The several officers of court are prohibited from demanding the costs in any civil case or any part thereof until after judgment in the same, except as otherwise provided by law.
§ 9-15-3.When costs may be demanded
Chapter 15. Court and Litigation Costs · Last amended 1933 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-15-3 bars court officers from demanding payment of costs in a civil case, or any part of it, until after judgment, except where some other law specifically allows costs to be collected sooner.
Full Text of § 9-15-3
Plain-English Summary
This is a short section with an old pedigree — the rule traces to statutes from the 1830s and 1840s and has carried forward through every code revision since. Its point is to keep court officers from squeezing costs out of litigants mid-case: clerks, sheriffs, and the rest of “the several officers of court” are prohibited from demanding costs, in whole or in part, until judgment has been entered.
The closing phrase — “except as otherwise provided by law” — matters because Georgia does allow costs to be collected earlier in some circumstances. Code Section 9-15-4, for example, lets a superior court clerk withhold filing until the statutory filing fee is paid, which is a cost demanded well before judgment. This section supplies the general rule; other statutes supply the carve-outs.
Read together with the rest of this chapter, the section reinforces that cost liability is normally something a judgment establishes, not something an officer can extract from a party while the case is still pending.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Georgia court clerk demand payment of court costs before judgment?
No, not as a general matter. Officers of court are prohibited from demanding costs in a civil case, or any part of it, until after judgment, except where another law specifically allows it.
What’s an example of a law that lets costs be collected before judgment?
Code Section 9-15-4 lets a superior court clerk withhold filing of a case until the statutory filing fee is paid, which collects a cost before any judgment exists.
Does this prohibition apply to every court officer, or just the clerk?
It applies broadly to “the several officers of court,” not only the clerk.
When can costs normally be collected under this rule?
After judgment has been entered in the case.
Does this section prevent a court from ordering a party to pay costs during an indigence dispute?
No. That kind of order falls within the “except as otherwise provided by law” exception, since Code Section 9-15-2 separately authorizes a court to order payment of costs after testing an affidavit of indigence.
Amendment History
Laws 1834, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 506; Laws 1842, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 507; Code 1863, § 3609; Code 1868, § 3634; Code 1873, § 3684; Code 1882, § 3684; Civil Code 1895, § 5393; Civil Code 1910, § 5991; Code 1933, § 24-3409.
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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