(a) Except as otherwise provided in Code Section 9-17-6, a mediation communication is privileged as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section and is not subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in a proceeding unless waived or precluded as provided by Code Section 9-17-4.
§ 9-17-3.Mediation communication as privileged; use of mediation evidence
Chapter 17. Georgia Uniform Mediation Act · Last amended 2021 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-17-3 makes a mediation communication privileged and shields it from discovery and admission in evidence unless waived or precluded under Code Section 9-17-4, gives mediation parties, mediators, and nonparty participants each their own version of that privilege, and confirms that evidence otherwise available does not become privileged just because it surfaced during mediation.
Full Text of § 9-17-3
(b) In a proceeding, the following privileges apply:
(1) A mediation party may refuse to disclose and may prevent any other person from disclosing a mediation communication;
(2) A mediator may refuse to disclose a mediation communication and may prevent any other person from disclosing a mediation communication of the mediator; and
(3) A nonparty participant may refuse to disclose and may prevent any other person from disclosing a mediation communication of the nonparty participant.
(c) Evidence or information that is otherwise admissible or subject to discovery does not become inadmissible or protected from discovery solely by reason of its disclosure or use in a mediation.
Plain-English Summary
This is the section that gives Georgia’s mediation privilege its teeth. Subsection (a) states the general rule: a mediation communication is privileged, and a court, agency, or arbitrator cannot force its disclosure through discovery or admit it into evidence, unless a party waives the privilege or the law precludes asserting it under Code Section 9-17-4. That baseline rule also yields to Code Section 9-17-6, which lets a mediator make a narrow set of disclosures about the mediation, and to the list of communications that carry no privilege at all under Code Section 9-17-5.
Subsection (b) hands the privilege to three different people, and the reach of each version is not identical. A mediation party may refuse to disclose, and may block anyone else from disclosing, “a mediation communication” — language broad enough to cover the mediation exchange generally, not just statements the party personally made. A mediator’s privilege is asymmetric: a mediator may refuse to disclose “a mediation communication” just as broadly as a party can, but a mediator’s power to stop someone else from disclosing reaches only “a mediation communication of the mediator” — the mediator’s own statements. A nonparty participant’s privilege is narrower in both directions at once: a nonparty participant may refuse to disclose, and may block others from disclosing, only “a mediation communication of the nonparty participant.” So a party and a mediator can each refuse to disclose the mediation exchange broadly, but only the mediator’s power to silence other people is confined to the mediator’s own words, and a nonparty participant’s privilege is confined to that person’s own words in both directions.
Subsection (c) closes a door that might otherwise tempt a party toward strategic use of mediation. Evidence or information that a court could already discover or admit does not become privileged, or immune from discovery, merely because someone disclosed it or used it inside a mediation. A document that was discoverable before the mediation stays discoverable after it — mediation is not a place to launder evidence out of a case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is every mediation communication automatically privileged?
Once the mediation falls within Code Section 9-17-2’s scope, yes — subsection (a) makes a mediation communication privileged unless it is waived or precluded under Code Section 9-17-4, falls within Code Section 9-17-6’s limited mediator-disclosure allowance, or is one of the categories that carry no privilege under Code Section 9-17-5.
Who holds the privilege over a mediation communication — the parties, the mediator, or both?
All three can, but separately: a mediation party, a mediator, and a nonparty participant each get their own privilege under subsection (b), and each can refuse to disclose and can block others from disclosing the communications tied to that privilege.
Does a mediation party’s privilege cover only statements the party personally made?
No. The party’s privilege reaches “a mediation communication” broadly. A mediator’s own right to refuse disclosure is just as broad — only a mediator’s power to stop someone else from disclosing is limited to the mediator’s own communications. A nonparty participant’s privilege is the narrow one in both directions, limited throughout to that person’s own communications.
Does using a document in mediation make it privileged if it was not privileged before?
No. Subsection (c) states that evidence or information otherwise admissible or discoverable does not become inadmissible or protected from discovery solely because it was disclosed or used in a mediation.
What can override the privilege this section creates?
An express waiver or a preclusion under Code Section 9-17-4, one of the categories with no privilege at all under Code Section 9-17-5, or a mediator’s limited disclosure permitted under Code Section 9-17-6.
Amendment History
Code 1981, § 9-17-3, enacted by Ga. L. 2021, p. 646, § 2/SB 234.
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 mediation privilege statuteis mediation confidential in georgiamediation communication not discoverable georgiamediator privilege georgiageorgia mediation evidence privilege exceptions