--- name: ga-county-courts description: > Use when handling a Georgia case in any county NOT covered by the dedicated venue skills (`ga-fulton`, `ga-cobb`, `ga-gwinnett`). A rest-of-state roll-up that drives the per-county research workflow: identify the county's judicial circuit, whether it has a State Court, its Magistrate Court, which e-filing platform it uses (PeachCourt vs. Odyssey eFileGA), the local rules, and the clerk's filing and fee practices. Triggers: "file in [other Georgia county]", "my Georgia county court", "which e-filing system Georgia", "PeachCourt or eFileGA", "what circuit is [county] in", "does [county] have a State Court", "Superior Court of [county]", "Georgia county clerk filing", "Georgia local court rules". Statewide rules (CPA, the Uniform State / Superior / Magistrate Court Rules, O.C.G.A. § 9-11-10 format) apply everywhere; local practice and standing orders vary by circuit. Layers on top of `ga-statewide-format`. version: 0.1.0 --- # Georgia County Courts — Rest-of-State Roll-Up > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** Drafting and filing guidance only. Verify > every step against the current local rules of the filing court, the > assigned judge's standing orders, and the clerk's practices before > filing. County and circuit practices change; confirm with the clerk > before relying on anything here. Use this skill in addition to `ga-statewide-format` when the case is in a Georgia county **other than** Fulton, Cobb, or Gwinnett (which have their own venue skills: `ga-fulton`, `ga-cobb`, `ga-gwinnett`). Georgia has **159 counties** — far too many for one skill each — so the long tail is handled by a **per-county research workflow** plus this roll-up. The statewide rules are uniform; what varies county to county is the **court structure**, the **e-filing platform**, the **local rules**, and the **clerk's practices**. ## What is uniform statewide (applies in every county) - The **Georgia Civil Practice Act** (O.C.G.A. Title 9, Chapter 11) — same answer, default, discovery, and summary-judgment rules everywhere. - The **Uniform Superior Court Rules**, the parallel **Uniform State Court Rules**, and the **Uniform Magistrate Court Rules**. - The **pleading-format baseline** (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-10 caption, numbered paragraphs, separate counts) plus the marketplace format baseline — see `ga-statewide-format`. ## What varies by county (the per-county research workflow) Before drafting or filing in a non-flagship county, work through these steps: ### 1. Identify the county's judicial circuit (O.C.G.A. § 15-6-1) Every county sits in a **judicial circuit**; the Superior Court judges are assigned by circuit. There are roughly **50 circuits** (the AOC's 2024 workload assessment counts **51**), and **the count is in flux — the General Assembly amends § 15-6-1 frequently**, splitting and adding circuits. **Verify the current circuit for the filing county** (and the current circuit count) against § 15-6-1 and the georgiacourts.gov directory rather than relying on a memorized list. A single-county circuit (e.g., the metro counties) and a multi-county circuit are administered differently. ### 2. Determine whether the county has a State Court State Courts exist **only where created by local act**, in **fewer than half** of the 159 counties. If the county **has** a State Court, civil actions of any amount (except equity / divorce / title-to-land / felony) typically file there — see `ga-state-court`. If it **does not**, those civil actions file in the county's **Superior Court** instead. **Confirm the county's State Court status** before choosing the forum. ### 3. Locate the Magistrate Court Every county has a **Magistrate Court** for small-claims (within the current O.C.G.A. § 15-10-2(5) cap), dispossessory, and garnishment — see `ga-magistrate`. Confirm the local Magistrate Court's filing practices and whether it supplies statement-of-claim forms. ### 4. Identify the e-filing platform (PeachCourt vs. Odyssey eFileGA) Georgia counties use **two different e-filing systems**, and **which one a county uses is county-dependent**: - **PeachCourt** (the eFileGA front end on a Tyler Odyssey backbone) — used by many counties. - **Odyssey eFileGA** (Tyler) — used by other counties. **Always check the current platform for the filing county** at the AOC e-filing directory — **https://georgiacourts.gov/efile-court-records** — before assembling a packet. Civil e-filing is broadly mandatory in the higher courts statewide (the SB407 mandate, effective around 1/1/2019), but Magistrate e-filing is often **optional**; confirm both the platform and whether e-filing is mandatory or permissive for the specific court. ### 5. Pull the local rules and standing orders In addition to the uniform rules, each circuit (and often each assigned judge) issues **local rules** and **standing / case- management orders**. These commonly set chambers-copy thresholds, proposed-order delivery, ADR-by-default, and scheduling defaults. **Read the assigned judge's standing order** — per-judge civil case-management orders are common in the metro circuits and elsewhere. ### 6. Confirm the clerk's filing and fee practices Filing fees, accepted payment, in-person vs. e-file acceptance for pro se filers, and proposed-order delivery vary by clerk's office. Confirm with the **Clerk of Superior Court / State Court / Magistrate Court** for the county before filing. ## Forum-selection summary (which Georgia court) | If the claim is… | File in… | |---|---| | A civil money/tort claim, any amount, **and the county has a State Court** | **State Court** (`ga-state-court`) | | A civil money/tort claim where the county has **no** State Court | **Superior Court** (per the county's circuit) | | Equity, divorce, title to land, or a felony | **Superior Court** (exclusive) | | A small civil claim within the § 15-10-2(5) cap, dispossessory, or garnishment | **Magistrate Court** (`ga-magistrate`) | Confirm the subject-matter routing — the State/Superior split is by **subject, not dollar amount** (see `ga-state-court`). ## Caption — generic county variant ``` [SUPERIOR | STATE | MAGISTRATE] COURT OF [COUNTY] COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA [PLAINTIFF], ) ) Plaintiff, ) Civil Action File No. _________ ) v. ) ) [DEFENDANT], ) ) Defendant. ) [DOCUMENT TITLE IN ALL CAPS] ``` Pick the court line for the chosen forum and the county name for the filing county; use **"Civil Action File No. ____"**. See `ga-statewide-format` for the full pleading paper, the numbered- paragraph body (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-10), the certificate of service, and the pro se signature block. **Agent behavior:** before drafting or filing in any non-flagship county, run the per-county workflow above — (1) the **current circuit (§ 15-6-1)**, (2) whether the county has a **State Court**, (3) the **Magistrate Court** practices, (4) the **e-filing platform** (PeachCourt vs. Odyssey eFileGA, via georgiacourts.gov/efile-court-records), (5) the **local rules and the assigned judge's standing order**, and (6) the **clerk's fee/filing practices**. Do not assume a flagship county's practice carries to another county. ## Composition - For statewide format and the Georgia caption: `ga-statewide-format` - For the dedicated flagship venues: `ga-fulton`, `ga-cobb`, `ga-gwinnett` - For the civil-any-amount forum and the Superior/State split: `ga-state-court` - For the small-claims / dispossessory / garnishment forum: `ga-magistrate` - For the answer, defenses, and default avoidance: `ga-first-30-days` - For discovery practice: `ga-discovery` - For consumer-debt defenses: `ga-consumer-debt` - For deadline computation and Georgia legal holidays: `ga-deadlines` - For assembling and e-filing a packet: `ga-file-packet` - For citation verification: `ga-fact-check` ## References - `references/circuit-directory.md` — O.C.G.A. § 15-6-1 judicial circuits, the ~50-51 (in-flux) circuit count, and the county-to- circuit lookup workflow - `references/efiling-platforms.md` — PeachCourt vs. Odyssey eFileGA, the georgiacourts.gov/efile-court-records directory, and the SB407 mandatory-e-filing posture - `references/county-forum-checklist.md` — the per-county research workflow (circuit, State Court status, Magistrate Court, local rules, clerk practices)