Towns County Booking Reports Search

Towns County booking reports are kept by the Sheriff's Office in Hiawassee and are public records under Georgia's Open Records Act. These records show who has been booked into the Towns County Jail, the charges filed, and the dates of arrest and processing. If you need to check on someone's custody status or find a recent booking in Towns County, the sheriff's office in Hiawassee is the starting point.

How to Access Towns County Jail Records

The Towns County Sheriff's Office in Hiawassee maintains the jail docket for all local arrests. Each time someone is processed into the jail, staff record the name, date of birth, charges, and time of booking. The docket is a public document. You can visit the sheriff's office during normal business hours and ask to view it. No prior appointment is required for an in-person inspection of the log.

For records sent to you by mail or email, submit a written Open Records request to the Towns County Sheriff's Office. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq., the agency must respond within three business days. The first 15 minutes of search time is free. A fee may apply for time beyond that. Both mail and email requests are accepted. Send yours to the Open Records Officer at the Hiawassee office.

A booking records an arrest. It is not a conviction.

What Towns County Booking Records Contain

Georgia law defines what county jails must record for everyone in custody. Under O.C.G.A. § 42-4-7, the Towns County Sheriff must log each inmate's name, age, sex, race, charges, and the dates of booking and release. This requirement applies to all people held in the jail, no matter how long. The docket is a continuous public log that covers all people processed through the Towns County Jail in Hiawassee.

The record may also include bond amounts, release or transfer information, and the arresting agency. Booking photos may be part of some entries. Georgia limits how those photos are handled. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19, law enforcement agencies cannot share booking photos with commercial sites that charge for removal. The Towns County Sheriff's Office follows this rule.

Georgia Department of Corrections and Towns County

People convicted of crimes and sent to Georgia state prisons are not held in Towns County and will not appear in the county's local jail records. The Georgia Department of Corrections tracks state prisoners in a separate system. The county jail in Hiawassee and the GDC are independent systems. Local jail records cover people in county custody, while GDC tracks state-sentenced individuals.

Use the GDC offender search to find state inmates by name or GDC number. The GDC query form provides more search options. For certified state prison records, write to Inmate Records and Information, PO Box 1529, Forsyth, GA 31029. That process is completely separate from anything the Towns County Sheriff handles.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association reported 25,487 county jail inmates in January 2026, with 67.9% awaiting trial statewide. Monthly updates are at georgiasheriffs.org.

The GDC portal covers state prison records. Contact the Towns County Sheriff's Office in Hiawassee for local jail booking information.

GBI GCIC Criminal History in Towns County

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation operates the Georgia Crime Information Center. GCIC holds statewide criminal history records compiled from all Georgia counties and law enforcement agencies. GCIC goes beyond what a single jail docket contains. It can show a person's full arrest history, charges, and court outcomes from multiple counties over many years. If you need more than a single booking entry, GCIC is the appropriate resource.

Contact the GBI GCIC office at 3121 Panthersville Road, Decatur, GA 30034. Call 404-244-2639 for scheduling. Appointments are required for all visits. Check the GBI FAQ page to learn what to bring and how to book a time. This is a separate process from contacting the Towns County Sheriff's Office in Hiawassee.

Under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37, records in GCIC can be restricted for dismissed charges or cases ending in acquittal. Not all arrests remain publicly visible in the statewide database.

VINE and Open Records in Towns County

VINE — Victim Information and Notification Everyday — is a free service that sends alerts when an inmate's custody status changes. If someone is released from the Towns County Jail, transferred to another facility, or escapes, VINE sends a notification to registered users by call, text, or email. There is no need to check in with the jail manually. Register at VINELink.com for free or by phone. VINE covers all Georgia county jails including Towns County.

The Georgia Courts website is useful for following a case through the courts after a Towns County booking. Court records show charges formally filed, hearings, and case outcomes.

Georgia's Open Records Act — O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 — makes jail booking records public at the Towns County Sheriff's Office. Most data is available on request without special justification. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72, narrow exceptions allow records to be withheld in specific circumstances. Any denial must be explained in writing with the applicable exemption cited.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association publishes monthly jail data for all counties in Georgia, including Towns County's jail in Hiawassee.

Nearby Counties

Booking records for neighboring areas are held by each county's sheriff. Use these links to access records near Towns County.