Decrees for the payment of money shall become dormant like other judgments when not enforced and may be revived as provided by law for other judgments.
§ 9-12-68.Revival of dormant decrees for payment of money
Chapter 12. Verdict and Judgment · Article 3. Dormancy and Revival of Judgments · Last amended 1933 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-12-68 subjects decrees for the payment of money to the same dormancy rules that apply to other judgments and allows them to be revived through the same procedures available for judgments generally.
Full Text of § 9-12-68
Plain-English Summary
Georgia courts issue decrees as well as judgments, particularly in equity matters, and this section makes clear that a money decree does not escape the dormancy rules that apply to ordinary judgments. A decree ordering someone to pay money goes dormant on the same terms as a judgment does when the party who holds it fails to enforce it.
The section is brief because it is functioning as a bridge provision: rather than restating the dormancy periods, renewal deadlines, and revival procedures that this article already lays out for judgments, it extends that entire framework to money decrees. A holder of a dormant decree for the payment of money follows the same path as a holder of a dormant judgment — action or scire facias, within the same time limits, under the same venue rules.
Reading this section together with the rest of the article confirms that “judgment” in Georgia’s dormancy and revival scheme is not a narrow, technical label limited to verdicts translated into judgments at law. It reaches equitable decrees for money too, so a party holding either kind of paper faces the identical clock and the identical revival options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do decrees for the payment of money become dormant the same way judgments do?
Yes. This section states that such decrees become dormant like other judgments when not enforced.
How is a dormant money decree revived?
As provided by law for other judgments — meaning the same dormancy and revival provisions set out elsewhere in this article apply.
Does this section create separate deadlines for decrees, apart from those for judgments?
No. It incorporates the existing judgment dormancy and revival rules rather than establishing a distinct timetable for decrees.
What kind of court order counts as a “decree” under this section?
The section speaks specifically to decrees for the payment of money, the kind of monetary relief a court of equity can order paid.
Why would Georgia need a separate section to cover decrees if the dormancy rules already cover judgments?
Decrees and judgments historically arose from different kinds of proceedings, so this section removes any doubt that a money decree gets the same dormancy treatment as a judgment at law.
Amendment History
Orig. Code 1863, § 4128; Code 1868, § 4160; Code 1873, § 4219; Code 1882, § 4219; Civil Code 1895, § 4861; Civil Code 1910, § 5434; Code 1933, § 37-1211.
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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