When, in a judgment against sureties or endorsers on a draft, promissory note, or other instrument in writing, the plaintiff or his attorney has designated and identified the relation of the parties under the contract on which the judgment was rendered, execution shall issue accordingly.
§ 9-13-30.Execution against sureties and endorsers
Chapter 13. Executions and Judicial Sales · Article 2. Parties in Execution · Last amended 1933 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-13-30 provides that once a judgment against sureties or endorsers on a note, draft, or other written instrument identifies each party’s relation under the contract, the execution issues to match that identified relationship.
Full Text of § 9-13-30
Plain-English Summary
A judgment against sureties or endorsers on a draft, note, or other written instrument often has to reflect more than one legal role — a principal debtor, a surety who guaranteed the debt, an endorser who signed the instrument over. This section makes sure that structure carries through to the execution.
The mechanism is designation: when the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney has designated and identified the relation of the parties under the contract the judgment is based on, the execution has to issue accordingly. In other words, if the judgment paperwork specifies who is the principal and who is a surety or endorser, the execution follows that same designation rather than treating everyone as identically liable.
That distinction matters downstream. Georgia law elsewhere in this chapter gives a surety and a joint debtor certain rights to control an execution after payment — rights in Code Sections 9-13-77 and 9-13-78 that depend on knowing who occupied which role. An execution that has properly carried forward the parties’ designated relationship preserves the information those later provisions rely on.
Frequently Asked Questions
What triggers this section’s requirement?
A judgment against sureties or endorsers on a draft, promissory note, or other written instrument, where the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney has designated and identified each party’s relation under the contract.
What must the execution do once that designation exists?
Issue accordingly — meaning it must reflect the same relation among the parties that the judgment designated.
Who is responsible for making the designation in the first place?
The plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney.
Why does it matter whether a party is designated as a surety rather than a principal?
Because other Code sections in this chapter, including 9-13-77 and 9-13-78, give sureties and joint debtors specific rights to control an execution after paying it, rights that depend on the party’s designated role.
Does this section apply to judgments outside the surety-and-endorser context?
No. It is limited to judgments against sureties or endorsers on a draft, promissory note, or other instrument in writing.
Amendment History
Laws 1845, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 598; Laws 1850, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 600; Code 1863, § 3491; Code 1868, § 3514; Code 1873, § 3572; Code 1882, § 3572; Civil Code 1895, § 5343; Civil Code 1910, § 5938; Code 1933, § 39-107.
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: execution against sureties and endorsers georgiadesignation of parties relation execution georgiasurety endorser execution issue accordinglygeorgia promissory note surety judgment execution