(a) When the clerk of any court has made any mistake in issuing an execution, the clerk or any of his successors in office may correct the mistake by amending the execution and shall note and certify on the execution the fact that the amendment was made by him.
§ 9-13-7.Amendment of execution — To correct mistake in issuance; alias 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. § 9-13-7 lets a clerk who made a mistake issuing an execution either correct it by amendment with a certified note of the correction, or issue a signed and dated alias execution carrying forward the original’s entries and credits, without needing a court order either way.
Full Text of § 9-13-7
(b) Alternatively, the clerk may issue an alias execution to be signed and dated by him at the time it is issued instead of the execution in which the mistake was made. The clerk shall note the fact of the issuing of the alias on the original, which original shall remain on file in his office, and shall likewise make a memorandum thereof on the execution docket; he shall also transcribe upon the alias all the entries and credits from the original. No order of court shall be necessary in the cases contemplated by this Code section.
Plain-English Summary
Clerks issue a large volume of executions, and mistakes happen. This section gives the clerk who made — or the clerk’s successor who discovers — such a mistake two ways to fix it, both without going to court first.
Subsection (a) is the direct route: the clerk amends the execution itself to correct the mistake, then notes and certifies on the execution that the amendment was made. Subsection (b) offers an alternative that leaves the flawed original intact: the clerk issues an alias execution — a substitute, signed and dated at the time of issuance — instead of correcting the original in place. The clerk notes on the original that an alias was issued, keeps the original on file, records a memorandum on the execution docket, and transcribes onto the alias all of the entries and credits the original already carried.
Either path accomplishes the same goal by different means: a corrected execution that can proceed without a defect traceable to clerical error. The section closes by stating that no court order is necessary for either the amendment or the alias — the clerk’s own authority to fix the mistake and certify the correction is enough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a clerk need a court order to fix a mistake in an issued execution?
No. The statute states that no order of court shall be necessary for either correcting the execution by amendment or issuing an alias execution.
What are the two ways a clerk can correct a mistaken execution?
The clerk may amend the execution directly and certify the correction on it, under subsection (a), or issue a substitute alias execution instead, under subsection (b).
What happens to the original execution if the clerk issues an alias instead of amending it?
The original remains on file in the clerk’s office, with a note on it that an alias was issued and a corresponding memorandum on the execution docket.
Does the alias execution carry over the history of the original?
Yes. The clerk must transcribe onto the alias all the entries and credits from the original execution.
Who can make this kind of correction — only the clerk who made the mistake?
No. The statute allows the correction to be made by the clerk who made the mistake or by any of that clerk’s successors in office.
Amendment History
Ga. L. 1869, p. 137, § 1; Code 1873, § 3496; Code 1882, § 3496; Civil Code 1895, § 5115; Civil Code 1910, § 5699; Code 1933, § 39-111.
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: alias execution georgia clerk mistakecorrect mistake in execution georgiaamend execution no court order neededgeorgia alias fi fa clerical error