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How much does it cost to file for divorce in Georgia?

Georgia divorces are filed in superior court, and the total is a state base fee plus county surcharges, so it lands in a narrow band statewide: $220 in Fulton County, $217 in DeKalb County and about $204–$219 in Gwinnett and Cobb. Add $50 if the sheriff serves your spouse. Here is how the number is built and where the counties differ.

Georgia divorce fees at a glance

The Fulton County figures come from the Clerk of Superior Court's own published guidance: the filing fee for all civil actions is $215 for the first plaintiff and defendant, divorce cases are filed for $220, and the sheriff's service fee is $50 per service. DeKalb County's divorce filing fee rose to $217 effective July 1, 2024. The reason every Georgia county clusters near $200–$225 is statutory: OCGA §15-6-77 sets the clerk's base charge for all services through judgment in a civil case at $58, and a stack of state-mandated surcharges — for the judges' retirement fund, law library, courthouse facilities, alternative dispute resolution and children's trust funds — plus each county's own additions brings the amount actually collected at the window to roughly four times the base. You pay one combined figure to the clerk; the breakdown matters only if you later ask for a cost breakdown on appeal. See the Georgia court costs overview for the same structure in other case types.

Grounds, residency and the 31-day rule

Georgia requires the filing spouse to have been a bona fide resident of the state for six months before filing, under OCGA §19-5-2, and the case is normally filed in the county where the defendant spouse lives. Most Georgia divorces plead the no-fault ground in §19-5-3(13) — that the marriage is irretrievably broken — although the statute also lists fault grounds including adultery, desertion for a year, and cruel treatment. Even a fully agreed divorce cannot be granted until 31 days have passed after the defendant is served or signs an acknowledgment of service, which is why the cheapest Georgia divorces are the ones where the other spouse signs the acknowledgment: the $50 sheriff fee disappears and the clock starts on the filing date. Cases with minor children also require a parenting plan and a child support worksheet under §19-6-15, and several metro counties require both parents to attend a divorcing-parents seminar before the final decree — a modest separate charge set by the programme provider, not the clerk.

How the case runs

1. Confirm six-month Georgia residency and choose the correct county — usually the defendant's no court fee
2. File the complaint for divorce, summons, Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit and reporting form with the clerk of superior court $204–$220 by county
3. Serve your spouse through the sheriff or a court-appointed process server, or have them sign an acknowledgment of service $50 sheriff service in Fulton County; $0 if acknowledged
4. Wait out the 31-day minimum and complete any county-required parenting seminar if children are involved.
5. Submit the settlement agreement, child support addendum and proposed final judgment; uncontested cases are often decided on the pleadings or at a short hearing, contested cases proceed to mediation and trial.

E-filing and the real add-ons

DeKalb County requires electronic filing for civil and family cases, and most metro counties route filings through eFileGA. The e-filing portal adds its own transaction and card-processing charges on top of the clerk's fee, so the amount charged to your card will be a few dollars more than the schedule figure — the clerk's $217 or $220 is the court cost, not the card total. Other add-ons are predictable: certified copies of the final decree for banks, employers and name-change paperwork are charged per document plus per page under §15-6-77 (Fulton County's published copy charges are $2.50 for certification and $0.50 per page in the schedules reproduced by the clerk), and a post-judgment modification filed more than 30 days after judgment is treated as a new case with a new filing fee. Compare the structure with Florida divorce costs and the full 50-state table on the divorce filing costs hub.

Can't afford the fee?

Georgia's affidavit of indigence, OCGA §9-15-2, lets a filer who cannot pay swear to that fact and file without prepaying costs; the clerk must accept the filing as if the fee had been paid. There is one pro se catch: when a litigant without a lawyer files on an indigence affidavit, the complaint is first presented to a judge, who may refuse to let it proceed if it plainly shows no valid claim. Sheriff service charges can also be waived on the same affidavit. The fee waiver guide explains the general pattern across states.

Sources: Fulton County Clerk of Superior Court — published FAQs and fee guidance (civil filing $215; divorce $220; sheriff service $50 per service) · DeKalb County Clerk of Superior Court — divorce filing fee $217 effective July 1, 2024 · Gwinnett County and Cobb County superior court clerk schedules as published ($204 and $218.50) · OCGA §§15-6-77 (clerk fees; $58 base), 19-5-2 (residency), 19-5-3 (grounds), 19-6-15 (child support), 9-15-2 (affidavit of indigence). Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with the clerk of superior court in your county.