Georgia Disorderly Conduct and Criminal Trespass Laws (2026)

Georgia makes disorderly conduct a misdemeanor under O.C.G.A. 16-11-39, which covers violent or tumultuous acts that put another person in reasonable fear for their safety or put their property in danger, fighting words, and obscene or profane language directed at a child under 14. Criminal trespass under O.C.G.A. 16-7-21 is also a misdemeanor and has no degrees; under O.C.G.A. 17-10-3(a)(1), a Georgia misdemeanor carries up to 12 months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

Felony exposure comes from separate statutes, including criminal trespass involving a wild animal in the first degree (1 to 10 years, created by Act 499 of 2024 (HB 827)), burglary under O.C.G.A. 16-7-1, a terroristic threat that suggested the death of the threatened person (O.C.G.A. 16-11-37), and a third or later violation of the Capitol disruption statute, O.C.G.A. 16-11-34.1. Two 2026 acts in force since July 1, 2026 raised the penalty for obstructing a highway or street and extended the funeral-disruption statute to religious services. For other states, see our guide to disorderly conduct and trespass laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-18. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Georgia's state criminal statutes on disorderly conduct (O.C.G.A. 16-11-39), the related public-order offenses in Article 2 of Chapter 11 of Title 16, school and campus disruption, and criminal trespass (O.C.G.A. 16-7-21, 16-7-21.1, the wild-animal trespass offense and the hunting and state-land provisions in Titles 12 and 27). It does not cover local noise ordinances and quiet hours (see Georgia noise ordinance laws), the civil procedure for removing squatters (see Georgia squatters' rights), use of force against an intruder (see Georgia self-defense laws), city and county ordinances, civil trespass lawsuits, or federal property rules.

What counts as disorderly conduct in Georgia: O.C.G.A. 16-11-39

Georgia's disorderly conduct statute lists four acts, and committing any one of them is the offense. Subsection (a) reads:

"A person commits the offense of disorderly conduct when such person commits any of the following: (1) Acts in a violent or tumultuous manner toward another person whereby such person is placed in reasonable fear of the safety of such person's life, limb, or health; (2) Acts in a violent or tumultuous manner toward another person whereby the property of such person is placed in danger of being damaged or destroyed; (3) Without provocation, uses to or of another person in such other person's presence, opprobrious or abusive words which by their very utterance tend to incite to an immediate breach of the peace, that is to say, words which as a matter of common knowledge and under ordinary circumstances will, when used to or of another person in such other person's presence, naturally tend to provoke violent resentment, that is, words commonly called 'fighting words'; or (4) Without provocation, uses obscene and vulgar or profane language in the presence of or by telephone to a person under the age of 14 years which threatens an immediate breach of the peace." (O.C.G.A. 16-11-39(a))

In plain words, the four forms are:

• Violence toward a person, (a)(1). Acting violently or tumultuously toward someone so that they are in reasonable fear for their life, limb or health.
• Violence toward property, (a)(2). Acting violently or tumultuously toward someone so that their property is in danger of being damaged or destroyed.
• Fighting words, (a)(3). Using abusive words, without provocation, to or about a person in that person's presence, of the kind that would naturally provoke violent resentment.
• Obscene language to a child, (a)(4). Using obscene and vulgar or profane language, without provocation, in the presence of or by telephone to a person under 14, when it threatens an immediate breach of the peace.

The section has no public-place element; the conduct is defined by how it affects another person. It does not use a mental-state word such as "knowingly" or "intentionally," but both language clauses apply only to words used "without provocation," and the child clause also requires language that "threatens an immediate breach of the peace."

Is loud noise disorderly conduct in Georgia?

Section 16-11-39 has no noise clause. None of its four forms is framed around noise; they address violent or tumultuous acts, fighting words and language toward a child. For noise rules and quiet hours, see our Georgia noise ordinance laws page. Two other state statutes mention loud conduct in narrower settings: the public drunkenness statute (16-11-41) counts "loud" language as one sign of intoxication, and the religious service and funeral statute (16-11-34.2) reaches amplified or loud disruption near a service, both covered below.

The penalty for disorderly conduct

Subsection (b) makes every form a misdemeanor: "Any person who commits the offense of disorderly conduct shall be guilty of a misdemeanor." Georgia's general misdemeanor sentencing section, O.C.G.A. 17-10-3(a)(1), sets the punishment "except as otherwise provided by law" as a fine not to exceed $1,000, confinement for a total term not to exceed 12 months, or both.

Section 16-11-39 has no warning-first tier, no repeat-offense tier and no felony form.

Cities and counties can add their own rules

Subsection (c) provides that the section "shall not be deemed or construed to affect or limit the powers of counties or municipal corporations to adopt ordinances or resolutions prohibiting disorderly conduct within their respective limits." The loitering, public drunkenness and meeting-disruption sections carry similar savings clauses (16-11-36(d), 16-11-41(b), 16-11-34(b)), so a local ordinance can apply alongside the state offenses.

How the courts have read the statute

In Freeman v. State, 302 Ga. 181 (2017), the Supreme Court of Georgia construed subsection (a)(1), the violent-or-tumultuous-acts clause. It held that, when the charged act is expression, (a)(1) reaches only fighting words or a true threat, and it reversed a conviction for silently raising a middle finger during a church service:

"Because there was no showing here that Freeman's act of silently raising his middle finger from the back of the church during the church service constituted 'fighting words' or a 'true threat' that would amount to a tumultuous act, his conviction for disorderly conduct under OCGA § 16-11-39 (a) (1) cannot stand."

The court also rejected the challenge that the clause was unconstitutionally vague or overbroad on its face, concluding that "when properly construed, OCGA § 16-11-39 (a) (1) does not reach any, let alone a substantial amount of, constitutionally protected conduct." Freeman addressed (a)(1) only; it did not construe the fighting-words clause or the other subsections.

Earlier, in Gooding v. Wilson, 405 U.S. 518 (1972), the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with the lower federal court that a prior Georgia statute, which punished anyone who "shall, without provocation, use to or of another, and in his presence ... opprobrious words or abusive language, tending to cause a breach of the peace," was invalid on its face, concluding that the statute, "as construed, does not define the standard of responsibility with requisite narrow specificity." That case concerned the older statute, not the present section 16-11-39, whose subsection (a)(3) is limited by its own text to "fighting words."

Other public-order offenses in Georgia

The disorderly conduct section sits in Article 2 of Chapter 11 of Title 16, "offenses against public order." These are the neighboring offenses most often charged alongside it or in its place. Unless noted, each is a misdemeanor punished under 17-10-3(a)(1): up to 12 months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

Riot, inciting to riot, affray and unlawful assembly

• Riot, 16-11-30. "Any two or more persons who shall do an unlawful act of violence or any other act in a violent and tumultuous manner commit the offense of riot." Misdemeanor.
• Inciting to riot, 16-11-31. Acting with intent to riot to urge, counsel or advise others to riot, "at a time and place and under circumstances which produce a clear and present danger of a riot." Misdemeanor.
• Affray, 16-11-32. "The fighting by two or more persons in some public place to the disturbance of the public tranquility." Misdemeanor. A one-sided attack is handled by the assault and battery statutes; see Georgia assault and battery laws.
• Unlawful assembly, 16-11-33. Knowingly participating in (1) an assembly of two or more people to commit an unlawful act and failing to withdraw when lawfully commanded by a peace officer, before anyone in the group has injured a person or property, or (2) an assembly of two or more people, without authority of law, to do violence to someone believed to have broken the law or to exercise "correctional or regulative powers over any person by violence." For the second form, the statute provides that "it shall be an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this paragraph that the accused withdrew from the assembly on being lawfully commanded to do so by a peace officer or before any member of the assembly had inflicted injury to the person or property of another." Misdemeanor.

Public drunkenness and loitering or prowling

• Public drunkenness, 16-11-41. A person commits the offense by being "in an intoxicated condition in any public place or within the curtilage of any private residence not his own other than by invitation of the owner or lawful occupant, which condition is made manifest by boisterousness, by indecent condition or act, or by vulgar, profane, loud, or unbecoming language." The intoxication must be made manifest by one of those listed signs. Misdemeanor. Separately, O.C.G.A. 12-3-10(m) makes it unlawful "for any intoxicated person to enter or remain on any park, historic site, or recreational area."
• Loitering or prowling, 16-11-36. Being "in a place at a time or in a manner not usual for law-abiding individuals under circumstances that warrant a justifiable and reasonable alarm or immediate concern for the safety of persons or property in the vicinity." Flight on seeing an officer, refusing to identify oneself, or trying to conceal oneself or an object may be considered. Before an arrest, unless flight or other circumstances make it impracticable, the officer "shall ... afford the person an opportunity to dispel any alarm or immediate concern" by asking the person to identify themselves and explain their presence and conduct. The statute adds: "No person shall be convicted of an offense under this Code section if the law enforcement officer failed to comply with the foregoing procedure or if it appears at trial that the explanation given by the person was true and would have dispelled the alarm or immediate concern." Misdemeanor.

Terroristic threats and disorderly houses

• Terroristic threats, 16-11-37. Threatening to commit a crime of violence, release a hazardous substance, or burn or damage property, with the purpose of terrorizing another, causing an evacuation or otherwise causing serious public inconvenience, or in reckless disregard of that risk. A threat is punished as a misdemeanor, but if it "suggested the death of the threatened individual" it is a felony punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, 1 to 5 years, or both. No one may be convicted "on the uncorroborated testimony of the party to whom the threat is communicated." A threat or act made to retaliate against or intimidate a person for attending a judicial or administrative proceeding as a witness, party, attorney, judge or court official, or for giving law enforcement, a prosecutor or a judge information about an offense, is punished by a fine of not less than $50,000, 5 to 20 years, or both (16-11-37(e)). The same section covers terroristic acts, which carry higher felony ranges.
• Maintaining a disorderly house, 16-11-44. Keeping "a common, ill-governed, and disorderly house, to the encouragement of gaming, drinking, or other misbehavior, or to the common disturbance of the neighborhood or orderly citizens." Misdemeanor.

Disrupting meetings, religious services, funerals and the Capitol

• Meetings, gatherings and processions, 16-11-34. "A person who recklessly or knowingly commits any act which may reasonably be expected to prevent or disrupt a lawful meeting, gathering, or procession is guilty of a misdemeanor."

• Religious services, funerals and memorial services, 16-11-34.2. Since July 1, 2026, under Act 626 of 2026 (SB 591), the section makes it unlawful "to engage in any disorderly or disruptive conduct with the intent to impede, disrupt, disturb, or interfere with the orderly conduct of any religious service, funeral, or memorial service," including activities inside and outside the place where it is held. Before that date the section covered funerals and memorial services only. A "religious service" is "any public assembly of persons for worship, religious observance, or other religious purpose." The statute lists four acts that count:

  1. Displaying visual images that convey fighting words or actual or imminent threats of harm directed at people or property associated with the service, within 500 feet of the location, from one hour before to one hour after the posted time.
  2. Uttering loud, threatening or abusive language, or singing, chanting, whistling or yelling with or without amplification (the statute names bullhorns, automobile horns and microphones), such as would tend to disrupt the service, within 500 feet.
  3. Blocking or attempting to block pedestrian or vehicle access to the location, from one hour before to one hour after the posted time.
  4. Conducting a public assembly, parade, demonstration or similar event, fixed or moving, within 500 feet of the location, from one hour before to one hour after the posted time.

  A violation is a misdemeanor, but disruption "at a funeral or memorial service of an individual receiving military funeral honors" is an "aggravated misdemeanor." Subsection (d) states that label without stating a range for it.

• The General Assembly and the state Capitol, 16-11-34.1. This section reaches acts that may reasonably be expected to disrupt a session or meeting of the Senate, the House, a joint session or a legislative committee, commission or caucus; entering the Capitol or legislative office buildings with a firearm, knife or other listed weapon unless an exemption applies; obstructing a street, sidewalk, hallway, office or passageway in the Capitol Square area; entering the chamber floors or galleries without authorization; and entering, remaining, parading, demonstrating or picketing in those buildings "with intent to disrupt the orderly conduct of official business or to utter loud, threatening, or abusive language or engage in any disorderly or disruptive conduct." It carries a repeat-offense ladder: a first violation is a misdemeanor, a second is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature, and a third or later violation is a felony punishable by 1 to 3 years in prison (16-11-34.1(h)).

Schools and campuses

• Refusing to leave a campus or school facility, 16-11-35. The chief administrative officer of a University System unit or public school, or a designee, may direct a person to leave when it reasonably appears the person is committing, or entered to commit, an act likely to interfere with the peaceful conduct of activities there. It applies only to people who are not students, officers or employees there and are not required by their job to be present. A person who fails to leave when directed "shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature."
• Disrupting a public school, school bus or bus stop, O.C.G.A. 20-2-1181. "It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly disrupt or interfere with the operation of any public school, public school bus, or public school bus stop as designated by local boards of education." Since April 28, 2025 (Act 17 of 2025 (HB 268)), a person who threatened "the death of or serious injury to a group of individuals who are, or will likely be, at or within a public school, public school bus, or public school bus stop" is considered to have disrupted it. Except as subsection (b) provides, a violation is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.
• Remaining in a school safety zone, O.C.G.A. 20-2-1180. At any public or private school, a person in the school safety zone (defined in 16-11-127.1) who willfully fails to leave after the principal or a designee asks, or a visitor who fails to check in at the designated location on entering a school building during the school day, as subsection (c) requires and subject to its listed exceptions, is guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature. Signs at the entrances requiring check-in are prima facie evidence of notice of the check-in requirement.

A misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature is punished under O.C.G.A. 17-10-4(a) by a fine not to exceed $5,000, confinement for a term not to exceed 12 months, or both.

Obstructing highways, streets and sidewalks

O.C.G.A. 16-11-43 applies to a person who, without authority of law, purposely or recklessly obstructs a highway, street, sidewalk or other public passage "in such a way as to render it impassable without unreasonable inconvenience or hazard" and "fails or refuses to remove the obstruction after receiving a reasonable official request or the order of a peace officer." Both elements are needed: the obstruction and the refusal to clear it after a request or order.

Act 512 of 2026 (SB 443), in force since July 1, 2026, split the penalty. Obstructing a highway or street is now a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature (up to $5,000, 12 months, or both), and the person "may be held civilly liable for damages" resulting from the offense. Obstructing a sidewalk or other public passage remains a standard misdemeanor. Before July 1, 2026, the section made obstruction of any of these places a misdemeanor.

A neighboring section, O.C.G.A. 16-11-43.1, makes knowingly promoting or organizing an exhibition of illegal drag racing (in violation of 40-6-186) or of laying drags (40-6-251) a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature. Since July 1, 2024 (Act 513 of 2024 (SB 10)), a person who is knowingly present and actively facilitating such an exhibition commits a misdemeanor punished by a fine of not less than $250; the section provides that active facilitation may be evidenced by using a vehicle to block the part of the roadway closest to the participants.

Separately, O.C.G.A. 16-7-24(b) makes it an offense to forcibly interfere with or obstruct "the passage into or from government property," punished "as for a misdemeanor."

Wearing a mask to conceal identity

Under O.C.G.A. 16-11-38(a), a person is guilty of a misdemeanor when they wear a mask, hood or device that covers part of the face so as to conceal their identity, are on a public way or public property, or on another's private property without the owner's or occupier's written permission, and intend to conceal their identity. All three elements must be present. Subsection (b) provides that no one violates the section by wearing a traditional holiday costume on the holiday, a mask for safety or by the nature of a lawful trade, job or sport, a mask in a theatrical production (including Mardi gras celebrations and masquerade balls), a gas mask in an emergency or drill, or a mask worn to follow health-care guidance against infectious disease.

Public camping

Title 16's public-order article and its criminal trespass part contain no statewide public-camping offense. In 2023 the General Assembly enacted O.C.G.A. 36-60-30 (SB 62), which addresses county and city policies that prohibit or discourage enforcement of local ordinances against unauthorized public camping, sleeping or obstruction of sidewalks.

Criminal trespass in Georgia: O.C.G.A. 16-7-21

Georgia has one criminal trespass offense, with no degrees. Every form in section 16-7-21 is a misdemeanor: "A person who commits the offense of criminal trespass shall be guilty of a misdemeanor" (16-7-21(d)), punished under 17-10-3(a)(1) by up to 12 months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. The section has no repeat-offense tier. Felony exposure for unauthorized entry comes from other statutes, such as the wild-animal trespass offense and burglary, both below.

Subsection (b) defines the three entry forms. A person commits criminal trespass when they "knowingly and without authority":

"(1) Enters upon the land or premises of another person or into any part of any vehicle, railroad car, aircraft, or watercraft of another person for an unlawful purpose; (2) Enters upon the land or premises of another person or into any part of any vehicle, railroad car, aircraft, or watercraft of another person after receiving, prior to such entry, notice from the owner, rightful occupant, or, upon proper identification, an authorized representative of the owner or rightful occupant that such entry is forbidden; or (3) Remains upon the land or premises of another person or within the vehicle, railroad car, aircraft, or watercraft of another person after receiving notice from the owner, rightful occupant, or, upon proper identification, an authorized representative of the owner or rightful occupant to depart." (O.C.G.A. 16-7-21(b))

When an owner or store tells you to leave or not to come back

Two of the three entry forms turn on notice:

• Told to leave. Under (b)(3), remaining on the land or premises, or in the vehicle, railroad car, aircraft or watercraft, after receiving notice to depart from the owner, the rightful occupant, or an authorized representative who has properly identified themselves is criminal trespass.
• Told not to come back. Under (b)(2), entering after receiving notice, before the entry, that entry is forbidden is criminal trespass. The notice must come from the same people: the owner, the rightful occupant, or an authorized representative "upon proper identification."
• A minor's invitation. Under (c), permission or an invitation from a minor, present or not, does not allow lawful entry onto property owned or occupied by the minor's parent or guardian if the parent or guardian has already given notice that entry is forbidden or notice to depart.

The first form, (b)(1), needs no notice at all: entering another's land, premises, vehicle, railroad car, aircraft or watercraft "for an unlawful purpose" is criminal trespass on its own terms.

At a school, refusing to leave when directed is a separate high and aggravated misdemeanor under 16-11-35 (public schools and University System campuses) and 20-2-1180 (school safety zones of public and private schools), both described above.

What counts as notice, and is there a purple paint law?

Notice under section 16-7-21 is communication from a person: the owner, the rightful occupant, or an authorized representative upon proper identification. The section contains no sign, fence, posting or paint-mark provision. Georgia has no purple paint law: neither the criminal trespass section, the unlawful squatting section (16-7-21.1), nor the hunting and state-land provisions (27-3-1, 27-1-33, 12-3-10) set a paint-mark rule.

The hunting statute is the one place the word "posted" matters. Under O.C.G.A. 27-3-1(b), if land "is posted" and the owner or lessee "has informed a law enforcement agency that permission to hunt upon the land must be in writing," the permission must be in writing and carried by the hunter. The section does not say what a posting must look like.

Damage, interference and memorial defacement

Section 16-7-21 also covers conduct that involves no entry:

• Minor property damage, (a). Intentionally damaging another's property without consent when "the damage thereto is $500.00 or less."
• Interference, (a). Knowingly and maliciously interfering "with the possession or use of the property of another person without consent of that person."
• Military memorials, (e). Intentionally defacing, mutilating or defiling "any grave marker, monument, or memorial to one or more deceased persons who served in the military service of this state" is also criminal trespass.

Each is the same misdemeanor. Intentional damage above $500 is criminal damage to property in the second degree, a felony punishable by 1 to 5 years (16-7-23). Vandalism to a place of worship is a felony of 1 to 5 years (16-7-26), and since a 2023 amendment (HB 227), knowingly interfering by force, violence or electronic means with critical infrastructure or a vital public service is criminal damage to property in the first degree, 2 to 20 years (16-7-22). Damaging or interfering with public utility property is a misdemeanor (16-7-25), and interference with government property is covered by 16-7-24.

Hunting, fishing and state lands

• Hunting without permission, 27-3-1. "It shall be unlawful for any person to hunt upon the lands of another or enter upon the lands of another in pursuit of wildlife, with or without a license, without first obtaining permission from the landowner or lessee of such land or the lessee of the game rights of such land." A first violation is a misdemeanor punished by a fine of not less than $975. A second violation within two years is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature with a fine of not less than $2,000 and a one-year revocation of the right to a hunting license; a third or later violation within three years is also a high and aggravated misdemeanor, with a fine of not less than $3,000 and a three-year revocation. The minimum fines and revocation periods do not apply to an offender 17 or younger (27-3-1(c), as amended by HB 343 of 2022). Permission is not required where the hunter or a listed family member owns or leases the land or the game rights.
• Department of Natural Resources areas, 27-1-33. A person who enters, hunts, traps or fishes on a public hunting or fishing area, fish hatchery, natural area or game management area owned or operated by the department in violation of that section "commits the offense of criminal trespass."
• State parks and historic sites, 12-3-10(b). It is unlawful to enter a park, historic site or land managed by the Department of Natural Resources "except when in compliance with all applicable laws and all rules, regulations, and permits" adopted for those lands. It is also unlawful to refuse to leave after violating a park law or rule when directed by a department representative (12-3-10(p)), and any violation of the section is criminal trespass (12-3-10(r)).

Criminal trespass involving a wild animal: Georgia's felony trespass form

Act 499 of 2024 (HB 827), effective April 30, 2024, created the offense of criminal trespass involving a wild animal. The act enacted it as Code section 16-7-21.1, the same section number HB 1017 gave unlawful squatting that session, so the two offenses share a number in the 2024 session laws. It has two degrees:

• First degree, a felony. Entering "a cage, enclosure, or other area where a wild animal is housed or otherwise contained, into which the person knows he or she has no legal authority, license, or permission to enter," and harassing the animal, where "such wild animal suffers an injury or death." The punishment is "imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years."
• Second degree, a misdemeanor. Entering such an area knowing there is no authority, license or permission to enter, punished "by imprisonment for not more than 12 months."

The act provides that the offense "shall not apply to a person who enters a cage, enclosure, or other area for the purpose of aiding another person or a wild animal in the cage, enclosure, or other area." The act defines "wild animal" and "harass" in subsection (a).

Unlawful squatting: O.C.G.A. 16-7-21.1

The Georgia Squatter Reform Act, Act 483 of 2024 (HB 1017), effective April 24, 2024, created a separate misdemeanor. A person commits unlawful squatting "when he or she enters upon the land or premises of another and resides on such land or premises for any period of time knowingly acting without the knowledge or consent of the owner, rightful occupant, or an authorized representative of the owner." To "reside" means "to inhabit or live on or within any land or premises."

The offense starts with a citation. The person must present to the head of the issuing law enforcement agency, within three business days, "properly executed documentation that authorizes the person's entry on such land or premises." A person unable to provide it "shall be subject to arrest for unlawful squatting." If the person does present documentation, a hearing is set within seven days; if the court finds the documentation "was not properly executed or is not meritorious," the person is subject to removal under O.C.G.A. 44-11-32, to arrest and the forgery penalties of 16-9-1 and 16-9-2, and to an additional fine based on the fair market monthly rent (16-7-21.1(a)(4)). On conviction, the offense is a misdemeanor punished under 17-10-3. The same act expanded magistrate court jurisdiction over unlawful squatting and intruder proceedings and changed the civil procedure for removing intruders; for that procedure, see Georgia squatters' rights.

Act 371 of 2025 (SB 153), the annual editorial Code revision effective July 1, 2025, made word-level edits to the section without changing the citation procedure or the penalty. HB 61 of 2026, which would have revised the offense, did not become law.

Trespass versus burglary

Trespass becomes burglary when the entry is made with intent to commit a felony or theft. Under O.C.G.A. 16-7-1, entering or remaining "without authority and with the intent to commit a felony or theft therein" is burglary in the first degree in a dwelling (a felony punishable by 1 to 20 years for a first conviction) and burglary in the second degree in another building, structure, railroad car, watercraft or aircraft (a felony punishable by 1 to 5 years for a first conviction). Repeat convictions raise the ranges, and a fourth or later burglary conviction cannot be suspended, probated, deferred or withheld (16-7-1(b)-(d)).

This page does not cover when force may be used against a trespasser or intruder; see Georgia self-defense laws. Federal law separately governs conduct on federal property and at the U.S. Capitol; our disorderly conduct and trespass laws by state hub covers that layer.

Georgia disorderly conduct and trespass penalties at a glance

The misdemeanor ranges come from O.C.G.A. 17-10-3(a)(1), which applies "except as otherwise provided by law," and the high and aggravated ranges from O.C.G.A. 17-10-4(a). Felony terms are set in each offense's own section. For how Georgia's misdemeanor and felony categories work across the Code, see our Georgia felony and misdemeanor classes page.

Recent changes to Georgia's disorderly conduct and trespass laws

• Religious services added to the funeral-disruption statute (July 1, 2026). Act 626 of 2026 (SB 591) amended 16-11-34.2 so that it protects religious services as well as funerals and memorial services, with the four listed acts and their 500-foot and one-hour windows.
• Highway and street obstruction raised (July 1, 2026). Act 512 of 2026 (SB 443) amended 16-11-43: obstructing a highway or street became a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature with civil liability for damages, while obstructing a sidewalk or other public passage stays a standard misdemeanor.
• Repeat-misdemeanor felony does not reach these offenses (July 1, 2026). Act 717 of 2026 (HB 1075) enacted O.C.G.A. 17-10-3.2, which treats a fourth or later "qualifying misdemeanor" within ten years as a felony punishable by 1 to 10 years. A qualifying misdemeanor is one under Chapter 5 or 6 of Title 16. Disorderly conduct and the public-order offenses are in Chapter 11 and criminal trespass is in Chapter 7, so they do not count toward it.
• Editorial revision (July 1, 2026). Act 723 of 2026 (HB 1268), the annual editorial Code revision, amended 27-3-1 among many sections.
• School threats (April 28, 2025). Act 17 of 2025 (HB 268) amended 20-2-1181 so that threatening death or serious injury to a group at a school, school bus or bus stop counts as disrupting it, and enacted 20-2-1181.1 on terroristic threats and acts upon a school.
• Wild-animal trespass created (April 30, 2024). Act 499 of 2024 (HB 827) created criminal trespass involving a wild animal, with a felony first degree.
• Unlawful squatting created (April 24, 2024). Act 483 of 2024 (HB 1017), the Georgia Squatter Reform Act, enacted 16-7-21.1. Act 371 of 2025 (SB 153) later made editorial edits only.
• Hunting-permission penalties raised (July 1, 2022). HB 343 of 2022 raised the minimum fines under 27-3-1(c) to $975, $2,000 and $3,000 for first, second and third violations, with hunting license revocations for repeat violations; the minimums and revocations do not apply to offenders 17 or younger.
• Not law. HB 61 of 2026, a proposed Georgia Anti-Squatting Act, did not become law. The disorderly conduct section (16-11-39) and the criminal trespass section (16-7-21) were not amended in the 2024, 2025 or 2026 sessions.

Georgia reuses act numbers each session (there is an Act 512 of 2024 and an Act 512 of 2026), so an act is identified here by its year and bill number.

Related Georgia laws

• Disorderly conduct and trespass laws by state
• Georgia noise ordinance laws
• Georgia felony and misdemeanor classes
• Georgia squatters' rights
• Georgia self-defense laws
• Georgia assault and battery laws
• How to charge someone with trespassing

This article provides general legal information about Georgia state law as of 2026-10-18. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Georgia.

Last updated: 2026-10-18.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is disorderly conduct a misdemeanor in Georgia?

Yes. O.C.G.A. 16-11-39(b) makes every form of disorderly conduct a misdemeanor, punishable under 17-10-3(a)(1) by up to 12 months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. The section has no felony form.

Can you get disorderly conduct for cursing or swearing in Georgia?

Section 16-11-39 reaches language in two clauses: fighting words used without provocation to or of a person in their presence, (a)(3), and obscene and vulgar or profane language to a child under 14 that threatens an immediate breach of the peace, (a)(4). In Freeman v. State (2017), the Georgia Supreme Court held that the separate violent-acts clause, (a)(1), reaches expression only when it is fighting words or a true threat.

Is public intoxication illegal in Georgia?

Public drunkenness is a misdemeanor under O.C.G.A. 16-11-41 when a person is intoxicated in a public place, or within the curtilage of another person's residence without invitation, and the intoxication is made manifest by boisterousness, indecent condition or act, or vulgar, profane, loud or unbecoming language.

Is trespassing a felony in Georgia?

Criminal trespass under O.C.G.A. 16-7-21 is always a misdemeanor, with no degrees. Criminal trespass involving a wild animal in the first degree, created by Act 499 of 2024 (HB 827), is a felony punishable by 1 to 10 years, intentional damage above $500 is criminal damage to property in the second degree, a felony of 1 to 5 years (16-7-23), and entering with intent to commit a felony or theft is burglary under 16-7-1 (for a first conviction, 1 to 20 years for a dwelling and 1 to 5 years otherwise).

Does Georgia have a purple paint law?

No. Notice under O.C.G.A. 16-7-21 is communication from the owner, rightful occupant or an authorized representative with proper identification, and the section has no sign, fence or paint-mark rule. The hunting statute, 27-3-1(b), refers to posted land only for its written-permission rule and does not describe the posting.

What happens if a store or owner tells you to leave in Georgia?

Under O.C.G.A. 16-7-21(b)(3), remaining on another person's land or premises after notice to depart from the owner, the rightful occupant, or an authorized representative who has properly identified themselves is criminal trespass, a misdemeanor. Under (b)(2), entering after earlier notice that entry is forbidden is also criminal trespass.

Is squatting a crime in Georgia?

Yes. Since April 24, 2024, O.C.G.A. 16-7-21.1 makes unlawful squatting, entering and residing on another's land or premises knowingly without consent, a misdemeanor. The person receives a citation and has three business days to present documentation authorizing entry before facing arrest. If a court finds the documentation not properly executed or not meritorious, the person faces removal, the forgery penalties of 16-9-1 and 16-9-2, and an additional fine based on the fair market monthly rent.

Is blocking a road a crime in Georgia?

Under O.C.G.A. 16-11-43, obstructing a highway, street, sidewalk or other public passage so it is impassable, and refusing to remove the obstruction after a reasonable official request or a peace officer's order, is a crime. Since July 1, 2026 (Act 512 of 2026, SB 443), the highway or street form is a high and aggravated misdemeanor (up to $5,000, 12 months, or both) with civil liability for damages; the sidewalk form stays a misdemeanor.

Can a Georgia city have its own disorderly conduct ordinance?

Yes. O.C.G.A. 16-11-39(c) provides that the state section does not limit the power of counties or municipal corporations to adopt ordinances or resolutions prohibiting disorderly conduct within their limits. Similar savings clauses appear in the loitering (16-11-36) and public drunkenness (16-11-41) sections.