Yes, the state of Georgia requires mugshots for individuals facing felony charges

Former president Donald Trump was indicted on 13 charges related to his attempt to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. It’s his fourth indictment this year.

THE QUESTION

Does Georgia require mugshots for individuals facing felony charges?

THE SOURCES

THE ANSWER

Yes, Georgia does require mugshots for individuals facing felony charges, unless photo equipment isn’t available or there are similar, recent photos already on file.

WHAT WE FOUND

Former president Donald Trump is charged with violating the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which is a felony offense according to Georgia state code.

Georgia state code requires state law enforcement agents take full-face and profile photographs of each person arrested or taken into custody for a felony offense, unless photo equipment isn’t available or if there are recent, similar photos already on file.

During an Aug. 1 news conference, almost two weeks prior to Trump’s Georgia indictment, Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat was asked if a mugshot would be taken in the event that Trump was indicted.

“Unless someone tells me differently, we are following our normal practices, and so it doesn't matter your status,” Labat said. “We'll have mugshots ready for you.”

Individuals placed under arrest by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office are first taken to the county’s main jail, where they are photographed as part of the jail’s standard arrival procedure.

“At this point, based on guidance received from the district attorney’s office and presiding judge, it is expected that all 19 defendants named in the indictment will be booked at the Rice Street Jail,” the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said in an Aug. 15 statement shared with VERIFY.

The statement noted that circumstances may change with little or no warning “due to the unprecedented nature of this case.” WXIA has reported that exceptions to the requirement that defendants be booked at the county jail have previously been made to “high-profile cases.”

Georgia state code does prohibit the arresting law enforcement agency from posting booking photographs, another term for mugshots, onto a website. However, it still allows for anyone to request a booking photograph, so long as they don’t post it to a website that requires a fee be paid before the photo is taken down. The Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division notes that a mugshot can be published in “news, commentary or advertisement by a newspaper, periodical, radio station or network, or television station or network.”

So if the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office does take Trump’s mugshot, it would not likely be posted to its own website.

Officials responsible for booking Trump in his other criminal indictments have opted not to take the former president’s mugshot, and have not given a public reason for their decisions. However, news reports have suggested that some law enforcement agencies may determine mugshots to be unnecessary given that Trump is well-known, easily identifiable and has photographs widely available to the public.

Booking photos are not required in New York state.

VERIFY partner station WXIA contributed to this report.