Georgia Process Server Service of Process in All 159 Counties, Under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-4

Who may serve

The sheriff of the county where the action is brought or where the defendant is found, or a deputy; the marshal or sheriff of the court, or a deputy; a U.S. citizen specially appointed by the court; a non-party at least 18 years old appointed by the court to serve process or as a permanent process server; or a certified process server.

O.C.G.A. § 9-⁠11-⁠4(c)

Certified process servers

Approved by a county sheriff on proof of a fingerprint-based record check with no felony or impersonation conviction, a 12-hour approved course, a passed test, a surety bond or insurance policy, and U.S. citizenship. Certification lasts three years unless a superior court judge withdraws it sooner for good cause, and lets the server work anywhere in Georgia, but only in counties whose sheriff allows certified servers.

O.C.G.A. § 9-⁠11-⁠4.1(a)–⁠(c)

County notice

Before serving in a county for the first time, a certified server files a written notice of intent with that county’s sheriff, good for one year. A certified server who was appointed by a court to serve process, or as a permanent process server, is exempt.

O.C.G.A. § 9-⁠11-⁠4.1(h)

Counties without certified servers

A certified process server may serve only in a county whose sheriff allows certified servers, and, unless the server was appointed by a court to serve process or as a permanent process server, only after filing a written notice of intent with that sheriff. Where certified servers are not allowed, a private person needs a court appointment under § 9-11-4(c)(3) or (4): a special appointment for the case, or appointment to serve process or as a permanent process server.

O.C.G.A. §§ 9-⁠11-⁠4.1(a), (h); 9-⁠11-⁠4(c)

Time to serve

For service inside Georgia, the person serving has five days from receiving the summons and complaint, but the statute provides that failure to serve within that period “will not invalidate a later service.” If a limitation period is close, ask counsel how late service affects the case.

O.C.G.A. § 9-⁠11-⁠4(c)

Individuals

Personal delivery, or copies left at the dwelling house or usual place of abode with a person of suitable age and discretion residing there, or delivery to an agent authorized by appointment or by law. Unless service is waived, the summons and complaint are served together. Exceptions: a minor is served personally and also through a parent, guardian or guardian ad litem (not the parent or guardian of a married minor); a Georgia resident judicially declared of unsound mind or incapable of conducting their own affairs is served personally and also through the guardian, or the guardian ad litem if no guardian has been appointed.

O.C.G.A. § 9-⁠11-⁠4(e)⁠(3), (e)⁠(4), (e)⁠(7)

Counties, cities and other public bodies

A Georgia county, municipality, city or town is served through the chairman of the board of commissioners, the president of the council of trustees, the mayor or city manager of the city, or an agent authorized by appointment to receive service of process. Any other public body or organization subject to an action is served through its chief executive officer or clerk.

O.C.G.A. § 9-⁠11-⁠4(e)⁠(5)

Corporations

A Georgia corporation, or a foreign corporation authorized to do business in Georgia, is served through its president or another officer, a managing agent (an employee at a Georgia office or facility with managerial or supervisory authority), or its registered agent. When service cannot be had that way, the Secretary of State becomes the agent. The plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney certifies in writing to the Secretary of State that the papers went by registered mail or statutory overnight delivery to the last registered office or agent, that service cannot be made there, and that the corporation therefore appears to have failed to maintain a registered office or appoint a registered agent in Georgia; a copy of the process and of the affidavit for the court is delivered to the Secretary of State. If the certification shows a known officer’s last known address outside Georgia, the plaintiff, in addition to and after service on the Secretary of State, mails that officer the summons and complaint by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery. Service by certification is answerable not more than 30 days after the Secretary of State receives the certification. A foreign corporation doing business in Georgia without authorization, or a nonresident individual, partnership, joint-stock company or association doing business here, with a managing agent, is served through that managing agent or a registered agent designated for service.

O.C.G.A. § 9-⁠11-⁠4(e)⁠(1)–⁠(2)

LLCs

Every LLC must continuously maintain a registered office and a registered agent for service of process in Georgia, and is ordinarily served through that agent; § 14-11-209(h) says the section is not the only means of serving an LLC. If the LLC has no registered agent, or the agent cannot with reasonable diligence be found at the registered office, the Secretary of State is its agent: the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney certifies in writing to the Secretary of State that the LLC failed to maintain a registered office or appoint a registered agent, that the papers were sent by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery to the most recent registered office on record, and that service cannot be made there, and a copy of the process is delivered to and left with the Secretary of State or a person the Secretary designates.

O.C.G.A. § 14-⁠11-⁠209(a), (f), (h)

Outside Georgia

Under § 9-11-4(g), all process may be served anywhere within Georgia and, when a statute so provides, beyond the state’s territorial limits. A natural person who is a Georgia resident, or who is a defendant in an action affecting specific real property or status or another proceeding in rem, may be personally served outside the state once the court orders it on an affidavit showing those facts and, by affidavit or verified complaint, a claim against a necessary or proper party. Separately, a nonresident subject to Georgia’s long-arm jurisdiction under § 9-10-91, for example on a claim arising from business transacted in Georgia, may be served with a summons outside the state in the same manner as service within Georgia, by anyone authorized to serve under the law of the place of service or by a duly qualified attorney, solicitor, barrister or equivalent there.

O.C.G.A. §§ 9-⁠11-⁠4(f)⁠(2), (g), 9-⁠10-⁠91, 9-⁠10-⁠94

Other methods

The methods in § 9-11-4 are cumulative. They also include service abroad, for example by Hague Service Convention means; and, where the principal sum involved is under the (e)(6) amount and reasonable efforts were made to find someone residing at the defendant’s abode, securely attaching the service copy of the complaint in a conspicuously marked, waterproof packet to the upper part of the door, mailing a copy the same day by certified or registered mail or statutory overnight delivery to the last known address, and making an entry of this on the return of service. The court may also prescribe service where the law does not set the procedure or is unclear.

O.C.G.A. § 9-⁠11-⁠4(e)⁠(6), (f)⁠(3), (j)

Publication

On an affidavit showing the judge or clerk that the defendant resides outside Georgia, has departed from the state, cannot after due diligence be found within it, or conceals himself or herself to avoid service, and an affidavit or verified complaint showing that a claim exists against the defendant and that the defendant is a necessary or proper party, the judge or clerk may order service by publication of summons. The clerk has it published in the paper that prints the sheriff’s advertisements four times within the next 60 days, at least seven days apart. Where the defendant’s residence or abiding place is known, the party obtaining the order advises the clerk, who mails a copy of the notice within 15 days after the order is filed.

O.C.G.A. § 9-⁠11-⁠4(f)⁠(1)

Waiver of service

To avoid costs, the plaintiff may ask the defendant to waive service of a summons. The request goes by first-class mail or other reliable means, refers to § 9-11-4, uses the text prescribed in § 9-11-4(l), and allows at least 30 days from sending to return the waiver (60 days if the defendant is addressed outside any judicial district of the United States). A defendant who returns it on time need not answer until 60 days after the request was sent (90 days if addressed outside any judicial district of the United States). A defendant located within the United States who fails to comply with a request from a plaintiff located within the United States bears the costs later incurred in effecting service unless good cause is shown. Once the plaintiff files the waiver, no proof of service is required.

O.C.G.A. § 9-⁠11-⁠4(d)

Proof of service

Due with the court in the county where the action is pending within five business days of service. A private server proves service by affidavit stating the date, place and manner of service; publication is proved by the clerk’s certificate of publication and mailing; the defendant’s written admission or acknowledgment of service is also proof. If proof is not filed within five business days, the defendant’s time to answer does not start until it is filed. Failure to make proof does not affect the validity of the service.

O.C.G.A. § 9-⁠11-⁠4(h)

Serving a Georgia subpoena

Any sheriff or the sheriff’s deputy, or any other person at least 18 years old, may serve a subpoena, and proof may be a return or certificate endorsed on a copy of it. A subpoena may also be served by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, with the return receipt as prima facie proof of service; a party may be served through his or her counsel of record. An attorney of record may issue and sign a subpoena obtained from the clerk, as an officer of the court, for any deposition, hearing or trial in that proceeding. A subpoena to attend a hearing or trial may be served anywhere in Georgia. When a subpoena is enforced by contempt, the court considers whether it was served within a reasonable time, and in any event not less than 24 hours before the appearance.

O.C.G.A. §§ 24-⁠13-⁠21(d), 24-⁠13-⁠22, 24-⁠13-⁠24, 24-⁠13-⁠26(a)

Witness fee and mileage

When the witness resides outside the county where the testimony is to be given, service of the subpoena is valid only if accompanied by tender of the statutory witness fee for one day’s attendance plus mileage, in U.S. currency, postal money order, cashier’s check, certified check or the check of an attorney or law firm. No tender is needed when the subpoena is issued on behalf of the State of Georgia, an officer, agency or political subdivision of it, or an accused in a criminal proceeding. Payment of witness fees may not be demanded as a condition precedent to attendance.

O.C.G.A. § 24-⁠13-⁠25

Public and legal holidays

Georgia recognizes and observes as public and legal holidays the days the federal government designates as public and legal holidays, plus any other days the Governor designates and proclaims as public and legal holidays.

O.C.G.A. § 1-⁠4-⁠1(a)

Rules verified October 2026 against the O.C.G.A. sections cited on this page, which the Georgia General Assembly publishes free through the Official Code of Georgia Annotated on LexisNexis. General information, not legal advice. The statute controls.