§ 9-12-67.Revival of judgment against nonresident; service by publication

Reviving a judgment against someone who has left the state, or never lived here, raises an obvious problem: how do you serve a person who cannot be found within Georgia’s borders? This section answers that by opening the same revival process used for resident defendants to nonresidents too, on the condition that service happens by publication instead of personal delivery.

The publication schedule is specific: the notice must run in the newspaper that carries the county’s official advertisements, twice a month, for two months before the term of court at which the creditor intends to revive the judgment. That works out to four publications spread across roughly eight weeks of advance notice, giving the absent defendant, at least in theory, a real chance to see the notice and respond before the revival goes forward.

The section then makes the legal payoff explicit: publication done this way counts as effectual in all cases as personal service. A creditor does not need to track down a nonresident defendant’s actual location to complete valid service — following the publication schedule accomplishes the same legal result as if the defendant had been served in person.

This section also reaches a defendant’s representative, not only the defendant personally, so revival proceedings can move forward against an estate or other successor interest through the same publication method when the party to be notified is outside Georgia.