Record Restriction

Record Restriction (O.C.G.A. 35-3-37(d)) refers to purging of criminal history records. Georgia Law provides for the restriction of certain criminal history records when approved by the prosecuting attorney.

For arrest prior to July 1, 2013, the applicant is required to apply for the restriction at the arresting agency. When applying for a restriction for arrest prior to July 1, 2013, the applicant will receive notification via mail from the Paulding County District Attorney’s Office of their decision. It is very important to read this notification because if any further action needs to be taken, it will be noted in this letter. This process can take anywhere from two weeks to ninety days. As of July 1, 2013, the District Attorney’s Office is applying the restriction directly to the applicant’s criminal history. Only in special circumstances will the applicant be required to submit their application to GCIC. If applicant have any question reference the decision made by the Paulding County District Attorney’s Office, the applicant may contact their office at (770) 443-7561.

For arrest occurring on or after July 1, 2013, there is no application process. The prosecutor may approve the restriction at the time of sentencing. If restriction is approved upon sentence completion, it should be noted in the sentencing documentation forwarded to the court.

Police Departments for Restriction Application

Applicant must apply through the arresting agency to request restriction. Each agency throughout the state of Georgia is responsible for restricting their agencies files. Paulding County Sheriffs Office is only responsible for Paulding County Sheriffs Office cases. If Hiram Police Department, Dallas Police Department, Braswell Police Department, or Georgia State Patrol arrested you in Paulding County, the applicant will need to contact that agency.

When the restriction has been applied to the Georgia criminal history, access to that specific arrest cycle is restricted for non-criminal justice purposes only (Employment/Licensing). However, such information may be available through other sources. The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office has no control over information provided by private vendors. Applicant will be responsible for contacting that private vendor to clear their information from that company’s database.

All applicants must appear in person to request the restriction of arrest records, with a picture ID, social security number, and driver’s license number. This is to ensure the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office receives accurate information for processing the application.

Record Restrict Request Application

Two separate required documents must be completed when requesting to Restrict Arrest Record. Applicant must complete a consent form, along with a Record to Restrict Arrest Record Application. Both forms will be provided to applicant upon request

Paulding County Sheriffs Office will require a current Georgia Criminal History Records Check be completed at the time the Request to Restrict Arrest Record application is processed. Sheriff’s Office is unable to use a criminal history provided from a different agency, or private vendor

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation provides record Restriction application applications to the Paulding County Sheriffs Office. This standard form is used throughout the state of Georgia. This application can be located on the Georgia Bureau of Investigations web page (http://gbi.georgia.gov/georgia-crimal-history-record-restrictions).

Fees

There will be a non-refundable $25 processing fee for the Request to Restrict Arrest Record application. Application fees will apply for arrest date.

There is a non-refundable $10 fee for Paulding residents and $20 fee for non-residents for Georgia Criminal history Record Check.

To complete a Request to Restrict Arrest Record for one arrest date, the total fee will be $35 for Paulding County residents and $45 for individuals who reside outside of Paulding County. Each additional arrest date will be $25 per cycle, if requested on the same day.

The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office accepts payments by either CASH or CREDIT CARD. Unfortunately, we cannot accept any bills larger than $20 and credit card payments must be a minimum of $5.