You can file for divorce online in Georgia using one of the three e-filing portals the state’s superior courts have approved. You create an account, upload your petition and supporting documents as PDFs, pay the filing fee by card, and get a case number back by email, all without walking into a courthouse. What online filing does not do is finish the divorce. Your spouse still has to be served, a 31-day waiting period still has to run, and a judge still has to sign the final decree.
Which Portal to Use
Georgia superior courts use three certified e-filing systems: PeachCourt, Odyssey eFileGA, and GreenFiling/InfoTrack. PeachCourt is mandatory in the majority of counties, Odyssey eFileGA runs in several larger metro counties, and GreenFiling is available as an option in some areas.1Georgia Courts. E-File Court Records Check your county’s superior court website to see which one applies to you. These are the only systems that actually transmit documents to the clerk.
Commercial websites advertising “online divorce in Georgia” are something different. They help you fill out paperwork for a fee and then hand you completed forms to file yourself. They are not connected to the courts and cannot file on your behalf. Paying one of them does not mean a case has been opened.
Do You Qualify to File in Georgia?
At least one spouse must have lived in Georgia for a minimum of six months immediately before the petition is filed.2Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-5-2 – Residence Requirements; Venue If you meet that requirement and your spouse does not, you can still file. A nonresident spouse may also file against a Georgia resident in the county where the resident has lived for the past six months.
Venue matters too. You generally file in the county where the respondent lives. Military families stationed at a Georgia post for at least a year can file in an adjacent county even if they aren’t considered permanent residents.2Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-5-2 – Residence Requirements; Venue
What to Have Ready Before You Log In
A Ground for Divorce
Your petition must state a legal ground. Georgia recognizes 13, but the one used in the overwhelming majority of cases is that the marriage is “irretrievably broken,” the state’s no-fault option.3Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-5-3 – Grounds for Total Divorce You don’t have to prove your spouse did anything wrong. You simply state the marriage cannot be saved. The 12 fault-based grounds (adultery, desertion, cruel treatment, habitual intoxication, and others) require evidence and almost always produce a contested case.
An Honest Read on Uncontested vs. Contested
E-filing works for both. The difference is what happens after you file. A truly uncontested divorce, where both spouses already agree on every issue, can often be finalized without a hearing. A contested divorce triggers discovery, negotiation, and possibly a trial, so e-filing is just the first step in a much longer process.
For a case to count as uncontested, both spouses must agree on all property and debt division, alimony, and, if minor children are involved, a complete custody arrangement and child support amount. “Mostly agreed” is contested in the eyes of the court. This is where people most often misjudge their own case.
The Documents
Georgia’s court system provides standardized self-help forms for uncontested divorces, with separate packets depending on whether minor children are involved.4Judicial Council of Georgia/Administrative Office of the Courts. Divorce Forms You’ll need:
- A Petition for Divorce identifying both spouses, the date and place of marriage, the legal ground, and what you’re asking the court to decide.
- A Marital Settlement Agreement covering how property, debts, accounts, vehicles, and any alimony will be handled. The judge reviews it for fairness.
- A Summons, which the clerk generates after you file; you don’t draft it yourself.
If you have minor children, add a Parenting Plan and a Child Support Worksheet. The parenting plan must specify where the child will be each day of the year, how holidays and school breaks are divided, transportation, and which parent makes decisions about education, health, and religious upbringing.5Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-9-1 – Parenting Plans; Requirements for Plan The worksheet runs both parents’ incomes through Georgia’s income-shares formula; the completed worksheet and supporting schedules must be attached to the final court order.6Georgia Courts. Georgia Code 19-6-15 – Child Support Guidelines
If you want to return to a former name, add that request to the petition and the judge will include it in the final decree.7Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-5-16 – Restoration of Maiden or Prior Name
Filing Step by Step
Create a free account on the portal your county uses. For most counties that’s PeachCourt.1Georgia Courts. E-File Court Records Once registered, start a new case, select your county’s superior court, and choose “Family” as the case type. The portal walks you through uploading each PDF.
Pay the filing fee electronically at the end. Fees for a Georgia divorce typically fall in the $200 to $250 range, with the exact amount set by county. After payment clears, the system issues a case number and emails you confirmation that your documents have been transmitted to the clerk for review.8Georgia Statewide Business Court. Electronic Filing If the clerk finds a problem, you’ll get a rejection notice explaining what to fix. If everything is in order, your case is on the court’s docket.
If you can’t afford the fee, file an application to proceed in forma pauperis to ask the court to waive it based on financial hardship.9DeKalb County Clerk of Superior Court. Civil and Family eFiling
After You File: Service, Waiting Period, Decree
Filing does not notify your spouse. Georgia requires formal service of process before the case can move forward. In a contested case, that usually means a sheriff’s deputy or private process server physically delivering the papers.
In an uncontested case, your spouse can sign an Acknowledgment of Service, a short form confirming receipt of the paperwork and waiving formal service. You upload the signed acknowledgment through the same portal, which saves time and the process server’s fee. Signing it does not mean your spouse is giving up the right to respond.
Under Uniform Superior Court Rule 24.6, the court cannot grant your divorce until at least 31 days after your spouse was served or the Acknowledgment of Service was filed. Nothing shortens that window. Once it passes in an uncontested case, you submit the final paperwork for the judge. Georgia law allows uncontested divorces to be granted on verified pleadings and affidavits without an in-person hearing. The judge reviews the settlement agreement (and parenting plan and child support worksheet, if applicable), confirms the terms are fair, and signs the Final Judgment and Decree of Divorce. That decree ends the marriage and makes the settlement a binding court order. Some counties still require a brief final hearing even in uncontested cases, so check with your clerk.
Parenting Seminar if You Have Children
Georgia law authorizes each judicial circuit to require divorcing parents to attend a court-approved parenting education seminar before the case can be finalized. Not every circuit mandates it, but many do. The seminar covers co-parenting communication, the effects of divorce on children, and conflict resolution. Where it is required, both parents must complete it before the judge will sign the final decree, and fees go directly to the program provider rather than the court. Ask your local court whether your circuit requires one before you plan your timeline.