A “GAD COMET” entry on a Georgia jail roster is not a criminal charge, and it adds no time to anyone’s sentence. The label is an internal administrative status showing that the Georgia Department of Corrections has accepted custody of a sentenced person and started the intake work needed to move them from the county jail into the state prison system. If you see it next to someone’s name, the local court process is finished, a state sentence has been handed down, and the state is now classifying the person for long-term placement.
What the Label Actually Signals
“GDC” is the standard abbreviation for the Georgia Department of Corrections. The “GAD” variant appears in some county booking systems as an internal code pointing to the same agency. “COMET” refers to a risk and needs assessment the department uses during intake. Put together, the tag tells the county jail that state corrections officials know about the person, have begun evaluating them, and will eventually schedule a pickup.
The person has not been moved yet. They are still physically in the county jail. But jurisdiction has shifted: the state, not the city or county, is now the party making decisions about where they go and how they will be housed. For a family member checking a roster, the status is actually useful information. Sentencing is done. The next step is transfer.
The Intake Assessment
Before the state assigns anyone to a permanent facility, it runs a standardized evaluation. Staff pull records from the Georgia Crime Information Center and the National Crime Information Center to verify prior convictions and outstanding warrants. They also review educational background, work history, vocational skills, and substance abuse history to build a profile that shapes both housing placement and program assignments.
Georgia law requires the Department of Corrections to classify and separate inmates based on factors including age, criminal history, medical needs, and mental health status.1Justia. Georgia Code 42-5-52 – Classification and Separation of Inmates Evaluators interview the person and cross-reference what they say against court documents, including the final disposition that confirms sentence length and any judicial recommendations for treatment. The resulting data feeds the security classification and program decisions that will govern the person’s entire time inside.
When the Transfer Happens
Once paperwork is in motion, the state schedules the physical move. Men are typically transported to the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, which handles diagnostic processing for male offenders.2Georgia Department of Corrections. GA Diagnostic Class Prison Women go to Lee Arrendale State Prison, which provides diagnostic services for female offenders statewide.3Georgia Department of Corrections. Lee Arrendale State Prison
There is no guaranteed timeline. County jails and state transport schedules run on different clocks, and staffing, route availability, and bed space at the diagnostic facility all affect timing. Some people move within days of the GAD COMET designation appearing. Others wait several weeks. The uncertainty is one of the hardest parts for families, and there is no way to speed it up from the outside.
You can track the transition through the Georgia Department of Corrections’ “Find an Offender” search tool, which updates once the person is received into the state system.4Georgia Department of Corrections. Find an Offender Until the person shows up there, they are still technically in county custody even if the GAD COMET label is already on the local roster.
The Visitation Blackout
The transition period creates a contact gap that surprises many families. Once a person arrives at a state diagnostic facility, they cannot receive visitors during the first six weeks of their assignment there.5Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Administrative Code 125-3-4 – Visitation After that, the facility superintendent may approve visits, but only immediate family members as defined by the department are eligible during the diagnostic phase. Regular visitation rules kick in once the person leaves diagnostic status and reaches a permanent facility.
Add it up and you can be looking at two months or more of very limited contact: the wait in county jail after the COMET designation appears, the transport itself, and then the six-week blackout. Planning for that gap ahead of time helps.
Property and Money at Intake
When a person arrives at a state facility from county jail, they must surrender all personal property, including clothing, money, and jewelry, to a receiving officer. The officer inventories everything in the person’s presence, both parties sign the inventory, a copy goes to the person, and the original goes into their case file.6Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Administrative Code 125-2-4 – Offender Administration – Section: Personal Property
Clothing and personal items that are not authorized at the facility must either be sent to someone the person designates or donated to a charitable organization. The person cannot send belongings to a Department of Corrections employee or that employee’s immediate relative. Money works the same way: the person can request in writing that it be forwarded to someone they choose, or it goes into their institutional account.
Once someone is in the state system, families can send money through JPay, by money order using a free voucher, or by cash through MoneyGram. You have to be on the person’s approved visitor list to use these methods.7Georgia Department of Corrections. How Do I Send Money to an Offender? Getting on that list early matters, because the paperwork takes time to clear and you don’t want the person sitting without commissary funds while it does.
Security Classification Levels
Georgia uses five security tiers, and the assessment score determines where a person lands. Each level comes with different supervision rules and different limits on movement.
- Maximum: Reserved for people deemed extremely dangerous, high escape risks, or those with serious adjustment problems. Constant supervision by correctional officers, no outside work.
- Close: Suspected escape risks, habitual rule violators, and those with violent criminal or institutional histories. Armed officer supervision required outside the security perimeter. At least one year at this level before a reduction can be considered.
- Medium: For people who have shown reliability with no major adjustment or active substance abuse problems. Supervision outside the perimeter is constant but need not be armed. Six months before a reduction is considered.
- Minimum: Those who have shown they can follow rules and present low escape and safety risks. Supervision drops to hourly checks. Three months before further reduction. People with multiple escapes or multiple violent sentences are ineligible.
- Trusty: The least restrictive level, for people proven clearly trustworthy with no adjustment or substance abuse problems. Supervision is occasional rather than constant.
These classifications come from the Georgia Department of Corrections administrative rules governing inmate security.8Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Code 125-3-1 – Custody and Security – Section: Inmate Security Classification Placement is not permanent. The minimum time-in-grade requirements exist because the system expects people to progress to lower levels over time based on behavior.
Challenging a Classification
If a person believes their security classification is wrong, the department has a formal appeal process. The classification policy includes a Classification Appeal Form, and inmates get a 48-hour notification of their classification status, giving them a short window to review and respond.9Georgia Department of Corrections. 220 Policy – Offender Classification/Orientation A Classification Detail Request Form lets people obtain information about how their classification was determined. Appeals go to the Classification Committee, which manages assessments and reassignments across the system.
This matters because classification shapes quality of life: which facility you are in, how much movement you have, what programs you can access, and how quickly you may become eligible for a lower-security placement. A scoring error that goes unchallenged at the front end can follow someone for years. The information gathered during intake also becomes part of the permanent file that the State Board of Pardons and Paroles later reviews, so accuracy at this stage carries weight well beyond the first facility assignment.