Where the service of process is made outside of the United States, after an order of publication, it may be served either by any citizen of the United States or by any resident of the country, territory, colony, or province who is specially appointed by the court for that purpose. When service is to be made within this state, the person making such service shall make the service within five days from the time of receiving the summons and complaint; but failure to make service within the five-day period will not invalidate a later service.
In the case of service otherwise than by publication, the certificate or affidavit shall state the date, place, and manner of service. Failure to make proof of service shall not affect the validity of the service.
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Subsection (d) of Code Section 9-11-4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated requires certain parties to cooperate in saving unnecessary costs of service of the summons and the pleading. A defendant located in the United States who, after being notified of an action and asked by a plaintiff located in the United States to waive service of a summons, fails to do so will be required to bear the cost of such service unless good cause be shown for such defendant’s failure to sign and return the waiver.
It is not good cause for a failure to waive service that a party believes that the complaint is unfounded, or that the action has been brought in an improper place or in a court that lacks jurisdiction over the subject matter of the action or over its person or property. A party who waives service of the summons retains all defenses and objections (except any relating to the summons or to the service of the summons), and may later object to the jurisdiction of the court or to the place where the action has been brought.
A defendant who waives service must, within the time specified on the waiver form, serve on the plaintiff’s attorney (or unrepresented plaintiff) a response to the complaint and also must file a signed copy of the response with the court. If the answer is not served within this time, a default judgment may be taken against that defendant. By waiving service, a defendant is allowed more time to answer than if the summons had been actually served when the request for waiver of service was received.
NOTICE OF LAWSUIT AND REQUEST FOR WAIVER OF SERVICE OF SUMMONS TO: (Name of individual defendant or name of officer or agent of corporate defendant) as (title, or other relationship of individual to corporate defendant) of (name of corporate defendant to be served, if any) A lawsuit has been commenced against you (or the entity on whose behalf you are addressed). A copy of the complaint is attached to this notice. The complaint has been filed in the (court named on the complaint) for the State of Georgia in and for the County of (county) and has been assigned (case number of action). This is not a formal summons or notification from the court, but rather my request pursuant to of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated that you sign and return the enclosed Waiver of Service in order to save the cost of serving you with a judicial summons and an additional copy of the complaint. The cost of service will be avoided if I receive a signed copy of the waiver within 30 days (or 60 days if located outside any judicial district of the United States) after the date designated below as the date on which this Notice of Lawsuit and Request for Waiver of Service of Summons is sent. I enclose a stamped and addressed envelope (or other means of cost-free return) for your use. An extra copy of the Waiver of Service is also attached for your records. YOU ARE ENTITLED TO CONSULT WITH YOUR ATTORNEY REGARDING THIS MATTER. Code Section 9-11-4 If you comply with this request and return the signed Waiver of Service, the waiver will be filed with the court and no summons will be served on you. The action will then proceed as if you had been served on the date the waiver is filed except that you will not be obligated to answer or otherwise respond to the complaint within 60 days from the date designated below as the date on which this notice is sent (or within 90 days from that date if your address is not in any judicial district of the United States). If you do not return the signed waiver within the time indicated, I will take appropriate steps to effect formal service in a manner authorized by the Georgia Rules of Civil Procedure and then, to the extent authorized by those rules, I will ask the court to require you (or the party on whose behalf you are addressed) to pay the full cost of such service. In that connection, please read the statement concerning the duty of parties to avoid unnecessary costs of service of summons, which is set forth on the Notice of Duty to Avoid Unnecessary Costs of Service of Summons enclosed herein. I affirm that this Notice of Lawsuit and Request for Waiver of Service of Summons is being sent to you on behalf of the Plaintiff on this day of . Signature of plaintiff’s attorney or Unrepresented plaintiff WAIVER OF SERVICE OF SUMMONS To: (Name of plaintiff’s attorney or unrepresented plaintiff) I acknowledge receipt of your request that I waive service of a summons in the action of (caption of action), which is case number (docket number) in the (name of court) of the State of Georgia in and for the County of (county). I have also received a copy of the complaint in the action, two copies of this instrument, and a means by which I can return the signed waiver to you without cost to me. I understand that I am entitled to consult with my own attorney regarding the consequences of my signing this waiver. I agree to save the cost of service of a summons and an additional copy of the complaint in this lawsuit by not requiring that I (or the entity on whose behalf I am acting) be served with judicial process in the manner provided by the Georgia Rules of Civil Procedure. I (or the entity on whose behalf I am acting) will retain all defenses or objections to the lawsuit or to the jurisdiction or venue of the court except for objections based on a defect in the summons or in the service of the summons. I understand that a judgment may be entered against me (or the entity on whose behalf I am acting) if an answer is not served upon you within 60 days after the date this waiver was sent, or within 90 days after that date if the request for the waiver was sent outside the United States. This day of , . (Signed) (Printed or typed name of defendant) as (title) of (name of corporate defendant, if any)
NOTICE OF DUTY TO AVOID UNNECESSARY COSTS OF SERVICE OF SUMMONS
History. Ga. L. 1966, p. 609, § 4; Ga. L. 1967, p. 226, §§ 1-3, 51; Ga. L. 1968, p. 1036, § 1; Ga. L. 1968, p. 1104, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1969, p. 487, § 1; Ga. L. 1972, p. 689, §§ 1-3; Ga. L. 1980, p. 1124, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 9; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 9; Ga. L. 1989, p. 364, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 626, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 91, § 9; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1225, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, §§ 3, 4; Ga. L. 2002, p. 1244, § 1; Ga. L. 2010, p. 822, §§ 2, 3, 4/SB 491; Ga. L. 2012, p. 695, § 1/HB 1048; Ga. L. 2013, p. 591, § 1/SB 113.
The 2013 amendment, effective July 1, 2013, added the subparagraph (e)(1)(A) designation; in subparagraph (e)(1)(A), in the first sentence, substituted “such corporation or foreign corporation, a managing agent thereof, or a registered agent thereof,” for “the corporation, secretary, cashier, managing agent, or other agent thereof,” and inserted “or foreign corporation”, in the third sentence, inserted “registered” in the middle and substituted “such corporation or foreign corporation” for “the corporation”, in the fourth sentence, substituted “appears” for “shall appear” and substituted “such corporation or foreign corporation outside this” for “the corporation outside the”, and substituted a period for a semicolon at the end; added subparagraph (e)(1)(B); rewrote paragraph (e)(2); and inserted a comma in the first sentence of paragraph (e)(5).
Cross references.
Service on resident minors over age 14 temporarily outside state, § 9-10-70 .
Specific instances in which process may be served by publication, § 9-10-71 .
Service of process on person outside state over whom personal jurisdiction has been acquired through such person’s transacting business in state, owning real property in state, etc., § 9-10-94 .
Form of summons, § 9-11-101 .
Service of process on registered agents of corporations, § 14-2-501 et seq.
For further provisions regarding service of process on foreign corporations, § 14-2-1507 et seq.
Giving of notice to person of attachment issued against his property, § 18-3-14 .
Service of copy of summons of garnishment, § 18-4-64.
Service on persons outside state regarding child custody proceedings, § 19-9-45 .
Manner of service of notice of intention to exercise power of eminent domain, § 22-2-20 et seq.
Service of process in actions relating to exercise of power of eminent domain for public transportation purposes, § 32-3-8 et seq.
Service of process on insurance companies, § 33-4-2 et seq.
For further provisions regarding service of process on county where county is party defendant, § 36-1-5 .
Service of process on nonresident arising out of motor vehicle accident or collision involving such nonresident, §§ 40-12-1 , 40-12-2 .
Designation by itinerant entertainment enterprises of agent for service of process, service on Secretary of State in absence of such designation, and penalty for permitting operations in violation of such requirement, § 43-1-15 .
Service of process in proceedings for registration of land, § 44-2-67 et seq.
Service of notice of petition for probate in solemn form, § 53-3-14.
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 2000, p. 1225, § 8, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment to this Code section is applicable to civil actions filed on or after July 1, 2000.
Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 16, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment to this Code section is applicable with respect to notices delivered on or after July 1, 2000.
U.S. Code.
For provisions of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 4, see 28 U.S.C.
Law reviews.
For article comparing sections of the Georgia Civil Practice Act with preexisting provisions of the Georgia Code, see 3 Ga. St. B.J. 295 (1967).
For article, “The 1967 Amendments to the Georgia Civil Practice Act and the Appellate Procedure Act,” see 3 Ga. St. B.J. 383 (1967).
For article, “The Georgia Long Arm Statute: A Significant Advance in the Concept of Personal Jurisdiction,” see 4 Ga. St. B.J. 13 (1967).
For article, “Synopses of 1968 Amendments Appellate Procedure Act and Georgia Civil Practice Act,” see 4 Ga. St. B. J. 503 (1968).
For article recommending more consistency in age requirements of laws pertaining to the welfare of minors, see 6 Ga. St. B.J. 189 (1969).
For article summarizing law relating to jurisdiction and venue over domestic and foreign corporations in Georgia, and service therein, see 21 Mercer L. Rev. 457 (1970).
For note discussing problems with venue in Georgia, and proposing statutory revisions to improve the resolution of venue questions, see 9 Ga. St. B.J. 254 (1972).
For article, “Foreign Corporations in Georgia,” see 10 Ga. St. B.J. 243 (1973).
For article discussing the inapplicability of Civil Practice Act provisions concerning service of process to personal property foreclosures, see 11 Ga. St. B.J. 230 (1975).
For article discussing Allan v. Allan, 236 Ga. 199 , 223 S.E.2d 445 (1976), holding Georgia’s notice requirement for year’s support unconstitutional prior to 1977 revision, see 13 Ga. St. B.J. 85 (1976).
For note advocating a clearer definition of proper corporate agents for service of process, and discard of the provision allowing process to be left at the most notorious place of abode, see 11 Ga. L. Rev. 546 (1977).
For article examining waiver of objections to venue and lack of personal jurisdiction by default, see 12 Ga. L. Rev. 181 (1978).
For article surveying Georgia cases in the area of business associations from June, 1977 through May, 1978, see 30 Mercer L. Rev. 1 (1978).
For article surveying Georgia cases in the area of trial practice and procedure from June, 1979 through May, 1980, see 32 Mercer L. Rev. 225 (1980).
For article surveying developments in Georgia trial practice and procedure from mid-1980 through mid-1981, see 33 Mercer L. Rev. 275 (1981).
For survey article on commercial law, see 34 Mercer L. Rev. 31 (1982).
For survey article on trial practice and procedure, see 34 Mercer L. Rev. 299 (1982).
For annual survey of law of business associations, see 38 Mercer L. Rev. 57 (1986).
For annual survey on trial practice and procedure, see 42 Mercer L. Rev. 469 (1990).
For article, “Service of Process by E-Mail,” see 5 Ga. St. B.J. 32 (2000).
For article, “Domestic Relations Law,” see 53 Mercer L. Rev. 265 (2001).
For annual survey of trial practice and procedure, see 57 Mercer L. Rev. 381 (2005).
For article, “What is Reasonable Service?,” see 12 Ga. St. B.J. 22 (2007).
For survey article on administrative law, see 60 Mercer L. Rev. 1 (2008).
For survey article on trial practice and procedure, see 60 Mercer L. Rev. 397 (2008).
For annual survey of law on real property, see 62 Mercer L. Rev. 283 (2010).
For annual survey of law on trial practice and procedure, see 62 Mercer L. Rev. 339 (2010).
For note, “Extra! Read All About It: Why Notice by Newspaper Publication Fails to Meet Mullane’s Desire to Inform Standard and How Modern Technology Provides a Viable Alternative,” see 45 Ga. L. Rev. 1095 (2011).
For annual survey on trial practice and procedure, see 64 Mercer L. Rev. 305 (2012).
For article, “2013 Georgia Corporation and Business Organization Case Law Developments,” see 19 Ga. St. B.J. 28 (April 2014).
For annual survey of domestic relations law, see 67 Mercer L. Rev. 47 (2015).
For annual survey on business associations, see 69 Mercer L. Rev. 33 (2017).
For annual survey on local government law, see 69 Mercer L. Rev. 205 (2017).
For note, “How to Fill a Procedural Loophole: Re-evaluating the Ragan and Walker Analysis in Light of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(M),” see 52 Ga. L. Rev. 581 (2018).
For annual survey on business associations, see 70 Mercer L. Rev. 19 (2018).
For article, “2018 Georgia Corporation and Business Organization Case Law Developments,” see 24 Ga. St. B.J. 36 (June 2019).
For annual survey on real property, see 71 Mercer L. Rev. 241 (2019).
For article with annual survey on administrative law, see 73 Mercer L. Rev. 1 (2021).
Structure Georgia Code