Georgia Open Records Act

Response Timeline

3 business days to produce records for inspection (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(b)(1)(A)). If some records available sooner, must provide those within 3 days. If records unavailable within 3 days, must provide description and timeline within 3 days. Must notify within 3 business days if costs exceed $25. One of the shortest response deadlines in the US.

No residency requirement. Any 'person, firm, corporation, or other entity' may request records.

How to Submit a Request

Accepted Methods

• Written — No specific format required
• In person — May inspect during normal business hours
• Oral — Oral requests accepted but written recommended for documentation

No specific form or format required. Requesters may use portable devices to make their own copies. Agencies must produce records in requested electronic format if existing programs support it.

Email or portal?

The agency must accept a written request sent by ordinary means, including email, and may not reject it solely because it did not come through an online portal.

The Georgia Open Records Act requires an agency that uses e-mail or facsimile transmission in the normal course of its business to permit receipt of written requests by e-mail or facsimile, in addition to any other approved method (O.C.G.A. 50-18-71(b)(2)). The Act separately permits a request to be made to the custodian either orally or in writing (50-18-71(b)(1)(B)), and lets an agency require written requests be directed to a specific role-holder only if it designates that role-holder in writing and publishes the designation (50-18-71(b)(1)(B), (b)(2)); nothing in either provision authorizes an agency to designate an online portal as the sole channel or to refuse an e-mailed request once it uses e-mail in its own normal course of business. Because a virtually universal precondition (an agency using e-mail at all) triggers a mandatory e-mail-acceptance duty, a Georgia agency cannot lawfully make a portal the only way to submit a request.

• O.C.G.A. 50-18-71(b)(2) (mandatory e-mail/fax receipt)
• O.C.G.A. 50-18-71(b)(1)(B) (oral or written request to the custodian)

No controlling case law identified on the submission-channel question specifically. The verdict rests on the plain text of 50-18-71(b)(2)'s mandatory e-mail-acceptance duty. Milliron v. Antonakakis, 319 Ga. 616 (2024), and S.B. 12 (2025 Ga. Laws) control the separate question of WHOM a request must be addressed to (the agency's custodian), not whether e-mail is an accepted method of reaching that custodian.

Georgia agencies vary widely: larger counties, cities, and universities often run a records-request portal (for example NextRequest), while most small cities, school districts, and special districts publish only an e-mail address or a clerk's contact information. Our records data for Georgia lists e-mail, mail, in-person, and oral as accepted methods, consistent with a portal being optional rather than exclusive under 50-18-71(b)(2)'s e-mail guarantee.

Last reviewed 2026-07-30.

Required Elements

• Description of records sought

Optional Elements

• Preferred format (electronic or paper)
• Contact information for cost estimates

Fees

Must use 'most economical means reasonably calculated' to identify records. First quarter hour of search time is free. Requesters can avoid copy fees by bringing their own camera/scanner. May require prepayment if prior requests remain unpaid (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(d)).

Fee Waivers

• Act neither requires nor prohibits fee waivers; agencies may waive at discretion

No statutory requirement for fee waivers, but agencies may voluntarily waive fees.

Exemptions

• Federal conf
  Records specifically required by federal law to be kept confidential (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(a)(1))
• Medical
  Medical or veterinary records where disclosure would be invasion of privacy (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(a)(2))
• Law enforce
  Law enforcement records including ongoing investigations, witness identities, and confidential informants (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(a)(4))
• Trade secrets
  Trade secrets and confidential commercial information (implied through privacy analysis)
• Atty client
  Attorney-client privileged communications (case law)
• Computer sw
  Computer programs and software (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(a)(44))
• Trial exhibits
  Trial exhibits require judge approval to access (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(c))
• Leg counsel
  Communications with legislative counsel (O.C.G.A. § 28-4-3.1)
• Personnel
  Certain personnel records including evaluations and disciplinary materials
• Security
  Security plans and vulnerability assessments

Exemptions interpreted narrowly - must exclude only portions addressed by exception (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70(a)). Denials must cite specific 'Code section, subsection, and paragraph' (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(d)). Strong presumption favoring disclosure.

Appeal Process

No formal administrative appeal required. AG mediation program available for local government disputes only. Primary enforcement through Superior Court litigation. Criminal sanctions possible for willful violations.

Request Templates

Records Retention

O.C.G.A. 50-18-90 et seq. (Article 5, State Records Management)

View retention law →

Retention schedule catalog →

The Georgia Records Act requires each agency to designate a records management officer. The State Records Committee approves all retention schedules. Records may not be disposed of without an approved schedule. Retention periods are based on historical, administrative, financial, and legal value.

Sources & References

• Full text of law →
• Primary source →
• RCFP Open Government Guide — Georgia →
• NFOIC State FOI Resources →

Bodies Covered

Which kinds of public body this law applies to, with the statutory basis for each claim.

Coverage notes

• No requester-standing limit: any person may ask GORA opens records to personal inspection with no residency qualifier (§ 50-18-71(a)(1)), and enforcement actions may be brought by 'any person, firm, corporation, or other entity' (§ 50-18-73(a)). The Reporters Committee's Open Government Guide: Georgia confirms that what is relevant is whether the records are public, not the identity of the requester -- the same shape as Ohio's and the opposite of Virginia's citizens-only rule. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(a)(1) (records open for personal inspection, no residency qualifier); § 50-18-73(a) (enforcement actions may be brought by 'any person, firm, corporation, or other entity')
• Three business days: the shortest fixed deadline profiled so far Agencies must produce responsive records within a reasonable time not to exceed three business days of receipt (§ 50-18-71(b)(1)(A)). Unlike Ohio's 'promptly'/'reasonable period' language, this genuinely is a hard statutory number. Our letter never cites it; it is raised only in the overdue follow-up. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(b)(1)(A) (agencies shall produce responsive records within a reasonable time not to exceed three business days of receipt)
• Oral requests are valid, but only a written request is enforceable A request may be made to the custodian orally or in writing (§ 50-18-71(b)(1)(B)), but the enforcement remedies in §§ 50-18-73 and 50-18-74 are available only when the request was written (§ 50-18-71(b)(3)). Our letters are always written email, so this never limits us, but any future escalation depends on the original request having been in writing. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(b)(3) (enforcement under §§ 50-18-73, 50-18-74 is available only when the request was written, never when it was oral)
• The optional-officer clock trap: an agency may require a written request reach a named role An agency 'may, but shall not be obligated to,' require that WRITTEN requests be directed to one of four role-holders: its director/chairperson/CEO; the senior official at a satellite office; a specifically designated records-custodian clerk; or a duly designated open records officer (§ 50-18-71(b)(1)(B)). If it elects this, it must designate the officer(s) in writing, notify any person who asks, notify the county's legal organ, and (if it has a website) post the designation, and the three-day response period does not begin to run until a WRITTEN request reaches that individual (§ 50-18-71(b)(2)). Discovery should capture any such published designation; where none exists, a general agency contact is sufficient. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(b)(2) (designation notice duties; if an agency requires written requests upon specific individuals, the three-day period does not begin until the request reaches them; an agency using e-mail or fax in the normal course of its business must accept written requests by e-mail or fax)
• The 2025 custodian-routing rule: address the agency, not a private contractor directly The Georgia Supreme Court held in Milliron v. Antonakakis (2024) that a request for records tied to a private contractor's agency services could be sent directly to the contractor, even past a designated open records officer. S.B. 12 (2025 Ga. Laws, eff. May 14, 2025) narrowed that ROUTING holding without disturbing the underlying COVERAGE holding: it defines 'custodian' as the agency itself or its designated employee (§ 50-18-70(b)(1.1)), requires every request be made 'upon a custodian' (§ 50-18-71(a)(2)(A)), and makes that custodian responsible for retrieving records a private contractor holds on the agency's behalf -- with no duty to retrieve records held by ANOTHER agency -- while the contractor must produce those records to the custodian on request (§ 50-18-71(a)(2)(B)). Practical effect: send the request to the contracting agency, never to the contractor. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(a)(2)(A)-(B) (requests must be made upon a custodian; the custodian must retrieve records a private contractor holds on the agency's behalf, but has no duty to retrieve records held by another agency; the contractor must produce those records to the custodian on request) (2025 Ga. Laws, S.B. 12, eff. May 14, 2025) · Milliron v. Antonakakis, 319 Ga. 616, S24G0198 (Ga. Aug. 13, 2024)
• Redaction, not wholesale withholding, and a specific citation for any denial An exemption excludes only the portion of a record it directly addresses; the agency must provide every other portion for inspection or copying (§ 50-18-72(b)). A denial must state the specific legal authority by Code section, subsection, and paragraph, within the same three-business-day window (§ 50-18-71(d)). O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(b) (an exemption excludes only the addressed portion of a record; the agency must provide all other portions for inspection or copying)
• Fees: capped at actual cost, first quarter hour free Search, retrieval, and redaction time is charged at the prorated hourly salary of the lowest-paid full-time employee with the necessary skill, with no charge for the first quarter hour; copies are capped at 10 cents per page for letter or legal size, or actual media cost for electronic records (§ 50-18-71(c)). GORA has no statutory fee-waiver category, so ask for a waiver as a matter of the agency's own discretion. Because our letters ask for electronic delivery by reply email, duplication cost should be minimal or zero. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(c) (search/retrieval/redaction capped at the prorated hourly salary of the lowest-paid qualified employee, free for the first quarter hour; copies capped at 10 cents/page for letter/legal size)
• Pending law-enforcement investigation: a file-closure test Records of a pending investigation or prosecution are exempt, other than initial arrest and incident reports (§ 50-18-72(a)(4)). 'Pending' means 'remaining undecided, awaiting decision': an investigation stays pending, even as to one person whose own charges were resolved, until the whole file is concluded and closed (Evans; Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County). Ask for administrative records rather than open case files. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(a)(4) (records of a pending investigation or prosecution are exempt, other than initial arrest and incident reports, until all direct litigation is final or otherwise terminated) · Evans v. Georgia Bureau of Investigation, 297 Ga. 318, 773 S.E.2d 725 (2015) · Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County v. Athens Newspapers, LLC, 284 Ga. 192, 663 S.E.2d 248 (2008)
• Court case records run through Uniform Superior Court Rule 21, not GORA The judicial branch is not enumerated in § 50-14-1's definition of 'agency,' which § 50-18-70(b)(1) cross-references, so GORA does not reach it. Uniform Superior Court Rule 21 instead presumes court records public but applies its own sealing procedure. A court clerk who is also a county constitutional officer remains a GORA custodian for that office's own administrative records. Uniform Superior Court Rule 21 (court records presumptively public and available for inspection, subject to the Rule's own sealing procedure)
• Associated foundations: covered for agency-related records, with a donor-privacy carve-out GORA's 'public record' definition already reaches a private entity's records where it performs a service or function for or on behalf of an agency (§ 50-18-70(b)(2)), broader than a common-law functional-equivalency test. § 50-18-72(a)(29) creates a specific donor-privacy exemption for postsecondary institutions AND their associated foundations, which would be unnecessary if such a foundation's records were categorically outside the Act. Coverage still turns on the specific service or function the foundation performs, not a blanket rule either way. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(a)(29) (postsecondary institutions and associated foundations: donor personal information is exempt, except donor name and gift amount when the donor transacts business with the institution within three years) · Milliron v. Antonakakis, 319 Ga. 616, S24G0198 (Ga. Aug. 13, 2024)
• Enforcement: superior court, fee-shifting, and misdemeanor penalties Superior courts have jurisdiction over enforcement actions, which any person, firm, corporation, or other entity may bring, and the Attorney General may also bring an action in her discretion (§ 50-18-73(a)). A court assesses reasonable attorney's fees against a party that acted without substantial justification, absent special circumstances (§ 50-18-73(b)); good-faith reliance on the Act is a defense for an agency (§ 50-18-73(c)). A knowing and willful violation is a misdemeanor (up to $1,000 for a first offense) or, alternatively, a civil penalty, escalating within a 12-month period (§ 50-18-74). O.C.G.A. § 50-18-73 (superior court jurisdiction; fee-shifting absent substantial justification; good-faith immunity) and § 50-18-74 (knowing and willful violation is a misdemeanor or civil penalty, escalating within 12 months)