(a) A civil action is commenced by filing a complaint with the court.
§ 9-11-3.Commencement of action; filing of civil case filing form
Chapter 11. Civil Practice Act · Article 2. Commencement of Action and Service · Last amended 2017 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-11-3 provides that a Georgia civil action begins when the plaintiff files a complaint with the court, and separately requires plaintiffs in superior and state court to file a civil case filing form at that time, while making clear that an incomplete or missing form can never be grounds to dismiss the case.
Full Text of § 9-11-3
(b) At the time of filing the complaint for a civil action in superior court or state court, the plaintiff shall file the appropriate civil case filing form with the clerk of the court. The form shall contain complete information and shall be substantially in the form prescribed by the Judicial Council of Georgia. The filing of the complaint shall not be delayed for the filing of the case filing form. If, after a civil action has been filed, the court presiding over the civil action decides that the civil case filing form has not been filed or has been filed incorrectly, the court shall require the plaintiff to file the civil case filing form or an amended form. In no case shall the failure to accurately complete the civil case filing form required by this Code section provide a basis to dismiss a civil action.
Plain-English Summary
Filing the complaint is what starts the clock. Subsection (a) states the rule plainly: a civil action is commenced by filing a complaint with the court, full stop. Everything else in the Civil Practice Act — deadlines for service, answer, and discovery — measures itself from that moment.
Subsection (b) adds an administrative layer for superior and state court cases: the plaintiff must file a civil case filing form, in substantially the form the Judicial Council of Georgia prescribes, at the same time as the complaint. That form feeds the statistics courts use to track caseloads, but the statute is careful to keep it from becoming a trap. Filing the complaint can’t be delayed while the plaintiff scrambles to complete the form, and if a court later finds the form missing or filled out wrong, the remedy is an order requiring the plaintiff to file or fix it — never dismissal.
That last protection matters. A defendant who spots an incomplete case filing form can’t use it as a shortcut to knock out an otherwise valid complaint; the statute forecloses that argument by its own terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does a civil action officially begin in Georgia?
When the plaintiff files the complaint with the court — that act alone commences the action under subsection (a).
Do all Georgia civil filings require a civil case filing form?
The requirement in subsection (b) applies to civil actions filed in superior court or state court, where the plaintiff must file the form at the time the complaint is filed.
Can a court dismiss my case for filing the civil case filing form incorrectly?
No. The statute states in no case shall failing to accurately complete the form provide a basis to dismiss the civil action.
What happens if I file the complaint before finishing the case filing form?
Nothing bad — the statute specifies that filing the complaint isn’t delayed by the case filing form, so the complaint’s filing date controls even if the form comes later.
What if the court decides my civil case filing form is missing or wrong after the fact?
The court will require the plaintiff to file the form or an amended version of it; that correction process is the only consequence the statute allows.
Amendment History
Ga. L. 1966, p. 609, § 3; Ga. L. 2000, p. 850, § 1; Ga. L. 2001, p. 4, § 9; Ga. L. 2006, p. 648, § 1/HB 1195; Ga. L. 2017, p. 632, § 2-1/SB 132.
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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