Georgia
Georgia certifies peace officers through the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST), which decides discipline case by case. Since 2023 the State has extended criminal and civil immunity to officers whose force is justified under the arrest statute, set a statutory procedure for prosecutors’ Giglio lists, and revised the certification rules for sheriff candidates, and the POST Council has nearly doubled the basic academy.
At a glance
- Certifying body
- Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) (O.C.G.A. 35-8-3, 35-8-7)
- Statute
- Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Act, O.C.G.A. 35-8-1 et seq.: requirements in 35-8-8; employment-records exchange in 35-8-8.1; basic training in 35-8-9; discipline in 35-8-7.1; hearings in 35-8-7.2; Giglio list employment protections in 35-8-14; annual training in 35-8-21. Rules in Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. chapter 464. The copy of the Act on POST’s website predates the 2025 amendments in HB 288.
- Minimum standards
- At least 18; a U.S. citizen; a high school diploma or equivalent; no conviction of a crime punishable by state or federal prison, and not enough misdemeanors to show a pattern of disregard for the law; a GBI and FBI fingerprint check; good moral character; a physician’s exam; and an academy entrance exam (O.C.G.A. 35-8-8(a)). The basic course must be completed before using arrest powers (35-8-9). The POST Council sets academy hours by curriculum vote, not by statute or rule: 784 hours under the course approved September 23, 2025 (POST update).
- Decertification
- All grounds are discretionary. POST “shall have authority to refuse to grant a certificate ... or to discipline” on 11 grounds, including failing the standards, misleading or fraudulent statements, a felony conviction, a crime of moral turpitude, unprofessional conduct, bad moral character, and suspension or discharge by the employer for disciplinary reasons (35-8-7.1(a)). Sanctions include a public or private reprimand, suspension, limitation, revocation, and probation (35-8-7.1(b)); a private reprimand is disclosed only to the officer. The executive director “shall order the emergency suspension” of an officer arrested or indicted for a felony when that is in the public’s best interest (35-8-7.1(d)). Missing annual training also leads to emergency suspension (35-8-21(g)). Since May 12, 2025, no officer may be sanctioned solely for being on a Giglio list.
- Public decertification list
- No statutory list and no online lookup was found. The statute assumes a public certification status: 35-8-7.1(e)(3) refers to an officer’s “public status,” and the Act separates public from private reprimands. Employment records agencies file with POST are confidential except to the officer and hiring agencies (35-8-15). Records relating to Giglio lists are exempt from public disclosure (50-18-72(a)(4.1)).
- National Decertification Index
- None found in the POST Act or the POST pages reviewed. The chapter 464 rule text could not be checked from official sources on October 19, 2026.
- Continuing training
- 20 hours every calendar year (O.C.G.A. 35-8-21(a)). POST lists the required parts: 3 hours of firearms training covering requalification, deadly force, and de-escalation; 2 hours of community policing; 1 hour of gang awareness; and 1 hour of human trafficking (POST; Rules 464-5-.03.1 to .03.4). Missing the training means loss of arrest powers (35-8-21(d)) and emergency suspension (35-8-21(g)).
Changes, 2023 to 2026
Executive director may suspend officers who break POST probation
The POST Council approved a procedure under which “the Executive Director of POST now has the authority to Suspend the Certification of an Officer who is not in compliance with the conditions of their POST sanctioned probation.” The suspension lasts until the officer is back in compliance.
For officers: If you are on POST probation, missing a condition can lead to suspension until you comply.
Basic academy about doubled: 408 to 809 hours, then 784
In June 2024 the POST Council approved a curriculum update for the Basic Law Enforcement Training Course, “increasing the training hours to 809 hours from the 408 hours that had not seen a major curriculum update in 15 years.” On September 23, 2025, it voted a revised curriculum totaling 784 hours. POST did not state the date academies had to start using each curriculum.
For officers: Recruits now face an academy of about 784 hours, nearly twice the old length.
Giglio list procedure; no sanction solely for listing; sheriff candidate rules revised
Defines a “Giglio list” as a prosecutor’s list of officers “disqualified from trial testimony because of identified or alleged issues of credibility or bias” (35-8-2). New 15-18-33: a prosecutor who lists an officer must send written notice of the factual basis to the employer and POST. The officer or agency may ask for reconsideration within 30 days, and a denial must be in writing with reasons. The Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council must adopt policies that offices keeping lists follow, and prosecutors keep their disclosure duties. POST must review the factual basis. If discipline is not warranted, the matter is dismissed and the officer’s public status does not reflect it (35-8-7.1(e)). POST may not sanction an officer, and an agency may not take adverse employment action, solely because the officer is listed (35-8-7.1(e), 35-8-14). An agency may still act after its own finding by a preponderance of the evidence, or after POST discipline. Agencies must forward Giglio notices to POST within 30 days (35-8-8.1). “Records relating to Giglio lists” are exempt from public disclosure (50-18-72(a)(4.1)). The act also revised the sheriff qualification statute (15-16-1): a candidate must be a registered or certified peace officer not under revocation and file a POST attestation form. First responders, veterans, and current or former officers who are not certified must complete certification within six months after taking office, with extensions possible.
For officers: If a prosecutor lists you, you get written notice and 30 days to ask for reconsideration, and your agency cannot discipline you for the listing alone.
Immunity extended to force justified under the arrest statute
O.C.G.A. 16-3-24.2 gives immunity from criminal prosecution to a person who uses threats or force in line with the self-defense sections “or 17-4-20,” the statute on arrests and use of force by officers. Under 51-11-9, a person justified under those sections, including 17-4-20, “has no duty to retreat” and “shall not be held liable” in a civil action brought by the person force was used against. The criminal immunity does not apply if, in using deadly force, the person “utilizes a weapon the carrying or possession of which is unlawful.” The bill’s title states its purpose is immunity for officers whose force is justified; the enrolled text does not show which words were added.
For officers: Force justified under 17-4-20 can support an immunity claim in criminal and civil cases.
Pending rules
- Training rules, 464-5-.01 to .21: POST noticed proposed changes to its training rules. On June 24, 2026, the Council advanced two: merging parts of Rule 464-5-.19 into .09 and repealing .19, which drops the four-year degree requirement for academy directors, and adding the Uniform Law Enforcement Academy Rules to the training rules. A public hearing was set for July 22, 2026, written comments ran from August 5 to September 5, 2026, and the Council planned a final vote at its September meeting. Whether the rules were adopted could not be checked from official sources on October 19, 2026. POST notice June 24, 2026 update
The General Assembly’s 2025–2026 term has ended, so bills not passed are dead. The next session convenes in January 2027.
Checked and unchanged
- HB 288 left the discipline grounds and sanctions in O.C.G.A. 35-8-7.1(a) and (b) unchanged and restated the 35-8-8(a) qualifications, changing only “unit” to “agency.” The 20-hour annual training statute, 35-8-21, was last amended in 2013.
- POST Rules 464-5-.03.3 and .03.4 (human trafficking and gang awareness training) and Rule 464-1-.07 (“Data Gateway User Limitations”) exist, but their adoption dates could not be checked from official sources on October 19, 2026, so they are not counted. The same applies to other chapter 464 rule histories.
- Not counted as certification changes: HB 238 (2025), on an at-risk adult training course; HB 549 (2026), on repaying training costs when an officer changes employers, effective July 1, 2026; and the 2024–2025 specialty and instructor certification rules.
Last updated October 19, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “Georgia officer certification: Officer Certification Tracker,” uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/georgia (last updated October 19, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.