Open Records Toolkit
Georgia law gives you — any member of the public — the right to request records from the Department of Corrections and from county coroners. You don't need a lawyer, a reason, or even to live in Georgia. This toolkit gives you the exact wording to use and shows you how to file.
Records from the Department of Corrections
Pick a request below, copy the text, fill in the [BRACKETS], and file it on the GDC open-records portal.
Under the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.), I request copies of all incident reports (including Serious Incident Reports) generated at [FACILITY NAME] between [START DATE] and [END DATE]. Please provide the records electronically if possible. If any portion is claimed exempt, please cite the specific exemption and produce all non-exempt portions. If the cost will exceed $25, please send an itemized estimate before proceeding.
Tip: Keep it to ONE facility and a date range of about 3 months or less — a broad, all-facility or multi-year request drives the search-time fee up fast.
What to expect: GDC often redacts security details and anything tied to an active investigation. That is normal — ask them to produce the non-exempt portions and cite the exemption for the rest.
Under the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.), I request all use-of-force reports and related documentation at [FACILITY NAME] between [START DATE] and [END DATE], including any associated review or investigation records. Please cite any exemption claimed and produce all non-exempt portions, and send an itemized estimate if the cost will exceed $25.
Tip: One facility, a tight date window. If you know a specific incident date, name it.
What to expect: Video and active-investigation material are frequently withheld or redacted.
Under the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.), I request the authorized and filled correctional-officer positions (a staffing roster or vacancy report) for [FACILITY NAME] as of [DATE]. Names are not necessary — position counts, authorized strength, and vacancy numbers are sufficient. Please provide the records electronically.
Tip: Asking for counts (not names) keeps it cheap and avoids personnel-privacy objections.
What to expect: Individual officer identities may be withheld; aggregate counts should be releasable.
Under the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.), I request the current master menu and any meal-service, substitution, or nutrition records for [FACILITY NAME] for [MONTH, YEAR]. Please include the planned menu and any records of meals actually served or substituted.
Tip: One facility, one month. Ask for the master menu first — it is usually cheap and revealing.
What to expect: Vendor pricing may be redacted as trade secret; the menu itself should be releasable.
Under the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.), I request the most recent annual PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) report and the most recent PREA audit report for [FACILITY NAME].
Tip: These are periodic reports, so this stays inexpensive. Name one facility.
What to expect: Individual case details are exempt; the aggregate annual report and audit are public.
Under the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.), I request the disciplinary records and grievance records for [FULL NAME], GDC ID [NUMBER], for the period [START DATE] to [END DATE]. Please cite any exemption claimed and produce all non-exempt portions.
Tip: Include the GDC ID number — it prevents mismatches and delays.
What to expect: IMPORTANT: much of a person's own offender, medical, and disciplinary file is treated as exempt from a third-party open-records request. The incarcerated person themselves (or their attorney) often has a stronger path to their own records than an outside requester does.
- Go to the GDC open-records portal: https://georgiadcor.govqa.us/WEBAPP/_rs/
- Create a free account (you'll need an email address).
- Start a new records request and paste your request text into the description.
- Submit. GDC must respond within 3 business days, and will send a cost estimate if there are fees.
Records from a county coroner (deaths in custody)
When someone dies in a Georgia prison, the county coroner holds key records — the cause and manner of death, whether an autopsy was performed, and the investigative file. Send these to the coroner of the county where the death happened.
Pick the prison where the death happened — or the county directly — and we'll show you the coroner's office and a ready-to-send request.
We don't have this county's coroner listed yet. A web search for "[County] County Georgia coroner" usually finds the office and its email or mailing address — then use the request templates below.
Under the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.), I request the cause and manner of death recorded by your office for [FULL NAME], who died on or about [DATE] at [FACILITY NAME] in [COUNTY] County, Georgia, together with any GBI/DOFS medical examiner case number associated with the death, and a copy of the coroner's report of death if one exists. A reply by email is welcome — I do not need certified copies. If there is any copying fee, please let me know before proceeding.
Tip: This is the lightest possible ask — a solo county coroner can answer it in one email. The GBI/DOFS case number is the key detail: with it you can request the full autopsy report from the GBI Division of Forensic Sciences.
What to expect: Cause and manner of death are public. If the coroner deferred to the GBI and never determined a cause, they will tell you — that answer is itself worth having in writing.
Under the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.), I request a copy of the death certificate for [FULL NAME], who died on or about [DATE] at [FACILITY NAME] in [COUNTY] County, Georgia. If your office does not hold the certificate, please let me know which office does.
Tip: Send this to the coroner of the COUNTY where the death occurred (that is usually the county where the prison is located). The certificate carries the cause and manner of death and shows whether an autopsy was performed — but the printed certificate does NOT include the GBI case number. The coroner's own file usually has it, so ask the coroner for that number if you plan to request the autopsy from the GBI.
What to expect: The coroner's record of the death is releasable to anyone. CERTIFIED death certificates are different: Georgia releases those only to family members (O.C.G.A. § 31-10-26), through Vital Records or the Probate Court. If you are not family, ask for the coroner's report of death instead.
Under the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.), I request the coroner's investigative file, inquest records, and any reports concerning the death of [FULL NAME] on or about [DATE] in [COUNTY] County, Georgia. Please include the coroner's report of death and any correspondence with the GBI or the facility.
Tip: Small county coroner offices are often more responsive than the state. Be polite and specific with the name and date.
What to expect: Portions tied to an open criminal investigation may be withheld; the report of death and inquest records are typically releasable once the case is closed.
- Use the finder above. If your county isn't listed, a web search for "[County] County Georgia coroner" usually finds the office and its email or mailing address.
- Email or mail your request — a short, polite records request works best with small county offices.
- If the coroner points you to Vital Records for the death certificate, note that Georgia releases certified death certificates only to family members — but the coroner's own records of the death remain public records anyone can request.
When they say no — or say nothing
Most requests get answered. When one doesn't, the law gives you an escalation path. Work it in order:
- Silence past 3 business days. Reply to your own request (same thread, so the record is clean) noting the date you filed and that O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(b) required a response within three business days. Ask when you'll have the records. Most offices move at this point.
- A big fee quote. You're entitled to an itemized estimate, and you don't have to accept it — narrow the request instead (one facility, a shorter date range, "the summary report rather than the full file") and ask them to re-quote. The first 15 minutes of search time are always free.
- A denial. Ask the office to cite the specific exemption it is relying on (§ 50-18-72) in writing, and to produce all non-exempt portions of the records. Blanket denials rarely survive that letter.
- Still stonewalled. Any person can enforce the Act in superior court (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-73), and courts can award attorney's fees when an agency withheld records without substantial justification. For disputes with city and county offices, the Attorney General's open-government office also offers informal mediation; for a state agency like GDC — where the AG serves as the agency's own counsel — court enforcement is the effective lever.
- Either way, tell GPS. A denied or fee-walled request is evidence too — the pattern of stonewalling is itself part of the story. Send us what happened.
Got a response back? Send it to us — a produced record, a denial, a fee demand, or even silence. Every response helps document how the system answers the public. We review everything by hand and store it privately.