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Divorce in Columbia County, Georgia: costs, court rules and local help

Checked · General information, not legal advice ·

Summary

Divorces in Columbia County are filed with the Columbia County Superior Court. The filing fee is $214, and sheriff service is $50 per defendant.

  • The clerk's main office is in the Justice Center Annex in Evans, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. A second office at the old courthouse in Appling is open Tuesdays only, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (706-541-1139). Legal notices run in the Columbia News-Times.1
  • The clerk's fee list has no date, so confirm the amounts before you file. If your spouse has to be served by publication, the list shows $125 for the newspaper notice.2
  • Columbia County has been its own judicial circuit, the Columbia Judicial Circuit, since July 1, 2021. Most hearings are at the Columbia County Justice Center in Evans.3

Where to file

Columbia County Clerk of Superior Court
Justice Center Annex, 640 Ronald Reagan Drive
Evans, GA 30809
Phone: 706-312-71391

Filing fee

$214 to file. Sheriff service: $50 per defendant.2

Parenting class

Anyone in a case where child custody will be decided must attend a parenting seminar approved by the Columbia Judicial Circuit's judges. Online seminars generally aren't accepted. Approved providers include:

  • Anne Watts, MS, LPC, in Augusta (706-210-2767).
  • Georgia Family Crisis Solutions in Martinez (706-869-7373).
  • Wimberly House in Waynesboro (706-554-6644).
  • Life Management Group in Augusta (706-733-0333).
  • Army Community Service at Fort Gordon, free and for military families only (706-791-3579).

Any other seminar needs approval from the judge assigned to your case.4

Mediation

Mediation isn't automatically required in divorce and other family cases, as it is in other civil cases, but the judges often order it. When a judge does, the judge's case manager contacts the spouses or their lawyers about the circuit's ADR program, which is partly paid for from filing fees.5

Court forms

The court posts free self-help forms for divorce with and without children, legitimation, custody and visitation changes, and name changes. Go to the forms.6

Also good to know

Every civil filing in Columbia County, including a divorce, has to be e-filed through PeachCourt. If you don't have internet service, public access terminals are available at the courthouse.7

Free and low-cost help in Columbia County

  • Safe Homes of Augusta. A state-certified family violence program in Augusta serving Columbia, Richmond and eight other nearby counties. It uses the same number for its crisis line and office.
    Phone: 706-736-24998
  • Georgia Legal Services Program. Free civil legal help, including family law, for people with low incomes in 154 of Georgia's 159 counties. Apply online or call the intake line.
    Phone: 833-457-75299

If you need an interpreter

If you or a witness needs an interpreter, including sign language, tell the court in writing before the hearing, at least 5 days ahead where you can. The court then works to provide a licensed interpreter at its own expense.10

Columbia County Superior Court website

Sources

  1. ^ Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority, Columbia County clerk directory entry: key points and address and phone (gsccca.org)
  2. ^ Columbia County Clerk of Superior Court, fee schedule: key points and filing fees (clerkofcourtcolumbia.com)
  3. ^ Superior Court of the Columbia Judicial Circuit (columbiacountyga.gov)
  4. ^ Columbia Judicial Circuit, parenting seminar page (columbiacountyga.gov)
  5. ^ Columbia Judicial Circuit, Alternative Dispute Resolution (columbiacountyga.gov)
  6. ^ Columbia County Superior Court forms (columbiacountyga.gov)
  7. ^ Columbia County Clerk of Superior Court, e-filing information (clerkofcourtcolumbia.com)
  8. ^ Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, state-certified family violence agencies (PDF) (cjcc.georgia.gov)
  9. ^ Georgia Legal Services Program, what we do (glsp.org)
  10. ^ Uniform Superior Court Rule 7.3, interpreters (gasupreme.us)

Court fees and rules change. Check with the clerk before you file. If something here looks out of date, email help@divorce.city.

Next step if you both agreeUncontested divorce in Georgia, step by stepHow an uncontested divorce works in Georgia, in order: checking you qualify, the settlement agreement, the forms, filing, service, the 30-day wait and the final decree.

Nearby counties

Fees and court rules differ from county to county. Guides for neighboring counties: Richmond County.

Columbia County also borders Lincoln and McDuffie counties. Their clerks are listed on the Georgia page.

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