Know the rules
Which places count, how distance is measured, and what our check can’t see yet.
Which places count depends on when the offense happened (O.C.G.A. §§ 42-1-15, 42-1-16, 42-1-17). Choose it under Offense date.
| Before June 4, 2003 | No residency distance rule. |
| June 4, 2003 – June 30, 2006 | Schools, child care, and areas where minors congregate (parks, recreation facilities, playgrounds, skating rinks, neighborhood centers, gyms). Churches don't count. To stay cautious we also check libraries and pools. |
| July 1, 2006 or later | Schools, child care, churches, and areas where minors congregate, including libraries and public and community pools. |
| Not sure | We use the strictest rules. |
Definitions we follow
- Schools are kindergarten through 12th grade. Colleges and universities don't count.
- Distance is 1,000 ft, measured property line to property line.
What we can't check yet
- School bus stops.
- In-home daycares (family child care learning homes). The law may not cover them; ask the agency that supervises you.
- Children's group homes (long-term care facilities for children).
- Subdivision pools and clubhouses that no source lists.
- Places no source lists, such as some small rural churches and brand-new daycares.
How it works
What happens when you check an address, from finding it on the map to taking it to law enforcement.
- Find the address. We place it on the map with Esri's address lookup (Geoapify and OpenStreetMap as backups). The pin can land on the street instead of the house, so drag it onto the property.
- Find nearby places. We look up schools, child care, churches, parks, libraries, pools and community centers in the SettledGA places database. It combines Georgia's licensed child care list, the federal school lists, OpenStreetMap (a free community-made map) and Overture business listings. Places only one source lists are marked “needs checking” rather than counted as too close, until our research or a second source confirms them. In Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Cherokee counties, distances start at the home's property line from the county's tax parcel map; elsewhere they start at the pin. Areas not in the database yet are checked against live OpenStreetMap data.
- Measure. Anything within 1,000 ft is too close. Places just past the line are near the line, because map distances are approximate and the law measures property line to property line.
- Confirm. Take the address to the sheriff's office where you'll register, and to your supervising officer if you have one. Only they can approve an address.
Why churches shouldn’t be on the list
Georgia’s residency rule treats a church like a school. We think that goes further than it needs to, and our map data shows what it costs.
What the law says now
For people on the registry, O.C.G.A. § 42-1-15 sets three kinds of rules:
| Live within 1,000 ft | Work or volunteer there | Be there | |
|---|---|---|---|
| School | No | No | No loitering |
| Child care | No | No | No loitering |
| Church | No | No | Can attend worship |
Residency: § 42-1-15(b). Work and volunteering: (c)(1). Loitering: (d), which lists child care, schools and areas where minors congregate, but not churches. The law’s definition of “volunteer” leaves out taking part in worship services.
Why that doesn’t add up
The law already says church isn’t the danger. A person on the registry can sit in a pew on Sunday morning, but can’t live within 1,000 feet of that same church the rest of the week, when it’s often empty.
Churches aren’t schools. A school has hundreds of children there every weekday. Most churches are full a few hours a week, mostly with adults.
Places where children gather already count. A church that runs a daycare or preschool is restricted as a child care program no matter what, and the ban on working or volunteering at a church would stay. Taking churches off the residency list wouldn’t remove those protections.
It blocks churches’ own ministry. Many churches see giving people coming home from prison a place to live as part of their faith. Under this rule they can’t do it on their own property, because any home on church land is too close to the church.
What it costs
Churches are the most common kind of restricted place. In the 30 counties we’ve mapped, they’re 4,876 of about 15,500 confirmed restricted places.
| Area | Homes off-limits | Without churches |
|---|---|---|
| Lilburn | 71.5% | 48.0% |
| Buford | 57.1% | 34.4% |
| Atlanta | 81.2% | 71.3% |
| Gwinnett County | 43.3% | 33.8% |
| DeKalb County | 58.2% | 48.4% |
Turn “Include churches” off on the zones map to see the difference for any county or city. We only count places an official list, two sources, or our research confirm, so the real numbers are likely higher. Homes are 2020 Census housing units.
The other side
Churches host youth groups, vacation Bible school and children’s events, and some people will see dropping them as weakening protections for kids. We take that seriously. People on the registry are already barred from working or volunteering in those programs, church child care stays restricted, and living near a building doesn’t give anyone access to the children inside it.
What we think should change
Georgia should take churches off the residency list in § 42-1-15(b), and keep everything else: church-run child care would still count, and the work and volunteer rules would stay as they are.
This page is our view. It isn’t legal advice, and the SettledGA checker applies the law as it is today, churches included.
Legal basis
O.C.G.A. § 42-1-15 restricts where people on Georgia's registry may live: not within 1,000 ft of a child care facility, church, school, or area where minors congregate, measured from property boundary to property boundary. Which places count depends on the offense date (O.C.G.A. §§ 42-1-15, 42-1-16, 42-1-17).
Results are based on publicly available map data, which may be incomplete or inaccurate. SettledGA is not affiliated with any law enforcement agency, community supervision office, or government body. This is not legal advice. Always verify with appropriate law enforcement before committing to any address.