If the purchaser of real estate at sheriff’s and other sales under execution fails to make application for possession thereof until the next term of the superior court after the sale has taken place or until the officer making the sale has gone out of office, the possession may be obtained only under an order of the superior court.
§ 9-13-176.How possession obtained after expiration of court term or replacement of officer
Chapter 13. Executions and Judicial Sales · Article 7. Judicial Sales · Last amended 1933 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-13-176 limits a purchaser to obtaining possession by superior court order once the purchaser waits to apply for possession until after the next term of superior court following the sale, or until the officer who made the sale has left office.
Full Text of § 9-13-176
Plain-English Summary
Code Section 9-13-175 gives the selling officer a duty to place the purchaser in possession “upon application,” which assumes the purchaser acts without much delay. This section supplies the deadline pressure behind that assumption.
Either of two events closes off the summary route through the officer. If the next term of superior court passes after the sale without the purchaser applying for possession, or if the officer who made the sale has gone out of office before the purchaser applies, the purchaser can no longer just ask the officer, or a successor officer, to act. Possession at that point can be obtained only under an order of the superior court — a slower, court-supervised path replaces the direct route Code Section 9-13-175 otherwise provides.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a time limit for asking a sheriff to put a purchaser in possession after a sale?
Effectively yes — waiting past the next term of superior court after the sale, or until the selling officer leaves office, changes the procedure available to the purchaser.
What happens if the purchaser waits too long to apply for possession?
Possession can then be obtained only under an order of the superior court, rather than through the selling officer directly.
Does a change in who holds the sheriff’s office affect how a purchaser gets possession?
Yes. If the officer who made the sale has gone out of office before the purchaser applies, a superior court order becomes the required route.
Which two events trigger the superior court order requirement?
The passing of the next term of superior court after the sale without an application, or the selling officer leaving office, whichever happens first.
Does this section apply to personal property sales as well as real estate?
The text refers to the “purchaser of real estate,” so it addresses possession of real property bought at sheriff’s and other execution sales.
Amendment History
Orig. Code 1863, § 3579; Code 1868, § 3602; Code 1873, § 3652; Code 1882, § 3652; Civil Code 1895, § 5469; Civil Code 1910, § 6074; Code 1933, § 39-1313.
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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