Georgia
Including Atlanta, Savannah
From the 50 State Visitor Guide :
2019 O.C.G.A. §§42-1-12 through 42-1-19
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r.
140-2-18.
Registration Triggers and Deadlines:
Registration
required within 72 hours of establishing a residence or entering the state. §42-1-12(f). Visitors: registration required if in the state for 14 consecutive days, or for
more than 30 days in calendar year. §42-1-12(e)(7). Per SOR office, residency & presence
restrictions DO NOT apply during the 14 day grace period. Updated Aug 2024.
Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:
All persons required to register may
not reside, loiter, or be employed within 1,000 ft. of child care facility,
church, school, or “area where minors congregate” defined to “include all
public & private parks & recreation facilities, playgrounds, skating
rinks, neighborhood centers, gymnasiums, school bus stops, public libraries,
& public & community swimming pools” §42-1-12(3). However, visitors are not “required to register.” Updated Aug. 2024. Certain employment restrictions apply. §§42-1-15
through 42-1-17. It is a misdemeanor to intentionally
photograph a minor in Georgia without parental consent. §42-1-18.
Visiting Registrants once placed on state’s registry ARE NOT REMOVED. (per Rolfe Survey and
confirmed by state registry office).
Duration & updates:
Life. Sexually Dangerous Predator updates every 6
months. All others update annually
within 72 hours of birthday.
Registry removal restrictions:
Per NARSOL Digest Aug/Sep 2024
pp.13-14: SB
493 (effective 7/1/24) makes 2 changes –
1. Some registrants 80+ yrs old may
petition for removal.
2. Those with out-of-state offenses must have been removed “in another state,” presumably the state where offended. This makes Georgia a “whichever is longer” state by petition for all convictions after 7/1/24. Updated Sept. 2024
2024 Georgia Update – Fewer restrictions on visitors …
In 2020 I called every state SOR office and spoke to anyone who would answer the phone during a pandemic. One question I asked every SOR office was: While I am in your state as a visitor and leaving before the end of your grace period (GA = 14 days), do your residency and presence restrictions (which in GA are many and horrible) apply to me as a visitor? In 2020, Georgia was among states that answered “yes” to that question.
However, since 2020 the GA SOR office has completely changed its tune. In 2022 they said the weirdest thing ever – that any restrictions applying to you in your home state will apply to you while in Georgia. After I hung up the phone I laughed and asked myself, how the hell are you going to enforce that? Are my restrictions different if I’m coming from my home in Iowa vs. Florida?
By 2024 the GA SOR office has come full circle – now they say residency & presence restrictions DO NOT apply during the 14 day grace period. Apparently, GA law enforcement has concluded that trying to inflict all their oppressive requirements on unwitting tourists is a waste of their time and resources. Wow! – stop making sense!
To me, however, the most important point is – they figured this out all by themselves. Nobody pushed them or lobbied them. Nobody begged or pleaded with them. And the thought occurs to me – if Georgia law enforcement, of all people, can figure out the stupidity of arresting hapless tourists on bogus charges – well, maybe with a little help, law enforcement agencies in other states can figure this out too.
If there is anyone out there with a good enough relationship with Georgia law enforcement to inquire as to how they were able to come to this relatively humane decision, we at Atwo Zee, Registered Traveler would really appreciate your help. Maybe together we can spread logic and reason to other state SOR offices.
… but making it harder to get removed
I think people from other parts of the US may be somewhat surprised by this, but in my experience (at group therapy, meet & greets etc.) Georgia has enjoyed an undeserved reputation as some kind of beacon on the hill among Florida registrants – mainly because even though their registry totally sucks, they have at least until now always had a provision allowing those with so-called “low level offenses” an opportunity to apply to be removed from their registry (whereas Florida is famously lifetime with no chance of getting off).
Because of this, rumors have spread that (I’m sure you’ve all heard similar bullshit before no matter where you live) all you have to do is move to Georgia and get off the registry and all your problems will magically disappear. I actually looked into this by calling a GA attorney who spoke at a NARSOL conference, and he made it clear these rumors are false. Nobody gets away with flying into Atlanta and heading to the nearest courthouse to get off the registry. This attorney opined that if you have at least 5 years residency in Georgia, a judge might be willing to entertain your application. Meanwhile you get to live with all the horrors of being a Georgia registrant.
And now the Georgia
legislature has closed even this tiny loophole.
As reported in the NARSOL Digest, Aug/Sep
2024 pp.13-14 (and posted on our “Former and Long-term Registrant Chart”), SB
493 (effective 7/1/24) makes 2 changes –
1. Some registrants
80+ yrs old may petition for removal (gee whiz, thanks for nothing. “Some registrants may apply?”).
And here comes the
important one:
2. Those with out-of-state offenses must have been removed “in another state,” presumably the state where you offended. At least they inserted a grandfather clause that allows those with convictions before 7/1/24 to continue to apply for removal. What kind of reception you might get in a GA courtroom is anybody’s guess.
Sorry about that.
Also, according to the state SOR office, national parks and forests are “out of our jurisdiction,” and there are quite a few of those, especially in northern and central Georgia. Since most of my cross-country travel plans involve camping overnight at national park or national forest campgrounds, that’s good news for me.
NOTE: Georgia is one of about 15 states where there is no procedure for removal from the registry upon returning to your home state. So be extra careful.
Savannah
My two most recent visits to Georgia included a stop in Savannah. In April 2024 my ex-wife and still Best Friend Forever and I were traveling on our way back to Florida from attending a wedding in New Jersey when we decided to stop overnight and spend a little time in Savannah. We entered Georgia from South Carolina on I-95 and checked into a hotel near Savannah Airport. Given its location in a primarily airport-industrial area I didn’t worry about either Georgia’s residency or presence rules. We just checked in and got some sleep that night.
The next morning I continued to not worry about Georgia’s presence or loitering rules. Instead my BFF and I toured downtown Savannah, checked out the waterfront and tourist commercial district, had lunch at a local restaurant and were on our way, arriving home in Florida in time to have dinner with family.
That’s two partial days in Georgia, far fewer than the 14 consecutive days the state allows. That’s also a nice morning touring Savannah with my best friend without being excessively paranoid about state rules.
In May 2026 I was travelling on my way to NC’s Outer Banks after having visited my BFF in Florida and returned for an afternoon and evening on my own in Savannah, this time this time working from a list of “top sights to see in Savannah.” Sights I saw: Savannah’s famous squares, Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters, City Market, and Forsyth Park. Notice again that I didn’t worry about either Georgia’s residency or presence rules. Had dinner at a downtown restaurant. Stayed overnight a local hotel before proceeding to South Carolina.
Atlanta
I have not traveled to Atlanta too much (except for NARSOL conferences) because, actually, I’m not fond of this city. I have an old friend whose family moved to Atlanta after we met in New Jersey in 6th grade. We remained friends and I visited him in Atlanta through my high school years and since.
Unfortunately my old friend is … hmmmm … “self oriented,” and
as a result he never cared at all about Atlanta except in so much as it had
something to do with him. Therefore I
never saw much of it except dirty streets, a crumbling downtown and expressways
– lots of them. And since then I’ve never been very interested in Atlanta.
On a visit to GA in April 2022 I entered Georgia from Tennessee in the morning, enjoying a beautiful mountain drive through Chattahoochee National Forest. I stopped to see De Soto Falls – very nice. Then I continued to Historic Dahlonega, which at that time I hadn’t been to for long time.
After a nice lunch in Dahlonega I continued on to Atlanta, where I visited the World of Coca Cola. That was a mistake. I was expecting an interesting factory tour like one finds at Pabst in Milwaukee, Jim Beam in Tennessee or Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, but no such luck. The World of Coca Cola sucks. It’s all advertising and no education. And it’s right next door to the Georgia Aquarium which I’m sure would’ve been a better bet. Oh well.
Afterward I had an
early supper at the Varsity, Atlanta’s culinary must stop. I only say that because my old friend took me
there in the 1970’s and said it was great.
These days it’s looking a little long in the tooth. Then it was southeast bound to the Lake
Sinclair, the southernmost campground in Oconee National Forest, the
southernmost national forest in Georgia. Very nice, secluded and has hot
showers. The next morning I made my way
southward toward Macon, I-75 and back to Florida.
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