§ 19-11-115.Initiating tribunal; responding tribunal

Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 3. Uniform Interstate Family Support Act · Part 2. Jurisdiction; Cooperation Between States · Last amended 2013 · Last verified October 9, 2026

In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 19-11-115 says when a Georgia tribunal that issued a child support order may ask another state to enforce it, and lets a Georgia tribunal with continuing jurisdiction over a support order enforce that order as a responding tribunal.

Full Text of § 19-11-115

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(a) A tribunal in Georgia that has issued a child support order consistent with the law of Georgia may serve as an initiating tribunal to request a tribunal of another state to enforce:

(1) The order if the order is the controlling order and has not been modified by a tribunal of another state that assumed jurisdiction pursuant to this article; or

(2) A money judgment for arrears of support and interest on the order accrued before a determination that an order of a tribunal of another state is the controlling order.

(b) A tribunal in Georgia having continuing jurisdiction over a support order may act as a responding tribunal to enforce the order.

End

Plain-English Summary

Modifying an order and enforcing it are different powers, and the interstate support act treats them separately. Code Section 19-11-114 handles modification. This section handles enforcement.

Subsection (a) covers a Georgia tribunal that issued a child support order consistent with Georgia law. It may serve as an initiating tribunal, asking a tribunal of another state to enforce one of two things. The first is the order itself, if it is the controlling order and no tribunal of another state that assumed jurisdiction under the act has modified it. The second is a money judgment for arrears of support, and interest, that accrued under the Georgia order before a determination that another state’s order is the controlling order. That second option matters when several orders existed and a tribunal picked another state’s order under Code Section 19-11-116: unpaid amounts that built up under the Georgia order before that ruling can still be pursued.

Subsection (b) is broader. A Georgia tribunal with continuing jurisdiction over a support order — a term that covers spousal as well as child support — may act as a responding tribunal to enforce that order. Code Section 19-11-116(e) gives the tribunal that issued the controlling order continuing jurisdiction to the extent this section and § 19-11-114 provide, and Code Section 19-11-111 keeps Georgia’s personal jurisdiction over the parties alive while that power lasts.

If another state has modified the Georgia order, Code Section 19-11-171 limits Georgia to enforcing arrears and interest that accrued before the modification. The section was amended in 2013.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Georgia court ask another state to collect child support under a Georgia order?

Yes, under subsection (a)(1), if the Georgia order is the controlling order and hasn’t been modified by a tribunal of another state that assumed jurisdiction under the act. The Georgia tribunal acts as an initiating tribunal and requests enforcement by a tribunal of the other state. Code Section 19-11-123 describes how it forwards the papers.

If another state’s order was found to control, can I still collect past-due support under the old Georgia order?

Yes. Subsection (a)(2) lets the Georgia tribunal request enforcement of a money judgment for arrears of support and interest on the Georgia order that accrued before the determination that the other state’s order is controlling. Support that built up before that ruling remains collectible.

What if another state has already modified my Georgia child support order?

Then subsection (a)(1) no longer applies, because the order has been modified by another state that assumed jurisdiction. Code Section 19-11-171 says the Georgia tribunal may enforce its modified order only as to arrears and interest accruing before the modification, and shall recognize the modifying order, upon registration, for enforcement.

Can a Georgia court enforce its own support order when the paying parent lives elsewhere?

Yes, while it has continuing jurisdiction over the order. Subsection (b) lets a Georgia tribunal with continuing jurisdiction over a support order act as a responding tribunal to enforce it. Code Section 19-11-111 keeps its personal jurisdiction over the parties in place as long as that continuing jurisdiction lasts.

Who can start a request for another state to enforce a Georgia support order?

Code Section 19-11-120(b) lets an individual petitioner or a support enforcement agency start a proceeding by filing a petition in an initiating tribunal for forwarding to a responding tribunal. Georgia’s support enforcement agency is the Department of Human Services under Code Section 19-11-102(b), and Code Section 19-11-126 requires it to provide services to a petitioner who asks.

Amendment History

Laws 1997, p. 1613, § 33; Laws 2013, Act 224, § 1, eff. July 1, 2013.

Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, enacted by the Georgia General Assembly, and checked word for word against the Georgia Code Revision Commission’s public-domain edition and the acts that later amended it. Section headings are the Code’s official catchlines. Last verified October 9, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: enforce georgia child support in another stateinterstate child support enforcement georgiacollect child support arrears other stateuifsa enforcement continuing jurisdiction