Georgia Roadblocks and DUI Checkpoints: The State Patrol Rulebook

Georgia does not run its checkpoint rules out of the traffic code. The operating requirements a driver actually meets at a Georgia State Patrol roadblock come from the Department of Public Safety Policy Manual, policy number 17.16, subject ROADBLOCKS, distributed to all employees and last revised and reviewed on 10/6/2025.

The policy sets out what a roadblock is for. DPS conducts them to monitor and check driver's licenses, driver condition, vehicle registrations, vehicle equipment and other requirements of the Georgia motor vehicle and traffic code, and to locate a suspected criminal likely to be in the area. The same paragraph closes the door on the obvious alternative: roadblocks shall not be established for the general purpose of crime control or deterrence. Driver condition is the hook that makes a Georgia roadblock a sobriety checkpoint in practice, and section 17.16.3(A)(8) confirms it by requiring that the screening officer's training and experience be sufficient to qualify the officer to make an initial determination as to which motorists should be given field sobriety evaluations.

A trooper cannot decide to start one. Under 17.16.3(A)(1) the decision to implement the roadblock, including the time and the location, is made by supervisory personnel in advance rather than by field personnel, and Form DPS-206, Roadblock Supervisor Approval, must be completed. The supervisor must have a legitimate primary purpose drawn from the list above, and the roadblock must run under a plan developed by supervisory personnel that establishes explicit and neutral criteria for all aspects of the roadblock.

On the road, the mechanics are fixed. All vehicles must be stopped, as opposed to random vehicle stops, though the roadblock may be temporarily suspended to avoid unreasonable or dangerous backup and then resumed once the backup is clear. The delay to motorists must be minimal. The roadblock must be clearly identified as a police checkpoint. There must be a minimum of two uniformed officers, and a Trooper or sworn member may hold a roadblock together with a deputy sheriff or a city or county police officer, with traffic volume determining how many people are needed.

Night roadblocks carry extra conditions. A supervisor must approve them, the Troop Commander or a designee must be notified before the roadblock starts, Form DPS-206 must again be completed, and the location must be chosen with sight distance and the lighting available or provided at the scene in mind. A minimum of four law enforcement officers must be present, two of whom must be Troopers, and all Troopers taking part must wear reflective traffic vests.

Commercial Vehicle Enforcement works from the same document but through the Department's Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan for commercial motor carriers, commercial motor vehicles and commercial drivers. CVE officers running ramp roadblocks or High Occupancy Vehicle work that focuses on non-commercial traffic act under guidance from the Region Commander, and those roadblocks must still conform to section 17.16.3(A). CVE night roadblocks need prior approval from the region commander or a designee, four officers of whom two must be DPS officers, and reflective vests.

One limit matters for anyone reading this after being stopped in Atlanta, Savannah or Macon. Policy 17.16 is the DPS manual, and section 17.16.3 is headed Procedures for the Georgia State Patrol. It binds Georgia State Patrol and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement members. A county sheriff's office or a municipal police department in Georgia runs checkpoints under its own written policy, which may set different staffing numbers and different approval paperwork.

16 is an internal directive distributed to all DPS employees, so a departure from it is handled as a supervisory and disciplinary matter inside the Department rather than as a traffic offense a driver can be cited for. What the policy does give a driver is a paper trail. Form DPS-206, Roadblock Supervisor Approval, has to exist before the roadblock starts, and it records who authorized it and for what time and place. After the roadblock, the DPS Roadblock Final Report, Form DPS-206A, must be completed, and the roadblock approving supervisor is responsible for obtaining the information and completing it.

The DPS-206A is attached to the Supervisory Initiation of Roadblock Approval Form, DPS-206, and maintained at the post in the territory where the roadblock occurred; if more than one post was involved, a copy of the DPS-206A is also kept at the originating post. For Commercial Vehicle Enforcement activity, all roadblock data must be recorded and subsequently reported as directed by the region commander, a designee, or the hosting agency. Those two forms, and the post where they are held, are what to ask about if you believe a Georgia State Patrol checkpoint was set up on the spot, screened only selected cars, or ran without a supervisor's advance approval.