Each court by action of a majority of the judges thereof may from time to time make and amend rules governing its practice not inconsistent with this chapter or any other statute.
§ 9-11-83.Local court rules
Chapter 11. Civil Practice Act · Article 9. General Provisions · Last amended 1966 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-11-83 lets each court, acting by a majority of its judges, adopt and amend its own local rules of practice so long as those rules don’t conflict with the Civil Practice Act or any other statute.
Full Text of § 9-11-83
Plain-English Summary
Beyond the Civil Practice Act’s statewide rules, individual Georgia courts often need their own housekeeping procedures — how filings are formatted, how the docket is organized, how motion days run in practice. This section grants that authority: each court, acting through a majority vote of its judges, may make and amend rules governing its own practice from time to time.
The grant comes with a built-in ceiling. Local rules must not be inconsistent with the Civil Practice Act itself or with any other statute, which keeps local variation from undercutting the uniform procedural floor the Act and the special-proceedings applicability rule establish elsewhere in this article. A single judge acting alone can’t adopt a binding local rule — it takes a majority of the court’s judges to do so.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has authority to adopt local rules for a Georgia court?
A majority of the judges of that court.
Can a court adopt local rules that conflict with the Civil Practice Act?
No. Local rules must not be inconsistent with the chapter or with any other statute.
How often can a court change its local rules?
The statute allows the court to make and amend its rules from time to time, without limiting how frequently that may happen.
Does a single judge have authority to adopt a local rule alone?
No. The statute requires action by a majority of the judges of the court, not an individual judge acting alone.
What kinds of subjects do local court rules under this section typically cover?
The statute limits them to matters of the court’s own practice — its procedural housekeeping — rather than rules that alter substantive rights or conflict with statewide statutes.
Amendment History
Ga. L. 1966, p. 609, § 83.
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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