A continuance requested by a party in a pending case in any court shall not be granted for longer than one term.
§ 9-10-164.Continuances for one term only
Chapter 10. Civil Practice and Procedure Generally · Article 7. Continuances · Last amended 1933 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-10-164 sets a flat limit on how far a single continuance can push a pending case, providing that a continuance a party requests in any Georgia court shall not be granted for longer than one term, regardless of the ground on which the party sought it.
Full Text of § 9-10-164
Plain-English Summary
This section is short, but it does real work across every continuance ground in this article. Whatever the reason a party gives for asking to push a case back — an absent witness, a sick lawyer, a legislative conflict — the delay a court grants cannot run longer than one term.
The rule keeps continuances from becoming an open-ended tool. A party who needs more time than a single term allows has to come back and ask again, showing the court fresh grounds, rather than banking one long delay from the start.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can a continuance requested by a party last?
Not longer than one term.
Does this limit apply in every Georgia court?
The statute says a continuance requested by a party in a pending case in any court shall not be granted for longer than one term.
Can a party request a second continuance after the first term-long continuance expires?
The text sets the limit per continuance rather than barring further requests, so a party would need to seek another continuance on its own grounds once the first term-long continuance ends.
Does this one-term limit apply to every continuance ground in this article?
The section is not limited to a particular ground — it addresses a continuance requested by a party generally.
Who requests the continuance this section limits?
A party in a pending case.
Amendment History
Laws 1799, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 486.; Code 1863, § 3448; Code 1868, § 3468; Code 1873, § 3519; Code 1882, § 3519; Civil Code 1895, § 5126; Civil Code 1910, § 5710; Code 1933, § 81-1401.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, published by the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Georgia Code Revision Commission / LexisNexis. Last verified July 17, 2026.
· Official source
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