Rule 39. DOCKETING AND INDEXING · Last amended 1990 · Last verified July 17, 2026
The Civil Docket shall contain separate case number entries for all civil actions filed in the office of the clerk including: complaints, motions, URESA’s, domestic relations, contempt actions, modifications on closed civil actions, and all other actions civil in nature, except adoptions. Each action in the civil docket shall be indexed by the names of all parties to the action number or the civil docket book and page number. This docket shall contain entries of the following information:
(A) Action Number–a unique case number shall be assigned to each action as prescribed in Rule 36.9;
(B) Cause of Action–an entry of the specific type of action filed;
(C) Names of all attorneys of record;
(D) Names of all parties;
(E) Date of filing;
(F) Advance cost paid;
(G) Additional costs paid;
(H) Date of service;
(I) Type of service, including whether a second original is sent and where;
(J) The date and type of specific disposition of the action, including clear entries for:
(1) Dismissals (with or without prejudice);
(3) Judgments and the type of judgment, i.e., summary, default, on the pleadings, consent, on the verdict, notwithstanding the verdict, directed and so forth. In the event the case is a divorce, enter final decree and the type of judgment;
(4) Five-year or other administrative termination; and
(5) Transfer to court with proper jurisdiction and venue.
(K) Whether the verdict or judgment is for the plaintiff or the defendant;
(L) Whether there was a mistrial;
(M) The date of the trial, if any;
(N) Whether the case was tried (with or without jury);
(O) The name of the judge making the final disposition of the case;
(P) Date a Fi. Fa. was issued;
(Q) A cross-reference to the minutes and final record and page number;
(R) A cross-reference to the records storage area and box number if the case file is stored off- site; and
(S) A summary of all pleadings in the case and the dates of their filings, transcripts filed, motions for new trial, notices of appeal, and remittiturs.
Rule 39.2.1. Civil Case Initiation Form The clerk shall require the attorney filing a civil action to complete the civil case initiation form. The clerk shall enter the action number for the case on the civil case initiation form and the form shall become part of the file for the case. The clerk shall use the cause(s) of action indicated by the attorney completing the form to enter the cause(s) of action upon the civil docket of the court, unless it appears to the satisfaction of the clerk by an inspection of the pleadings that the cause(s) of action has been recorded in error by the attorney. If the wrong cause(s) of action has been
recorded, the clerk shall correct the civil case initiation form and enter the correct cause(s) of action upon the civil docket of the court.
Amended effective January 18, 1990.
Rule 39.2.2. Modification of the Civil Case Initiation Form
If additional information is deemed necessary by the court at filing, the civil case initiation form may be modified to include new items by using the blank space available at the bottom of the form.
Amended effective January 18, 1990.
Rule 39.2.3. Civil Case Disposition Form
Any order disposing of a civil action presented for consideration to a judge by any attorney or party shall be accompanied by a completed civil case disposition form. If the order is prepared or reframed by the court, the court shall cause the civil case disposition form to be completed or corrected, if necessary. The civil case disposition form shall be sent to the clerk along with the relevant order to become part of the file for the case. The clerk shall require any attorney or party filing a voluntary dismissal or settlement of a civil action to complete a civil case disposition form. The form shall become part of the file for the case. The clerk shall use the specific type of disposition found on the completed civil case disposition form to enter the specific type of disposition upon the civil docket of the court, unless it appears to the satisfaction of the clerk by an inspection of the order that the type of disposition has been recorded in error. If the wrong type of disposition has been recorded, the clerk shall correct the civil case disposition form and enter the correct type of disposition upon the civil docket of the court.
Amended effective January 18, 1990.
Rule 39.2.4. Modification of the Civil Case Disposition Form
If additional information is deemed necessary by the court at disposition, the civil case disposition form may be modified to include new items by using the blank space available at the bottom of the form.
Rule 39.2 is the backbone of Georgia’s civil case tracking system. It requires the clerk of superior court to log every civil filing — from ordinary complaints to domestic relations matters and contempt actions — in a single docket indexed by the names of the parties. From the moment a case is filed, the docket becomes a running record of what has happened and when.
The rule lists, in granular detail, everything that entry must capture: the assigned case number, the cause of action, the attorneys and parties involved, filing and service dates, costs paid, and — critically — how the case ended. That last category covers dismissals, settlements, the many flavors of judgment (default, summary, consent, and so on), five-year or other administrative terminations, and transfers to another court. The docket also cross-references the minutes, the final record, and any off-site storage location, so a case file can be traced years later even if the papers themselves have moved.
To keep these entries accurate, Rule 39.2 also sets up two paired forms. The civil case initiation form, filled out by the filing attorney, tells the clerk what type of action is being filed; the civil case disposition form, completed when a case ends, tells the clerk how it ended. Both forms become part of the case file, and both give the clerk authority to correct the docket if a form’s information does not match what the pleadings or order show. Either form can be modified with additional fields when a court decides more information is needed.
Amended effective January 18, 1990.