Divorce in Georgia, start to finish
See a different stateGeorgia
Georgia doesn’t hand you one statewide packet the way some states do — it hands you two forms, a six-month residency rule, and 159 counties that each run their own Superior Court with its own local packet, or none at all. This kit tells you which of the real, verifiable pieces apply to you, links to every one we could confirm still works, and is honest about the ones that vary by county.
Put in the day you filed and this page works out every deadline in your case, then hands you a calendar file that reminds you a week before each one and again the day before. It opens in the calendar you already use. Free, no account, nothing stored.
1 · The two routes, and what the rule requires
Georgia does not have a separate “simplified” track the way Florida or Connecticut do. What it has instead is one real fork: uncontested, meaning everything has been settled, versus contested, meaning it has not — and that fork decides whether a case can be over in about a month or takes a great deal longer. Almost everyone files under the no-fault ground, O.C.G.A. § 19-5-3(13), that the marriage is irretrievably broken.
O.C.G.A. § 19-5-2 requires one spouse to have been a bona fide resident of Georgia for 6 months before filing. There is no way around it.
Uncontested
Timing floors under Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.6
The substance is settled, so the case itself is not contested. The only question left is how fast the paperwork moves, and that turns entirely on how the other spouse comes into the case.
Available only where all of these are true:
- Property, debts, and — where there are minor children — custody and support have all been agreed.
Where the other spouse signs an Acknowledgment of Service and files an Answer, the divorce can be granted 31 days after service under USCR 24.6. That is Georgia’s fastest floor.
Where they do not sign, they must be formally served — sheriff, $50, or a process server. And where no Answer is ever filed, the earliest floor moves from 31 days to 46 days under USCR 24.6.
Contested
O.C.G.A. § 19-5-1 and following · USCR 24.2
Where the spouses have not yet agreed on how to divide things, the case cannot move at the 31-day pace.
It still may not go to trial. Most contested Georgia divorces settle before that, often through mediation — which many county Superior Courts either require or strongly encourage before a contested domestic case is set for trial.
This is the route wherever this is true:
- Property, debts, or — where there are minor children — custody and support have not yet been agreed.
The paperwork, the discovery, and the Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit requirement under USCR 24.2 are all heavier on this route. This is the path where paying for at least one attorney consultation tends to pay for itself.
2 · Every form Georgia publishes for a divorce
The complete list, not a shortlist — because which forms a case needs depends on facts only you and, if you need one, your lawyer can weigh. Georgia only publishes two divorce forms statewide, on georgiacourts.gov; everything else — the settlement agreement, the parenting plan, the final judgment itself — is drafted by you, your county, or an attorney, because Georgia never built one uniform packet. Each row says which route it belongs to and which pieces are real statewide forms with links we checked.
The Cusp is not a law firm and cannot tell you which forms are right for your case. Everything here is general information about how Georgia handles divorce, and every form below is published free by Georgia itself — you do not have to buy anything from anyone to get them. If your situation is not straightforward, a consultation with a Georgia family lawyer costs far less than fixing a filing that went wrong.
| Form | What it is | Route | Rev. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GA-COMP-MC | Complaint for Divorce — With Minor Children | All | 2025 | Download ↓ |
| GA-COMP-NC | Complaint for Divorce — Without Minor Children | All | 10/19 | Download ↓ |
| GA-DRCFI | Domestic Relations Case Filing Information Form — statewide cover sheet, O.C.G.A. § 9-11-3 | All | — | Download ↓ |
| GA-ANS-MC | Answer and Counterclaim — With Minor Children (the responding spouse files it, or signs the Acknowledgment of Service instead) | All | 04/24 | Download ↓ |
| GA-ANS-NC | Answer and Counterclaim — Without Minor Children (the responding spouse files it, or signs the Acknowledgment of Service instead) | All | 06/21 | Download ↓ |
| GA-DRFA | Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit — sworn, USCR 24.2 (often waivable where the case is fully settled — ask your clerk) | All | — | Download ↓ |
| GA-PARPLAN | Parenting Plan — proposed where the case is contested; required by O.C.G.A. § 19-9-1, no statewide form | All | see clerk | county clerk |
| GA-CSW | Child Support Worksheet — generated at the state’s official calculator, where there are minor children | All | online tool | Open ↗ |
| GA-PARSEM | Parenting Seminar Certificate of Completion — where there are minor children | All | see clerk | county clerk |
| GA-SETTLE | Settlement Agreement — no statewide form, county template or attorney-drafted | Uncontested | see clerk | county clerk |
| GA-FINAL | Final Judgment and Decree of Divorce — no statewide form | All | see clerk | county clerk |
Every linked form is free and statewide, or the clean copy a major county publishes of a statewide-required form. Rows marked “county clerk” have no single Georgia-wide version — confirm the current template with the Superior Court clerk in the county where the case will be filed.
3 · Getting the forms and filling them in
Nobody explains this part, so here it is. Georgia is far less centralized than Florida or Connecticut — there’s no single statewide e-filing portal for self-represented filers and no guided online tool. That’s not a flaw in this kit; it’s the actual state of Georgia’s system, and pretending otherwise would get your filing rejected.
In Georgia this depends on where you file Depends on your county
- Portal
- eFileGA (Tyler/Odyssey), PeachCourt, and GreenFiling/InfoTrack — which one applies depends on the county
- Paper
- Not confirmed. Ask the clerk before you drive over.
- What it costs
- Varies by circuit and provider. Fulton Superior: '$7 fee for every electronic envelope you submit'; 'There is never a charge for e-filing at the PAT' (public access terminal), though regular court filing fees still apply; filers with an in forma pauperis order are exempt from court and filing fees. Card surcharge: Fulton Superior: '2% credit card usage fee'; waived when filing at a court
- Worth knowing
- Georgia is the one state where we cannot give you a single answer, and you should not trust anyone who does. E-filing is set circuit by circuit. In Fulton County it is mandatory for self-represented filers who have an email address — but the court removes the cost by letting you file free at a Public Access Terminal in the courthouse, and anyone with a fee-waiver order is exempt from the fees entirely. Ogeechee Circuit also requires it. Gwinnett’s rule reaches attorneys only. Divorce is a civil case in Superior Court, so these civil e-filing orders do reach it — none of the orders we read carved divorce out. Check your own county before you assume paper is an option.
MANDATORY for self-represented parties who have an email address. Standing Order 25EX001498 (Sept. 2, 2025): 'E-filing remains mandatory for all civil cases, except for [ex parte motions, adoptions, bond validations, surrogacy declaratory judgment, TPR, family violence TPOs, fieri facias]' and 'no party will be permitted to file paper documents in any case except for incarcerated individuals without legal representation.' Accommodation: pro se parties may file free at a courthouse Public Access Terminal (no account needed, usage and convenience fees waived); a pro se party with no email addres source
'Yes, if you have an email address, e-filing is mandatory for all civil cases except for…' — plus PAT filing, $7/envelope, 2% card fee, IFP exemption. source
Mandatory for ATTORNEYS only on the face of the court's notice: from Jan. 1, 2019 'attorneys shall be required to electronically file all pleadings… in a civil case in superior or state court' and 'the Clerk will not accept paper filings from attorneys.' The notice says nothing about self-represented litigants, and the mandate is expressly limited to attorneys — so pro se paper filing appears to remain available, but Gwinnett publishes no explicit pro se statement I could find. source
Not confirmed. The Clerk's civil e-filing page says e-filing is required 'for any case that was initiated as an e-filed case' but does not address pro se filers, cite the standing order, or state whether paper is accepted from them. The Clerk's e-filing guide page and cobbcounty.gov resources page were not readable (robots block / empty render). source
MANDATORY for self-represented litigants: 'electronic filing in civil cases… shall be mandatory for attorneys and self-represented litigants' and 'Self-Represented Litigants are required to use E-Filing.' Paper allowed only for enumerated document types (adoptions, TPOs, sealed filings, etc.), for everyone. source
Step one — check your county first, then fall back to the state forms
Georgia Courts’ own self-help instructions say it plainly: look at your county Superior Court clerk’s website for a local divorce packet first, because many counties (Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett, DeKalb and others) publish their own. If your county doesn’t have one, the two statewide forms below are your baseline, and Georgia’s own self-help page points self-represented filers toward the Southern Judicial Circuit’s public all-purpose packet as a fallback when nothing local exists.
georgiacourts.gov — Divorce Forms (statewide)
In Florida or Connecticut, one statewide form works everywhere. In Georgia, a form that satisfies Fulton County’s Family Division local rules may not satisfy Cobb’s, and vice versa. Always confirm with the clerk in the specific county where you’re filing before you rely on any packet — including this one.
Step two — fill them in
Georgia’s two statewide complaint forms are fillable PDFs. Type your answers rather than handwriting them, and write “N/A” anywhere something doesn’t apply instead of leaving a field blank. Many counties also require the Complaint itself to be sworn or verified before a notary — this is a local-rule question, so check your county’s instructions before you sign.
Step three — the sworn documents
The Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit (required under Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.2 whenever there’s a hearing on temporary issues, and in most contested cases) is sworn, not just signed — you complete it under oath before a notary. Georgia recognizes remote online notarization for these documents; banks, UPS Stores, and mobile or online notary services can all do it for a small fee, often under $25.
Signing a financial affidavit before you’re actually in front of the notary — in person or on an approved video session — makes the oath invalid. Courts and opposing counsel do check the notarization date against your other filing dates.
Step four — file, and get your spouse served
Georgia doesn’t have one statewide e-filing portal for self-represented parties the way Florida does — many Superior Court clerks accept paper filing at the counter, and a growing number use county-specific e-filing systems (like PeachCourt/Odyssey eFileGA in participating counties). Ask your clerk which options they accept. You’ll file your Complaint along with the Domestic Relations Case Filing Information Form — a cover sheet required statewide under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-3 for every civil action filed in Superior Court, including divorce — and pay the filing fee.
Then your spouse has to be given formal notice. A sheriff’s deputy can serve the Complaint and Summons for a statutory fee of $50 per person (O.C.G.A. § 15-16-21), or you can hire a private process server. If your spouse is cooperative, they can instead sign an Acknowledgment of Service — no sheriff, no fee — which is also what starts the fastest possible clock toward a decree. There’s no single statewide Acknowledgment of Service form; your county clerk or packet will have one.
Under Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.6, a divorce can be granted 31 days after service or after an Acknowledgment of Service is filed, by consent. Without one — relying on sheriff or process-server service and simply waiting out an unanswered case — the earliest floor is 46 days. That’s two extra weeks for a five-minute signature.
4 · Your deadlines, calculated
Almost everything in a Georgia divorce counts from the day your spouse is served (or signs an Acknowledgment of Service) — not from the day you file. Put in your dates and we’ll turn Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.6 into actual dates on your calendar, then you can add them to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook in one click.
5 · The order it actually happens in
6 · The rejection-proofing checklist
These are the specific things that get Georgia filings bounced, stalled, or defaulted on — the clerk won’t necessarily flag them for you.
Signing, venue, and verification
Forms people forget
Timing
Georgia courts generally will not award alimony you never asked for in your pleadings. If there’s any chance you’ll want it, request it in the Complaint’s prayer for relief — you can still settle for less, but you can’t add it back in later if you never asked.
7 · Georgia’s trap: the automatic domestic standing order
This is the piece most self-represented Georgia filers have never heard of until they’ve already violated it.
Many Georgia Superior Courts’ family divisions — Fulton County’s among them, confirmed on the court’s own website — issue a standing order in every domestic relations case that takes effect automatically, without either party requesting it or a judge signing anything case-specific. Fulton’s Family Division case management order explicitly tells both parties they “are also required to comply with the Automatic Domestic Standing Order for the Family Division.” Orders like this are commonly used across Georgia’s larger counties to freeze the status quo the moment a domestic case is filed — typically restricting things like disposing of marital property outside the ordinary course of business, changing insurance beneficiaries or coverage, and relocating minor children out of state, without either side needing to ask a judge first.
We were able to verify that this kind of automatic order genuinely exists and is treated as mandatory in at least one major Georgia county through the court’s own filings. What we could not verify is a single statewide version — the exact restrictions, and exactly when they take effect (on filing versus on service), differ from circuit to circuit, because Georgia doesn’t publish one master order the way it might for a form. Before you spend a dollar of marital money, add anyone to a policy, or move with your kids after you file, ask your county Superior Court clerk whether a standing order applies to your case and get a copy of it.
8 · The Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit
This is Georgia’s version of a financial disclosure form — required under Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.2 whenever there’s a hearing on temporary issues, and in practice expected in most contested and many uncontested cases. It’s a sworn statement, not a draft.
Rule 24.2 carves out an exception for uncontested cases supported by a full written separation/settlement agreement, and for emergency actions. If you’re fully settled and filing uncontested, ask your clerk whether your county still expects the affidavit filed anyway — many do, as a matter of local practice even where the rule doesn’t strictly require it.
9 · What this costs
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Filing fee (Fulton $223 · Gwinnett $220 · Cobb $218 — Georgia has no flat statewide fee) | ~$218–223 |
| Sheriff service of process, per person (O.C.G.A. § 15-16-21) | $50 |
| Private process server, if used instead | $50–100 |
| Parenting seminar, per parent (if minor children; varies by county) | ~$35–75 |
| Notary / remote online notarization for the sworn affidavit | $0–25 |
| Service by publication, if you can’t locate your spouse | $100+ |
| Typical all-in, doing it yourselves, uncontested — no kids | ~$270–350 |
| Typical all-in, doing it yourselves, uncontested — with kids | ~$340–470 |
File a Pauper’s Affidavit (affidavit of indigence) under O.C.G.A. § 9-15-2. Georgia Courts publishes a statewide Order on Pauper’s Affidavit that judges use to grant the waiver; your county clerk provides the accompanying affidavit itself, since its exact format is set locally. If approved, it can waive the filing fee and sheriff service costs.
The two rows below are illustrative demo data — member-reported ranges from The Cusp’s community, not verified pricing from any court or bar association. Actual attorney fees vary enormously by county, complexity, and firm.
| Attorney involvement (illustrative, member-reported) | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Uncontested, attorney-assisted or reviewed | $1,500–$3,500 |
| Contested, full representation, per side | $5,000–$15,000+ |
What this is. A guide to Georgia’s own process, built from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Title 19, Chapter 5 — including O.C.G.A. §§ 19-5-2, 19-5-3, and 19-6-15; Title 9’s civil practice provisions including § 9-11-3 and § 9-15-2; and Title 15, § 15-16-21), the Uniform Superior Court Rules (including Rules 24.2 and 24.6), and the official forms and self-help instructions published by Georgia Courts at georgiacourts.gov. Where a county’s own fee, form, or local rule was the only source, we’ve named that county rather than presenting it as statewide.
What this is not. The Cusp is not a law firm and does not practice law. Nothing here is legal advice, and nothing here tells you which choice is right for your particular situation — only what Georgia and the specific counties we could verify require. If your case involves contested custody, a business, hidden assets, domestic violence, or a spouse with a lawyer, talk to one yourself; many offer free consultations, and one hour of advice is cheaper than a case that stalls for months.
Confirm current numbers with your clerk. Georgia’s fragmentation is real, not a gap in this kit: 159 counties each run their own Superior Court, and local rules, packets, and fees change without a central statewide announcement. Where we could not verify an exact form, fee, or deadline with an official source, this kit says so directly and tells you to check with your county Superior Court clerk rather than guessing.
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Everything we have written about Georgia specifically. Every figure on these pages is quoted from Georgia’s own statute or its courts’ own published schedule, and carries the date we last checked it.
The most expensive mistakes in a divorce are made in the year after it, by people who thought the case was over. After the divorce is the checklist for that year — the health-coverage clock, the retirement order a decree cannot replace, and the beneficiary form that outranks your will.
Filing is one household becoming two, and the second one starts empty. The two-household list is what to send the people who keep asking how they can help — the second of everything, and the half of it that costs nothing. Some people call it a divorce registry.