§ 19-9-22.Definitions

Chapter 9. Child Custody Proceedings · Article 2. Child Custody Intrastate Jurisdiction Act · Last amended 2019 · Last verified October 9, 2026

In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 19-9-22 defines “legal custody” and “physical custody” for Georgia’s Child Custody Intrastate Jurisdiction Act, tying physical custody to the parenting time schedule set under § 19-9-1.

Full Text of § 19-9-22

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As used in this article, the term:

(1) “Legal custody” means the responsibility for the care and control of a minor, including, but not limited to, the power to make decisions regarding health care, education, extracurricular activities, and religious upbringing.

(2) “Physical custody” means the custody schedule established for the child pursuant to Code Section 19-9-1, which includes parenting time.

End

Plain-English Summary

This section supplies two definitions for Article 2 of Chapter 9, the Child Custody Intrastate Jurisdiction Act. Legal custody means responsibility for the care and control of a minor, including the power to make decisions about health care, education, extracurricular activities and religious upbringing. Physical custody means the custody schedule set for the child under § 19-9-1 — the parenting plan statute — and it includes parenting time.

The definitions matter because § 19-9-23 governs complaints seeking a change of legal custody or physical custody, and § 19-9-24 uses the related terms legal custodian and physical custodian. Because physical custody includes parenting time, a request to change the parenting schedule is a request to change physical custody and follows the same filing rules as a change of legal custody. Both this section and § 19-9-23 were last amended in 2019.

These definitions apply only within Article 2. Article 1 has its own definitions of sole and joint custody in § 19-9-6, and the UCCJEA defines physical custody differently, as the physical care and supervision of a child, in § 19-9-41.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is legal custody under Georgia law?

For the intrastate custody act, legal custody means the responsibility for the care and control of a minor, including the power to make decisions about health care, education, extracurricular activities and religious upbringing. The list is not exhaustive — the definition says “including, but not limited to.”

What is physical custody under Georgia’s intrastate custody act?

It means the custody schedule established for the child under § 19-9-1, which includes parenting time. In other words, physical custody here refers to the parenting schedule in the child’s parenting plan — when the child is with each parent.

Is changing the parenting time schedule a change of physical custody in Georgia?

Under this article, yes. Physical custody is defined as the custody schedule set under § 19-9-1, and it includes parenting time. So a complaint to change that schedule is a complaint seeking a change of physical custody, governed by the filing rules in § 19-9-23.

Do these custody definitions apply everywhere in Georgia law?

No. They apply “as used in this article,” meaning Article 2 of Chapter 9. Article 1 uses its own definitions of sole and joint custody in § 19-9-6, and the UCCJEA in Article 3 defines physical custody in § 19-9-41 as the physical care and supervision of a child.

When were Georgia’s legal and physical custody definitions last changed?

This section was amended in 2019, effective July 1, 2019. The same 2019 law also amended § 19-9-23, which governs complaints seeking a change of legal or physical custody. The section dates originally from 1978, when the General Assembly passed the Child Custody Intrastate Jurisdiction Act that it helps define.

Amendment History

Laws 1978, p. 1957, § 3; Laws 2019, Act 281, § 1, eff. July 1, 2019.

Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, enacted by the Georgia General Assembly, and checked word for word against the Georgia Code Revision Commission’s public-domain edition and the acts that later amended it. Section headings are the Code’s official catchlines. Last verified October 9, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: legal custody definition georgiaphysical custody definition georgiaparenting time physical custody georgiaintrastate custody act definitions