§ 19-11-30.10.Authority to levy and seize deposit
Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 1. Child Support Recovery Act · Last amended 2017 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-11-30.10
Plain-English Summary
This one-sentence section is the bridge between finding a parent’s money and taking it. The sections just before it (§§ 19-11-30.1 through 19-11-30.9) set up the bank match system, which tells the child support agency where a parent who owes support keeps accounts. This section says what the agency may then do: the child support enforcement agency shall have the authority to levy and seize a deposit or account, in accordance with § 19-11-32.
The phrase “in accordance with Code Section 19-11-32” matters. The agency can’t empty an account at will. Section 19-11-32 limits the process to parents whose support obligations the agency is enforcing and who are behind by at least one month’s payment, keeps any exemptions that apply to support enforcement under Code Section 18-4-6, and caps the amount taken at the delinquent or accrued support owed. The sections that follow fill in the steps: notice to the parent (§ 19-11-33), verifying accounts (§ 19-11-34), the notice to the bank (§ 19-11-35), the notice to the parent after the levy (§ 19-11-36), the challenge and court hearing (§ 19-11-37), and what the bank must do (§ 19-11-38).
“Child support enforcement agency” is defined in § 19-11-3 as the entity within the Department of Human Services, and its contractors, authorized to enforce a duty of support. The section was last amended in 2017.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Georgia child support take money from my bank account?
Yes, if the legal conditions are met. This section gives the child support enforcement agency authority to levy and seize a deposit or account, but only in accordance with § 19-11-32. That section applies when the agency is enforcing your support obligation and you are delinquent in an amount equal to one month’s support payment, and it caps the amount at what you owe.
Does the child support agency need a court order to levy a bank account in Georgia?
Not to start. The levy under § 19-11-32 and § 19-11-35 is an administrative action the agency initiates by notice to the bank. The only hearing comes later, in superior court, if the parent or an account holder challenges the levy under § 19-11-37 and then asks for one after the agency finds no mistake of fact.
What steps does the agency follow to seize a bank account?
The steps run from § 19-11-32 through § 19-11-38. The parent must have had notice under § 19-11-33. The agency may verify the account under § 19-11-34, sends the bank a notice under § 19-11-35, and notifies the parent and other account holders under § 19-11-36. Challenges go through § 19-11-37, and the bank’s duty to freeze and forward funds is in § 19-11-38.
Who is the child support enforcement agency in Georgia?
Section 19-11-3 defines it as the entity within the Department of Human Services, and its contractors, that are authorized to enforce a duty of support. It is the agency that runs Georgia’s IV-D child support program and the one this section authorizes to levy and seize accounts.
Is a bank account levy the only way Georgia collects back child support?
Amendment History
Laws 1997, p. 1613, § 30; Laws 2017, Act 242, § 2-3, eff. July 1, 2017.