Georgia's two access laws are the Open Records Act for records and the Open Meetings Act for meetings, and the Attorney General's open government pages carry the text of both, a citizens' guide, a questions page, a mediation programme and an online complaint form. The guidance on making a request is short and contains the two rules that matter most. A request goes directly to the government agency's custodian of the records, with the designated person usually named on the agency's website. And all public records are available for inspection and copying unless specifically exempted, so where an agency withholds a document it must cite the specific statutory provision of Georgia law that exempts it.
The second rule concerns form. A request to inspect or copy records may be made either orally or in writing, and the Attorney General says the better practice is writing, for documenting and clarifying the scope and timing of the request, adding the detail that decides cases: actions to enforce the Open Records Act can only be based on written requests. An oral request is therefore valid but unenforceable, which makes it fine for a quick look at a document and useless as the basis of a dispute. The office publishes a request form for anyone who wants one. For Georgia records held locally, see the Georgia county pages.
- Three business days: the agency must produce responsive records in that time unless exceptional circumstances apply.
- Or a letter saying why: where it cannot, it must give in writing the date of production, the cost, and the exemption by Code section, subsection and paragraph.
- One amendment only: the legal authority cited for an exemption can be added to or amended once, within five days of discovering an error.
- Write it down: oral requests are allowed, but only a written request can be enforced in court.
Written by SearchSystems.net from Georgia's own systems: the Georgia Attorney General open government page, the Attorney General's how to make an open records request page, the Attorney General's open government questions page, the Attorney General's page on the law, the Attorney General's page on House Bill 397, the Attorney General's open government complaint page, each read on October 14, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
The three day rule, and the letter that replaces it
Under O.C.G.A. 50-18-72(h) an agency must produce the records responsive to a request within three business days, absent exceptional circumstances. Where it cannot, the duty does not disappear, it changes shape: the agency must inform the requester in writing when the records will be produced, what they will cost if anything, and, where applicable, the specific legal authority exempting the records from disclosure, given by Code section, subsection and paragraph.
That level of citation is deliberate, and it is paired with a limit that rewards a requester who reads carefully, because the agency can add to or amend the legal authority it cited only once, and only if the amendment comes within five days of discovering an error. An agency that cites the wrong provision and then tries to rebuild its case on a different one is outside what the statute allows.
What counts as a record here
The questions page quotes the definition in O.C.G.A. 50-18-70(a). A public record includes all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, computer based or generated information and similar material prepared and maintained or received in the course of the operation of a public office or agency. It also reaches outside government: items received or maintained by a private person, firm, corporation or other private entity in the performance of a service or function for or on behalf of a public agency can be public records, which is how contractors' files come into scope.
One category is carved out, since the definition does not include any computer program or software used or maintained in the course of operating a public office. On privacy, Georgia law contains many exceptions protecting personal information, and the Act itself prevents disclosure of items including Social Security numbers, medical information, insurance information, bank account information, credit and debit card account information and other financial information.
What an agency may charge
Fees in Georgia are built around the cheapest competent person rather than a flat rate. Under O.C.G.A. 50-18-71 an agency must use the most economical means available for providing copies, which means records kept by computer are made available by electronic means where practicable, including internet access subject to reasonable security restrictions. A custodian may collect a reasonable fee for search, retrieval and other direct administrative costs, but the hourly charge cannot exceed the salary of the lowest paid full time employee who, in the custodian's discretion, has the necessary skill and training to perform the task, and no charge at all may be made for the first fifteen minutes of that work.
On copies, the Attorney General's two pages give different figures and both were read on the same day: the questions page says an agency may charge a uniform copying charge not exceeding 25 cents a page, while the page describing the 2012 reform says the legislation lowered the cost of records from 25 cents to 10 cents a page. A requester quoted a figure above ten cents should ask the agency which it is applying and under what authority.
The 2012 reform, and why it still matters
Georgia rewrote both Sunshine Laws in 2012 through House Bill 397, signed on April 17 of that year, and the Attorney General's summary lists the changes that still shape practice. The reform made clear that final votes must be taken in public, including on real estate transactions. It clarified and streamlined how officials must respond to a request. It lowered the per page cost of records. It permitted certain meetings by teleconference in emergency situations.
It required minutes of closed meetings, reviewable by a court where a challenge is filed. It gave the Attorney General the power to bring civil or criminal actions against violators, which is the enforcement mechanism Georgia had previously lacked. And it raised the penalties, to a maximum fine of $1,000, and up to $2,500 for additional violations within a year, where the previous maxima had been $100 for an open records violation and $500 for an open meetings violation.
The meetings side, in outline
A meeting under Georgia law is any gathering of a quorum of a governing body, or of a committee or subcommittee of it, where public matters, official business or policy are discussed, presented or formulated, or where official action is taken, including the making or consideration of recommendations. Two kinds of gathering fall outside it: a quorum inspecting physical facilities under its jurisdiction, and a quorum meeting officials of other agencies outside the agency's geographical jurisdiction, in each case where no final official action is taken.
An open meeting requires due notice of time and place, a preliminary agenda, and the publication of summary and final minutes afterwards, with notice posted in writing at the regular meeting place at least 24 hours in advance and given to the local legal organ and to other media that have asked for it. Closing a meeting takes a majority vote of a quorum, the minutes must name everyone present and everyone voting to close, only the part that needs to be closed may be, and the presiding officer must execute an affidavit stating why the meeting was closed and attesting that only properly confidential matters were discussed, filed with the minutes.
Actions and decisions taken in violation are void, any person may petition the superior court, a suit to undo an action taken in a closed meeting must be filed within 90 days of the meeting, and the questions page records that someone who knowingly and wilfully conducts or participates in a meeting that should have been open can be guilty of a misdemeanour and fined up to $500. One thing the Act does not give is a right to speak: it grants a right to attend, and whether to allow public comment is the local government's choice, usually arranged through the city or county clerk.
Homeowners associations are outside both laws, being privately funded rather than governmental.
When a local government will not comply
The Attorney General runs an informal mediation programme for citizens with concerns about a local government closing meetings or mishandling records requests, and complaints are filed online. The office warns that a complaint becomes an open record itself and may be shared with the government entity so that it can respond, so sensitive information should not be included, and it asks complainants to be short and specific about the facts.
Where a complaint is suitable, an attorney is assigned, and the office notes that the volume of complaints means it may not be able to answer queries while a mediation is pending. Some complaints end with the agency signing a memorandum of understanding admitting the violation and agreeing to corrective measures, and the office publishes those agreements.
Reading a Georgia response
Three business days is short enough that most Georgia disputes are really about the letter rather than the records. A proper letter names a production date, states the cost and cites the exemption precisely; a letter that says only that the request is being processed is not what the statute requires. The citation is worth checking, because it can be corrected only once and only within five days of the error being discovered. And if the request was made by telephone, the first step before any complaint is to put it in writing, since only a written request can be enforced.
Questions about public records requests in Georgia
Related Georgia records
Georgia's other public records guides on this site are the Georgia background check guide for the Bureau of Investigation criminal history service, the Georgia court records guide for the superior court clerks, the Georgia arrest records guide for what a booking makes public, and the Georgia county pages for every county office.