When any sheriff or other officer shall levy an execution or other process on property claimed by a third person not a party to the execution, the person, his agent, or his attorney may make oath claiming the property.
§ 9-13-90.Claims authorized; to be on oath
Chapter 13. Executions and Judicial Sales · Article 5. Claims · Last amended 1933 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-13-90 lets a third person who is not a party to the underlying execution claim property that a sheriff or other officer has levied on, by having the person, an agent, or an attorney swear an oath to that claim.
Full Text of § 9-13-90
Plain-English Summary
This section opens Article 5, and it answers a narrow but recurring problem: a sheriff levies on property to satisfy someone else’s debt, and the property turns out to belong to a stranger to that lawsuit. Rather than forcing that stranger to file a separate suit to sort out ownership, Georgia lets the claim ride on the same execution, decided in the same proceeding that produced it.
The mechanism is light on formality at this stage. The person claiming the property — or an agent or attorney acting for that person — need only make oath. No complaint, no summons, no separate filing fee schedule of its own. That oath is the trigger for everything the rest of Article 5 builds on top of it: the bond requirement in Code Section 9-13-91, the postponement of the sale in Code Section 9-13-93, and eventually a jury trial on the right of property under Code Section 9-13-100.
The claimant has to be a person “not a party to the execution.” A defendant fighting the underlying judgment has other tools — an affidavit of illegality under Code Section 9-13-120, for instance — but cannot use this claim procedure to relitigate a debt that is already the defendant’s own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can file a claim under this section?
Any person not a party to the execution who asserts ownership or a right to the property that has been levied on. The claim may be made by that person directly, or by an agent or attorney acting on the claimant’s behalf.
Does filing a claim require starting a new lawsuit?
No. The claimant needs only make oath claiming the property. The claim proceeds within the existing execution rather than as a separate civil action.
What happens after the oath is made?
The claimant must then give bond under Code Section 9-13-91 (or file an affidavit of indigence under Code Section 9-13-92), which triggers the officer’s duty to postpone the sale until the claim is resolved.
Can the defendant in the underlying execution use this claim procedure?
No. The section is limited to a person not a party to the execution. A defendant disputes the execution itself through other means, such as an affidavit of illegality.
Does the claimant need a lawyer to make the oath?
No. The statute allows the claimant, an agent, or an attorney to make the oath, so the claimant can act personally without retaining counsel at this stage.
Amendment History
Laws 1839, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 535; Code 1863, § 3650; Code 1868, § 3675; Code 1873, § 3725; Ga. L. 1877, p. 22, § 1; Code 1882, § 3725; Civil Code 1895, § 4611; Civil Code 1910, § 5157; Code 1933, § 39-801.
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: georgia claim to levied propertythird party claim on execution georgiaclaim affidavit sheriff levy georgiastatutory property claim procedure georgia