--- title: SB 617. Dispossessory Proceedings; public access to court records of dispossessory proceedings under certain conditions; prohibit collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb617 cite_as: SB 617, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb617 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb617.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb617/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73854 date: 2026-03-04 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb616.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb618.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 95 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb617.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 617 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-03-03 last_action: Senate Read and Referred sponsors: - Sonya Halpern - Harold Jones - Kim Jackson - Elena Parent - RaShaun Kemp text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB617/2025 upstream_id: 2128605 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - eviction records - tenant rights - court records access - housing law - landlord-tenant disputes --- # SB 617. Dispossessory Proceedings; public access to court records of dispossessory proceedings under certain conditions; prohibit ## Text Senate Bill 617 By: Senators Halpern of the 39th, Jones II of the 22nd, Jackson of the 41st, Parent of the 44th and Kemp of the 38th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 3 of Chapter 7 of Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to dispossessory proceedings, so as to prohibit public access to court records of dispossessory proceedings under certain conditions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Article 3 of Chapter 7 of Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to dispossessory proceedings, is amended in Code Section 44-7-50, relating to demand for possession, procedure upon a tenant's refusal, and notice to vacate or pay, by adding a new subsection to read as follows: "(e) A court of competent jurisdiction shall order all records of the court relating to a dispossessory proceeding to be made unavailable to the public when the tenant has prevailed in the proceeding, has met all the conditions of a settlement agreement, or three years have lapsed since the resolution of the dispossessory action." SECTION 2. 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 require courts to seal eviction case records from public view once a tenant wins the case, completes a settlement, or three years have passed since the case ended. ### Plain-language summary Under current Georgia law, court records from dispossessory proceedings (the legal process landlords use to evict tenants, commonly called eviction cases) remain publicly accessible regardless of the outcome. Tenant advocates have noted that even eviction filings that tenants win or settle can show up in background checks and hurt their ability to rent housing later. This bill amends O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50, the section covering a landlord's demand for possession and notice to vacate or pay, by adding a new subsection. It would require a court to make eviction case records unavailable to the public in three situations: when the tenant wins the case, when the tenant meets all conditions of a settlement agreement, or once three years have passed since the case was resolved. The bill repeals any conflicting laws but does not state a separate effective date. ### What it does - Adds a new subsection to Georgia's dispossessory proceedings law (O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50) requiring courts to seal eviction case records from public access under specific conditions. - Requires sealing when the tenant wins the eviction case in court. - Requires sealing when the tenant has fully completed the terms of a settlement agreement with the landlord. - Requires sealing of any eviction case record once three years have passed since the case was resolved, regardless of outcome. - Repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with this new rule. ### Who it affects Tenants who have been through eviction proceedings, landlords and property managers who file dispossessory cases, Georgia courts that handle these cases (mainly magistrate courts), and tenant screening or background check companies that currently pull this public record data. ### Why it matters Eviction filings, even ones a tenant wins or resolves, can appear in tenant screening reports and make it harder to rent an apartment later. Sealing these records under the bill's conditions would limit that lingering effect for tenants while still keeping unresolved or recent cases publicly visible. ### Key provisions - Section 1 adds subsection (e) to O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50, which currently covers a landlord's demand for possession and notice to vacate or pay. - The new subsection directs courts to order eviction records unavailable to the public when the tenant prevailed in the case. - It also requires sealing when the tenant has met all conditions of a settlement agreement reached with the landlord. - It also requires sealing once three years have elapsed since a dispossessory action was resolved, regardless of who won. - Section 2 repeals any conflicting state laws but does not specify a separate effective date for the change. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-03-03) - Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2026-03-04) - Sponsors: Sonya Halpern, Harold Jones, Kim Jackson, Elena Parent, RaShaun Kemp - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73854 > The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb617.md?full=1