Georgia Code
Chapter 1 - General Provisions
§ 43-1-19. Refusal to Grant, Revocation, and Reinstatement of Licenses; Surrender; Probationary License

History. Code 1981, § 43-1-19 , enacted by Ga. L. 1984, p. 552, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 1965, § 2; Ga. L. 1993, p. 123, § 4; Ga. L. 1994, p. 97, § 43; Ga. L. 1996, p. 453, § 13; Ga. L. 1996, p. 776, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1997, p. 677, § 2; Ga. L. 1998, p. 1094, § 10; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 3; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1706, § 6; Ga. L. 2003, p. 422, § 1; Ga. L. 2009, p. 453, § 2-2/HB 228; Ga. L. 2015, p. 519, § 3-1/HB 328; Ga. L. 2016, p. 443, § 10-1/SB 367; Ga. L. 2016, p. 846, § 43/HB 737; Ga. L. 2018, p. 550, § 2-20/SB 407; Ga. L. 2019, p. 462, § 1-11/SB 214; Ga. L. 2021, p. 443, § 1/SB 114.
The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, added subsection (p).
The 2016 amendments. —
The first 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, near the beginning of paragraph (a)(3), near the middle of paragraph (a)(2), substituted “practiced” for “or practiced”; substituted “, paragraph (4) of this subsection, and subsection (q) of this Code section” for “, and paragraph (4) of this subsection” and near the end inserted “and subsection (q) of this Code section”; near the middle of paragraph (a)(5), substituted “board; had other” for “board; or had other” and substituted “board; was denied” for “board; or has denied”; near the beginning of paragraph (a)(6), substituted “that” for “, which conduct or practice”; near the middle substituted “title or is of a nature likely to jeopardize the interest of the public; such” for “title, or of a nature likely to jeopardize the interest of the public, which” and near the end substituted “. Such conduct or practice” for “; unprofessional conduct”; near the middle of paragraph (a)(8), substituted “without” for “(without”; substituted “punishable when such” for “punishable), which”, substituted “title and” for “title,” and substituted “violates” for “is violative of” and near the end of paragraph (a)(9) substituted “so long” for “as long”; near the end of paragraph (a)(10), substituted “illness or the” for “illness,” near the end of paragraph (a)(12), substituted “be issued or” for “issue or be”; near the end of paragraph (d)(3), substituted “such” for “’said”; near the end of subsection (e), deleted “probation” following “probation, which”; near the end of subsection (f), inserted ‘the term”; near the middle of subsection (j), substituted “such” for “said”; near the beginning of subsection (1), substituted “such” for “said” near the end of subsection (o), substituted “limits” for “limit” and inserted “so long as the requirements of subsection (q) of this Code section are met” at the end; near the middle of paragraph (p)(1), deleted “program,” following “court division” and inserted “a mental health court division as set forth in Code Section 15-1-16, a veterans court division as set forth in Code Section 15-1-17, an operating under the influence court division as set forth in Code Section 15-1-19, or a family treatment court division as set forth in Code Section 15-11-70,”; near the end of paragraph (p)(2), substituted “court division identified in paragraph (1) of this subsection” for “drug court division program”; and added subsection (q). The second 2016 amendment, effective May 3, 2016, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted “limits” for “limit” near the end of subsection (o).
The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, substituted the present provisions of paragraph (a)(4) for the former provisions, which read: “Been arrested, charged, and sentenced for the commission of any felony, or any crime involving moral turpitude, where:
“(A) First offender treatment without adjudication of guilt pursuant to the charge was granted; or
“(B) An adjudication of guilt or sentence was otherwise withheld or not entered on the charge, except with respect to a plea of nolo contendere.
“The order entered pursuant to the provisions of Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 42, relating to probation of first offenders, or other first offender treatment shall be conclusive evidence of arrest and sentencing for such crime;”; substituted the present provisions of paragraph (q)(1) for the former provisions, which read: “Notwithstanding paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (a) of this Code section or any other provision of law, no professional licensing board shall refuse to grant a license to an applicant therefor or shall revoke the license of a person licensed by that board due solely or in part to a conviction of any felony or due to any arrest, charge, and sentence for the commission of any felony unless such felony directly relates to the occupation for which the license is sought or held.”; in paragraph (q)(2), inserted “or crime involving moral turpitude” and substituted “such felony” for “the felony” throughout and substituted “individual” for “person” in subparagraph (q)(2)(B).
The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, added “or” at the end of paragraph (a)(10); substituted a period for “; or” at the end of paragraph (a)(11); and deleted former paragraph (a)(12), which read: “Failed to enter into satisfactory repayment status and is a borrower in default as defined by Code Section 20-3-295; it shall be incumbent upon the applicant or licensee to supply a notice of release to the board from the Georgia Higher Education Assistance Corporation indicating that the applicant or licensee has entered into satisfactory repayment status so that a license may be issued or granted if all other conditions for licensure are met.”
The 2021 amendment, effective May 4, 2021, deleted “or” at the end of subparagraph (q)(1)(E), substituted “; or” for a period at the end of subparagraph (q)(1)(F), and added subparagraph (q)(1)(G).
Code Commission notes.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1996, paragraph (d)(9) as added by Ga. L. 1996, p. 776, § 1, was redesignated as paragraph (d)(8).
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 16, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment to subsection (k) is applicable with respect to notices delivered on or after July 1, 2000.
Law reviews.
For article on the 2016 amendment of this Code section, see 33 Georgia St. U. L. Rev. 139 (2016).
For note, “Give It to Me, I’m Worth It: The Need to Amend Georgia’s Record Restriction Statute to Provide Ex-Offenders with a Second Chance in the Employment Sector,” see 52 Ga. L. Rev. 267 (2017).
For article on the 2018 amendment of this Code section, see 35 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 45 (2018).