Certificate of Service — Georgia

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

State of Georgia

COURT CAPTION

Superior Court:

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF [____________________] COUNTY
STATE OF GEORGIA

________________________________________,
                              Plaintiff,

v.                                              Civil Action File No.: [____________]
                                                Judge: [________________________]
________________________________________,
                              Defendant.

State Court:

IN THE STATE COURT OF [____________________] COUNTY
STATE OF GEORGIA

________________________________________,
                              Plaintiff,

v.                                              Civil Action File No.: [____________]

________________________________________,
                              Defendant.

Magistrate Court:

IN THE MAGISTRATE COURT OF [____________________] COUNTY
STATE OF GEORGIA

________________________________________,
                              Plaintiff,

v.                                              Case No.: [____________________]

________________________________________,
                              Defendant.

(Select and complete the appropriate caption; delete the others)

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, [________________________________], certify pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 9-11-5 that
on [__/__/____], I served a true and correct copy of the following document(s):

Document(s) Served:

1. [________________________________]
2. [________________________________]
3. [________________________________]
   (add rows as needed)

upon all parties or their counsel of record as identified below, by the method(s)
indicated. Where service is by email using the designation required by O.C.G.A.
§ 9-11-5(f), the subject line of the email includes the words "STATUTORY
ELECTRONIC SERVICE" in capital letters as required by O.C.G.A. § 9-11-5(b)(6).

SECTION I — PARTIES / COUNSEL SERVED

Party / Counsel No. 1

Method of Service (check all that apply):

☐ Odyssey eFileGA Electronic Service — Filed and served through the Odyssey
eFileGA e-filing portal; upon acceptance, the system automatically serves all
registered participants.

• eFileGA Envelope / Transaction No.: [________________________________]
• Date/Time of eFileGA Acceptance: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM

☐ Statutory Electronic Service by Email (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-5(b)(6)) — Served
by email in PDF format to the email address(es) designated under O.C.G.A.
§ 9-11-5(f), with subject line containing "STATUTORY ELECTRONIC SERVICE."

• Email address(es) served: [________________________________]
• Date/Time Transmitted: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM
• ☐ Sent from: [________________________________] (sender's email)
• Note: Service is complete upon transmission, unless sender receives notice
  of non-delivery. If party certifies under oath they did not receive, burden
  shifts to serving party to dispute nonservice per O.C.G.A. § 9-11-5(b)(6).

☐ Personal Delivery (Hand Delivery)

• Person who received delivery: [________________________________]
• Date/Time: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM
• Location: [________________________________]

☐ U.S. First-Class Mail, Postage Prepaid

• Mailed from: [________________________________], Georgia
• Date Mailed: [__/__/____]
• Note: Under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-6(e), 3 additional days are added to any
  response period triggered by mail service.

☐ Certified Mail / Return Receipt Requested

• USPS Tracking No.: [________________________________]
• Date Mailed: [__/__/____]

☐ Statutory Overnight Delivery (O.C.G.A. § 9-10-12)

• Carrier: [________________________________] (must be a recognized commercial
  carrier providing overnight delivery and a receipt)

• Tracking No.: [________________________________]

• Date Tendered to Carrier: [__/__/____]

☐ Commercial Courier / Process Server

• Name of courier/server: [________________________________]
• Date/Time of Delivery: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM

☐ Other (describe authorized method): [________________________________]

Party / Counsel No. 2

Method of Service (check all that apply):

☐ Odyssey eFileGA Electronic Service

• eFileGA Transaction No.: [________________________________]
• Date/Time: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM

☐ Statutory Email Service (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-5(b)(6))

• Email address(es) served: [________________________________]
• Subject line included "STATUTORY ELECTRONIC SERVICE": ☐ Yes
• Date/Time Transmitted: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM

☐ Personal Delivery

• Date/Time: [__/__/____] at [________]
• Location: [________________________________]

☐ U.S. First-Class Mail

• Mailed from: [________________________________], Georgia
• Date Mailed: [__/__/____]

☐ Certified Mail

• USPS Tracking No.: [________________________________]

☐ Statutory Overnight Delivery

• Carrier: [________________] Tracking No.: [________________]

☐ Other: [________________________________]

(Duplicate Party / Counsel block as needed for additional parties)

SECTION II — MULTIPLE-PARTY SERVICE TABLE

(Use when serving three or more parties; attach continuation sheets if needed)

SECTION III — SELF-REPRESENTED (PRO SE) PARTY SERVICE

If a self-represented party has not designated an email address under O.C.G.A.
§ 9-11-5(f), statutory email service does not apply. Manual service is required.

☐ The following self-represented party was served by non-electronic means:

• Pro Se Party Name: [________________________________]
• Last Known Address: [________________________________]
• City, State, Zip: [________________________________]

• Method of Service:
  ☐ U.S. First-Class Mail — Date Mailed: [__/__/____]
  ☐ Hand Delivery — Date/Time: [__/__/____] at [________]
  ☐ Certified Mail — Tracking No.: [________________________________]
  ☐ Email (only if § 9-11-5(f) designation on file) — Date: [__/__/____]

• Notes: [________________________________]

SECTION IV — EFILEGA PORTAL NOTES

Mandatory E-Filing: As of January 1, 2019, all Georgia state and superior
courts require mandatory civil e-filing through Odyssey eFileGA pursuant to
Senate Bill 407 (2018) and applicable court orders. Check active court lists
at odysseyefilega.com for current participation status.

Auto-Service through eFileGA: When a document is accepted through eFileGA,
the system automatically notifies all registered service contacts in the case.
However, if any party is not a registered eFileGA participant, you must serve
them separately and document the service in this certificate.

Fulton County / DeKalb County / Other Major Counties: Confirm any standing
orders specific to the particular court division (e.g., Fulton County Complex
Litigation Division) that may impose additional certificate language or format
requirements.

SECTION V — EMAIL SERVICE — SPECIAL GEORGIA RULES

Under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-5(b)(6), when serving by email (Statutory Electronic
Service), the following requirements apply:

1. The document must be served in PDF format.
2. All email addresses designated by the party under § 9-11-5(f) must be served.

3. The subject line must contain the words "STATUTORY ELECTRONIC SERVICE"
   in capital letters.

4. Service is complete upon transmission unless the sender receives notice of
   non-delivery.

5. If the receiving party certifies under oath that they did not receive service,
   a presumption of non-receipt arises; the serving party may then dispute this
   assertion, and the court will determine the issue of service.

SECTION VI — TIME COMPUTATION / MAIL RULE

Under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-6(e), when a period of time is computed from the date of
service and service is made by U.S. Mail, three (3) additional calendar days
are added to the prescribed response period. This rule does not apply to
electronic service via eFileGA or statutory email service.

Example: A 30-day response period triggered by mail service becomes
33 days from the date of mailing.

DECLARATION

I declare under penalty of perjury pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 9-10-113 that the
foregoing Certificate of Service is true and correct to the best of my knowledge,
information, and belief.

Date: [__/__/____]

_____________________________________________
[________________________________]
Georgia Bar No.: [____________________]
[________________________________] (Firm Name)
[________________________________] (Street Address)
[________________________________] (City, State, Zip)
Telephone: ([____]) [____]-[________]
Facsimile:  ([____]) [____]-[________]
Email:      [________________________________]
Attorney for [________________________________]

PRACTITIONER NOTES

1. "STATUTORY ELECTRONIC SERVICE" in Subject Line. This is a mandatory
requirement under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-5(b)(6) for email service. Omitting this
language may invalidate service by email.

2. Email Address Designation. Attorneys must designate email addresses under
O.C.G.A. § 9-11-5(f), typically done in the initial pleading or a notice of
appearance. If opposing counsel has not filed a designation, verify through the
State Bar of Georgia's directory.

3. eFileGA Envelope Numbers. Retain eFileGA envelope/transaction numbers for
reference. Some local courts (particularly Fulton and Gwinnett) expect the
transaction number to appear in the certificate of service.

4. Statutory Overnight Delivery. Under O.C.G.A. § 9-10-12, service by a
recognized commercial carrier providing overnight delivery constitutes service
equivalent to personal service. Document the carrier and tracking number.

5. Local Standing Orders. Fulton County Superior Court has multiple standing
orders governing e-filing, service of process, and discovery in complex cases.
DeKalb, Gwinnett, and Cobb counties may have supplemental orders. Always confirm
current local requirements with the clerk's office.

6. Discovery Documents. When serving discovery (interrogatories, requests for
production, requests for admission, depositions), retain service documentation
but note that discovery itself is not filed with the court unless ordered or used
in a motion.

7. Non-Sworn Certificate. Under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-5, a certificate of service
by an attorney is sufficient as proof of service without a notarized affidavit.
A sworn Affidavit of Service (separate document) is distinct and may be required
for certain process service situations under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-4.

Sources and References

• O.C.G.A. § 9-11-5 (2024): https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-9/chapter-11/article-2/section-9-11-5/
• Odyssey eFileGA: http://www.odysseyefilega.com/
• eFileGA Active Courts: http://www.odysseyefilega.com/active-courts.htm
• Fulton County Civil E-Filing: https://www.fultonclerk.org/294/Civil-E-Filing