I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.
WHO MAINTAINS ARREST RECORDS AND WHAT DO THEY INCLUDE?
Local police departments and the State Department of Justice keep arrest records. According to law, they cannot show them to anyone except law enforcement officers and may only show records of your convictions to certain licensing agencies which have a right by state law to investigate your criminal background.
The arrest record includes when and why you were arrested, whether the charges against you were dropped or whether you were convicted of the charges, and the subsequent sentence imposed. Both pleading guilty and being found guilty after a trial count as convictions.
If you are convicted of committing a misdemeanor, placed on probation and stay out of trouble, you are able to have the conviction removed from your record for such purposes as employment background checks after probation is over. If you are convicted of certain felonies and you successfully complete probation, you can have the felony reduced to a misdemeanor on your record. You must contact the probation officer in either instance to clear your record.
This process of removal is known as expungement.
There are also lots of companies who have cheap ways for you to check so you are prepared:
http://google.yahoo.com/bin/query?p=arrest+records+in+georgia&hc=0&hs=1
