Union County Booking Reports
Union County booking reports document every arrest and jail intake processed at the county jail in Blairsville, Georgia. The Union County Sheriff's Office handles all booking records and is the main contact for anyone looking for current inmate status or historical arrest data. Union County does not have a public online jail roster at this time, but the records are available through the Georgia Open Records Act. This page explains how to request booking information and what other resources are available.
Union County Quick Facts
Accessing Union County Jail Booking Records
The Union County Sheriff's Office in Blairsville is where to go when you need booking records or want to check on a current inmate. Call the office during business hours to ask about someone currently in custody. Staff can confirm basic custody status over the phone for recent bookings. For formal documentation, written records, or anything older, submit an Open Records request in writing.
Union County is a mountain county in north Georgia, and the sheriff's office handles both law enforcement and jail operations. Arrests made by county deputies, Blairsville Police, or Georgia State Patrol within the county all go through the same jail booking process. All of these bookings appear in the county's records system and are subject to Georgia's Open Records Act.
Georgia's Open Records Act at O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq. requires the sheriff's office to respond to written records requests within three business days. That response must include the records, an estimated date when they will be ready, or a written explanation if a record is being withheld. Most booking logs are not exempt, so they should be releasable in most cases. Include the person's full name and the approximate date of arrest when submitting your request to speed up the search.
Note: For people transferred to state custody after a conviction, the county jail no longer holds their record. Search the GDC database instead for state prison inmates.
What Is in a Union County Booking Report
Georgia law under O.C.G.A. § 42-4-7 specifies what the sheriff must record when someone is booked into county custody. This includes the person's full name, age, sex, race, the charge they were arrested on, the date they were booked, and the date they were released. The Union County Sheriff follows this standard for every booking at the Blairsville jail.
Beyond those required fields, a booking record from Union County may also show the arresting agency, whether a bond was set, the amount, and which court is handling the case. Booking photos are taken during intake. Georgia law under O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19 bars the sheriff from sharing those photos with commercial websites that charge a fee for removal. The law was passed specifically to stop mugshot sites from exploiting people arrested in Georgia. The Union County Sheriff is bound by this rule.
Being listed in a booking report does not mean someone has been found guilty. Many people in the system are pretrial detainees. The booking record is about the arrest, not the outcome of the case. If a case is later dismissed or results in an acquittal, the booking record at the jail still exists, though a record restriction under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 may limit what shows up in statewide criminal history queries.
Georgia Open Records Law and Booking Data
The Georgia Open Records Act is one of the broader state sunshine laws in the country. It covers records held by all public agencies, including the Union County Sheriff's Office. The public has the right to inspect and copy these records. You do not need to explain why you want them.
The law does carve out exemptions. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72, records linked to active criminal investigations, victim information in sensitive case types, and data that could harm an ongoing prosecution may be withheld. The sheriff must cite the specific exemption in writing if they are not releasing a record. In practice, most standard booking logs are publicly releasable. It is only when records touch on active or sensitive cases that the exemptions tend to apply.
The first 15 minutes of staff search time is free under the Open Records Act. After that, the office may charge the actual cost of retrieving and copying records. Copy charges are typically $0.25 per page, though the sheriff may set their own rates within the limits of the law. Ask about fees upfront when you submit your request so there are no surprises when you pick up the records.
State and Third-Party Resources for Union County Records
The Georgia Department of Corrections maintains a public-facing database for people serving state sentences. If someone arrested in Union County was later convicted and transferred to a GDC facility, search for them at the GDC offender query form. This is a free, name-based search. County jail and state prison records do not overlap, so you need to check both systems if you are unsure which applies.
For statewide criminal history data, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's GCIC system is the most comprehensive source. It covers arrests, charges, and case outcomes from law enforcement and courts across all 159 counties. Visit the GBI GCIC program page to learn how to request access. The GBI also publishes a detailed FAQ on criminal history record requests that walks through the steps.
VINE provides free inmate tracking for all Georgia county jails. Sign up at VINELink.com to receive automatic alerts when someone's custody status changes at the Union County Jail. You can choose to get alerts by phone, text, or email. The service is free and runs around the clock without requiring you to check in manually.
Georgia Sheriffs' Association jail statistics page covering county jail data statewide
The Georgia Sheriffs' Association publishes annual jail data and booking statistics that cover all 159 counties, including Union County.
First Offender Act and Record Restriction in Georgia
Georgia has two laws that can affect what appears in criminal records searches. The First Offender Act at O.C.G.A. § 42-8-60 allows a person with no prior convictions to complete a sentence without a formal conviction being entered. Once the terms are done, the case is discharged and sealed in GCIC. The original booking record at the Union County Jail still exists, but the conviction does not appear in public criminal history databases going forward.
Record restriction under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 applies when charges are dropped, someone is found not guilty, or a prosecutor declines to pursue the case. In those situations, the person can petition to have that arrest restricted in GCIC so it no longer appears in standard criminal history queries. This is handled through the courts, not through the sheriff's office. The booking record at the county jail remains, but what shows up when someone does a background search can change significantly. If you are trying to understand whether a specific arrest might qualify for restriction, speaking with a Georgia attorney who handles criminal records matters is a good first step. The Georgia Sheriffs' Association provides broader context on how these rules apply across the state's county jail system.
Nearby Counties
Union County is in the far north Georgia mountains and shares borders with five other counties. Each has its own sheriff's office and jail booking records.