---
title: O.C.G.A. § 37-7-24. Transfer of involuntary patients to voluntary status; notice of transfer and of discharge of patients so transferred; discharge of transferred patient charged with criminal offense.
collection: code
id: 37-7-24
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 37-7-24 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/37-7-24
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/37-7-24.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/37-7-24/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t37-t39-(v28)-2021-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=c6b9c518_0#page=287
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: MENTAL HEALTH / HOSPITALIZATION AND TREATMENT OF ALCOHOLICS, DRUG DEPENDENT INDIVIDUALS, AND DRUG ABUSERS / HOSPITALIZATION AND TREATMENT OF VOLUNTARY PATIENTS
---

# O.C.G.A. § 37-7-24. Transfer of involuntary patients to voluntary status; notice of transfer and of discharge of patients so transferred; discharge of transferred patient charged with criminal offense.

Any involuntary patient may apply to be transferred to voluntary status of hospitalization and shall be so transferred if he is able to understand and exercise the rights and powers of a voluntary patient unless the chief medical officer finds that this would not be in the best interest of the patient, which finding shall be entered in the patient’s clinical record and signed by the chief medical officer. In any case in which such transfer to voluntary status occurs and in any case in which a patient transferred to voluntary status is discharged, notice of such transfer or discharge, as the case may be, shall be given to the patient and his representatives; if the patient’s hospitalization was ordered by the court, to the court which entered such order; if the patient was admitted to a facility under subsection (a) of Code Section 37-7-41, to the physician or psychologist executing the certificate; and, if the patient was under criminal charges, of which the facility received written notification, by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery to the law enforcement agency originally having custody of the patient. An involuntary patient transferred to voluntary status, which patient is under criminal charges, notice of which charges have been given in writing to the facility, may only be discharged into the physical custody of the law enforcement agency originally having custody of the patient. Such agency shall assume such custody within five days after the mailing of notification to the agency pursuant to this Code section.

## History

Code 1933, § 88-403.5, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 1856, § 1; Ga. L. 1979, p. 744, § 7; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1059, § 29; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 3.

## Editor's Notes

Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 16, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment to this Code section is applicable with respect to notices delivered on or after July 1, 2000.