§ 19-9-62.Prerequisites for termination of exclusive, continuing jurisdiction
Chapter 9. Child Custody Proceedings · Article 3. Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act · Part 2. Jurisdiction · Last amended 2001 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-9-62
Plain-English Summary
Once a Georgia court makes a child custody determination consistent with § 19-9-61 (an initial order) or § 19-9-63 (a modification of another state’s order), it holds exclusive, continuing jurisdiction over that determination. In plain terms, requests to change the order belong in Georgia. The section opens with an exception for temporary emergency jurisdiction under § 19-9-64.
That power ends in only two ways. First, a court of Georgia — only a Georgia court — determines that neither the child, nor the child’s parents, nor any person acting as a parent has a significant connection with Georgia, and that substantial evidence about the child’s care, protection, training and personal relationships is no longer available here. Both findings are needed. Second, a court of Georgia or a court of another state determines that neither the child, nor the parents, nor any person acting as a parent presently resides in Georgia. The residence finding can come from either state; the significant-connection finding is Georgia’s alone.
This has a practical bite. A child’s move doesn’t end Georgia’s power by itself, even after the child has lived elsewhere long enough to have a new home state. As long as a parent stays in Georgia, Georgia keeps the case until a Georgia court makes the two findings in paragraph (1) — or chooses to decline as an inconvenient forum under § 19-9-67. Subsection (b) covers what happens after Georgia loses exclusive, continuing jurisdiction: it may modify its own earlier order only if it has jurisdiction to make an initial determination under § 19-9-61, as when the family moves back and Georgia becomes the home state again. Section 19-9-63 is the mirror rule for orders from other states.
Frequently Asked Questions
My ex moved out of Georgia with our child. Which state handles custody changes now?
Georgia, if you still live here and Georgia made the original order. Under § 19-9-62, the Georgia court keeps exclusive, continuing jurisdiction until a Georgia court finds that the child, the parents and any person acting as a parent lack a significant connection with Georgia and that substantial evidence is no longer available here. A Georgia court can also decline the case as an inconvenient forum under § 19-9-67.
Does Georgia lose custody jurisdiction once my child has lived in another state for six months?
Not by that fact alone. The child’s new home state matters for an initial custody case, but § 19-9-62 lists only two ways a Georgia court’s exclusive, continuing jurisdiction ends: a Georgia court’s finding that significant connections and substantial evidence are gone, or a court’s finding that the child, the parents and any person acting as a parent no longer live in Georgia.
Can a court in another state decide that Georgia has lost jurisdiction?
Only on the residence ground. Under § 19-9-62(a)(2), a court of Georgia or of another state may determine that neither the child, the parents nor any person acting as a parent presently resides in Georgia. The other ground — no significant connection and no substantial evidence here — requires a determination by a Georgia court.
If everyone leaves Georgia, is the Georgia custody order still valid?
The order doesn’t vanish. Once a court determines that none of them presently resides in Georgia, Georgia’s exclusive, continuing jurisdiction ends, which changes which state may modify the order. But § 19-9-45 makes a Georgia determination conclusive on the people it binds except to the extent it is modified.
Can a Georgia court modify its own custody order after it loses exclusive jurisdiction?
Only if it has jurisdiction to make an initial custody determination under § 19-9-61. Section 19-9-62(b) says a Georgia court that made a custody determination but no longer has exclusive, continuing jurisdiction may modify that determination only on that basis — for example, if Georgia has become the child’s home state again.
Amendment History
Laws 2001, p. 129, § 1.