Short answer
If you leave Georgia foster care because you reached the age of majority, DFCS policy says you get your health and education records at no cost when you leave. For the rest of your file, requests go to the DHS Open Records Officer, and records of child abuse reports are confidential by Georgia law except for the people the law lists. Some records may be withheld.
Verified Oct 18, 2026 Source: DFCS policy 13.4, Transition from Foster Care
We're not attorneys, and this is not legal advice
We quote Georgia law and DFCS policy word for word and link to it rather than interpreting it. If you need records for a court case, a civil claim or an identity or immigration matter, talk to a lawyer; the guardianship guide lists free legal help.
What you are owed when you leave care
DFCS policy sets a hand-over of papers for a young person who leaves foster care. The policy says: Verified Oct 18, 2026
"Provide the following documents to each youth leaving foster care at 18 years of age or older who has been in foster care for at least six months:"
The list that follows in the policy is: official documentation that proves the youth was previously in foster care; an official or certified copy of their United States birth certificate; a Social Security card; education records; health insurance information; a copy of medical records; and a driver's license or state identification card. Verified Oct 18, 2026 On the cost of the health and education records, the same policy says:
"Youth shall be provided with their health and education records at no cost at the time they leave foster care (regardless of how long they were in foster care), if they are leaving foster care because of having attained the age of majority under State law."
Policy 10.11 says the same about health records, and policy 2.6 describes the access as "limited to providing such individual with a free copy of his or her health and education records, including the most recent information available, and any other record(s) that may be required under Georgia law." Verified Oct 18, 2026 The policy list above is the reason to ask for the proof-of-foster-care document and the certified birth certificate before your last day in care. If you have already left and never got them, ask your county DFCS office or a regional Independent Living Specialist (see the aging-out guide). We have not found an official page that says what DFCS does for someone who asks after leaving, so treat that route as unconfirmed.
Are DFCS foster care records public?
Not the parts that concern reports of child abuse. Georgia's Official Code, section 49-5-40(b), says: Verified Oct 18, 2026
"Each and every record concerning reports of child abuse and child controlled substance or marijuana abuse which is in the custody of the department, other state or local agency, or child advocacy center is declared to be confidential, and access thereto is prohibited except as provided in Code Sections 49-5-41 and 49-5-41.1."
Section 49-5-41 lists who may see those records. For a young person leaving care it has one line, which matches the DFCS policy above: Verified Oct 18, 2026
"An individual, at the time such individual is leaving foster care by reason of having attained the age of majority, but such access shall be limited to providing such individual with a free copy of his or her health and education records, including the most recent information available"
Georgia law also makes it a misdemeanor to obtain these records "knowingly and under false pretense" (O.C.G.A. § 49-5-44(b)). Verified Oct 18, 2026 The statute text does not give its reasons for the confidentiality, and we won't guess at them.
Other DFCS records are handled under Georgia's Open Records Act. DFCS policy 2.9 says DFCS will: Verified Oct 18, 2026
"Make child welfare records available for public inspection and copying upon request in accordance with state and federal law to comply with the Open Records Act (ORA) of Georgia."
How to file an Open Records request
DFCS policy 2.9 sends these requests to one office: Verified Oct 18, 2026
"Official requests for records under the Open Records Act must be made directly to the Open Records Officer."
- Online: the DHS Office of General Counsel's "Submitting an Open Record Request" notice says requests can be submitted through an online form, linked from its Office of General Counsel page. Verified Oct 18, 2026
- By email: policy 2.9 lists [email protected] and says DFCS will accept "written requests by e-mail or facsimile transmission." Verified Oct 18, 2026
- By mail: Georgia Department of Human Services, Office of General Counsel, Attn: Open Records Officer, 47 Trinity Avenue SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30334. Verified Oct 18, 2026
Our suggestion, which is not policy: say plainly that you are a former foster youth asking for records about yourself, give the name and date of birth you had in care, the counties and years, and name the records you want. Keep a copy of what you send.
What to expect back. The policy says that if DFCS withholds all or part of a record, it must tell you which law exempts it: Verified Oct 18, 2026
"the agency shall notify the requester of the specific legal authority exempting the requested record or records from disclosure by Code section, subsection, and paragraph within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed three business days"
The same policy says DFCS "is not required to produce records in response to a request if such records did not exist at the time of the request." Verified Oct 18, 2026
What does it cost?
Health and education records handed to you when you leave care are free (above). For an Open Records request, policy 2.9 allows "a reasonable charge for the search, retrieval, redaction, and production or copying costs." Verified Oct 18, 2026 Policy 2.9 also states a per-page copy limit in the version dated April 2024:
"An agency may charge a fee for the copying of records or data, not to exceed 10 cent(s) per page for letters or legal size documents or, in the case of other documents, the actual cost of producing the copy."
We use this box for something we couldn't confirm with an official source, or that is changing. See it on our list of everything we're still confirming
Not yet confirmed for this fiscal year
Georgia's fiscal year 2027 began July 1, 2026. The policy text above is dated April 2024, and as of October 18, 2026 we haven't found a newer DFCS or DHS document that confirms the copy fee. Ask for a written cost estimate before you agree to pay.
We use this box for something we couldn't confirm with an official source, or that is changing. See it on our list of everything we're still confirming
Not yet confirmed: your full case file
We have not found an official source that says exactly what a former foster youth receives when they ask for their whole DFCS case file (placement history, case plans, reports about their own family), or what DFCS redacts. DFCS policy 2.6 lists who may see abuse-report records, and we could not tell from that list how a former foster youth's request for a full file is handled. The question is on our research list. Juvenile court records are held by the court and are a separate question we have not sourced.
If you were adopted from foster care
Adoption records are sealed in a separate DFCS file. Policy 2.2 says DFCS will allow access to sealed adoption records: Verified Oct 18, 2026
"Allow access to sealed adoption records: According to the provisions of the Adoption Reunion Registry"
The Georgia Adoption Reunion Registry page says its services include: Verified Oct 18, 2026
"Provides an adult adoptee or adoptive parents of an adoptee under age 18 with non-identifying information from the sealed adoption record without having to obtain a court order."
The same page says the registry helps an adult adoptee contact biological parents or siblings only with the expressed consent of the person being sought. Start at the registry page.
What to do next
Aging out of foster care in Georgia
Extended care, tuition waiver, ETV, Medicaid to 26 and the paperwork checklist.
Guide · 10 minHealth insurance for a foster child
Medicaid through Georgia Families 360°, and Medicaid to 26 for former foster youth.
Question · 5 minWhat is a DFCS case plan?
The plan that sits in your file, and who gets a copy.
Question · 4 minRelated questions
Sources & verification
- DFCS policy 13.4: documents and records at exitpamms.dhs.ga.gov Oct 18, 2026
- DFCS policy 10.11: health records supplied at no cost at exitpamms.dhs.ga.gov Oct 18, 2026
- DFCS policy 2.6: free copy of health and education recordspamms.dhs.ga.gov Oct 18, 2026
- DFCS policy 2.9: Open Records Act process, fees, responsepamms.dhs.ga.gov Oct 18, 2026
- DFCS policy 2.2: sealed adoption recordspamms.dhs.ga.gov Oct 18, 2026
- DHS Office of General Counsel: Submitting an Open Record Request (PDF)dhs.georgia.gov Oct 18, 2026
- Georgia Adoption Reunion Registrydfcs.georgia.gov Oct 18, 2026
- O.C.G.A. 49-5-40, 49-5-41, 49-5-44 (public-access site; search the section number)advance.lexis.com Oct 18, 2026
Foster411 summarizes Georgia policy in plain language. Rules and fees change; if today is past our verified date, confirm with your county DFCS office or the DHS Office of General Counsel.