§ 19-11-167.Effect of confirmation
Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 3. Uniform Interstate Family Support Act · Part 6. Enforcement and Modification of Support Order After Registration · Last amended 2013 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-11-167
Plain-English Summary
This one-sentence section gives confirmation its teeth. A registered support order can be confirmed in two ways. It is confirmed by operation of law under § 19-11-165 when the nonregistering party doesn’t contest it in time. Or it is confirmed after notice and hearing under § 19-11-166 when the contesting party fails to establish a defense.
Either way, the result is the same. Confirmation precludes any further contest of the order with respect to any matter that could have been asserted at the time of registration. So if the obligor had a defense on the list in § 19-11-166 — lack of personal jurisdiction, fraud, payment, the statute of limitation, or the others — and didn’t raise it in time, it is gone as a challenge to that order. The notice required by § 19-11-164 warns of this consequence in advance.
The bar reaches only matters that could have been asserted at registration. Confirmation of a child support order for enforcement doesn’t decide whether it can later be modified; modification is a separate request with its own requirements under §§ 19-11-168 through 19-11-172. The section was last amended in 2013.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I challenge a support order after it has been confirmed in Georgia?
Not on any matter that could have been asserted at the time of registration. Confirmation, whether by operation of law or after notice and hearing, precludes further contest of the order on those matters. That is why the notice under § 19-11-164 warns that failing to contest in time will result in confirmation and bar later challenges.
What is the difference between confirmation by operation of law and confirmation after a hearing?
Only how it happens. Confirmation by operation of law occurs under § 19-11-165 when the nonregistering party doesn’t contest the registered order in time. Confirmation after notice and hearing occurs under § 19-11-166 when a contesting party fails to establish a defense. This section gives both the same effect: no further contest on matters that could have been raised at registration.
If I missed the deadline to contest a registered support order, can I still raise fraud or payment?
Not against that order on matters that could have been asserted at registration. Fraud and full or partial payment are defenses listed in § 19-11-166, and once the order is confirmed — including automatically, by operation of law, after a missed deadline — this section precludes further contest on matters that could have been raised then.
Does confirming a registered support order mean it can never be changed?
No. This section bars further contest of the order on matters that could have been asserted at registration, such as the defenses in § 19-11-166. It doesn’t address modification. Changing a child support order from another state is a separate proceeding under §§ 19-11-168 through 19-11-172, with its own requirements.
How does a registered support order become confirmed in Georgia?
In one of two ways. Under § 19-11-165, the order is confirmed by operation of law if the nonregistering party fails to contest it in a timely manner. Under § 19-11-166, the registering tribunal shall issue an order confirming it if the contesting party doesn’t establish a defense. Either form of confirmation has the effect this section describes.
Amendment History
Laws 1997, p. 1613, § 33; Laws 2013, Act 224, § 1, eff. July 1, 2013.