In civil actions every motion made prior to trial, except those consented to by all parties, when filed shall include or be accompanied by citations of supporting authorities and, where allegations of unstipulated fact are relied upon, supporting affidavits, or citations to evidentiary materials of record. In circuits utilizing an individual assignment system, the clerk shall promptly upon filing furnish a copy provided by the attorney or party of such motions and related materials to the assigned judge or the judge’s designee. When an attorney or party e-files a motion or any response, the attorney or party shall notify the opposing parties and the assigned judge or the judge’s designee by e-mail of the motion or response contemporaneously but no later than 24 hours after e-filing.
Rule 6.1.Filing
Rule 6. MOTIONS IN CIVIL ACTIONS · Last amended 2020 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceRule 6.1 requires every contested pretrial motion in a Georgia civil action to include supporting legal citations, and where it relies on disputed facts, supporting affidavits or record citations, and requires a party who e-files a motion or response to email notice of it to opposing parties and the assigned judge within twenty-four hours.
Full Text of Rule 6.1
Plain-English Summary
Rule 6.1 sets the baseline for what a pretrial motion in a Georgia civil case has to bring with it. Except for motions every party has consented to, a motion filed before trial must include or come with citations to supporting authority, and if it leans on facts the parties haven’t stipulated to, supporting affidavits or citations to evidence already in the record. A bare motion with no legal support and no evidentiary backing for its factual claims doesn’t meet the rule.
Where a circuit uses an individual assignment system — each case tied to one judge from filing to disposition — the clerk promptly gets a copy of the motion and its supporting materials to the assigned judge or that judge’s designee, using the copy the filer provided. And because so much filing now happens electronically, the rule adds a modern layer: anyone who e-files a motion or a response has to email the opposing parties and the assigned judge or designee about it, within twenty-four hours of filing at the latest, and ideally at the same time as the filing itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must accompany a pretrial motion in a Georgia civil action?
Citations of supporting authorities, and, where the motion relies on unstipulated facts, supporting affidavits or citations to evidentiary materials of record.
Do motions that all parties consent to need this supporting material?
No. The requirement applies to every pretrial motion “except those consented to by all parties.”
What happens to a motion filed in a circuit using an individual assignment system?
The clerk promptly furnishes a copy of the motion and related materials, supplied by the filer, to the assigned judge or the judge’s designee.
How quickly must a party notify others after e-filing a motion or response?
By email, contemporaneously with the filing but no later than twenty-four hours after e-filing.
Who has to receive that e-filing notification email?
The opposing parties and the assigned judge or the judge’s designee.
Amendment History
Amended effective July 2, 2020.
Source & verification. Rule text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Uniform Superior Court Rules, published by the
Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia. Last verified July 17, 2026.
· Official source
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