Georgia earns a D- for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Low bar to forfeit: Prosecutors must prove by preponderance of the evidence that property is connected to a crime.
Innocent Owner Burden
Poor protections for the innocent: Third-party owners must prove their own innocence to recover seized property, and innocent owner claims are barred in cases involving a jointly owned vehicle.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: Up to 100% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement.
The letter grade reflects Georgia’s forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden, and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Note: Prosecutors need only meet their standard of proof—and owners can only prove their innocence—if owners make it to a judicial hearing. See flow chart.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in Georgia?*
*This process is only for property worth $25,000 or less. Property worth more requires more limited notice, may not require you to file a claim, and requires prosecutors to file a complaint within 60 days.
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $556 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | Georgia Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Unknown | $13,997,177 | $523,000 | $14,520,177 |
| 2001 | Unknown | $11,476,049 | $417,000 | $11,893,049 |
| 2002 | Unknown | $10,578,412 | $3,364,000 | $13,942,412 |
| 2003 | Unknown | $10,113,910 | $637,000 | $10,750,910 |
| 2004 | Unknown | $10,544,040 | $141,000 | $10,685,040 |
| 2005 | Unknown | $13,852,774 | $1,070,000 | $14,922,774 |
| 2006 | Unknown | $20,266,682 | $1,963,000 | $22,229,682 |
| 2007 | Unknown | $23,866,060 | $662,000 | $24,528,060 |
| 2008 | Unknown | $15,878,429 | $2,798,000 | $18,676,429 |
| 2009 | Unknown | $25,133,072 | $3,984,000 | $29,117,072 |
| 2010 | Unknown | $28,660,009 | $17,740,000 | $46,400,009 |
| 2011 | Unknown | $29,865,958 | $2,683,000 | $32,548,958 |
| 2012 | Unknown | $18,779,461 | $5,279,000 | $24,058,461 |
| 2013 | Unknown | $11,825,329 | $2,754,000 | $14,579,329 |
| 2014 | Unknown | $22,736,427 | $4,140,000 | $26,876,427 |
| 2015 | $7,453,819 | $16,504,155 | $2,923,000 | $26,880,974 |
| 2016 | $15,574,036 | $9,516,257 | $1,600,000 | $26,690,293 |
| 2017 | $15,494,962 | $7,816,731 | $4,590,000 | $27,901,693 |
| 2018 | $12,511,887 | $14,561,053 | $2,657,000 | $29,729,940 |
| 2019 | $24,409,493 | $11,703,818 | $1,085,000 | $37,198,311 |
| 2020 | $18,743,056 | $6,858,240 | $1,997,000 | $27,598,296 |
| 2021 | $18,019,918 | $5,717,710 | $436,000 | $24,173,628 |
| 2022 | $14,754,401 | $6,939,941 | $939,000 | $22,633,342 |
| 2023 | $11,238,251 | $5,639,143 | $1,439,000 | $18,316,394 |
| Totals | $138,199,823 | $352,830,837 | $65,821,000 | $556,851,660 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
Georgia does not prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using the federal equitable sharing program to circumvent state forfeiture law. Since 2000, Georgia agencies have generated nearly $419 million in equitable sharing proceeds from the departments of Justice and the Treasury. And on average from 2019 to 2023, more than 239 Georgia agencies, or an estimated 41% of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under Georgia Law: Key Facts
Median Value
unknown
Georgia does not report information necessary to calculate median forfeiture value.
Property Types
unknown
Georgia property type data were not used for this report.
Proceeding Types
unknown
Georgia does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Outlier Counties
From 2019 to 2023, four tiny rural Georgia counties along I-75—Butts, Crisp, Dooly, and Monroe—each forfeited at least 19 times as much per resident as the typical county.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
CStatewide Forfeiture Reports
FPenalties for Failure to File a Report
AAccounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
AAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
AFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
CFor full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Agency forfeiture reports with property-level data were obtained via public records requests to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia. All figures are in calendar years. Revenues for 2019–2023 represent the value of forfeited currency and property retained or destroyed as well as proceeds of forfeited property sold. Earlier years use a slightly different methodology that may result in differences over time. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Preponderance of the evidence.
Ga. Code Ann. § 9-16-17(a)(1).
Innocent owner burden: Owner. However, in cases involving a jointly owned vehicle, no innocent owner claim is allowed.
Ga. Code Ann. § 9-16-17(a)(2).
Financial incentive: Up to 100%.
Ga. Code Ann. § 9-16-19(f).
Process: Ga. Code Ann. §§ 9-16-1 et seq. (forfeiture procedure); id. § 9-11-4(c) (service of complaint).