SB 563: "Juvenile Second Chance Record Confidentiality Act"; enact

Under current Georgia law, a juvenile who has been adjudicated delinquent (found to have committed an offense as a minor) can only get their court files sealed by filing an application, going through a hearing, waiting two years after their case ended, and proving to a judge they have been rehabilitated and have no new convictions. Notice of that hearing must go to the prosecutor, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and law enforcement. This bill rewrites Georgia's juvenile record sealing law (O.C.G.A. § 15-11-701) to make that sealing automatic. Once a young person completes all court-ordered sentencing requirements, or turns 18, whichever comes later, the court must seal the case files without a hearing or waiting period. The only exception is for someone adjudicated for a serious violent felony as defined in O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1, such as murder or armed robbery. The bill also removes a separate hearing process that previously applied to child sex-trafficking and exploitation victims, since sealing is now automatic for most cases. Once sealed, the proceeding is legally treated as if it never happened.

• Makes sealing of juvenile delinquency and child-in-need-of-services court records automatic once a person completes their court-ordered sentence or turns 18, whichever is later.
• Removes the prior requirement that a person apply, attend a hearing, wait two years, and prove rehabilitation before their juvenile record could be sealed.
• Creates an exception denying automatic sealing to anyone adjudicated for a serious violent felony under Georgia's sentencing law (O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1).
• Eliminates the requirement to notify the prosecuting attorney, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and law enforcement before a sealing hearing, since the hearing is no longer required in most cases.
• Removes a separate provision that previously required its own hearing to seal records of children adjudicated for sex crimes stemming from sex trafficking or exploitation.
• Keeps the existing rule that once records are sealed, the case is legally treated as if it never occurred and agencies must respond that no record exists.

Young people who have gone through Georgia's juvenile court system for delinquency or child-in-need-of-services cases, juvenile court judges, the Department of Juvenile Justice, prosecutors, local law enforcement agencies, and the Georgia Crime Information Center, which receives copies of sealing orders.

Juvenile records can follow someone into adulthood, affecting jobs, housing, and school applications. By making sealing automatic instead of requiring an application, hearing, and proof of rehabilitation, more young people could get a clean record faster, while those adjudicated for the most serious violent crimes would not qualify.

• Section 1 names the bill the 'Juvenile Second Chance Record Confidentiality Act.'
• Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 15-11-701(b) so sealing happens automatically upon completion of sentencing requirements or turning 18, whichever is later, rather than through an application and hearing.
• Section 2 adds an exception denying automatic sealing for anyone adjudicated for a serious violent felony as defined in O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1.
• Section 2 deletes the former two-year waiting period, the rehabilitation finding, and the requirement to notify the prosecutor, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and law enforcement before sealing.
• Section 2 removes the prior separate hearing process for sealing records of children adjudicated for sex crimes connected to trafficking or exploitation.
• Section 2 keeps intact the rule that sealed proceedings are treated as if they never occurred and renumbers the remaining subsections.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-02-25Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-02-24Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Randal Mangham (D, SD-055)Primary sponsor
• Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)

• juvenile justice
• criminal record sealing
• expungement
• youth criminal records
• juvenile court