How To Get A Mugshot Taken Down In Georgia

An arrest is not a conviction. A dismissed DUI, a case the solicitor dropped, or a charge that never went to trial can still follow you if a commercial website keeps the booking photo online and asks for money to take it down.

Georgia law treats that business model as an unfair trade practice when the arrest qualifies for record restriction. Two statutes matter: the mugshot-removal rule in the Fair Business Practices Act, and the rule that limits how police can release booking photos in the first place.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Why Mugshot Sites Are A Problem

Commercial sites scrape or buy arrest photos, post the name, date of birth, and charge, then rank high in search results. Employers and landlords see the photo before they see a dismissal. Some sites then charge a “removal fee.” That fee is illegal in Georgia when the person is a “subject individual” under O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.5.

The Two Georgia Statutes

1. Commercial Sites Must Take The Photo Down for Free — O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.5

Subsection (b.1) is the mugshot-removal law. If a person uses a computer network to publish a Georgia booking photograph on a public website for purposes of commerce, that person is treated as doing business in Georgia.

Within 30 days of a proper written request, the site must remove the photograph without fee or compensation. Failure to comply is an unfair or deceptive act under the Fair Business Practices Act.

The request must include:

• full name
• date of birth
• date of arrest
• name of the arresting agency

Send it by certified mail, return receipt requested, or statutory overnight delivery, to the site’s registered agent, principal place of business, or primary residence. Email alone does not satisfy the statute.

2. Police Generally May Not Feed The Mugshot Industry — O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19

Enacted in 2014, this statute:

• bars an arresting agency from posting booking photos on a website, with limited exceptions (including certain Title 16 and Title 40 publications, the sex-offender registry, and law-enforcement administrative use); and
• bars the agency from giving a copy of the photo to anyone who plans to post it on a site that charges a removal fee.

A person who requests a booking photo must affirm that the use complies with subsection (c). A knowing false statement is a crime under O.C.G.A. § 16-10-20.

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division notes that the commercial-removal statute does not stop a newspaper, periodical, radio station, or television station from using a mugshot in news, commentary, or advertising. See the Division’s mugshot-website page.

Who Qualifies As A “Subject Individual”

Under O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.5(b.1) and the Attorney General’s summary, the photo must come from a Georgia arrest, and one of these must be true:

1. Access to the case was restricted under O.C.G.A. § 3-3-23.1, § 15-1-20, § 16-13-2, § 35-3-37, or § 42-8-62.1.
2. Before charging, the arresting agency never referred the case to a prosecutor and closed it.
3. Before charging, the statute of limitations expired.
4. Before charging, the case was referred to the prosecutor and later dismissed.
5. Before charging, the grand jury returned two no bills.
6. After indictment or accusation, all charges were dismissed or nolle prossed.
7. The person was sentenced under O.C.G.A. § 16-13-2 (conditional discharge) and completed probation.
8. The person was acquitted of all charges by a judge or jury.

A dismissed Atlanta Municipal Court DUI-less-safe case, or a Fulton or Clayton case dismissed on the State’s motion, often fits category 4 or 6. Restriction under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 independently qualifies under category 1.

A conviction that was never restricted generally does not force a commercial site to take the photo down under this statute.

Restriction And Sealing Are Not the Same As Mugshot Takedown

Do all three when the case qualifies. Restriction without a demand letter leaves the photo on Google. A takedown letter without restriction leaves the clerk’s file open for background-check scrapers.

How To Send The Demand

1. Confirm the case is eligible (dismissal, nolle prosequi, acquittal, restriction order, or another listed outcome).
2. Get a certified disposition from the clerk if you have one. It is helpful, not required by the statute.
3. Identify every URL that shows the photo.
4. Find the company’s registered agent (Georgia Secretary of State / foreign corporation records) or a published mailing address.
5. Mail the letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, or statutory overnight delivery.
6. Calendar 30 days from the date the letter is sent.
7. Keep the green card or delivery confirmation.

Sample Demand Language

I am writing to request the removal of my arrest booking photograph posted on your website located at _____________________ pursuant to O.C.G.A. §10-1-393.5. Georgia law requires that you remove an arrest booking photograph if the arrest is eligible to be restricted or has been restricted within 30 days of the subject individual sending a written request.

O.C.G.A. §10-1-393.5 states the following: “Any person who is engaged in any activity involving or using a computer or computer network who publishes on such person’s publicly available website a subject individual’s arrest booking photograph for the purposes of commerce shall be deemed to be transacting business in this state. Within 30 days of the sending of a written request by a subject individual, including his or her name, date of birth, date of arrest and name of the arresting law enforcement agency, such personal shall, without compensation, remove from such person’s website the subject individual’s arrest booking photograph… Without otherwise limiting the definition of unfair and deceptive acts or practices under this part, a failure to comply with this paragraph shall be unlawful.”

My arrest is eligible to be restricted and/or has been restricted. I am providing below the required information to remove the photograph. Please see O.C.G.A. §35-3-37 for restriction eligibility.

Name: _______________________________________________________
Date of Birth: _________________________________________________
Date of Arrest: ________________________________________________
Arresting Agency: ______________________________________________

I expect that my arrest booking photograph will be removed from the website _________________ by ________________ (i.e., 30 days from today’s date). Failure to comply shall be unlawful and subject to civil and criminal penalty under Georgia law.

Sign it. Do not pay the website.

If The Site Ignores The Letter

Failure to remove the photo within 30 days, or demanding money to remove it, violates the Fair Business Practices Act. File a complaint with the Georgia Department of Law, Consumer Protection Division:

• Topic page: consumer.georgia.gov/consumer-topics/mugshot-websites
• How to file: consumer.georgia.gov/resolve-your-dispute/how-do-i-file-complaint
• Phone: (404) 651-8600 or (800) 869-1123 (toll-free in Georgia)
• Mail: Georgia Department of Law — Consumer Protection Division, 40 Capitol Square SW, Atlanta, GA 30334

Attach the demand letter, the certified-mail receipt, screenshots of the listing, and the disposition or restriction order.

The Division represents the State. It does not act as your private lawyer. A separate civil claim under the Fair Business Practices Act may also be available depending on the facts.

Practical Limits

• The statute targets commercial mugshot publishers, not every Google result or social-media share.
• News organizations have a statutory carve-out.
• Copies of the photo can reappear on new domains. Repeat the demand for each publisher.
• Search engines cache old pages. After the site deletes the photo, use each search engine’s removal tools for outdated cache.
• Paying a “reputation company” that only submits the same letter you can send yourself is optional. Paying the mugshot site itself is what Georgia forbids.

Talk To A Georgia Criminal-Defense Lawyer

Mugshot removal works best when it is paired with record restriction and sealing. If the DUI or other charge was dismissed, nolle prossed, or never referred for prosecution, the court file and the GCIC entry should be cleaned up at the same time as the website demand.

George C. Creal, Jr., P.C.
Georgia Criminal Defense and DUI Trial Lawyers
www.georgialawyer.com
(770) 961-5511

This post is for general education. It does not create an attorney-client relationship. Eligibility depends on the disposition, the arrest date, and the website’s use of the photograph.