(a) An application to modify the award shall be made to the court within three months after delivery of a copy of the award to the applicant.
§ 9-9-14.Modification of award by court; application; grounds; subsequent confirmation of award
Chapter 9. Arbitration · Article 1. General Provisions · Last amended 1988 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceWithin three months of delivery, a party may ask the court to modify an award for a figure miscalculation, an award on an issue never submitted, or a defect in form, and the court then confirms the award as modified — or, if it denies modification, confirms the original award as the arbitrators made it.
Full Text of § 9-9-14
(b) The court shall modify the award if:
(1) There was a miscalculation of figures or a mistake in the description of any person, thing, or property referred to in the award;
(2) The arbitrators awarded on a matter not submitted to them and the award may be corrected without affecting the merits of the decision upon the issues submitted; or
(3) The award is imperfect in a manner of form, not affecting the merits of the controversy.
(c) If the court modifies the award, it shall confirm the award as modified. If the court denies modification, it shall confirm the award made by the arbitrators.
Plain-English Summary
Modification is the court’s counterpart to the correction power the arbitrators hold under Code Section 9-9-11 — a way to fix technical flaws in an award without unraveling the arbitrators’ substantive decision. Subsection (a) gives a party three months from the award’s delivery to bring the application, the same window that applies to a request to vacate.
Subsection (b) limits modification to the same three narrow defects the arbitrators themselves can fix: a miscalculation of figures or a mistake in describing a person, thing, or property named in the award; an award that ruled on a matter the parties never submitted, where correcting it will not disturb the merits of what was submitted; or an award that is imperfect in form without touching the merits of the dispute.
Whatever the court decides, the award ends up confirmed. Subsection (c) requires the court to confirm the award as modified if it grants the modification, or to confirm the award exactly as the arbitrators made it if the court denies modification. Either way, the parties leave this stage with a confirmed award ready for judgment — modification is a tune-up on the way to confirmation, not a standalone remedy.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a party have to apply to modify an arbitration award?
Three months after delivery of a copy of the award to the applicant.
What defects can a court fix by modifying an award?
A miscalculation of figures or a mistake describing a person, thing, or property; an award on a matter not submitted, correctable without affecting the merits of the submitted issues; or an award imperfect in form that does not affect the merits.
What does the court do after it modifies an award?
It confirms the award as modified.
What happens if the court denies a request to modify the award?
The court confirms the award made by the arbitrators, unchanged.
Does asking a court to modify an award ever end with no confirmed award at all?
No. Under subsection (c), the court confirms the award either as modified or in its original form, so the process ends in a confirmed award either way.
Amendment History
Code 1933, § 7-315, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 2270, § 1; Code 1981, § 9-9-94; Code 1981, § 9-9-14, as redesignated by Ga. L. 1988, p. 903, § 1.
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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