Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and September 25, 2026.
Atlanta, Georgia, in Fulton County, has about 520,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A DUI arrest in Atlanta starts two cases, a criminal case (in the State Court, or the Probate Court in counties without one) and a license case before the Department of Driver Services, and leaves three records. This guide follows the arrest from the roadside to the court file and the driving record.
This guide covers the law, the arrest, booking, the court case, the license case, the records and common questions.
Related guides: Atlanta public records, Fulton County DUI, Atlanta arrest records, Atlanta warrants, Atlanta inmate search, Atlanta criminal records, Georgia arrest records and Georgia inmate search.
The DUI Law in Georgia
Drunk driving is charged as DUI in Georgia, at a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or more.
Driving in Georgia is consent to a breath or blood test when an officer has cause to suspect DUI; the license case that follows a refusal or a failed test is run by the Department of Driver Services, separately from the criminal case.
For charging and sentencing, Georgia counts prior offenses within 10 years.
Who Makes DUI Arrests in Atlanta
The Fulton County Sheriff's Office, the Fulton County Police Department and the agency that reports for Atlanta (filed by the FBI as Atlanta Police Department) make the DUI arrests in and around Atlanta.
The FBI's agency list also places nine campus police departments, three state agencies, five other agencies and one state police unit in Fulton County (the arrest records guide names each one); the State Patrol at Hapeville makes the arrests on the state highways.
Together, the 12 agencies in Fulton County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 21,249 arrests to the FBI that year, all offenses together; the FBI's count for Fulton County does not break DUI out.
Booking After a DUI Arrest in Atlanta
A driver arrested for DUI and kept in custody goes to the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The jail, run by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, held about 1,900 people on an average day in 2025 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a jail page SearchSystems verified at fultoncountyga.gov/inside-fulton-county/fulton-county-departments/s..., phone (877) 994-8463. The Atlanta inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
The Court Case
The District Attorney files the charge, and the case is heard in the State Court, or the Probate Court in counties without one.
The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at fultoncountyga.gov/districtattorney.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at fultonclerk.org/504/Find-a-Case.
Georgia has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
The License Case
The court case is only half the record. The Department of Driver Services runs a separate administrative case over the license, which can suspend it before the criminal case is decided, and the Georgia Department of Driver Services keeps the driving record the conviction goes on.
The Records a DUI Leaves
- The arrest report: from the agency that made the arrest, under the Georgia Open Records Act.
- The court file: from the State Court, or the Probate Court in counties without one, kept by the Clerk of Superior Court.
- The driving record: from the Georgia Department of Driver Services.
More on each: Atlanta arrest records, Atlanta police reports and Atlanta court records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the DUI limit in Georgia?
0.08 percent blood alcohol.
Where is a DUI case from Atlanta heard?
In the State Court, or the Probate Court in counties without one, brought by the District Attorney. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at fultonclerk.org/504/Find-a-Case.
Where is a person arrested for DUI in Atlanta held?
At the county jail, run by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
Who handles the license after a DUI arrest in Georgia?
The Department of Driver Services, in an administrative case separate from the court case.
How long does a DUI count as a prior in Georgia?
10 years.
Is this the official Atlanta website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.