Bottom line
This charge applies when a person drives on a Georgia public highway while unlicensed as required or while the driving privilege is suspended, disqualified, or revoked, except habitual violator revocations handled under a separate section.
O.C.G.A. section
40-5-121. Driving while license suspended or revoked.
Current statutory elements
- Driving a motor vehicle on a public highway of Georgia.
- No valid license as required by 40-5-20(a), or privilege suspended, disqualified, or revoked.
- Habitual violator revocation under 40-5-58 is treated separately by the statute.
Officer field notes
- Confirm status through GCIC/DMV return and document the source, status, and effective dates if available.
- Document actual driving on a public highway, not merely sitting in a vehicle.
- Check for service/notice issues and prior convictions where relevant to punishment.
Report articulation tips
- Quote the license return/status and include operator identifiers.
- Describe how you observed or established driving.
- Note any citation/arrest decision factors and whether HV status suggests a separate charge.
Related offenses / sections
- 40-5-20 license required
- 40-5-58 habitual violators
- 40-5-54 license suspension/revocation grounds
Statutory text reference
40-5-121. Driving while license suspended or revoked. Except when a license has been revoked under Code Section 40-5-58 as a habitual violator, any person who drives a motor vehicle on any public highway of this state without being licensed as required by subsection (a) of Code Section 40-5-20 or at a time when his or her privilege to so drive is suspended, disqualified, or revoked shall be guilty of a misdemeanor for a first conviction thereof and, upon a first conviction thereof or plea of nolo contendere within five years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained or a plea of nolo contendere is accepted, shall be fingerprinted and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than two days nor more than 12 months, and there may be imposed in addition thereto a fine of not less than $500.00 nor more than $1,000.00. Such fingerprints, taken upon conviction, shall be forwarded to the Georgia Crime Information Center where an identification number shall be assigned to the individual for the purpose of tracking any future violations by the same offender. For the second and third conviction within five years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained or pleas of nolo contendere were accepted to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained or a plea of nolo contendere is accepted, such person shall be guilty of a high and aggravated misdemeanor and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than ten days nor more than 12 months, and there may be imposed in addition thereto a fine of not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $2,500.00. For the fourth or subsequent conviction within five years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained or pleas of nolo contendere were accepted to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained or a plea of nolo contendere is accepted, such person shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than five years, and there may be imposed in addition theret
Source / verification note: Drafted from the Georgia Code public CIC/Lexis-linked source snapshot used for this audit. Verify court-sensitive decisions against the official Georgia Code and agency policy. Last reviewed: 2026-05-22.