§ 19-11-130.Filing of petition to establish, register, or modify support order; required information; relief sought
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 § 19-11-130
Plain-English Summary
This section sets the paperwork rules for a petitioner under Georgia’s interstate support law. Anyone seeking to establish a support order, determine a child’s parentage, or register and modify a support order of another state or a foreign country must file a petition.
The petition or the documents filed with it must give certain information “so far as known”: the name, residential address and social security numbers of the obligor and the obligee, or of the parent and alleged parent, plus the name, sex, residential address, social security number and date of birth of each child for whom support is sought or whose parentage is to be determined. That duty yields to an order under § 19-11-131, which lets a party keep identifying information sealed when disclosure would endanger a party or child. Unless it was filed at the time of registration, the petition must come with a copy of any support order known to have been issued by another tribunal. The petitioner may add anything else that helps locate or identify the respondent.
Subsection (b) adds two requirements. The petition must specify the relief sought. And the petition and its accompanying documents must conform substantially to the forms federal law mandates for cases filed by a support enforcement agency, so courts and agencies across the country see the same layout.
Registering an out-of-state order for enforcement follows its own checklist in § 19-11-161. Under § 19-11-132, the petitioner may not be required to pay a filing fee or other costs. The section was last amended in 2013.
Frequently Asked Questions
What information goes in an interstate child support petition in Georgia?
So far as known, the petition or attached documents must list the name, residential address and social security numbers of the obligor and the obligee (or the parent and alleged parent), and each child’s name, sex, residential address, social security number and date of birth. It must specify the relief sought and include a copy of any support order known to have been issued by another tribunal, unless that order was filed at registration.
What if I don’t know the other parent’s address or Social Security number?
The identifying information is required only “so far as known.” You give what you know. The section also lets you include any other information that may help locate or identify the respondent, and Georgia’s state information agency has its own duty under § 19-11-129 to try to locate an obligor.
Do I have to list my home address if I’m afraid of the other parent?
Not necessarily. The information requirements apply “unless otherwise ordered under Code Section 19-11-131.” Under that section, if a party alleges in an affidavit or a pleading under oath that disclosing specific identifying information would jeopardize the health, safety or liberty of a party or child, the information must be sealed and may not be disclosed to the other party or the public, unless a tribunal later orders disclosure after a hearing.
Do I need to attach the old child support order to my petition?
Yes, unless it was filed at the time of registration. The petition must be accompanied by a copy of any support order known to have been issued by another tribunal. Including every known order helps the court sort out which order controls.
Are there required forms for interstate child support petitions?
The petition and accompanying documents must conform substantially with the requirements of the forms federal law mandates for cases filed by a support enforcement agency. The section asks for substantial conformity, not a word-for-word match, and it requires every petition to specify the relief sought.
Amendment History
Laws 1997, p. 1613, § 33; Laws 2013, Act 224, § 1, eff. July 1, 2013.