§ 19-11-40.Short title
Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 2. Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act · Last amended 1958 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-11-40
Plain-English Summary
This section names Article 2 of Chapter 11. The article may be cited as the “Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act,” often shortened to URESA. Georgia adopted it in 1958, and the act gave states a shared set of rules for enforcing support when the parent who owes it and the person owed live in different states. One state started the case, another state where the obligor lived responded, and each applied the uniform act’s procedures.
URESA is now a closed chapter for new cases. Section 19-11-40.1 says no new petition may be filed, and no proceeding of any type initiated, under this article on or after January 1, 1998. Cases filed on or after that date are governed by Article 3 of the chapter, the “Uniform Interstate Family Support Act” (UIFSA), which begins at § 19-11-100. The URESA provisions apply only to proceedings pending before January 1, 1998.
So a reader landing here should usually move on to UIFSA. The URESA sections remain in the Code for the older cases still governed by them, and their history helps explain support orders entered before 1998. The definitions in § 19-11-42 and the description of the duty of support in § 19-11-43 show how those older interstate cases worked.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is URESA in Georgia?
URESA is the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, the name of Article 2 of Chapter 11 of Title 19. It was an interstate law for enforcing support duties between states. Under § 19-11-40.1, no new petition or proceeding may be started under it on or after January 1, 1998.
Can I still file a URESA petition in Georgia?
No. Section 19-11-40.1 says no new petition may be filed, nor any type of proceeding initiated, under this article on or after January 1, 1998. Petitions filed and proceedings started on or after that date are governed by Article 3, the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, which begins at § 19-11-100.
What law replaced URESA in Georgia?
The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, Article 3 of Chapter 11, which begins at § 19-11-100. Section 19-11-40.1 says the General Assembly intends petitions filed or proceedings initiated on or after January 1, 1998, to be governed by that act.
Does URESA still apply to any Georgia cases?
Only to proceedings pending before January 1, 1998. Section 19-11-40.1 limits the article’s provisions to those cases and bars any new petition or proceeding under the article on or after that date. A new interstate support case today proceeds under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act instead, which begins at § 19-11-100.
How should I cite Georgia’s Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act?
This section says Article 2 may be cited as the “Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act.” Its sections run from § 19-11-40 through the end of Article 2. The current interstate act, Article 3, is cited as the “Uniform Interstate Family Support Act” under § 19-11-100.
Amendment History
Laws 1958, p. 34, § 34.