In all cases where the law requires citations, notices, or advertisements by probate court judges, clerks, sheriffs, county bailiffs, administrators, executors, guardians, trustees, or others to be published in a newspaper for 30 days or for four weeks or once a week for four weeks, it shall be sufficient and legal to publish the same once a week for four weeks, that is, one insertion each week for each of the four weeks, immediately preceding the term or day when the order is to be granted or the sale is to take place. The number of days between the date of the first publication and the term or day when the order is to be granted or the sale is to take place, whether more or less than 30 days, shall not in any manner invalidate or render irregular the notice, citation, advertisement, order, or sale.
§ 9-13-141.Timing of advertisements
Chapter 13. Executions and Judicial Sales · Article 7. Judicial Sales · Last amended 1933 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-13-141 provides that whenever Georgia law calls for a notice to run for 30 days, for four weeks, or once a week for four weeks, a single insertion each week for four straight weeks immediately before the hearing or sale date satisfies the requirement, and that the exact number of days between the first publication and that date — more or less than 30 — never invalidates the notice.
Full Text of § 9-13-141
Plain-English Summary
Different Georgia statutes describing the same practical requirement have used different phrasing over the years — some call for 30 days of notice, others for four weeks, others for once a week for four weeks. Read too literally, those phrasings could produce different results depending on how the calendar falls, since four weeks of Tuesdays does not always add up to exactly 30 days. This section closes that gap by treating all three phrasings as equivalent.
The rule is mechanical: one insertion a week, for each of four weeks, running immediately up to the day the order will be granted or the sale will take place, counts as compliance no matter which of the three phrasings the underlying statute happens to use. And the statute goes further, stating directly that the actual number of days between the first publication and the sale or hearing date — whether that number comes out above or below 30 — does not invalidate the notice, the advertisement, the order, or the sale that follows it.
The reach of this section extends well past sheriff’s sales. It applies to citations, notices, and advertisements required of probate court judges, clerks, sheriffs, county bailiffs, administrators, executors, guardians, trustees, and others, which makes it a general timing rule for legal notices across Georgia practice rather than a provision limited to Chapter 13.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a requirement of “30 days” notice mean thirty individual calendar days must pass?
No. Publishing once a week for four straight weeks immediately before the sale or hearing satisfies a 30-day requirement, regardless of the exact day count.
Who besides sheriffs does this timing rule apply to?
Probate court judges, clerks, sheriffs, county bailiffs, administrators, executors, guardians, trustees, and others required by law to publish citations, notices, or advertisements.
Can a sale be challenged because only 27 or 33 days passed between the first ad and the sale?
No. The statute expressly states that whether the interval comes out to more or less than 30 days does not invalidate the notice, advertisement, order, or sale.
Does this section create the underlying advertising requirement itself?
No. It interprets and harmonizes publication requirements set elsewhere, such as the four-week advertising rule in Code Section 9-13-140, rather than creating an independent duty of its own.
When must the four weekly insertions run relative to the sale date?
Immediately preceding the term or day when the order is to be granted or the sale is to take place.
Amendment History
Ga. L. 1876, p. 99, § 1; Code 1882, § 2628a; Ga. L. 1890-91, p. 241, § 1; Civil Code 1895, § 5458; Civil Code 1910, § 6063; Code 1933, § 39-1102.
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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