---
title: SB 563. "Juvenile Second Chance Record Confidentiality Act"; enact
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb563
cite_as: SB 563, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb563
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb563.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb563/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73562
date: 2026-02-25
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb563.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 563
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-24
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Randal Mangham
- Kenya Wicks
- RaShaun Kemp
- Harold Jones
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB563/2025
upstream_id: 2123539
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- juvenile justice
- criminal record sealing
- expungement
- youth criminal records
- juvenile court
---
# SB 563. "Juvenile Second Chance Record Confidentiality Act"; enact
## Text
Senate Bill 563
By: Senators Mangham of the 55th, Wicks of the 34th, Kemp of the 38th and Jones II of the
22nd
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 9 of Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to access to hearing and records relative to the juvenile code, so as to provide for the
automatic sealing of files and records in certain circumstances; to provide for exceptions; to
provide a short title; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Juvenile Second Chance Record
Confidentiality Act."
SECTION 2.
Article 9 of Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
access to hearing and records relative to juvenile code, is amended by revising Code Section
15-11-701, relating to sealing of files and records, hearings, limitations on disclosure, and
identity of victim, as follows:
"15-11-701.
(a) Upon dismissal of a petition or complaint alleging delinquency or that a child is a child
in need of services or completion of the process in a case handled through informal
adjustment, mediation, or other nonadjudicatory procedure, the court shall order the sealing
of the files and records in the case.
(b) On application Upon the completion of all court ordered sentencing requirements, or
upon reaching 18 years of age, whichever is later, of a person who has been adjudicated for
committing a delinquent act or as a child in need of services or on the court's own motion,
and after a hearing, the court shall order the sealing of the files and records in the
proceeding unless such person was adjudicated for a serious violent felony as defined in
Code Section 17-10-6.1. if the court finds that:
(1) Two years have elapsed since the final discharge of the person;
(2) Since the final discharge of the person he or she has not been convicted of a felony
or of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or adjudicated for committing a
delinquent act or as a child in need of services and no proceeding seeking conviction or
adjudication is pending against the person; and
(3) The person has been rehabilitated.
(c) On application of a person who has been adjudicated for a delinquent act or on the
court's own motion, and after a hearing, the court shall order the sealing of the files and
records in the proceeding, including those specified in Code Sections 15-11-702 and
15-11-708, if the court finds that the child was adjudicated for a delinquent act for a sexual
crime as defined in Code Section 16-3-6 and such crime resulted from the child being:
(1) Trafficked for sexual servitude in violation of Code Section 16-5-46; or
(2) A victim of sexual exploitation as defined in Code Section 49-5-40.
(d) Reasonable notice of the hearing required by subsection (b) and (c) of this Code
section shall be given to:
(1) The prosecuting attorney;
(2) DJJ, when appropriate;
(3) The authority granting the discharge if the final discharge was from an institution or
from parole; and
(4) The law enforcement officers or department having custody of the files and records
if the files and records specified in Code Sections 15-11-702 and 15-11-708 are included
in the application or motion.
(e)(c) Upon the entry of the order the proceeding shall be treated as if it had never
occurred. All index references shall be deleted and the person, the court, the law
enforcement officers, and the departments shall properly reply that no record exists
pertaining to the person upon inquiry in any matter. Copies of the order shall be sent to
each agency or designated official and shall also be sent to the deputy director of the
Georgia Crime Information Center of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Inspection of
the sealed files and records thereafter may be permitted by an order of the court upon
petition by the person who is the subject of the records and otherwise only by those persons
named in the order or to criminal justice officials upon petition to the court for official
judicial enforcement or criminal justice purposes.
(f)(d) The court may seal any record containing information identifying a victim of an act
which, if done by an adult, would constitute a sexual offense under Chapter 6 of Title 16."
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia Senate bill would make sealing of certain juvenile court records automatic once a young person finishes their sentence or turns 18, instead of requiring a formal application and hearing, except for those adjudicated of the most serious violent offenses.
### Plain-language summary
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.
### What it does
- 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.
### Who it affects
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.
### Why it matters
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.
### Key provisions
- 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.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-24)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2026-02-25)
- Sponsors: Randal Mangham, Kenya Wicks, RaShaun Kemp, Harold Jones
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73562
> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb563.md?full=1