2021 Georgia Code
Title 40 - Motor Vehicles and Traffic
Chapter 5 - Drivers' Licenses
Article 3 - Cancellation, Suspension, and Revocation of Licenses
§ 40-5-53. When Courts to Send Licenses and Reports of Convictions to Department; Destruction of License by Department; Issuance of New License Upon Satisfaction of Certain Requirements

1. Whenever any person is convicted of any offense for which this chapter makes mandatory the suspension of the license of such person by the department, the court in which such conviction is had shall require the surrender to it of any driver's license then held by the person so convicted and the court shall thereupon forward the same to the department, together with the uniform citation form authorized by Article 1 of Chapter 13 of this title, within ten days after the conviction. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the department shall destroy any suspended or revoked drivers' licenses, permits, or identification cards forwarded to it under this or any other provision of law. The department shall issue a new driver's license, permit, or identification card upon satisfaction of the applicable reinstatement requirement, including but not limited to the payment of the applicable reinstatement fee. No additional fee shall be required for the issuance of a replacement driver's license, permit, or identification card.
2. 1. Every court in each county of this state having jurisdiction over offenses committed under this chapter and Chapter 6 of this title or any other law of this state or ordinance adopted by a local authority regulating the operation of motor vehicles on highways shall forward to the department, within ten days after the conviction of any person in such court for a violation of any such law other than regulations governing speeding in a noncommercial motor vehicle for which no points are assigned under Code Section 40-5-57, standing, or parking, a uniform citation form authorized by Article 1 of Chapter 13 of this title. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, in satisfaction of the reporting requirement of this subsection, the courts of this state shall transmit the information contained on the uniform citation form by electronic means, using the electronic reporting method approved by the department. Subject to appropriations by the General Assembly, the department shall pay to the clerk of the court forwarding the required report 40› for each report transmitted electronically in a timely manner as required in this subsection; and notwithstanding any general or local law to the contrary, the clerk shall pay such fees over to the general fund of the city or county operating the court.
   2. Except as otherwise provided for in paragraphs (3) and (4) of this subsection, a report of any conviction received by the department two or more years after the date of final disposition shall be noted on a person's driving record and such conviction shall be made available in accordance with Code Sections 40-5-2 and 40-5-155. No such conviction shall result in the suspension of a driver's license as such term is defined in paragraph (17) of Code section 40-5-1, provided that the department determines that two or more years have elapsed since the date the driver's license was surrendered in accordance with the provisions set forth in subsection (e) of Code Section 40-5-61 and no new driver's license was subsequently issued.
   3. A report of any conviction for an offense covered under Code Section 40-5-54, or Code Sections 40-6-390.1 through 40-6-395, or violating a federal law or regulation or the law of any state or a valid municipal or county ordinance substantially conforming to any offense covered under Code Section 40-5-54 or Code Sections 40-6-390.1 through 40-6-395, regardless of the date such report of conviction is received by the department, shall be considered for purposes of revoking a driver's license in accordance with Code Section 40-5-58.
   4. Any report of any conviction, regardless of the date such report of conviction is received by the department, shall be considered for purposes of disqualifying a person's commercial driver's license, commercial driver instruction permit, or commercial driving privileges in accordance with Code Section 40-5-151.

(Ga. L. 1937, p. 322, art. 4, § 13; Ga. L. 1939, p. 135, § 12; Ga. L. 1968, p. 430, § 6; Code 1933, § 68B-304, enacted by Ga. L. 1975, p. 1008, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 40; Ga. L. 1986, p. 1002, § 9; Ga. L. 1987, p. 392, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 1913, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 2048, § 4; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1118, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2785, § 6; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1665, § 1; Ga. L. 1995, p. 917, § 2; Ga. L. 2000, p. 951, § 5-15; Ga. L. 2003, p. 580, § 1; Ga. L. 2004, p. 471, § 1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 17-12/HB 501; Ga. L. 2006, p. 449, § 5/HB 1253; Ga. L. 2010, p. 932, § 10/HB 396; Ga. L. 2016, p. 385, § 8/HB 806; Ga. L. 2017, p. 184, § 4/HB 136; Ga. L. 2021, p. 228, § 2/HB 534.)

The 2016 amendment, effective January 1, 2017, designated the existing provisions of subsection (b) as paragraph (b)(1), and added paragraphs (b)(2) through (b)(4).

The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, deleted "for a violation of Article 7 of this chapter" following "conviction" near the beginning of paragraph (b)(4).

The 2021 amendment, effective May 3, 2021, substituted "40-6-390.1" for "40-6-391" twice in paragraph (b)(3). See Editor's notes for applicability.

- Ga. L. 2021, p. 228, § 11/HB 534, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval and shall apply to all offenses committed on and after such date." This Act was approved by the Governor on May 3, 2021.

- For annual survey of local government law, see 38 Mercer L. Rev. 289 (1986).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Basis of jurisdiction and authority to declare driver habitual offender.

- Department's jurisdiction and authority to declare a driver a habitual offender does not depend on the court's compliance with ten-day notice requirements of O.C.G.A. § 40-5-53(b), but depends on the information contained within the department's files as provided by O.C.G.A. § 40-5-58(b). Hardison v. Orndorff, 173 Ga. App. 630, 327 S.E.2d 497 (1985).

- Failure of a court to transmit notice of a licensee's third DUI conviction to the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) within 10 days of the conviction's entry as required by O.C.G.A. § 40-5-53(b) did not invalidate the revocation of licensee's driver's license; the statute was meant to facilitate record keeping and the DDS's duty to act on a license revocation was based not on when the court acted but on when the department's records disclosed facts sufficient to revoke the license. Lokey v. Ga. Dep't of Driver Servs., 291 Ga. App. 856, 663 S.E.2d 283 (2008).

Under O.C.G.A. § 40-5-53(b), a court of conviction is required to transmit notification of applicable convictions to the Georgia Department of Driver Services within 10 days of the date of conviction, but a trial court's failure to timely transmit the records, which failure results in delayed revocation of an individual's license, does not affect the validity of the revocation or the calculation of the five-year period. Eason v. Dozier, 298 Ga. App. 65, 679 S.E.2d 89 (2009), cert. denied, No. S09C1605, 2009 Ga. LEXIS 794 (Ga. 2009).

- While the defendant's license may have been held by the Department of Corrections while the defendant was incarcerated, the defendant's five-year revocation period may not be reduced by that time because the defendant had not been declared a habitual violator by the Department of Driver Services. Eason v. Dozier, 298 Ga. App. 65, 679 S.E.2d 89 (2009), cert. denied, No. S09C1605, 2009 Ga. LEXIS 794 (Ga. 2009).

- Import of O.C.G.A. § 40-5-53 is that the court shall forward the report to the department through the department's agent, the clerk, and that the court forwarding the report shall receive the fee from the department through the department's agent, the clerk. Hence, the fees properly must go into the city treasury. Young v. Lockhart, 255 Ga. 55, 334 S.E.2d 856 (1985).

Clerk of the court is not authorized to retain fees paid by the department. 1979 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U79-21.

- Upon receipt of report of conviction, i.e., finding of guilt or entry of plea of guilty, or plea of nolo contendere, the Department of Public Safety should administratively handle the report as the department would any other report of conviction notwithstanding the fact that the defendant was able to lessen any harsh criminal consequences of defendant's actions by availing oneself of first-offender treatment. 1982 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 82-64.

Once the Department of Public Safety is in receipt of a report of "an accepted plea of nolo contendere" it should administratively handle the nolo contendere plea as provided for in O.C.G.A. T. 40, Ch. 5 without regard to whether a fine was or was not imposed by the trial court. 1982 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 82-64.

- Because a citation serves as the formal accusation against a convicted driver, local jurisdictions may transmit traffic ticket information electronically to the Department of Public Safety but not as a substitute for sending the citation copy. The uniform traffic citation must also be forwarded to the department. 1991 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U91-2.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 7A Am. Jur. 2d, Automobiles and Highway Traffic, § 141 et seq.