§ 19-11-4.Application of Chapter 13 of Title 50, the “Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.”
Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 1. Child Support Recovery Act · Last amended 1973 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-11-4
Plain-English Summary
This short section ties the child support program to Georgia’s general rules for state agencies. When the Department of Human Services administers the Child Support Recovery Act, it “shall be governed by” Chapter 13 of Title 50, the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.
That link matters because much of child support enforcement happens outside a courtroom. The department can set support through an administrative action (§ 19-11-15), seek to adjust an administrative order after a review (§ 19-11-12), and ask licensing agencies to suspend licenses of parents who fall behind (§ 19-11-9.3). Those proceedings run through administrative hearings, and several sections of the Act point expressly to the Administrative Procedure Act or to the Office of State Administrative Hearings for how hearings and appeals work.
So when a parent faces an administrative child support hearing in Georgia, the procedure comes from two places: the specific child support section, which sets deadlines and the issues to decide, and the Administrative Procedure Act, which supplies the general framework. This section dates to the original 1973 law and has not been amended.
Frequently Asked Questions
What rules govern Georgia’s child support agency?
The Georgia Administrative Procedure Act, Chapter 13 of Title 50, along with the Child Support Recovery Act itself. This section says that in administering the article, the Department of Human Services shall be governed by the Administrative Procedure Act. The child support sections add their own specific deadlines and issues on top of that general framework.
Can child support be set in an administrative hearing in Georgia?
Yes. Under § 19-11-15, if the department can’t get a parent to agree to a consent order, it may file in superior court or start an administrative action under the Administrative Procedure Act. This section confirms that the department follows that Act whenever it administers the child support program.
Does the Administrative Procedure Act apply to child support license suspensions?
Yes. Section 19-11-9.3 gives a parent facing license suspension the right to a hearing before an administrative law judge of the Office of State Administrative Hearings under Article 2 of Chapter 13 of Title 50, with judicial review under the same article. This section makes the Administrative Procedure Act the department’s general rulebook for the program.
Is a child support administrative hearing the same as going to court?
No. An administrative hearing takes place before an administrative law judge rather than a superior court judge, and it follows the Administrative Procedure Act this section names. Some administrative results can carry court-order force: § 19-11-15(d) gives a final administrative support order the full force and effect of a superior court order.
Has this section changed since it was enacted?
No. The credits cite only the 1973 session laws. The section has said the same thing since the Child Support Recovery Act was adopted: the department follows the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act in running the program. Later amendments to other sections added specific hearing rules on top of that framework.
Amendment History
Laws 1973, p. 192, § 6.