§ 19-11-156.Enforcement of orders issued by another state or foreign country
Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 3. Uniform Interstate Family Support Act · Part 5. Direct Enforcement of Order of Another State Without Registration · Last amended 2024 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-11-156
Plain-English Summary
This section closes Part 5 of Georgia’s Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, the part about enforcing another state’s order without first registering it in a Georgia court. It gives a party or a support enforcement agency a shortcut. Someone trying to enforce a support order, an income withholding order, or both, issued in another state — or a foreign support order — may send the documents needed for registration to a support enforcement agency in Georgia.
The Georgia agency then has a duty to act. Without first trying to register the order, it shall consider any administrative procedure Georgia law authorizes for enforcing support or income withholding orders and, if appropriate, use it. What happens next depends on the obligor — the person who owes support. If the obligor doesn’t contest the administrative enforcement, the order never has to be registered. If the obligor contests the order’s validity or the administrative enforcement, the agency shall register the order under the article, which moves the case into the registration process in Part 6, starting with § 19-11-160.
The documents to send are the ones a court registration would need, listed in § 19-11-161: a letter of transmittal, copies of the order, a statement of any arrearage, and identifying information about the obligor and obligee. A “support enforcement agency” is defined in § 19-11-101 as a public official, governmental entity, or private agency authorized to do things like seek enforcement of support orders, locate obligors or their assets, and seek establishment or modification of child support. The section was last amended in 2024.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Georgia’s child support agency enforce an out-of-state order without going to court?
It can try. When it receives the registration documents for a support order or income withholding order from another state, or a foreign support order, the Georgia support enforcement agency shall consider using any administrative procedure Georgia law authorizes, and use it if appropriate, without first registering the order. If the obligor doesn’t contest the administrative enforcement, the order never needs to be registered with a Georgia tribunal.
What happens if I contest administrative enforcement of another state’s support order in Georgia?
The agency must register the order. Under this section, if the obligor contests either the validity of the order or its administrative enforcement, the support enforcement agency shall register it under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. Registration brings the notice and hearing rules of §§ 19-11-164 through 19-11-166 into play, including the deadline to request a hearing and the list of defenses a contesting party can raise.
Who can send an out-of-state support order to a Georgia support enforcement agency?
A party or a support enforcement agency. Either one, if seeking to enforce a support order or an income withholding order (or both) issued in another state, or a foreign support order, may send the documents required for registering the order to a Georgia support enforcement agency. The documents are the ones listed in § 19-11-161 for registering an order with a Georgia tribunal.
Does a foreign country’s support order qualify for administrative enforcement in Georgia?
Yes. The section covers a foreign support order as well as a support order or income withholding order issued in another state. Under § 19-11-101, a foreign support order is an order of a tribunal of a foreign country, a term the article limits to countries that meet one of the conditions listed in that definition, such as having a reciprocal arrangement or being a country where the Hague support convention is in force with the United States.
Is registration required before Georgia can enforce another state’s child support order?
Not always. This section lets the Georgia support enforcement agency use administrative procedures first, without registering the order, and registration is unnecessary if the obligor doesn’t contest. Registration becomes mandatory only when the obligor contests the order’s validity or the administrative enforcement. A party can also register the order directly with a tribunal under § 19-11-160 instead of using this route.
Amendment History
Laws 1997, p. 1613, § 33; Laws 2013, Act 224, § 1, eff. July 1, 2013; Laws 2024, Act 428, § 9, eff. July 1, 2024.