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 on September 23, 2026.
Tift County, Georgia, has about 42,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A DUI arrest in Tift County 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: Tift County public records, Tift County arrest records, Tift County warrants, Tift County criminal records, Tift County court 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 Tift County
The Tift County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Tifton and Omega make the DUI arrests in Tift County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Tift County: the State Patrol at Tifton (state police); Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (campus police); the State Patrol at Tifton makes the arrests on the state highways.
Together, the two agencies in Tift County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,125 arrests to the FBI that year, all offenses together; the FBI's count for Tift County does not break DUI out.
Booking After a DUI Arrest in Tift County
A driver arrested for DUI and kept in custody goes to the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The jail, run by the Tift County Sheriff's Office, held about 230 people on an average day in 2025 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count.
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 pacga.org/find-your-prosecutor/county/tift, phone 229-386-7950.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at tiftcounty.org/government/clerk_of_court/index.php, phone (229) 386-7810.
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: Tift County arrest records, Tift County police reports and Tift County court records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the DUI limit in Georgia?
0.08 percent blood alcohol.
Where is a DUI case from Tift County 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 tiftcounty.org.
Where is a person arrested for DUI in Tift County held?
At the county jail, run by the Tift 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 Tift County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.