Will I Have a Criminal Record?

Whenever an individual is arrested for any criminal offense, such as DUI, the arrest record is forwarded to the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC). GCIC, which is a division of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) www.gbi.georgia.gov, maintains Georgia’s computerized criminal history database that includes the fingerprint and criminal history information on anyone arrested in the state of Georgia. A DUI arrest is entered on an individual’s criminal history and on his or her driving record which is maintained by the Georgia Department of Driver’s Services (DDS) www.dds.ga.gov.

Once the DUI arrest is forwarded to GCIC and DDS, that arrest typically stays on an individual’s record with each agency indefinitely. When the DUI case is resolved, either by a conviction, dismissal or reduction of the charges, the final disposition is entered into the system and this disposition typically remains on an individual’s record with each agency indefinitely.

Many people hold the mistaken belief that a DUI arrest “drops off ” of their record after some period of time. Unfortunately, this is not the case.