§ 19-11-183.Duties of Department of Human Services; available support proceedings
Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 3. Uniform Interstate Family Support Act · Part 7. Determination of Parentage · Last amended 2013 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-11-183
Plain-English Summary
This section belongs to the part of Georgia’s Uniform Interstate Family Support Act that carries out the Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance, concluded at The Hague on November 23, 2007. That part applies only to support proceedings under the convention, and where it conflicts with Parts 1 through 6 of the article, it controls (§ 19-11-181). Under § 19-11-182, Georgia’s Department of Human Services is the agency the United States central authority has designated to perform specific functions under the convention. Subsection (a) spells out two of them: in a support proceeding under this part, the department shall transmit and receive applications, and shall initiate or help start a proceeding on an application in a Georgia tribunal. An “application” is a request made through one country’s central authority for help from another’s (§ 19-11-180).
Subsection (b) lists six proceedings open to an obligee — the person owed support: recognition, or recognition and enforcement, of a foreign support order; enforcement of a support order issued or recognized in Georgia; establishment of a support order where none exists, including a parentage determination if needed; establishment of a new order when Georgia refuses to recognize a foreign order under paragraph (2), (4) or (9) of § 19-11-184.3(b); modification of a Georgia order; and modification of an order from another state or a foreign country.
Subsection (c) gives an obligor who already has a support order against him or her three options: recognition of an order suspending or limiting enforcement of an existing Georgia order, modification of a Georgia order, and modification of an order from another state or a foreign country. Finally, subsection (d) says a Georgia tribunal may not require a security, bond or deposit, however described, to guarantee costs and expenses in convention proceedings. The section took effect July 1, 2013.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I enforce a child support order from another country in Georgia?
If the order comes from a country where the Hague convention is in force for the United States, an obligee can seek recognition, or recognition and enforcement, of that foreign support order. Applications travel between central authorities (§ 19-11-180), and under this section Georgia’s Department of Human Services transmits and receives them and starts or helps start the case in a Georgia tribunal. A person can instead file a direct request under § 19-11-184, but without the department’s help. Registration follows § 19-11-184.1.
Do I have to post a bond to bring a Hague convention support case in Georgia?
No. Subsection (d) says a Georgia tribunal may not require a security, bond or deposit, however it is described, to guarantee the payment of costs and expenses in proceedings under the convention. The label doesn’t matter; a tribunal can’t make you put up money to guarantee costs and expenses in these cases.
Can a parent who pays support use the convention to change the order?
Yes, if a support order already exists against that parent. Subsection (c) lets an obligor seek modification of a Georgia support order or of an order from another state or a foreign country, and seek recognition of an order suspending or limiting enforcement of an existing Georgia order. Whether a court will modify depends on other rules — for example, § 19-11-184.6 limits changes to a convention child support order while the obligee still lives in the country that issued it.
Can I get a new support order through the convention if there is no order yet?
Yes. Subsection (b)(3) lets an obligee ask for establishment of a support order when there is no existing order, including, if necessary, a determination of the child’s parentage. In such a proceeding the Department of Human Services transmits and receives the application and starts or helps start the case in a Georgia tribunal.
What happens if Georgia refuses to recognize a foreign support order?
The obligee may still be able to get support. If recognition is refused because the issuing tribunal lacked personal jurisdiction, the order was obtained by procedural fraud, or a respondent who neither appeared nor was represented lacked proper notice, subsection (b)(4) lets the obligee seek a new support order. Under § 19-11-184.3(c), the tribunal may not dismiss without a reasonable time to request a new order, and the department shall take all appropriate measures to request a child support order if the application came in under this section.
Amendment History
Laws 2013, Act 224, § 1, eff. July 1, 2013.