§ 19-9-85.Registering foreign custody determinations; requirements of registering court; contesting registration; confirmation of registered order
Chapter 9. Child Custody Proceedings · Article 3. Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act · Part 3. Jurisdiction and Enforcement of Foreign Decrees · Last amended 2001 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-9-85
Plain-English Summary
Registration is how an out-of-state custody or visitation order gets a formal foothold in Georgia before anyone needs to enforce it. The person seeking registration sends the superior court in the right venue three things: a letter or other document asking for registration; two copies of the order, one of them certified, along with a statement under penalty of perjury that, to the best of that person’s knowledge and belief, the order hasn’t been modified; and the names and addresses of the person seeking registration and of every parent or person acting as a parent who received custody or visitation in the order. That last item yields to § 19-9-69, which lets a party keep identifying information sealed when disclosure would endanger someone. A person may register with or without asking for enforcement at the same time.
Once the papers arrive, the court must file the order as a foreign judgment and serve notice on the people named. The notice must tell them three things: the registered order is enforceable from the date of registration just like a Georgia order; anyone who wants a hearing to contest its validity must ask within 20 days after service; and failing to contest will confirm the order and bar any later challenge on matters that could have been raised.
At a contest hearing the court must confirm the order unless the challenger proves one of three defenses: the issuing court lacked jurisdiction under Part 2 of the Act (the jurisdiction rules beginning at § 19-9-61); a court with Part 2 jurisdiction has vacated, stayed or modified the order; or the challenger was entitled to notice in the original case but didn’t get it under the standards of § 19-9-47. If nobody asks for a hearing in time, the registration is confirmed as a matter of law, and the person who registered and everyone served must be told. Either way, confirmation shuts the door on later challenges to anything that could have been raised at registration. Section 19-9-86 then governs how Georgia enforces the registered order.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I register an out-of-state custody order in Georgia?
Send the superior court in the appropriate venue a letter or other document asking for registration, two copies of the order (one certified), and a statement under penalty of perjury that, as far as you know and believe, the order hasn’t been modified. Include your name and address and those of any parent or person acting as a parent who got custody or visitation in the order, unless § 19-9-69 allows that information to be withheld. You can ask for enforcement at the same time or register alone.
How long do I have to challenge a custody order someone registered in Georgia?
Twenty days after you’re served with the notice of registration. You must request a hearing within that window to contest the order’s validity. If you don’t, the registration is confirmed as a matter of law, and you lose the chance to raise any argument that could have been made at the time of registration.
What defenses can I raise against registration of another state’s custody order?
Only three. The court must confirm the order unless you prove that the issuing court lacked jurisdiction under Part 2 of the Act; that a court with Part 2 jurisdiction has vacated, stayed or modified the order; or that you were entitled to notice in the original case but didn’t receive it under the standards of § 19-9-47. Arguments about whether the order is good for the child are not among these defenses.
Is a registered out-of-state custody order enforceable right away in Georgia?
Yes. The notice the court serves must state that a registered order is enforceable as of the date of registration, in the same manner as an order issued by a Georgia court. Registration doesn’t wait on the 20-day contest period to become effective, though a timely challenge can still defeat confirmation if one of the three defenses is proved.
Do I have to register my custody order before asking a Georgia court to enforce it?
No. This section says an order may be registered with or without a simultaneous request for enforcement, and the expedited enforcement petition under § 19-9-88 can go forward on an order that was never registered. But registration has a payoff: once an order is confirmed, the other side loses the jurisdiction and notice defenses that could have been raised at registration.
Amendment History
Laws 2001, p. 129, § 1.