§ 19-11-118.Crediting of amounts collected
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
Full Text of § 19-11-118
Plain-English Summary
When more than one child support order exists for the same child, a parent could end up owing under each for the same months. This section prevents that double count. A Georgia tribunal shall credit amounts collected for a particular period under any child support order against the amounts owed for the same period under any other child support order for the same child. It doesn’t matter whether the other order came from Georgia, another state or a foreign country.
Three limits are built into the words. The credit runs period by period: money collected for one stretch of time offsets what is owed for that same stretch. It applies only to orders for the same child. And it is mandatory — the tribunal “shall” give the credit.
The rule does its main work when a tribunal decides which of several orders controls. Code Section 19-11-116(f)(3) says the order making that decision must state the total consolidated arrears and accrued interest under all the orders after all payments are credited as this section provides. Code Section 19-11-116(d) requires the person asking for that decision to supply the applicable record of payments.
Proof of payment comes from the records. Under Code Section 19-11-135(c), a copy of the record of child support payments certified by its custodian may be forwarded to a responding tribunal and is admissible to show whether payments were made. Code Section 19-11-138(a) requires a Georgia support enforcement agency or tribunal to furnish, on request, a certified statement of the amounts and dates of all payments received. The section was amended in 2013.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I paid child support under one state’s order, do those payments count toward another state’s order for the same child?
Yes. A Georgia tribunal shall credit amounts collected for a particular period under any child support order against the amounts owed for the same period under any other child support order for the same child, whether that order came from Georgia, another state or a foreign country.
Do payments made under a foreign country’s support order get credited in Georgia?
Yes. The section expressly includes child support orders issued by a tribunal of a foreign country. Amounts collected for a period under any child support order are credited against amounts owed for the same period under any other order for the same child.
How are arrears calculated when there are several child support orders?
When a tribunal decides which order controls, Code Section 19-11-116(f)(3) requires its order to state the total consolidated arrears and accrued interest under all the orders after all payments are credited as this section provides. Payments for a given period offset what was owed for that period under the other orders.
How do I prove what I already paid under another order?
Code Section 19-11-135(c) lets a certified copy of the record of child support payments be forwarded to a responding tribunal; it is admissible to show whether payments were made. Code Section 19-11-138(a) also requires a Georgia support enforcement agency or tribunal to furnish, to a requesting party or tribunal of another state or a foreign country, a certified statement of the amounts and dates of payments received.
Can payments for one child be credited against support owed for a different child?
Not under this section. The credit applies only between child support orders for the support of the same child, and only for the same period. Payments for one child under one order don’t offset support owed for a different child under this rule.
Amendment History
Laws 1997, p. 1613, § 33; Laws 2013, Act 224, § 1, eff. July 1, 2013.