designated as offenses for which persons arrested or taken into custody are to be fingerprinted. Pursuant to Georgia law, I make the following designations in relation to your question.

Generally, under Georgia law, in addition to the determination of fingerprintable offenses which the General Assembly may mandate by statute, O.C.G.A. § 35-3-33(a)(1)(A)(v) provides that the Attorney General may designate any other offense as one for which those charged with violations are to be fingerprinted. See, e.g., 2021 Op. Att'y Gen. 2021-1; 2020 Op. Att'y Gen. 2020-4; 2020 Op. Att'y Gen. 2020-1; 2019 Op. Att'y Gen. 2019-3; 2018 Op. Att'y Gen. 2018-3, 2017 Op. Att'y Gen. 2017-1.

The offenses under review from the 2025 Session of the General Assembly include: O.C.G.A. § 4-11-10.1(b) (transfer of domestic animals along public areas; enforcement; fines); O.C.G.A. § 6-1-4(d) (regulation of the testing or operation of unmanned aircraft system; preemption; unauthorized operation at ticketed entertainment event; penalty; exemptions); O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1181(a) (disrupting operation of public school, public school bus, or school bus stop; penalty; progressive discipline); O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1181.1(b) (terroristic threat or acts against a school; penalty); O.C.G.A. § 21-5-16 (soliciting the organization of political events on school property); O.C.G.A. § 45-11-8(a)(2) (engaging in bail bond business). The offense under review from a prior legislative session is O.C.G.A. § 16-10-35(b) (obstructing emergency personnel with fireworks).

[The opinion then describes each offense and designates it as fingerprintable. Summary of designations:]

1. O.C.G.A. § 4-11-10.1(b) — Public-area transfer of dogs, cats, or domestic rabbits at roadside, public right of way, parkway, median, public or commercial parking lot, sidewalk, park, recreation area, fair, transient or seasonal flea market, or similar transient/outdoor location. Designated as fingerprintable.

2. O.C.G.A. § 6-1-4(d) — Operating an unmanned aircraft system within 400 feet of or above a ticketed entertainment event (with limited exceptions). Designated as fingerprintable.

3. O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1181.1(a) — Knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly disrupting or interfering with the operation of any public school, public school bus, or public school bus stop. Designated as fingerprintable.

4. O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1181.1(b) — Making a terroristic threat against a school. Designated as fingerprintable.

5. O.C.G.A. § 21-5-16 — Candidate, campaign committee, or PAC soliciting a minor to fraudulently organize a prohibited election-related event on local school system property. Designated as fingerprintable.

6. O.C.G.A. § 45-11-8(a)(2) — County, municipal, or consolidated government official directly or indirectly engaging in bail bond business in the jurisdiction where the official holds office. Designated as fingerprintable.

7. O.C.G.A. § 16-10-35(b) — Knowingly and intentionally igniting a firework when the firework or component explodes/detonates within 150 feet of, or causes injury or harm to, an EMT, firefighter, or law enforcement officer for the purpose of hindering or disrupting their lawful duties. Designated as fingerprintable.