§ 9-12-60.When judgment becomes dormant; how dormancy prevented; docketing; applicability
Chapter 12. Verdict and Judgment · Article 3. Dormancy and Revival of Judgments · Last amended 1997 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-12-60 provides that a Georgia money judgment becomes dormant and unenforceable once seven years pass without execution being entered on the county’s general execution docket or without a qualifying entry, levy, or bona fide enforcement effort renewing that seven-year period, and exempts child support and spousal support judgments from dormancy altogether.
(a)A judgment shall become dormant and shall not be enforced:
(1)When seven years shall elapse after the rendition of the judgment before execution is issued thereon and is entered on the general execution docket of the county in which the judgment was rendered;
(2)Unless entry is made on the execution by an officer authorized to levy and return the same and the entry and the date thereof are entered by the clerk on the general execution docket within seven years after issuance of the execution and its record; or
(3)Unless a bona fide public effort on the part of the plaintiff in execution to enforce the execution in the courts is made and due written notice of such effort specifying the time of the institution of the action or proceedings, the nature thereof, the names of the parties thereto, and the name of the court in which it is pending is filed by the plaintiff in execution or his attorney at law with the clerk and is entered by the clerk on the general execution docket, all at such times and periods that seven years will not elapse between such entries of such notices or between such an entry and a proper entry made as prescribed in paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(b)The record of the execution made as prescribed in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Code section or of every entry as prescribed in paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (a) of this Code section shall institute a new seven-year period within which the judgment shall not become dormant, provided that when an entry on the execution or a written notice of public effort is filed for record, the execution shall be recorded or rerecorded on the general execution docket with all entries thereon. It shall not be necessary in order to prevent dormancy that such execution be entered or such entry be recorded on any other docket.
(c)When an entry on an execution or a written notice of public effort is filed for record and the original execution is recorded in a general execution docket other than the current general execution docket, the original execution shall be rerecorded in the current general execution docket with all entries thereon. When an original execution is so rerecorded, a notation shall be made upon the original execution which states that it has been rerecorded and gives the book and page number where the execution has been rerecorded. When an original execution is so rerecorded in the current general execution docket, it shall be indexed in the current general execution docket in the same manner as if it were an original execution. Nothing in this subsection shall affect the priority of any judgment or lien; and no judgment or lien shall lose any priority because an execution is rerecorded.
(d)The provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply to judgments or orders for child support or spousal support.
Plain-English Summary
A Georgia judgment does not stay enforceable forever on autopilot. This section sets the clock: seven years after a judgment is rendered, it goes dormant — meaning it can no longer be enforced — unless the judgment creditor takes one of several qualifying steps within that window. Those steps are getting execution issued and entered on the general execution docket of the county where the judgment was rendered, having an officer’s levy entry recorded on that docket, or filing a written notice of a bona fide public enforcement effort, such as a pending lawsuit or proceeding to collect the debt — a notice that must specify when the action or proceeding was instituted, its nature, the names of the parties, and the court where it is pending.
Each qualifying step restarts the clock. Subsection (b) makes clear that a proper execution record, or a proper entry under paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (a), begins a new seven-year period during which the judgment stays alive. The creditor does not get one extension and then run out of options — the process can repeat indefinitely, as long as some qualifying entry lands on the general execution docket at least once every seven years. The recording has to happen on that specific docket; recording it elsewhere does not stop the clock.
Subsection (c) addresses what happens when the docket itself changes — for example, when a county replaces or reorganizes its general execution docket. An execution recorded on an older docket must be rerecorded on the current one to keep the enforcement trail intact, but rerecording does not disturb the judgment’s priority against other liens.
Subsection (d) carves out one important category entirely: judgments or orders for child support or spousal support never go dormant under this section’s rules. Those obligations remain enforceable without the seven-year renewal cycle that applies to ordinary money judgments.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can a Georgia judgment sit unenforced before it becomes dormant?
Seven years from the rendition of the judgment, unless execution is issued and entered on the general execution docket of the county where the judgment was rendered before that period runs out.
What keeps a judgment from going dormant besides issuing execution?
Having an authorized officer’s levy entry, with its date, recorded by the clerk on the general execution docket within seven years of the execution’s issuance, or filing a written notice of a bona fide public enforcement effort with the clerk, entered on that docket, before seven years elapse since the last qualifying entry. That notice must specify when the enforcement action or proceeding was instituted, its nature, the names of the parties to it, and the court in which it is pending.
Does a qualifying entry only buy one extra seven-year period?
No. Each proper execution record or qualifying entry under subsection (a) starts a new seven-year period, so a creditor can keep a judgment alive indefinitely by making a timely qualifying entry each cycle.
What happens if a county’s general execution docket changes and an old execution needs to be preserved?
The original execution, with all its entries, must be rerecorded in the current general execution docket, noted on the original as rerecorded with the book and page number, and indexed as if it were an original execution — without losing its priority against other liens.
Do child support and spousal support judgments ever become dormant under this section?
No. Subsection (d) exempts judgments or orders for child support or spousal support from the dormancy provisions of subsection (a) entirely.
Amendment History
Laws 1823, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 498.; Ga. L. 1855-56, p. 233, § 8; Code 1863, § 2855; Code 1868, § 2863; Code 1873, § 2914; Code 1882, § 2914; Ga. L. 1884-85, p. 95, § 1; Civil Code 1895, §§ 3761, 3762, 3763; Ga. L. 1910, p. 121, § 1; Civil Code 1910, §§ 4355, 4356, 4357; Ga. L. 1920, p. 81, §§ 1, 3; Code 1933, § 110-1001; Ga. L. 1955, p. 417, § 1; Ga. L. 1965, p. 272, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 9; Ga. L. 1984, p. 912, § 1; Ga. L. 1997, p. 1613, § 2.
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
Also known as:georgia judgment dormancy statutehow long is a georgia judgment good forseven year rule georgia judgmentgeneral execution docket dormant judgment georgiachild support judgment never dormant georgia