Fine for Texting While Driving in Georgia: Penalties, Points, and Your Options

What Is the Fine for Texting While Driving in Georgia?

The fine for texting while driving in Georgia generally starts at $50 and one point on your license for a first conviction. A second conviction within 24 months generally brings a $100 fine and two points. A third or later conviction in that same 24-month window generally brings $150 and three points.

These amounts come from Georgia's Hands-Free Act, codified at O.C.G.A. § 40-6-241. They are base statutory fines only. Courts routinely add surcharges and court costs, so the amount a driver actually pays is typically higher, depending on the county.

There is also a first-offense exception. A driver charged for the first time may be able to have the charge dismissed by showing the court proof of purchase of a hands-free device or technology. That relief sits within the court's discretion, so it is never automatic.

A texting while driving fine is easy to underestimate. Many drivers see a small number on the citation and simply pay it. Paying turns the citation into a conviction, and the license points follow. The texting while driving penalty does not end with the money.

Georgia's Hands-Free Law: What Drivers Can and Cannot Do

The laws against texting while driving in Georgia reach well beyond typing a message. The Hands-Free Act bars you from holding or supporting a phone or other wireless telecommunications device with any part of your body while operating a motor vehicle. Propping it against your shoulder or in your lap counts.

The statute also prohibits:

• Writing, sending, or reading text-based communications, including texts, emails, and instant messages
• Watching or recording a video while driving
• Reaching for a device in a way that requires you to leave the seat or unbuckle the seat belt

Each of those habits takes a driver's eyes off the road, which is the risk the law targets.

Several uses stay legal. You may make hands-free voice calls. You may operate a vehicle with the phone in a dash mount, so long as you are not holding or supporting it. You may use a single touch to start or end a call. GPS and navigation use is allowed. You may use a phone while lawfully parked, though sitting at a red light does not count as parked. You may also call to report a crash, fire, medical emergency, or crime.

The law applies to every driver in Georgia, not just teens. Georgia also charges the offense as a misdemeanor traffic violation rather than a civil citation. That distinction matters, because a misdemeanor conviction stays on your record.

How Many Points Is Texting While Driving in Georgia?

A first conviction adds one point. A second conviction within 24 months adds two points. A third or later conviction in that window adds three points. That is the direct answer to how many points is texting while driving in this state.

The Georgia Department of Driver Services tracks those points. Points stay on the record for 24 months from the date of the offense. A driver who collects 15 points in any 24-month period faces a driver's license suspension.

Points attach on conviction, not on the citation itself. A guilty plea counts. So does a bond forfeiture, which is what happens when a driver pays the ticket and skips court. That is why how a ticket gets resolved matters as much as the ticket.

Points for Drivers Under 21

Young drivers work with a much tighter margin. A driver under 21 may face suspension after four or more points in any 12-month period. A single distracted-driving conviction can use up a meaningful share of that allowance.

The risk is sharper for a driver holding a Class D provisional license, which already limits night driving and passengers. A suspension may disrupt school, a part-time job, and family obligations that depend on that driver.

A young driver or a parent should generally talk to an attorney before paying a citation that creates a conviction.

How Points Affect Your Insurance Rates

Insurers do not price directly from your point total. They price from your driving record, and a distracted-driving conviction appears there. Many drivers see a premium increase at the next renewal.

Across a policy period, that increase may cost several times the base fine. The actual effect depends on your carrier, your history, and your coverage, so no one can promise a figure.

Georgia drivers may reduce up to seven points once every five years by finishing a DDS-approved defensive driving course. Point reduction helps with the suspension math. It does not remove the conviction that insurers review.

Consequences Beyond the Fine

The consequences for texting while driving reach further than most drivers expect. The most lasting one is the conviction itself, which stays on a Georgia driving record as a misdemeanor traffic offense.

Commercial drivers carry the heaviest exposure. Federal and state distracted driving laws treat a CDL holder harshly, and convictions can put a commercial license and a livelihood at risk.

Employment risk is not limited to CDL holders. Anyone who drives for work, or whose employer runs a motor vehicle record check, may have to explain the entry.

Civil liability is another concern. If the same incident caused a collision, an injury claim may use the conviction as evidence of negligence by a distracted driver. A plea entered to make a ticket disappear can resurface in a lawsuit.

Repeat convictions escalate fast. Within a 24-month window, the fine climbs from $50 to $100 to $150, and the points climb from one to two to three.

How to Fight a Texting While Driving Ticket in Georgia

Paying the ticket is a guilty plea. It closes the case and enters a conviction.

Several defenses come up regularly in these fact patterns. The driver may have used the device in a permitted way, such as navigation, a hands-free call, or a single touch to answer. The driver may have been lawfully parked rather than stopped in a travel lane. The officer's vantage point may not establish that a text-based communication was being composed or read. The emergency-reporting exception may apply. A first offender may also qualify for dismissal on proof of a hands-free device purchase.

The procedure is usually straightforward. The citation names the court, which may be a municipal, state, or recorder's court. The driver appears at arraignment, may plead not guilty, and may request a trial date. From there, defense counsel may negotiate toward a reduced, non-reportable charge.

Some courts allow a nolo contendere plea, which may keep points off the record in limited situations. A nolo plea has real limits. A driver may use it only once in a five-year period, and no court has to accept it. Whether any of these paths is open depends on the specific facts and the court involved.

Speak With a Georgia Traffic Defense Attorney

A texting citation is a misdemeanor that carries license points. It deserves a look before you pay it.

Kohn & Yager LLC focuses on criminal defense and traffic matters throughout Georgia. Our attorneys handle these citations in the municipal, state, and recorder's courts where they are heard, and we know how those courts approach distracted-driving cases.

Timing matters. Options narrow once the court enters a conviction, and an online payment ends the case before anyone reviews it. Acting before the court date on your citation keeps the full range of choices open.

Call for a free consultation. We will review your citation and your driving record and explain the realistic options. Every case is different and results depend on the specific facts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Court Costs Added to a Georgia Texting Ticket?

Usually, yes. The amounts in the statute are base fines. Most Georgia courts add surcharges and administrative costs, so the total due is typically higher than the statutory figure. The add-ons vary depending on the county and the court.

How Long Do Texting Ticket Points Stay on a Georgia License?

Points remain on the record for 24 months from the date of the offense, then drop off. A driver may also ask DDS to reduce up to seven points once every five years after finishing an approved defensive driving course.

Can a First-Time Texting While Driving Ticket Be Dismissed in Georgia?

It may be. A first-time defendant can ask the court to dismiss the charge by producing proof of purchase of a hands-free device or technology. The court decides whether to grant that request.

Is It Legal to Use Your Phone at a Red Light in Georgia?

No. The Hands-Free Act allows phone use while a driver is lawfully parked. Waiting at a red light or sitting in stopped traffic does not count, because the vehicle is still in a travel lane.

Will a Texting While Driving Conviction Raise My Insurance in Georgia?

It often does. Insurers review the driving record at renewal, and a distracted-driving conviction is a common trigger for a rate increase. The size of the increase depends on the carrier and the driver's prior record.