No execution shall issue until judgment is entered and signed by the party in whose favor verdict was rendered or by his attorney, or by the presiding judge or justice.
§ 9-13-1.Entry and signing of judgment prerequisite to execution
Chapter 13. Executions and Judicial Sales · Article 1. General Provisions · Last amended 1933 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-13-1 bars any execution from issuing until the underlying judgment has been entered and signed by the prevailing party, that party’s attorney, or the presiding judge or justice.
Full Text of § 9-13-1
Plain-English Summary
An execution is the paper that turns a courtroom win into a sheriff’s levy — it tells an officer to go collect. This section makes sure that paper never gets ahead of the judgment it is supposed to enforce. No execution may issue until the judgment itself has been entered and signed.
The section names who can supply that signature: the party who won the verdict, that party’s attorney, or the presiding judge or justice. Any one of them signing is enough. The rule is not fussy about which of the three does it, only that someone with authority to speak for the judgment has done so before the clerk sends an execution out into the world.
The sequence matters because everything downstream in this chapter — the levy, the notice to the defendant, the eventual sale — assumes a valid judgment stands behind the execution. A signed, entered judgment is the foundation the rest of Chapter 13 builds on, and this section is the checkpoint that keeps a premature or unsupported execution from getting a head start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an execution issue before the judgment is entered?
No. This section requires the judgment to be entered and signed first; an execution issued before that has skipped a required step.
Who is allowed to sign the judgment to satisfy this requirement?
The party in whose favor the verdict was rendered, that party’s attorney, or the presiding judge or justice — any one of the three suffices.
Does the judge always have to sign the judgment personally?
No. The statute treats the judge’s or justice’s signature as one of three equally sufficient options, alongside the winning party or the party’s attorney.
What is the practical effect of an execution issued without a signed, entered judgment?
It has been issued out of order under this section, since the statute makes entry and signing a prerequisite to issuance rather than an optional formality.
How does this section relate to the rest of Chapter 13?
It sits at the front of the chapter as a threshold requirement — the levy, notice, and sale procedures that follow all presume a properly entered and signed judgment already exists.
Amendment History
Laws 1799, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 494; Code 1863, § 3487; Code 1868, § 3510; Code 1873, § 3568; Code 1882, § 3568; Civil Code 1895, § 5339; Civil Code 1910, § 5934; Code 1933, § 39-102.
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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