§ 19-11-32.Process to collect delinquent support accounts
Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 1. Child Support Recovery Act · Last amended 2017 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-11-32
Plain-English Summary
This section opens the administrative bank levy process that runs through § 19-11-39. It lets the child support enforcement agency collect delinquent support payments through a process of its own, notwithstanding other statutes that govern execution, attachment or levy against accounts. The agency doesn’t have to file a garnishment in court to use it.
Two conditions decide who is subject to the process, and both must be met. First, the obligor’s support obligation must be one the child support enforcement agency is enforcing. Second, the support payments, ordered under Georgia law or under a comparable statute of a foreign jurisdiction as certified to the agency, must be delinquent in an amount equal to the support payment for one month. A parent who is current, or behind by less than one month’s payment, is not subject to this levy. A parent whose case the agency isn’t enforcing isn’t either.
Two protections travel with the process. Any exemptions or exceptions that specifically apply to enforcing support obligations under Code Section 18-4-6 also apply here. And whatever a financial institution forwards under this section and §§ 19-11-33 through 19-11-39 shall not exceed the delinquent or accrued amount of support the obligor owes. The agency can’t sweep more than the debt.
The neighboring sections supply the steps: notice to the parent under § 19-11-33, account verification under § 19-11-34, the notice to the bank under § 19-11-35, the parent’s notice of the levy under § 19-11-36, challenges and a superior court hearing under § 19-11-37, and the bank’s duty to freeze and forward funds under § 19-11-38. Section 19-11-30.10 confirms the agency’s authority to levy and seize accounts in accordance with this section. This section was last amended in 2017.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far behind on child support do I have to be before Georgia can levy my bank account?
Behind in an amount equal to the support payment for one month. Under this section, an obligor is subject to the administrative bank levy if the child support enforcement agency is enforcing the support obligation and the payments are delinquent in that amount. Both conditions must be met.
Can child support take more than I owe from my bank account in Georgia?
Does the bank levy apply if my child support case isn’t handled by the state?
No. The section applies only if the obligor’s support obligation is being enforced by the child support enforcement agency. A parent owed support in a private case would need to use other collection remedies, or apply for the agency’s services, before this administrative levy would apply.
Are any of my funds protected from a child support bank levy?
Some may be. The section keeps any exemptions or exceptions that specifically apply to enforcement of support obligations under Code Section 18-4-6. Whether particular funds qualify depends on that statute and the facts. Note that the challenge process in § 19-11-37 lets the agency dismiss or modify a levy only for a mistake of fact.
Does Georgia’s bank levy work for an out-of-state child support order?
It can. The section covers support payments ordered under Georgia law or under a comparable statute of a foreign jurisdiction, as certified to the child support enforcement agency. The same conditions apply: the agency must be enforcing the obligation, and the payments must be delinquent in an amount equal to one month’s support.
Amendment History
Laws 1997, p. 1613, § 31; Laws 2014, Act 579, § 12, eff. July 1, 2014; Laws 2014, Act 669, § 19, eff. April 29, 2014; Laws 2017, Act 242, § 1-24, eff. July 1, 2017.