How long does the prosecutor have to file DUI charges in Georgia?

Answer:
Prosecutors in Georgia have two years from the date of arrest to formally file DUI charges. If you’ve been arrested but not yet formally charged, give us a call and let us help.

The Two-Year Clock Under Georgia Law

Georgia sets a real deadline for prosecuting most crimes, and DUI is no exception. Under O.C.G.A. § 17-3-1(d), prosecution of a misdemeanor — which covers most DUI charges — must be commenced within two years. Miss that window, and the case can be barred entirely, regardless of how strong the evidence is.

When the Clock Actually Starts Running

Legally, the two-year period is measured from the date the offense was committed, not necessarily the date of arrest. In most DUI stops those two dates are the same day, so the distinction rarely matters in practice. But in cases involving a later investigation — an accident where charges follow weeks after the crash, for example — the offense date and the eventual arrest date can be different, and it’s the offense date the statute actually counts from.

What “Filing” Actually Means

The deadline isn’t satisfied just because an officer tells you charges are coming, or even issues a citation. Georgia courts have held that prosecution formally commences when the accusation or citation is actually filed with the clerk of the trial court — and if that filing happens after the two-year window closes, the charge is untimely. See Spackman v. State, 376 Ga. App. 176 (2025). That case-specific detail — what was actually filed, and when — can matter enormously to whether a charge is still valid.

Felony DUI Has a Longer Window

Not every DUI is a misdemeanor. When a DUI involves serious injury, a fatality, or is a person’s fourth DUI within ten years, it can be charged as a felony, and Georgia’s general felony statute of limitations of four years applies instead of the two-year misdemeanor window. That’s a meaningfully longer period for the state to work with.

A Related but Separate Right: Demanding a Speedy Trial

Once you have been formally charged, a different right comes into play: Georgia law allows a defendant to file a statutory demand for speedy trial, which forces the state to try the case within a specific window of court terms or risk losing it. That’s a distinct tool from the statute of limitations discussed above — one governs whether the state can charge you at all, the other governs how quickly they have to actually take a filed case to trial.

What to Do Next

If you’ve been arrested but not yet formally charged, give us a call and let us help.

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