--- title: "Georgia Eviction Process and Court Timeline | MCC Solutions" description: "Georgia eviction court steps: Magistrate Court, answer 7 days, writ 7 days, sheriff. From official pages, with the earliest dates and links." url: "https://mcc-solutionsnj.com/tools/eviction-process-georgia" --- Eviction process · Georgia # Georgia eviction process and court timeline What happens after the landlord files: court, filing fee, time to answer or appear, judgment to writ, who carries out the lockout, paying to stop the case, right to counsel (statewide) and diversion or mediation (statewide), from the state's own pages. **Short answer.** Cases go to the Magistrate Court. The answer (written or oral) is due by the seventh day after service. Who carries out a lockout: sheriff. ## At a glance Court Magistrate Court. Most dispossessory (eviction) cases are filed in the county's magistrate court. "most eviction cases in Georgia are filed in the Magistrate Court." Source 2 Filing fee Set locally by each county's magistrate court. County pages we opened list $100 for one defendant in Upson County and $112 for the affidavit and service on one tenant in Augusta-Richmond County. "For affidavit and service on one (1) tenant $112.00" Source 5 Time to answer or appear The answer (written or oral) is due by the seventh day after service. "on or before the seventh (7th) day after the date of service of this affidavit and summons." Source 1 Judgment to writ After a judgment for the landlord, wait seven days before asking for the writ of possession (Fulton County Magistrate Court's landlord checklist). "wait seven (7) days to request the Writ" Source 6 Who carries out the lockout Sheriff. The sheriff or a designee sets the tenant out after a writ of possession issues. "the sheriff or designee "setting out" a tenant after a writ of possession is issued" Source 2 Paying to stop the case Per the report on the Judicial Council's site, a tenant can avoid eviction by paying all rent owed plus court costs within 7 days of the summons; landlords must accept this once in a 12-month period. "they can avoid eviction by paying all rent owed plus court costs within seven days of receiving the summons" Source 2 Right to counsel (statewide) No statewide right to counsel for tenants in eviction cases (as of November 2026, per the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel): its tracker of enacted laws lists no statewide law here. "An eviction right to counsel is created by an enacted law that, at a minimum:" Source 3, National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel (secondary source) Diversion or mediation (statewide) No state-level diversion, mediation or rental assistance program, per the report; some counties run their own. "there are no state-level diversion, mediation, or rental assistance programs in Georgia" Source 2 ## Sample timeline: filed Monday, December 7, 2026 **Earliest under the statute; courts' calendars often take longer.** Need the other side served? [Process serving with an affidavit of service](/notary/process-serving). - **Answer due (if served the day of filing):** Monday, December 14, 2026 - **Hearing or trial:** no date (The official pages don't give a period for setting the hearing) - **Judgment:** no date (Follows the hearing, which isn't dated here) - **Writ or warrant of possession:** no date (7 days after the judgment, which isn't dated here) - **Earliest lockout:** no date (Not confirmed on an official page) Another date: [open the estimator](/tools/eviction-timeline-estimator?state=ga). ## Want us to handle it? A runner files your papers in person at the clerk's window and sends you a scan of the stamped copy. We file what you prepared; we don't give legal advice. **Price:** Outside New Jersey it goes through our contractor network: quote-based, confirmed before any work starts, and booked once a local contractor accepts. In New Jersey it is from $75 per filing, court fees at cost. Starting rates. Your exact price is quoted after we confirm a local notary/runner, before you pay. [Request a court filing](/notary/court-filing#request) ## Help the official pages point to - Per the report on the Judicial Council's site, a tenant can avoid eviction by paying all rent owed plus court costs within 7 days of the summons; landlords must accept this once in a 12-month period. ## Worth knowing The report is a policy study hosted on the Judicial Council's site, not the statute; check O.C.G.A. Title 44, Chapter 7 for the exact rule. It gives seven days to appeal after a decision. **Not stated on the pages we read:** hearing after filing, writ to lockout. ## Sources - [Council of Magistrate Court Judges: MAG 30-01 Dispossessory Affidavit and Summons](https://georgiamagistratecouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/MAG-30-01-DISPOSSESSORY-AFFIDAVIT-AND-SUMMONS.pdf) (checked November 2026) - [Judicial Council of Georgia (georgiacourts.gov): Georgia Eviction Policy, A Comparative Analysis of Southern States (May 2024)](https://georgiacourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Georgia-Eviction-Policy-Report.pdf) (checked November 2026) - [National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel (secondary source): National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel: Enacted Eviction Right to Counsel and Eviction Defense Programs (last modified November 2026)](https://civilrighttocounsel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/RTC_Enacted_Legislation_in_Eviction_Proceedings_FINAL.pdf) (checked November 2026) - [Upson County Magistrate Court: fees (2025)](https://www.upsoncountyga.org/DocumentCenter/View/2430/Magistrate-Court-Fees-2025) (checked November 2026) - [Augusta-Richmond County Magistrate Court: dispossessory instructions (2022)](https://www.augustaga.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15324/MAG-DISPO-instructions-2022) (checked November 2026) - [Fulton County Magistrate Court: Landlord pamphlet (dispossessory checklist)](https://FultonCountyGa.gov/-/media/Departments/Magistrate-Court/Court-Resources/Landlord-Pamphlet.pdf) (checked November 2026) Sourced from official pages; a few facts from vetted secondary sources, marked "(secondary source)". General information, not legal advice; we are not lawyers. Not a court form. Earliest under the statute; courts' calendars often take longer. ## Common questions **Which court hears eviction cases in Georgia?** Magistrate Court. Most dispossessory (eviction) cases are filed in the county's magistrate court. **How long does a tenant in Georgia have to respond?** The answer (written or oral) is due by the seventh day after service. **When can a Georgia landlord get the writ after winning?** After a judgment for the landlord, wait seven days before asking for the writ of possession (Fulton County Magistrate Court's landlord checklist). **Who carries out an eviction in Georgia?** Sheriff. The sheriff or a designee sets the tenant out after a writ of possession issues. The officer acts on the court's order. **Can paying the rent stop a Georgia eviction case?** Per the report on the Judicial Council's site, a tenant can avoid eviction by paying all rent owed plus court costs within 7 days of the summons; landlords must accept this once in a 12-month period. **What does it cost to file in Georgia?** Set locally by each county's magistrate court. County pages we opened list $100 for one defendant in Upson County and $112 for the affidavit and service on one tenant in Augusta-Richmond County. **Is there a statewide diversion or mediation program in Georgia?** No state-level diversion, mediation or rental assistance program, per the report; some counties run their own. Notice step: [notice periods](/tools/landlord-tenant-notice-periods-by-state) · Deposit step: [deposit rules](/tools/security-deposit-rules-by-state) · All states: [eviction process by state](/tools/eviction-process-timeline-by-state) · [Florida](/tools/eviction-process-florida) · [Idaho](/tools/eviction-process-idaho) ## Keep rental records in order [Bookkeeping for landlords](/bookkeeping/for/small-landlords)[Call (908) 444-6373](tel:+19084446373)