SB563: SB563 "Juvenile Second Chance Record Confidentiality Act"; enact

Under current Georgia law, a young person adjudicated for a delinquent act or as a child in need of services generally has to apply to the juvenile court and go through a hearing before a judge will seal their case files, and the judge must find that at least two years have passed, that the person has stayed out of trouble, and that they have been rehabilitated. Senate Bill 563 would replace that process with automatic sealing: once a person finishes all court-ordered sentencing requirements, or turns 18, whichever comes later, the court would order the files sealed without an application or hearing. The main exception is for people adjudicated of a serious violent felony (as defined in O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1), whose records would not be automatically sealed. The bill also removes a separate provision that let the court seal records for children found delinquent of certain sex crimes tied to sex trafficking or sexual exploitation, and removes the requirement to notify prosecutors and law enforcement before a sealing hearing, since no hearing would generally be required anymore. Once sealed, the case is treated as if it never happened, and agencies must respond that no record exists.

• Replaces the current application-and-hearing process for sealing juvenile records with automatic sealing once a person completes court-ordered sentencing requirements or turns 18, whichever is later.
• Removes the requirement that a judge find two years have passed, no new convictions occurred, and the person is rehabilitated before sealing records.
• Excludes people adjudicated for a serious violent felony (as defined in O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1) from automatic sealing.
• Removes a separate provision that allowed sealing of records for children adjudicated of certain sex crimes connected to trafficking or sexual exploitation.
• Eliminates the requirement to give notice of a sealing hearing to prosecutors, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and law enforcement, since automatic sealing generally removes the hearing step.
• Keeps the rule that sealed proceedings are treated as if they never happened and that the court may still seal records identifying victims of sexual offenses.

Young people who have gone through Georgia's juvenile court system for delinquency or child-in-need-of-services cases, their families, juvenile court judges, prosecutors, the Department of Juvenile Justice, local law enforcement agencies that hold juvenile records, and the Georgia Crime Information Center.

Young people would no longer need to hire a lawyer, file a petition, or wait for a court hearing to get their juvenile record sealed; it would happen automatically in most cases once they finish their sentence or turn 18. This could make it easier to move past a juvenile record when applying for jobs, housing, or school, except for those adjudicated of serious violent felonies.

• 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, rather than through application and a hearing with specific findings.
• Section 2 excludes anyone adjudicated for a serious violent felony under O.C.G.A. § 17-10-6.1 from this automatic sealing.
• Section 2 removes former subsection (c), which allowed sealing for children adjudicated of certain sex crimes tied to trafficking or sexual exploitation, and former subsection (d), which required notice of sealing hearings to prosecutors and law enforcement.
• Section 2 keeps language stating that once records are sealed, the case is treated as if it never occurred and agencies must report that no record exists.
• Section 2 preserves the court's authority to seal records that would identify a victim of a sexual offense under Chapter 6 of Title 16.
• 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
• juvenile courts
• record confidentiality