§ 19-11-129.State information agency
Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 3. Uniform Interstate Family Support Act · Part 3. Civil Provisions · Last amended 2013 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-11-129
Plain-English Summary
Interstate support cases move paper between strangers. A clerk in Ohio needs to know which Georgia court to send a petition to; a Georgia court needs to know where to send an order in Oregon. This section makes the Department of Human Services the clearinghouse. As the state information agency, the department “shall” do four things.
First, it must compile and keep current a list, with addresses, of the Georgia tribunals that have jurisdiction under the act and any Georgia support enforcement agencies, and send a copy to the state information agency of every other state. Second, it must keep a register of the names and addresses of tribunals and support enforcement agencies that other states send to Georgia. Third, it must forward documents about a case that arrive from another state or a foreign country to the appropriate tribunal in the Georgia county where the individual obligee or the obligor lives, or where the obligor’s property is believed to be.
Fourth, it must obtain information on where the obligor and the obligor’s Georgia property that is not exempt from execution can be found. The section lists tools: postal verification, federal and state locator services, telephone directories, requests to employers for the obligor’s address, and government records — to the extent other law doesn’t forbid it — on real property, vital statistics, law enforcement, taxation, motor vehicles, drivers’ licenses and social security.
The department wears several hats under the act. Section 19-11-102 also makes it one of Georgia’s tribunals and the state’s support enforcement agency. If papers still land in the wrong place, § 19-11-125 requires the receiving tribunal to forward them. The section was last amended in 2013.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Georgia agency handles interstate child support paperwork?
The Department of Human Services. This section makes it Georgia’s state information agency under the interstate support law. It keeps a current list of Georgia tribunals and support enforcement agencies, shares that list with every other state, keeps a register of other states’ tribunals and agencies, and forwards incoming case documents to the right Georgia tribunal.
How does Georgia find a parent who owes support to someone in another state?
The Department of Human Services must obtain information on the location of the obligor and the obligor’s Georgia property that is not exempt from execution. The section names the means: postal verification, federal and state locator services, telephone directories, requests to employers for the obligor’s address, and government records on real property, vital statistics, law enforcement, taxation, motor vehicles, drivers’ licenses and social security, to the extent other law doesn’t prohibit their use.
Which Georgia county will my out-of-state support case be sent to?
The department must forward the documents to the appropriate tribunal in the county where the obligee who is an individual lives, where the obligor lives, or where the obligor’s property is believed to be located. So the case can land where either party lives or where the paying parent’s property is, depending on the facts.
Can Georgia check driver’s license and tax records to find the other parent?
Yes, to the extent other law doesn’t prohibit it. The section lists government records the department may examine to locate an obligor and the obligor’s property, including records on real property, vital statistics, law enforcement, taxation, motor vehicles, drivers’ licenses and social security. It may also ask employers for the obligor’s address and use federal and state locator services.
What happens if my interstate support papers go to the wrong Georgia court?
They get passed along. Under § 19-11-125, if an inappropriate Georgia tribunal receives a petition or comparable pleading, it must forward the pleading and accompanying documents to an appropriate tribunal in Georgia or another state and notify the petitioner where and when they were sent.
Amendment History
Laws 1997, p. 1613, § 33; Laws 2009, Act 102, § 2-2, eff. July 1, 2009; Laws 2013, Act 224, § 1, eff. July 1, 2013.