Expungement Petition - Preparation Worksheet

GEORGIA RECORD-RESTRICTION AND COURT-RECORD-SEALING PREPARATION GUIDE

GEORGIA GENERALLY RESTRICTS RATHER THAN DESTROYS RECORDS. Restriction limits dissemination of Georgia criminal-history information; it does not erase the record. A clerk's court file remains public unless the court separately seals it under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37(m).

SELECT THE ROUTE BEFORE DRAFTING. Many eligible nonconviction records are handled through the arresting agency, prosecutor, and Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC), not by filing this petition. Procedures and forms may vary by prosecutor and court.

1. SELECT THE CORRECT ROUTE

A. Arrest or nonconviction disposition

☐ Arrest before July 1, 2013 — § 35-3-37(n). Submit the current Request to Restrict Arrest Record to the arresting agency. The agency forwards it to the prosecuting attorney. Do not begin with a generic superior-court petition unless appealing a denial through the statutory civil-action route.

☐ Arrest on or after July 1, 2013 — § 35-3-37(h). Georgia's official guidance says there is no application process through the arresting agency; contact the prosecutor responsible for the disposition. Confirm that the disposition fits § 35-3-37(h) and is not excluded by subsection (i).

☐ Special court-petition category — § 35-3-37(j)(1), (2), (3), (5), or (6). Obtain Georgia-specific legal review for a mixed felony/misdemeanor disposition, reversed or vacated conviction not retried within the statutory period, dead-docketed charge, fugitive warrant, or trafficking-victim case. This guide does not convert those distinct proceedings into a conviction petition.

B. Conviction petition

☐ Eligible misdemeanor conviction — § 35-3-37(j)(4). Use Parts 2 through 8 below.

☐ Eligible pardoned Georgia conviction — § 35-3-37(j)(7). Use Parts 2 through 8 below. A pardon alone does not restrict or seal the record.

C. Court-record sealing

☐ Record already restricted — § 35-3-37(m). Use Part 9 to request sealing of the clerk's record. Restriction must occur before sealing under this subsection.

Selected route: [________________________________________________]

2. COLLECT AND VERIFY THE RECORD

☐ Obtain a current Georgia criminal-history record and confirm the exact arrest cycle, charges, disposition, and GCIC identifiers.

☐ Obtain certified dispositions for the case and for any later criminal case.

☐ Confirm the court in which the conviction occurred and the prosecuting attorney for that court.

☐ Confirm whether GCIC already shows the arrest cycle as restricted.

☐ Check local filing, service, proposed-order, and e-filing requirements with the clerk and prosecutor before filing.

3. MISDEMEANOR-CONVICTION SCREEN — § 35-3-37(j)(4)

Complete this section only for the misdemeanor route.

☐ The conviction was entered in Georgia for one misdemeanor or a series of misdemeanors arising from one incident.

☐ Every term of the sentence is complete.

☐ During the four years immediately before filing, the petitioner has not been convicted of a crime in any jurisdiction, excluding a nonserious traffic offense.

☐ No criminal charge is pending.

☐ The conviction is not in an excluded category listed in § 35-3-37(j)(4)(B), including the listed family-violence, sexual, child-related, theft, and serious-traffic offenses. Some listed family-violence offenses have a narrow youthful-offender exception; verify the exact statutory text before relying on it.

☐ This request does not exceed the lifetime maximum of two misdemeanor convictions, or two qualifying series of misdemeanors arising from separate single incidents, under § 35-3-37(j)(4)(C).

☐ If a prior petition concerning this conviction was denied, at least two years have elapsed from the prior final order.

Convictions during the four-year lookback: [________________________________]

Prior § 35-3-37(j)(4) restrictions or petitions: [________________________________]

4. PARDONED-CONVICTION SCREEN — § 35-3-37(j)(7)

Complete this section only for the pardon route.

☐ The conviction occurred in Georgia.

☐ The State Board of Pardons and Paroles granted a pardon for this offense.

☐ The offense is not a serious violent felony defined by O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1.

☐ The offense is not a sexual offense defined by O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.2.

☐ Since the pardon, the petitioner has not been convicted of a crime in any jurisdiction, excluding a nonserious traffic offense.

☐ No criminal charge is pending.

Pardon attached as Exhibit: [____]

Post-pardon record check attached as Exhibit: [____]

5. CAPTION AND PETITION

IN THE [NAME OF COURT IN WHICH CONVICTION OCCURRED]

STATE OF GEORGIA

Case Number: [________________________________]

PETITION TO RESTRICT ACCESS TO CRIMINAL-HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION

Petitioner [FULL LEGAL NAME] petitions under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37(j)([4 / 7]) to restrict access to the criminal-history record information identified below and states:

1. Petitioner was arrested by [ARRESTING AGENCY] on [ARREST DATE] and prosecuted in this Court in Case No. [CASE NUMBER].

2. The case resulted in the following conviction and sentence:

3. This Court retains jurisdiction for the limited purpose of deciding this petition under § 35-3-37(j)([4 / 7]).

4. Select and complete one basis:

☐ Misdemeanor basis — § 35-3-37(j)(4): The conviction is an eligible misdemeanor conviction or eligible series of misdemeanors arising from one incident; Petitioner completed the sentence; Petitioner has no disqualifying conviction during the four years before filing; no charge is pending; the offense is not excluded by subparagraph (B); and the lifetime limitation in subparagraph (C) is satisfied.

☐ Pardon basis — § 35-3-37(j)(7): The State Board of Pardons and Paroles pardoned the conviction; it is neither a serious violent felony nor a sexual offense as defined by the cited statutes; Petitioner has no disqualifying post-pardon conviction; and no charge is pending.

5. The petition is being served on the prosecuting attorney as required by § 35-3-37(j).

6. Continued public availability causes the following specific harm:

Employment or licensing: [________________________________]

Housing or education: [________________________________]

Family, safety, or community impact: [________________________________]

Other documented harm: [________________________________]

7. The public-interest considerations include:

Nature and circumstances of the offense: [________________________________]

Time elapsed and conduct since the offense: [________________________________]

Rehabilitation, education, treatment, or service: [________________________________]

Public-safety considerations: [________________________________]

8. The harm resulting to Petitioner clearly outweighs the public's interest in the criminal-history record information remaining publicly available.

6. REQUEST FOR RELIEF

Petitioner requests that the Court:

1. Find Petitioner eligible under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37(j)([4 / 7]);
2. Find that the harm otherwise resulting to Petitioner clearly outweighs the public's interest in the criminal-history record information being publicly available;
3. Order restriction of access to the identified criminal-history record information; and
4. Grant any further relief authorized by § 35-3-37.

Do not ask the court to award attorney's fees under § 35-3-37(o). That subsection creates no fee remedy.

7. SIGNATURE AND SUPPORTING MATERIALS

Respectfully submitted,

Signature: [________________________________]

Printed name: [________________________________]

Georgia Bar number, if represented: [________________________________]

Address: [________________________________]

Telephone / email: [________________________________]

Suggested exhibits, subject to local rules:

☐ Certified disposition and sentence-completion proof

☐ Current criminal-history report

☐ Pardon, if using § 35-3-37(j)(7)

☐ Employment, housing, licensing, education, or other hardship documentation

☐ Rehabilitation, treatment, education, service, and character evidence

☐ Proposed order in the form required by the court

8. SERVICE AND HEARING

Serve the prosecuting attorney. If a hearing is requested, § 35-3-37(j)(4) and (j)(7) require it to be held within 90 days after filing.

Service date: [__/__/____]

Recipient and address: [________________________________]

Method permitted by current court rules: [________________________________]

Proof of service filed: ☐ Yes ☐ No

Hearing requested: ☐ Yes ☐ No

9. SEPARATE PETITION TO SEAL THE CLERK'S RECORD — § 35-3-37(m)

Use this section only after the criminal-history record has been restricted.

File in the court with original jurisdiction over the offense in the county where the clerk is located. Send notice to the clerk and prosecuting attorney. Registered mail, certified mail, or statutory overnight delivery is sufficient statutory notice; also follow current court rules.

The petitioner must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that:

1. The criminal-history record information has been restricted under § 35-3-37; and
2. The harm otherwise resulting to the petitioner's privacy clearly outweighs the public interest in the court information remaining publicly available.

Requested sealing relief

Petitioner requests an order directing the clerk to restrict and make unavailable to the public all criminal-history record information in the clerk's custody for the charged offense, including index entries, under § 35-3-37(m). The statute gives the clerk 60 days after the order to restrict each physical and electronic document in the clerk's custody, possession, or control.

☐ GCIC restriction confirmation or restriction order attached

☐ Notice sent to clerk

☐ Notice sent to prosecuting attorney

☐ Privacy-harm evidence attached

10. IMPLEMENTATION CHECK

☐ Confirm GCIC implemented the restriction.

☐ Confirm the arresting law-enforcement agency restricted its record after GCIC notice under § 35-3-37(k)(1).

☐ If applicable, send a written request to the county or municipal jail or detention center under § 35-3-37(k)(2).

☐ If a § 35-3-37(m) order was entered, confirm the clerk completed sealing within 60 days.

☐ Recheck private background-reporting sources separately; GCIC does not control records held by private vendors.

11. CURRENT SOURCE CHECK

• Georgia Judicial Council, Record Restrictions/Expungement: https://georgiacourts.gov/a2j/self-help-resources/record-restrictions-expungement/
• Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Services and record-restriction routing: https://gbi.georgia.gov/services
• Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Request to Restrict Arrest Record: https://gbi.georgia.gov/document/publication/request-restrict-arrest-record-instructions-and-request-form/download
• Current Georgia Code public-access portal: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/laws
• O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 text mirror: https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-35/chapter-3/article-2/section-35-3-37/

Recheck the live statute, official guidance, local rules, and local forms immediately before filing.