§ 19-8-9.Revocation of surrender of rights; time limit; effect of voluntary surrender of rights by legal mother
Chapter 8. Adoption · Article 1. General Provisions · Last amended 2021 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-8-9
Plain-English Summary
This section sets the one window for changing your mind after signing a surrender of rights under § 19-8-4, § 19-8-5, § 19-8-6 or § 19-8-7. The signer may revoke by written notice within four days after signing. Every surrender must say so; a surrender document that doesn’t state this right isn’t valid. After the four-day period, a surrender can’t be revoked.
The counting rules are exact. The four days run consecutively, starting with the day after the surrender is signed, so weekends count. Only the last day moves: if the fourth day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the last day to revoke becomes the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. A surrender signed on a Monday, for example, can be revoked through Friday. One signed on a Tuesday has a fourth day of Saturday, so the deadline moves to Monday, or later if Monday is a legal holiday.
Delivery is just as exact. The notice must go to the address designated in the surrender document, either delivered in person or sent by registered mail or statutory overnight delivery. Certified mail won’t do; the section expressly sets aside the general rule in § 9-10-12 that allows it. Hand delivery must reach that address by 5:00 P.M. eastern time (standard or daylight, whichever applies) on the fourth day. Registered mail or overnight delivery must be addressed there and handed to the United States Postal Service or the overnight carrier by 12:00 Midnight eastern time on the fourth day. Section 19-8-26 supplies the form for the notice to revoke. For a pre-birth surrender, §§ 19-8-4, 19-8-5 and 19-8-7 run the four days from the date it is signed, regardless of when the child is born.
Subsection (b) closes a loophole. A legal mother who surrendered under these sections, or under the matching laws of another state, and didn’t revoke — or whose rights a court terminated involuntarily — has no right or authority to sign a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity under § 19-7-46.1 or to consent to a legitimation petition under § 19-7-22 for the same child. The section was last amended in 2021.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many days do you have to revoke an adoption surrender in Georgia?
Four days. The four-day period starts the day after you sign and runs consecutively, weekends included. If the fourth day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the last day to revoke becomes the next day that isn’t one. Your written notice must be hand-delivered to the address in the surrender by 5:00 P.M. eastern time, or sent by registered mail or statutory overnight delivery by 12:00 Midnight eastern time, on the fourth day. After the four-day period, a surrender can’t be revoked.
Can I revoke an adoption surrender by certified mail in Georgia?
No. The section expressly sets aside the general rule in § 9-10-12 that allows certified mail. A notice of revocation must be delivered in person or sent by registered mail or statutory overnight delivery, addressed to the address designated in the surrender document. Mailed or overnight notices must be handed to the United States Postal Service or the overnight carrier by 12:00 Midnight eastern time on the fourth day; hand delivery must arrive by 5:00 P.M. eastern time that day.
Can a birth mother change her mind after the four days are up in Georgia?
Not by revoking the surrender. After the four-day period, a surrender of rights can’t be revoked. Other sections deal with narrower situations. For example, § 19-8-12 dissolves a legal mother’s surrender and restores her rights if the biological father legitimates the child and the adoption petition is then revoked with prejudice or denied. And § 19-8-18 bars any judicial challenge to an adoption decree filed more than six months after the decree is entered.
Is a Georgia adoption surrender valid if it doesn’t mention the right to revoke?
No. The section says a surrender document shall not be valid unless it states the signer’s right to revoke within four days by written notice delivered in person or mailed by registered mail or statutory overnight delivery. The surrender forms in § 19-8-26 include that notice, along with the counting rules and the warning that certified mail can’t be used.
After a mother surrenders her baby, can she sign a paternity acknowledgment for the father?
No. If a legal mother surrendered her parental rights under § 19-8-4, § 19-8-5, § 19-8-6 or § 19-8-7, or under another state’s matching law, and didn’t revoke the surrender, she has no right or authority to sign a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity under § 19-7-46.1 for the same child. Nor may she consent to a legitimation petition under § 19-7-22. The same bar applies if a court involuntarily terminated her parental rights.
Amendment History
Laws 1990, p. 1572, § 5; Laws 2000, p. 1589, § 4; Laws 2007, Act 214, § 7, eff. July 1, 2007; Laws 2016, Act 404, § 13, eff. July 1, 2016; Laws 2018, Act 285, § 1-1, eff. Sept. 1, 2018; Laws 2021, Act 140, § 4, eff. July 1, 2021.