§ 19-11-33.Notice
Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 1. Child Support Recovery Act · Last amended 2017 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-11-33
Plain-English Summary
Before the child support enforcement agency can use the bank levy process in §§ 19-11-32 through 19-11-38, the parent who owes support must have received notice. The section says the agency may proceed “only if” notice has been provided in one of two ways.
The first way is through the support order itself. The obligor is given notice of this section’s provisions in the court order establishing the support obligation. The agency, the court or an administrative law judge may include language in any new or modified support order issued on or after July 1, 1997, telling the obligor that he or she is subject to §§ 19-11-32 through 19-11-39. If a parent’s support order carries that language, the parent may already have the notice without remembering it.
The second way is a letter. The agency may send a notice by regular mail to the obligor’s last known address. The statute doesn’t require certified mail or proof that the parent read it. That puts the burden on parents with support cases to keep their address current with the agency.
This notice comes before any levy. Section 19-11-35(a) adds that if notice was already given under this section, no further notice is required before the agency starts an administrative levy. After a levy, § 19-11-36 separately requires the agency to notify the obligor and other known account holders of the action taken, including the short deadline to challenge it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Georgia have to notify me before levying my bank account for child support?
Yes. The agency may use the bank levy process only if notice has been provided to the obligor in one of two ways: in the court order establishing the support obligation, or by a notice sent by regular mail to the obligor’s last known address. Once that notice has been given, § 19-11-35(a) says no further notice is required before the levy starts.
Is the warning in my child support order enough notice for a bank levy?
It can be. One of the two allowed methods is notice of this section’s provisions in the court order establishing the support obligation. The agency, the court or an administrative law judge may include language in any new or modified support order issued on or after July 1, 1997, notifying the obligor that he or she is subject to §§ 19-11-32 through 19-11-39.
Does the child support notice have to be sent by certified mail?
No. This section allows the child support enforcement agency to send the notice by regular mail to the obligor’s last known address. Certified mail or statutory overnight delivery is required for a different notice, the one sent to the financial institution under § 19-11-35(b).
What if I moved and never got the child support levy notice?
The section allows notice by regular mail to your last known address, so a notice sent to an old address the agency had on file can satisfy it. Notice in your support order also counts, so a parent whose order carries the levy language has notice even without a letter. Keeping your address current with the agency is the surest way to receive what it sends.
Will I hear about the levy after my account is frozen?
Yes. Separate from this advance notice, § 19-11-36 requires the agency to notify an obligor subject to an administrative levy, and any other party known to have an interest in the account, of the action taken. That notice must state that any challenge must be in writing and received by the agency within ten days of the date of the notice.
Amendment History
Laws 1997, p. 1613, § 31; Laws 1998, p. 128, § 19; Laws 2017, Act 242, § 2-3, eff. July 1, 2017.