---
title: O.C.G.A. § 17-7-93. Reading of indictment or accusation; entry of plea; acceptance of guilty plea; withdrawal of guilty plea.
collection: code
id: 17-7-93
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 17-7-93 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-7-93
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-7-93.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/17-7-93/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t17-(v15)-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=6c4dfdf8_0#page=76
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.
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version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: CRIMINAL PROCEDURE / PRETRIAL PROCEEDINGS / ARRAIGNMENT AND PLEAS GENERALLY
---

# O.C.G.A. § 17-7-93. Reading of indictment or accusation; entry of plea; acceptance of guilty plea; withdrawal of guilty plea.

(a) Upon the arraignment of a person accused of committing a crime, the indictment or accusation shall be read to him and he shall be required to answer whether he is guilty or not guilty of the offense charged, which answer or plea shall be made orally by the accused person or his counsel.

(b) If the person pleads “guilty,” the plea shall be immediately recorded on the minutes of the court by the clerk, together with the arraignment; and the court shall pronounce the judgment of the law upon the person in the same manner as if he or she had been convicted of the offense by the verdict of a jury. At any time before judgment is pronounced, the accused person may withdraw the plea of “guilty” and plead “not guilty.”

(c) In addition to any other inquiry by the court prior to acceptance of a plea of guilty, the court shall determine whether the defendant is freely entering the plea with an understanding that if he or she is not a citizen of the United States, then the plea may have an impact on his or her immigration status. This subsection shall apply with respect to acceptance of any plea of guilty to any state offense in any court of this state or any political subdivision of this state.

(d) After the entry of a guilty plea which results in a conviction, a person may file a motion to withdraw such plea within 30 days of the entry of such judgment or within the term of court in which such plea was entered, whichever is later; provided, however, that such motion to withdraw shall toll the applicable statute of limitations and statutory demand for speedy trial from the date of the plea until the resolution of the motion to withdraw.

## History

Laws 1833, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 834.; Code 1863, § 4524; Code 1868, § 4543; Code 1873, § 4636; Code 1882, § 4636; Penal Code 1895, § 946; Penal Code 1910, § 971; Code 1933, § 27-1404; Ga. L. 2000, p. 808, § 1; Ga. L. 2011, p. 99, § 31/HB 24; Ga. L. 2025, p. 621, § 3-1/HB 176, effective May 14, 2025.

## Law Reviews

For article, “Lying at Plea Bargaining,” see 38 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 673 (2022).

## Amendments

The 2025 amendment, effective May 14, 2025, added subsection (d).