Process Serving for Attorneys in Georgia

01How we work with firms

One Point of Contact for Georgia's Court System

Georgia has a superior court in each of its 159 counties, organized into 51 judicial circuits since the West Georgia Circuit split from the Coweta Circuit at the start of 2025. Add 72 state courts, a magistrate, probate and juvenile court in every county, and three federal districts, and a firm with a statewide docket can face very different service practices from one filing to the next. Delator Field Services gives your paralegals one intake, one quote format and one affidavit standard across all of them. Our Georgia process serving hub lists the courts we work with most.

Delator Field Services is the process serving division of Delator Group, a corporately structured firm headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, with leadership from military and federal law-enforcement backgrounds. We have no Georgia office. For each assignment we coordinate service through a Georgia server qualified for the court and county involved, and that server's work follows our documentation standard: logged, time-stamped attempts and a signed affidavit. Firms in Fulton and DeKalb can start with our Atlanta process servers and expand from there.

• 51 judicial circuits and 159 superior courts
• 72 state courts
• Magistrate, probate and juvenile courts in every county
• Northern, Middle and Southern federal districts

02O.C.G.A. § 9-11-4(c)

Matching the Server to the Court and County

Section 9-11-4(c) allows service by the sheriff or a deputy, a marshal, a citizen specially appointed by the court, a non-party adult appointed by the court or as a permanent process server, and a certified process server under § 9-11-4.1. Certified servers must file a yearly notice of intent with the sheriff of each county where they serve, and only sheriffs who allow certified servers accept that notice. Hall County's sheriff prohibits privately certified servers altogether. Our Hall County process server page explains how papers move there.

Permanent process server appointments are made court by court. Gwinnett Magistrate Court decides applications quarterly and maintains a private process servers list, and the State Court of Bibb County grants three-year appointments on petition. We never claim that a server holds an appointment we have not confirmed. Before accepting a job, we confirm in writing that the assigned server meets that court's requirements; where a county does not allow private servers for a paper type, we say so and the papers go through the sheriff. Our guide to who can serve in Georgia summarizes each path.

03O.C.G.A. § 9-11-4(h)

Proof of Service Built Around the Five-Business-Day Rule

Under § 9-11-4(h), the person who serves files proof within five business days of the service date with the court where the action is pending. A private server proves service by affidavit, and the affidavit must state the date, place and manner of service. If proof is filed late, the defendant's time to answer generally does not begin until it is filed, and that can move your default calendar. Failure to make proof does not affect the validity of the service itself, and subsection (i) lets the court allow amendment unless material prejudice would result.

We send the executed affidavit promptly after service so your team can file it within that window. Each affidavit identifies the documents served, the person served or the resident who accepted, and the circumstances. When you need the affidavit formatted for a particular court, tell us at intake, and our Georgia legal papers guide shows the methods it may describe. Firms filing in Cobb can send that work to our Marietta process server, and Gwinnett filings go through our Lawrenceville process servers.

04Calendaring

Answer Deadlines That Depend on Clean Service

Clean service starts the clock your docket depends on. In superior and state court, the summons framework generally gives a defendant 30 days after service to answer. Magistrate court civil claims also carry a 30-day answer period under O.C.G.A. § 15-10-43(c), and a default there may be opened within 15 days by filing an answer and paying costs. Dispossessory defendants have only seven days under § 44-7-51(b). Our Georgia magistrate and small claims service page covers the claim side in more detail.

When service is waived under § 9-11-4(d), the defendant has 60 days after the request was sent, or 90 if outside the United States, and a domestic defendant who unreasonably refuses to waive may be charged the costs of service. For publication, the answer period is 60 days from the order date. Those differences are why our affidavits are precise about the date. Firms handling dispossessories should read our Georgia eviction papers page, because we confirm the magistrate court's practice before accepting one.

05Federal practice

Service in Georgia's Three Federal Districts

Federal cases in Georgia are spread across three districts. The Northern District's courthouse is at 75 Ted Turner Drive S.W. in Atlanta, with divisions in Gainesville, Rome and Newnan. The Middle District keeps staffed clerk's offices in Macon, Athens, Columbus, Albany and Valdosta. The Southern District has offices in Augusta, Savannah and Brunswick, plus Statesboro, Waycross and Dublin offices that are not always fully staffed. Federal appeals go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Firms with Middle District matters can use our Macon process serving team.

Federal summonses are served under the federal rules, which generally allow service following state law, so the Georgia methods in § 9-11-4 frequently come into play. Your attorney chooses the rule; we follow it and document the result. Subpoenas for federal depositions are delivered the same way, with the return completed for the court. For Southern District coastal cases, our Savannah process server page and Augusta process serving page cover the main divisions.

06Post-judgment work

Garnishment Notices and Post-Judgment Papers

Collection practices rely on tight post-judgment timing. Under O.C.G.A. § 18-4-8, the garnishee is served under § 9-11-4, and notice to the defendant must follow within three business days after the garnishee is served. Personal delivery is one permitted method for that notice, by a non-party adult, a court-appointed or permanent process server, a sheriff, marshal or constable, or a certified process server, who then files a certification with the clerk. No funds may be paid out until at least 10 days after the certificate of compliance is filed.

We can serve the garnishee and deliver the defendant notice on a coordinated schedule, so the three-business-day window is not missed because two vendors were involved. When the garnishee is a bank or employer, our Georgia registered agent service page explains how companies receive papers. Out-of-county garnishees in middle Georgia are handled through our Warner Robins process server and Bibb County service pages.

07Protecting the case

Diligence Records, Defaults and Servicemember Affidavits

When a complaint is filed close to the end of a limitation period and service comes later, Georgia courts generally ask whether the plaintiff was reasonably diligent, and conclusory affidavits tend to fail. Detailed, dated attempt logs are what counsel uses to show diligence; statute-of-limitations questions belong with your attorney. We log every attempt by date, hour and observation, and we tell your team promptly when an address is not producing results. Our page on defendants who avoid service describes the attempt planning.

Before a default judgment, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requires an affidavit stating whether the defendant is in military service, and the Department of Justice lists the DMDC SCRA website as the public database for that check. If a defendant lives on or near a military installation, we coordinate with counsel before any attempt on base. Firms with matters near Fort Benning can use our Columbus process server page, and the publication guide for Georgia covers the alternative when service cannot be made.

Services

Services for Georgia Law Firms

• Summons and complaint servicePersonal or abode service of superior, state and magistrate court suits, with an affidavit stating the date, place and manner of service.Learn more
• Entity defendantsService on officers, managing agents and registered agents of corporations and LLCs, with the recipient's name and stated title recorded in the affidavit.Learn more
• Subpoena deliveryTrial, hearing and deposition subpoenas served by an adult non-party, with any out-of-county witness fee tender noted in the return.Learn more
• Domestic relations papersDivorce, custody, modification and support papers served on the opposing party, with care for addresses where a spouse may not live.Learn more
• Garnishment coordinationGarnishee service and the defendant notice delivered on one coordinated schedule so the three-business-day window under § 18-4-8 is protected.Learn more
• Difficult defendantsVaried-time attempts, gated community planning and a dated diligence log your firm can attach to a motion for another method.Learn more
• Interstate mattersOut-of-state summonses and UIDDA subpoenas served in Georgia, and Georgia case papers for Tennessee defendants coordinated with our Nashville headquarters.Learn more
• Priority tiersUrgent, Rush and Same Day Rush service at 1.5x, 2x and 3x the county Routine rate, confirmed in writing before dispatch.Learn more
• Statewide rate lookupPublished Routine starting rates for all 159 counties so your firm can estimate costs before sending the papers to us.Learn more

How it works

How Firm Assignments Run

1. 01

   Submit the serve

   Your paralegal uploads the filed papers through the serve request form or by email, with the case number, court, defendant details and any deadline the firm is working against.

2. 02

   Written confirmation

   We confirm the county rate, the service tier and that the assigned server meets the court's requirements, in writing, before the first attempt is made.

3. 03

   Attempts with updates

   Attempts are logged with date, time and observations, and the firm is told promptly when service is made or when an address is not producing results.

4. 04

   Affidavit for filing

   You receive a signed affidavit stating the date, place and manner of service, sent promptly so it can be filed within five business days.

Compare

Georgia Answer Periods Counsel Calendar From Service

Statewide coverage

Attorney Service Across Georgia

Firms in the Atlanta and DeKalb Circuits can route work through our Fulton County servers and DeKalb County service. North metro practices use our Cherokee County process servers, and Athens firms reach the Western Circuit through Athens process serving. In south Georgia, Valdosta and Albany filings are served at each county's published starting rate, and coastal work runs through Chatham County service. The same intake, quote format and affidavit standard apply in every circuit, and the final price is always confirmed in writing first.

• Atlanta
• Marietta
• Lawrenceville
• Savannah
• Macon
• Augusta
• All of Georgia

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Service areas

Process servers across Georgia