If the defendant or any of the defendants reside outside the county where the action is filed, the clerk shall issue a second original and copy for such other county or counties and forward the same to the sheriff, who shall serve the copy and return the second original, with his entry thereon, to the clerk of the court from which the same issued.
§ 9-10-72.Issuance of second original where defendants reside out of county
Chapter 10. Civil Practice and Procedure Generally · Article 3. Service · Last amended 1984 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceWhen a defendant lives outside the county where an action is filed, the clerk must issue a second original and copy for that other county and send it to the sheriff there, who serves the copy and returns the second original, with proof of service noted, to the clerk who issued it.
Full Text of § 9-10-72
Plain-English Summary
Serving a defendant who lives in a different county from where the lawsuit was filed takes a bit of extra paperwork, and this section lays out the mechanics. The clerk of the filing court prepares a second original of the pleading and process, along with a copy, for the county where that defendant resides.
That second original goes to the sheriff of the defendant’s county, who serves the copy on the defendant and then sends the second original back, with the sheriff’s entry documenting the service, to the clerk of the court where the case was filed. The result gets the defendant properly served without requiring the plaintiff to file a separate action in the defendant’s home county.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the clerk need to issue a second original?
When the defendant, or any of the defendants, reside outside the county where the action is filed.
What does the clerk send, and to whom?
A second original and copy for the other county, forwarded to the sheriff of that county.
What does the sheriff do with the second original and copy?
The sheriff serves the copy on the defendant and returns the second original, with his entry of service on it, to the clerk of the court from which it issued.
Does this process require the plaintiff to file a separate lawsuit in the defendant’s county?
No, the second-original process serves the out-of-county defendant without a separate filing there.
What happens if more than one defendant lives outside the filing county?
The clerk issues a second original and copy for such other county or counties, covering each one.
Amendment History
Orig. Code 1863, § 3254; Code 1868, § 3265; Code 1873, § 3341; Code 1882, § 3341; Civil Code 1895, § 4989; Civil Code 1910, § 5567; Code 1933, § 81-215; Ga. L. 1984, p. 966, § 1.
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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