SB419: SB419 "Eric's ID Law"

Georgia law already lets veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder request a notation on their driver's license. This bill expands that idea to anyone with a physical or mental disability that isn't immediately obvious, such as many developmental or intellectual disabilities. People could ask the Department of Driver Services to add a symbol to their license or ID card, ask to have it removed later, and the state would be barred from releasing records about that request except in specific situations like a court order or a criminal justice agency inquiry. The bill also requires Georgia's peace officer training council to add training, starting in 2027, on interacting with people who have non-apparent disabilities, including those with the new license notation. It waives license replacement fees for adding or removing the notation, requires the state to consult disability advocacy groups on the notation's design, and directs a public education campaign about it.

• Lets any driver's license or ID card holder with a non-apparent physical or mental disability request a confidential notation on the card, expanding a benefit currently limited to veterans with PTSD.
• Lets a person remove that notation later and requires the Department of Driver Services to delete related records once removal is requested.
• Bars the department from disclosing records of a disability notation request except to courts, criminal justice agencies, licensing authorities, the person themselves, or the Department of Human Services for child support matters.
• Requires Georgia's peace officer training council to add training, starting in 2027, on interacting with people who have non-apparent disabilities, including those with the license notation.
• Waives license replacement fees when the only change is adding or removing the disability notation.
• Requires the state to consult developmental and intellectual disability advocacy groups on the notation's design and to run public outreach about its availability.

People with non-apparent physical, mental, developmental, or intellectual disabilities who hold or apply for a Georgia driver's license or ID card; the Department of Driver Services, which processes the notations; disability advocacy groups consulted on the notation's design; and Georgia peace officers, who would receive new training starting in 2027.

A driver with a hidden disability could show police a discreet license marking during a traffic stop, and officers would get training on how to respond, which could change how these encounters unfold. Confidentiality protections would also limit who can learn that someone requested or removed the notation.

• Section 1 names the bill "Eric's ID Law."
• Section 2 adds a new Code Section 35-8-28 requiring basic peace officer training, beginning in 2027, on interactions with people who have non-apparent disabilities.
• Section 3 amends O.C.G.A. § 40-5-25 to waive license replacement fees when the only change is adding or removing a disability notation.
• Section 4 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 40-5-38 to let anyone with a non-apparent physical or mental disability request a license notation, add a removal process, and set strict limits on when the state can disclose related records.
• Section 5 updates definitions in O.C.G.A. § 40-5-170, adding a formal definition of "non-apparent disability" that includes developmental and intellectual disabilities.
• Section 6 amends O.C.G.A. § 40-5-171 to let people with non-apparent disabilities choose the new notation instead of the international handicapped symbol on identification cards.
• Section 7 amends O.C.G.A. § 40-5-172 regarding renewal terms for identification cards issued to people with disabilities.

1. 2026-01-27Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-01-21Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Donzella James (D, SD-028)Primary sponsor
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
• Freddie Sims (D, SD-012)
• Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)

• disability rights
• driver's licenses
• police training
• identification cards
• government privacy