§ 19-11-9.1.Duty to furnish information about obligor to department; use of information obtained; penalty for noncompliance
Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 1. Child Support Recovery Act · Last amended 2017 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-11-9.1
Plain-English Summary
This section gives Georgia’s child support program broad power to gather information. Under subsection (a), any entity in the state, including for-profit, nonprofit and governmental employers, must, on request of the Department of Human Services or its contractors, provide a parent’s name, address, Social Security number, employment, compensation and benefits when that person owes or allegedly owes support for a dependent child.
Subsection (a.1) carries out a federal mandate. The Department of Driver Services must require anyone applying for a driver’s license, commercial driver’s license, learner’s permit or ID card to provide a Social Security number, or a Social Security Administration certification that the applicant is an alien not authorized to work in the United States and isn’t eligible for one. The section doesn’t authorize licenses for anyone who isn’t a resident under § 40-5-1, and a license is revoked if the holder’s legal authorization ends or expires. The Department of Natural Resources must collect Social Security numbers from applicants for licenses and permits under Chapter 2 of Title 27. Both departments send those numbers to the Department of Human Services for child support enforcement, and the information stays confidential, though it may be shared with state agencies as federal law requires.
Subsections (b) and (c) widen the net. Except where the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act forbids it, the child support enforcement agency may require information on location, employment, property title, credit status or professional affiliation from a long list of sources — government agencies, deed and vital-records registries, regulated utilities, tax assessors, housing authorities, employers, unions, licensing boards and credit bureaus. A telephone company need provide only an address and phone number. The agency may ask an employer or income source about pay dates and amounts, address, Social Security number and health benefits, but not about the same person more than once every three months.
The information is confidential: it goes only to IV-D officials of Georgia or another state and is exempt from Georgia’s open-records law. Employers and income sources that comply can’t be held liable in a civil action brought by the obligor or obligee for doing so, and may answer on paper, by fax, magnetic tape or other electronic means. Failing without reasonable cause to answer within 14 days, or giving a willfully false answer, carries a $100.00 penalty for each failure or false response. The section was last amended in 2017.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my employer have to tell child support services about my pay in Georgia?
Yes, if the department asks. Any entity in Georgia, including for-profit, nonprofit and government employers, shall provide information about a person owing or allegedly owing support for a dependent child — name, address, Social Security number, employment, compensation and benefits. An employer that complies can’t be held liable in a civil action brought by the obligor or obligee because of that compliance.
Why does Georgia require my Social Security number for a driver’s license?
Federal child support law requires it. This section, following 42 U.S.C. § 666(a)(13)(A), has the Department of Driver Services collect a Social Security number from license, permit and ID card applicants, or a federal certification that the applicant is an alien not authorized to work and isn’t eligible for one. The numbers go to the Department of Human Services for child support enforcement and are confidential.
What happens if a business ignores a Georgia child support information request?
It can be penalized. Failing, without reasonable cause, to provide requested information within 14 days, or giving a willfully false response, is punishable by a penalty of $100.00 for each failure or false response. The child support enforcement agency or a court of competent jurisdiction assesses the penalty.
Can child support services get my credit report or property records in Georgia?
Generally yes. Except as the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act prohibits, the agency may require disclosure of location, employment, property title, credit status or professional affiliation from sources including deed and title registries, credit bureaus, tax assessors, utilities, employers, unions and licensing boards. Telephone companies are limited to providing an obligor’s or obligee’s address and phone number.
Is information collected by Georgia child support services public?
No. The department may share it only with appropriate officials of Georgia or another state running a IV-D program, and it isn’t subject to public inspection or disclosure under Georgia’s open-records law in Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50. Social Security numbers gathered from driver’s and game-and-fish license applications are also confidential.
Amendment History
Laws 1987, p. 1114, § 1; Laws 1988, p. 13, § 19; Laws 1991, p. 950, § 5; Laws 1997, p. 1613, § 25; Laws 2002, p. 1247, § 5; Laws 2003, Act 175, § 5, eff. July 1, 2003; Laws 2004, Act 564, § 19, eff. May 13, 2004; Laws 2005, Act 68, § 8-1, eff. July 1, 2005; Laws 2009, Act 102, § 2-2, eff. July 1, 2009; Laws 2017, Act 242, § 2-3, eff. July 1, 2017.