---
title: O.C.G.A. § 16-10-1. Violation of oath by public officer.
collection: code
id: 16-10-1
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 16-10-1 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/16-10-1
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/16-10-1.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/16-10-1/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t16-ch7-11-(v14a)-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=f5e4f5fa_0#page=64
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/code/16-10.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/code/16-9-157.md
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index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md
version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: CRIMES AND OFFENSES / OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION / ABUSE OF GOVERNMENTAL OFFICE
---

# O.C.G.A. § 16-10-1. Violation of oath by public officer.

(a) Any public officer who willfully and intentionally violates the terms of his or her oath as prescribed by law shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years.

(b) Any peace officer, as such term is defined in Code Section 35-8-2, who has sworn the oath or oaths prescribed in Code Sections 15-16-4 and 45-3-7 shall be subject to prosecution under this Code section only for violations of such oath or oaths as prescribed.

(c) No individual shall be subject to prosecution for violation of his or her oath of office under this Code section, except where such violation is predicated upon the commission of a felony or a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.

## History

Code 1933, § 26-2302, enacted by Ga. L. 1968, p. 1249, § 1; Ga. L. 2025, p. 497, § 4/HB 582, effective July 1, 2025.

## Editor's Notes

Ga. L. 2025, p. 497, § 1/HB 582, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Georgia Survivor Justice Act.’”

## Amendments

The 2025 amendment, effective July 1, 2025, designated the existing provisions of this Code section as subsection (a) and added subsections (b) and (c).