While you are under sentence, your First Offender case will show up on your official criminal history report. If your First Offender status was revoked and you were convicted, the conviction will appear permanently on your record. If you successfully … Continue reading
If you are sentenced under Georgia’s First Offender Act and successfully complete your sentence, you will not have a conviction and the charge will be sealed from your official criminal history. ELIGIBILITY: You have never been convicted of a felony … Continue reading
Although the First Offender Act states that a discharged First Offender case “may not be used to disqualify a person in any application for employment or appointment to office in either the public or private sector,” Georgia courts have ruled … Continue reading
If you successfully completed your sentence and your case was discharged, you have not been convicted of the offense(s). If a potential employer asks only about convictions, you do not have to report the First Offender discharge. If the potential … Continue reading
Employers obtaining criminal history information from GCIC will generally not be able to see discharged First Offender cases, but there are exceptions. If you are applying for a job to work with children, the elderly, or the mentally ill, then … Continue reading
Many employers obtain criminal history records from private companies. If a private company reports your discharged First Offender case, contact the company and ask them not to provide information about the arrest and disposition on your criminal history report. They … Continue reading
When you successfully complete your sentence, your probation officer is required to recommend to the judge that the case be discharged under the First Offender Act. The judge is then required to sign an Order of Discharge and file it … Continue reading