If you’ve been served with a civil lawsuit in Georgia, you have 30 days from the date of service to file a written answer with the court, and knowing how to answer a summons in Georgia within that window is what stands between you and a default judgment. The answer is a document that responds to each numbered paragraph of the complaint, raises any defenses you want to keep, and includes any counterclaims you have against the plaintiff. Most Georgia courts do not charge a filing fee for an answer, so the real cost of doing nothing is the judgment itself.
The 30-Day Deadline Starts on the Day You Were Served
Georgia law gives a defendant 30 days after service of the summons and complaint to serve an answer.1Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-12 – Answer, Defenses, and Objections The clock starts on the date the process server handed you the papers, not the date the plaintiff filed the case. Served on March 1? Your answer is due by March 31. Weekends and holidays count, but if day 30 lands on a weekend or court holiday, you get until the next business day.
The 30-day rule applies in superior court, state court, and magistrate court. Magistrate court defendants also have the option of stating their answer orally to the judge or clerk within that same window.2Justia. Georgia Code 15-10-43 – Statement of Claim; Service
What the Answer Has to Contain
Every Georgia pleading opens with a caption: the court name, the county, the case title, and the file number.3Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-10 – Form of Pleadings All of this sits at the top of the complaint you were handed. Copy it exactly, including the full names of every party. Then note the name and address of the plaintiff’s attorney, if there is one, because you’ll need it when you serve your answer.
Number the paragraphs on your copy of the complaint if the plaintiff didn’t already. Your answer responds to those paragraphs one by one, so you need an exact count.
Most answers do not need to be notarized. The exception is when the complaint has a sworn affidavit attached verifying that its facts are true. If it does, your answer must be verified the same way, with its own affidavit.4Justia. Georgia Code 9-10-111 – When Verified Answer Required Check the last pages of the complaint before you assume you can skip that step.
Responding to Each Allegation
For every numbered paragraph in the complaint, you have three options: admit it, deny it, or state that you lack sufficient information to admit or deny. That third response works as a denial under Georgia’s rules and protects you when you genuinely don’t know whether something is true.5Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-8 – General Rules of Pleading
Any allegation you don’t address is treated as admitted.5Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-8 – General Rules of Pleading This is where people lose cases before they start. If the complaint has 25 numbered paragraphs and your answer responds to 18, the court treats the other seven as established facts. Go through every paragraph, including the ones that look purely procedural, like allegations about jurisdiction or the parties’ addresses.
If part of a paragraph is accurate and part isn’t, say so. A response along the lines of “Defendant admits that the parties entered into a contract on June 1, 2024, but denies all remaining allegations in this paragraph” is standard and acceptable.
Affirmative Defenses You Must Raise Now
Georgia lists specific defenses that must appear in your answer or you lose them for good. They include statute of limitations, payment, fraud, release, estoppel, accord and satisfaction, discharge in bankruptcy, statute of frauds, and several others.5Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-8 – General Rules of Pleading Georgia courts have consistently held that any affirmative defense left out of the answer is waived.
The statute of limitations is the one people miss most often. If the plaintiff sued too late and you don’t say so in your answer, the court proceeds as if the case was filed on time. The same logic runs through the rest of the list. Already paid the debt? Plead “payment.” Released from liability under a prior agreement? Plead “release.” Do not assume these facts will surface later on their own.
Certain procedural defenses can be raised in the answer or in a separate motion filed before or with the answer. These include lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue, insufficient service of process, and failure to state a claim.1Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-12 – Answer, Defenses, and Objections If you believe the court has no authority over you or the papers weren’t properly served, raise it now.
Counterclaims You Cannot Save for Later
If you have your own claim against the plaintiff arising from the same dispute, Georgia requires you to include it as a counterclaim in your answer. These are compulsory counterclaims, and failing to raise one means you cannot bring it as a separate lawsuit later.6Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-13 – Counterclaim and Cross-Claim
Say a contractor sues you for nonpayment and you believe the contractor’s defective work damaged your property. That property damage claim arises from the same transaction, so it belongs in your answer. Skip it, and once the contractor’s case is decided, you generally cannot file a separate suit for the damage.
A claim that has nothing to do with the plaintiff’s case is a permissive counterclaim. You can add it to your answer if you want, or bring it as its own lawsuit later.
Where to Find a Template
The Council of Magistrate Court Judges publishes free downloadable answer and counterclaim forms, along with a guided interview tool that generates a completed form you can print and file.7Council of Magistrate Court Judges. Forms These are built for people without attorneys and work well for straightforward magistrate court cases.
For superior court and state court, some judicial circuits post their own answer packets. Check the clerk of court website for the county where the lawsuit was filed. Whichever template you use, make sure the caption matches your case exactly and every numbered paragraph in the complaint has a corresponding response in your answer.
Filing the Answer and Serving the Plaintiff
Georgia’s superior courts require attorneys to file civil documents electronically through platforms such as Odyssey eFileGA, Peach Court, and GreenFiling/InfoTrack, depending on the county.8Georgia Courts. E-File Court Records Self-represented defendants can generally file electronically or in person at the clerk’s office. If you file in person, bring an extra copy and ask the clerk to file-stamp it. That stamped copy is your proof of the filing date, and you should keep it for the life of the case.
You also have to serve a copy of the answer on the plaintiff, or on the plaintiff’s attorney if one is listed. Georgia allows service by mail to the last known address, by hand delivery, or by email in PDF format with “STATUTORY ELECTRONIC SERVICE” in the subject line.9Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-5 – Service and Filing of Pleadings Service by mail is complete the moment the envelope goes in the mailbox.
Attach a Certificate of Service to your answer. It’s a short signed statement giving the date and method you used to deliver the copy to the other side, along with your name and mailing address. It does not need to be notarized. Without it, the court may reject your filing for not showing the plaintiff was notified.
If You Miss the 30 Days
The case automatically goes into default once the 30 days pass without an answer.10Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-55 – Default Judgment Default and default judgment are not the same thing, and the sooner you move, the more options you have.
During the first 15 days after default, you can open it as a matter of right. File your answer and defenses, pay the court costs, and you’re back in the case. No motion, no explanation.10Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-55 – Default Judgment This 15-day window is the closest thing to a second chance Georgia procedure offers.
After that, opening the default becomes much harder. You have to file a motion, swear under oath to a legitimate defense, offer to file your answer immediately, announce that you’re ready for trial, and show a justifiable reason for missing the deadline, such as a medical emergency or excusable neglect.10Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-55 – Default Judgment The court has discretion, and “I forgot” rarely qualifies. Once a final default judgment is entered and those options are gone, an appeal is generally what’s left, and that is a slower and more expensive road than answering on time.