Georgia ban-the-box rules: the 2015 executive order, Atlanta and recruiters

Georgia has no statewide ban-the-box law for private employers, as of October 2026: no Georgia statute restricts when a private company may ask about criminal history. The state rule is Governor Nathan Deal's executive order of February 23, 2015, which tells state government entities to adopt fair chance hiring policies. Local rules go further: Atlanta holds conviction questions for city jobs until after the second interview and bars private employers with ten or more employees from discriminating because of criminal history status, and South Fulton bars its contractors from asking before an interview.

Does Georgia have a ban-the-box law for private employers?

No. We found no Georgia statute that sets a stage of hiring before which a private employer may not ask about criminal history; our Georgia background check laws guide reached the same conclusion. What Georgia law does govern is how state records are released and used:

• A notice when a state record drives the decision. When an adverse employment decision rests on a criminal history record from the Georgia Crime Information Center, the employer must tell the applicant that a check was run, the specific contents of the record and how it affected the decision, under O.C.G.A. 35-3-34(b), as Georgia.gov's guidance explains.
• Records left out of employment checks. The state's employment releases exclude restricted arrest records, sealed records and successfully completed First Offender cases, among others.

So a private Georgia employer may ask about convictions on an application without breaking a state timing rule, but should not expect, or rely on, records the state has restricted or sealed.

What applies to Georgia state government jobs?

The February 23, 2015 order, which the Governor's archive lists as "Implementing 'Ban the Box' hiring policies," says "government entities of the State of Georgia shall implement a hiring policy intended to encourage the full participation of motivated and qualified persons with criminal histories in the workforce." The policy should establish practices that:

1. prohibit the use of a criminal record as an automatic bar to employment;
2. prevent the use of an application form that inappropriately excludes and discriminates against qualified applicants;
3. promote the accurate use and interpretation of a criminal record; and
4. give qualified applicants the opportunity to discuss inaccuracies, contest the content and relevance of a record, and provide information that demonstrates rehabilitation.

The order "shall not affect applications for sensitive governmental positions in which a criminal history would be an immediate disqualification," and initial disclosure is still required on those applications. Its recitals explain the goal as removing criminal history questions from the initial stage of the state application process. The order sets no specific stage, timeline or notice, and it does not reach private employers or state contractors. We found no later order rescinding it, but could not confirm its current status beyond that.

Which Georgia cities and counties have ban-the-box rules?

Atlanta: city jobs

Atlanta City Code sections 114-55 and 114-56 (Ordinance 2014-44, October 15, 2014) make it an unlawful practice for the city to ask about or require disclosure of convictions "during the application process" or "before and during the second interview." Once the applicant is deemed qualified, the city may inquire. If it then refuses, rescinds or revokes an offer because of the record, it must, within 30 days, notify the applicant and provide a copy of the results, "indicating the particular conviction(s) that relate(s) to the position's responsibilities."

Atlanta: private employers with ten or more employees

Atlanta's human relations code, Chapter 94, Article V, "Fair Private Employment," covers employers with ten or more employees, including anyone acting in an employer's interest, and employment agencies. Section 94-112 makes it unlawful to refuse to hire or otherwise discriminate because of "criminal history status," alongside the other protected grounds, and section 94-114 excludes positions where certain convictions are a bar to employment under state or federal law, including work with children and law enforcement. The article does not set a timing rule. The city's Human Relations Commission investigates complaints and makes recommendations, and a violation is not a crime.

South Fulton: city contractors

South Fulton City Code section 1-9005 (Ordinance 2019-004, January 22, 2019) applies to city contracts of $25,000 or more. Contractors "shall not inquire or consider the criminal convictions" of applicants needed to fulfill the contract "until the contractor interviews the applicant or determines that the applicant is qualified," and must make subcontractors comply. They may still run checks and ask on the application where a statute requires it, and may tell applicants which convictions disqualify. Each contractor files an affidavit with a copy of its application; a non-compliant bid is non-responsive, and a violation can be treated as a breach. Section 1-6008 sets a similar rule for the city's own hiring.

Macon-Bibb County: county jobs

Macon-Bibb County Code sections 18-3 to 18-5 (Ordinance O-15-0015, March 17, 2015) bar a criminal history box on county applications and any conviction inquiry before the first interview, then require notice and a copy of the results within 30 days of an adverse decision.

Other places we checked

A search of the Fulton County, Athens-Clarke County and Savannah codes on Municode turned up no comparable rule for private employers or contractors. We did not check DeKalb County, Augusta or Columbus.

Can Georgia cities pass their own rules?

We did not identify a Georgia statute that expressly preempts local fair chance rules, but we could not search the official code for this page. The local rules we found work through a city's own hiring, its contracts, or (in Atlanta) an anti-discrimination ordinance, rather than a general timing rule for every private employer. If a job is in a city not listed here, check that city's code.

When can you ask about criminal history in Georgia?

What federal rules still apply?

Title VII still applies to how a record is used, including its disparate impact provision in 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k). The EEOC rescinded its 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records on October 28, 2026, but a job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it and the nature of the job) is still the safe practice, and it is the most practical way to show an Atlanta decision did not turn on criminal history status alone. Reports from a screening company trigger the FCRA's disclosure, authorization and adverse action steps; see the FCRA background check process. Federal contractors also have the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, which bars requesting criminal history for contract-related positions before a conditional offer; see ban-the-box laws and interview questions.

Are any Georgia ban-the-box bills pending?

We did not identify a bill in the 2025–2026 General Assembly that would create a statewide timing rule for private employers. Check the Georgia General Assembly's site before relying on this.

What should recruiters and staffing agencies do in Georgia?

Atlanta's private employment article covers employment agencies directly, so an agency's own referrals in Atlanta must not turn on criminal history status. Agency licensing is a separate question, covered in staffing agency licensing in Georgia.

Questions to settle at intake

• Is the job in Atlanta, and does the client have ten or more employees?
• Is the role needed for a South Fulton contract of $25,000 or more? Who holds the affidavit and the approved application?
• Is the client a state entity, a city or a county with its own fair chance policy?
• Does a law bar people with certain convictions from this job (for example, child care or law enforcement)? Which one?
• Will the decision rest on a GCIC record? Who sends the O.C.G.A. 35-3-34 notice alongside the FCRA notices?

A short script

Candidate volunteers a record: "Thanks for telling me. Criminal history isn't part of my screen, so I won't note it. If the employer runs a check, that's a later step, and you'd see anything they rely on."

Atlanta client wants a "no felonies" rule: "Atlanta treats criminal history status as a protected ground for employers your size, except where a law bars certain convictions for the job. Is there such a law here? If not, let's review records case by case after the interview."

A Georgia checklist

1. Flag Atlanta roles, South Fulton contract roles and public-sector roles on the job order.
2. Hold criminal history questions until after the interview for South Fulton contract roles, and keep them out of recruiter screens generally.
3. Replace blanket exclusions with a written, job-related review; see our fair chance hiring policy template.
4. Keep volunteered information out of notes and submittals; see what not to write in interview notes.
5. For the full state checklist, see hiring employees in Georgia; for a neighbor, see Florida.

Georgia ban-the-box rules at a glance