The officer making a levy shall enter the same on the process by virtue of which levy is made and in the entry shall plainly describe the property levied on and the amount of the interest of defendant therein.
§ 9-13-12.Entry of levy on process
Chapter 13. Executions and Judicial Sales · Article 1. General Provisions · Last amended 1933 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-13-12 requires the officer making a levy to enter it on the process authorizing the levy, plainly describing the property levied on and the amount of the defendant’s interest in it.
Full Text of § 9-13-12
Plain-English Summary
A levy is only as good as the record of it, and this section makes that record mandatory. The officer who levies must enter the levy on the process — the execution or other writ — that authorized it, rather than keeping the details in a separate document or relying on memory.
The entry itself has to do real work. The statute requires the officer to “plainly describe” two things: the property levied on and the amount of the defendant’s interest in that property. A vague or generic entry does not satisfy the requirement — the description has to be plain enough that someone reading the process later can tell exactly what was seized and how much of it belonged to the defendant.
That level of detail matters because so much of the rest of this chapter depends on it. Claims by third parties, disputes over the value of the interest levied, and the eventual advertisement and sale of the property all trace back to what the officer wrote in this entry. A clear levy entry is the record everyone downstream relies on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where must the officer record the levy?
On the process — the execution or other writ — by virtue of which the levy was made, not in a separate document.
What must the levy entry describe?
The property levied on and the amount of the defendant’s interest in that property, both described plainly.
Who is responsible for making this entry?
The officer who makes the levy.
Why does the statute require a “plain” description rather than any description?
Because the entry serves as the record other parties and the court rely on for claims, valuation, and the eventual sale, so a vague entry would undermine those later steps.
Does this section apply to levies on both real and personal property?
The statute applies broadly to the officer making a levy without limiting itself to one type of property, so it covers levies generally under this chapter.
Amendment History
Orig. Code 1863, § 3569; Code 1868, § 3592; Code 1873, § 3640; Code 1882, § 3640; Civil Code 1895, § 5421; Civil Code 1910, § 6026; Code 1933, § 39-103.
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: entry of levy on execution georgiaofficer must describe property levied onlevy entry requirements georgiasheriff levy record execution georgia