Are Autopsy Reports Public in Georgia? (2026 Guide)

Georgia autopsy reports are generally public records under the Georgia Open Records Act, but only after the case is closed. While a death investigation is still pending, the report is withheld. Anyone may request a completed report, though next of kin pay no fee, and you ask the GBI Medical Examiner or the local county coroner.

Are Autopsy Reports Public in Georgia?

Yes. In Georgia a completed autopsy report is a public record under the Georgia Open Records Act. The operative right of access is O.C.G.A. 50-18-71(a), which provides that "all public records shall be open for personal inspection and copying, except those which by order of a court of this state or by law are specifically exempted from disclosure." Once the medical examiner or coroner finalizes the cause and manner of death, the report is open to inspection and copying.

The biggest restriction is timing. While the death investigation is still open or pending, the report falls under the pending-investigation exemption at O.C.G.A. 50-18-72(a)(4), which withholds records of law enforcement, prosecution, or regulatory agencies in any pending investigation or prosecution of criminal or unlawful activity. By the terms of that paragraph, an investigation or prosecution is no longer pending once all direct litigation involving it has become final or otherwise terminated. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) notes that a case stays "pending" when further research or testing, such as toxicology, is needed before the cause and manner of death can be determined.

Next of kin receive the report at no charge once it is complete. Other members of the public may request the same finalized report, but the agency may bill for copying and search costs before releasing it.

Limits That Closing the Case Does Not Cure

Timing is not the only bar. Two provisions of the Georgia Death Investigation Act carve material out of the Open Records Act permanently, so a closed file is not the same thing as a fully open file.

Autopsy photographs are exempt under O.C.G.A. 45-16-27(d), which states that "autopsy photographs shall not be subject to disclosure pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50," the article that contains the Open Records Act. The statute releases them only to the next of kin, to someone holding a written release from the next of kin, to law enforcement agencies and prosecutors for law enforcement purposes, and, in closed criminal investigations, to medical schools, medical facilities, and physicians for medical purposes. It also sets an order of priority for who counts as next of kin, beginning with a living spouse, then an adult child, then a parent. A superior court may order broader disclosure in a closed criminal investigation, but only on written findings that disclosure is in the public interest and outweighs the privacy interest the family may assert, after reviewing the photographs in camera.

Records the coroner or medical examiner obtained by subpoena are also closed. Under O.C.G.A. 45-16-27(c), books, records, or papers produced in response to a death investigation subpoena, including hospital, clinic, and physician records, must be regarded as confidential and privileged and are "not subject to disclosure under Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50." The underlying medical file a medical examiner pulled to reach a conclusion is therefore closed even though the report stating that conclusion is open.

O.C.G.A. 45-16-27(e) separately closes crime scene photographs and video that depict a deceased person in a state of dismemberment, decapitation, or similar mutilation, on comparable next-of-kin terms.

Who Performs Autopsies in Georgia?

Georgia runs a county-based death investigation system, and authority sits at the county level. Each county has either an elected coroner or an appointed county medical examiner. Above them, the state maintains a Chief Medical Examiner within the GBI Division of Forensic Sciences. O.C.G.A. 35-3-153 creates that office and assigns its duties, which include establishing death investigation regions, appointing regional medical examiners, maintaining permanent death investigation records for every jurisdiction in the state, and setting death investigation guidelines for coroners and medical examiners. The division's role in the examinations themselves comes from O.C.G.A. 45-16-22, which directs the division to make its facilities available for performing medical examiners' inquiries and provides that the chief medical examiner performs an inquiry, or directs another medical examiner to perform it, when a local or regional medical examiner is unable or unwilling to serve.

When an Autopsy Happens

The Georgia Death Investigation Act requires that the coroner or county medical examiner be notified and that a medical examiner's inquiry be made when a death is sudden, violent, suspicious, or unexplained. Coroners, deputy coroners, and law enforcement report these cases to the GBI Medical Examiner's Office.

Whether an autopsy follows is largely discretionary. The GBI states that "the Medical Examiner's Office determines if an examination will be performed." One clear exception is set by statute: under O.C.G.A. 45-16-27.1, an autopsy is mandatory for the death of any child after birth but before age seven whose death is unexpected or unexplained, unless the inquiry shows the death was expected or explainable with a reasonable degree of medical certainty.

A preliminary result may be available within 24 hours or at the completion of the autopsy, but the full written report, including toxicology, can take longer.

Who Can Request a Georgia Autopsy Report?

Once a report is finalized, any person may request the written report because it is an open record. You do not need to be related to the deceased to ask for a completed report. Photographs are the exception: under O.C.G.A. 45-16-27(d) they are not open records at all, and there the requester's status controls access, not just cost.

Status does affect cost, not access. The GBI confirms "there is no charge to next of kin," so a spouse, parent, child, or other immediate family member receives the report for free. Other requesters, including researchers, journalists, attorneys, and the general public, may be billed for search and copying before the record is released.

The other limit is timing. No one, including next of kin, receives a report tied to a case that is still open or pending until the investigation closes.

How to Get an Autopsy or Toxicology Report in Georgia

You request a completed Georgia autopsy or toxicology report through the agency that handled the death, either the GBI Medical Examiner or the local county coroner.

For GBI cases, submit an Open Records Act request to the GBI Open Records Unit, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, 3121 Panthersville Road, Decatur, GA 30034, or call 404-270-8527. Include the date of the death, the Georgia county or city where it occurred, the name of the deceased, and your contact information.

If a local county coroner or county medical examiner handled the case, contact that county office directly, since many counties sell autopsy reports through their own coroner's office.

On fees, the GBI states that "all records requests are subject to the Georgia Open Records Act and may result in the requestor being billed for the requested information before the records are released." Next of kin are not charged.

On timing, expect a hold if the case is still pending. The GBI issues the report once the cause and manner of death are finalized, which can wait on additional testing such as toxicology; a report cannot be issued until that testing is complete. Where an autopsy is also part of an active criminal investigation, it may stay withheld under the pending-investigation exemption until that case concludes.

Autopsy Report vs Death Certificate in Georgia

An autopsy report and a death certificate are two different documents. The death certificate is the legal vital record issued by the Georgia Department of Public Health that lists the immediate cause-of-death line, plus identity, date, and place of death. It is used for estates, insurance, and benefits.

The autopsy report is the medical examiner's or coroner's detailed examination, often dozens of pages, describing findings, toxicology, and the basis for the manner of death. It explains how the office reached the conclusion that appears as a single line on the certificate.

Access rules also differ. Georgia death certificates are restricted records limited to eligible relatives and representatives, while a finalized autopsy report is a public record any person may request once the case is closed. For the certificate side, see the Georgia Death Records overview.

Georgia Autopsy Report Facts

Disclaimer: This page is general legal information, not legal advice. Open-records practices, fees, and processing times vary by county and can change. Confirm current requirements with the GBI Open Records Unit or the local county coroner before relying on this information.

For a broader look at how forensic examinations are treated nationwide, see Are Autopsies Public Records?. To compare other states, visit the Death Records by State hub.

Sources

This page is based on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Division of Forensic Sciences (Medical Examiner's Office and Autopsies pages), the GBI Open Records Unit, the Georgia Death Investigation Act (O.C.G.A. Title 45, Chapter 16, including 45-16-22, 45-16-27, and 45-16-27.1), the office of the state Chief Medical Examiner (O.C.G.A. 35-3-153), the Georgia Open Records Act as published by the Georgia Attorney General (right of access at O.C.G.A. 50-18-71, exemptions at 50-18-72), and the CDC's Georgia Coroner/Medical Examiner Laws summary.