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Divorce in Dougherty County, Georgia: costs, court rules and local help
Summary
Divorces in Dougherty County are filed with the Dougherty County Superior Court. The filing fee is $218, and sheriff service is $50.
- The clerk's cost schedule, effective January 1, 2025, lists $218 for civil cases including divorce, which takes in the law library and dispute resolution fees. Sheriff service is $50 per copy served, and a family violence petition has no filing fee.1
- The law library's divorce guide says that if both spouses sign a settlement agreement and cooperate, the divorce can be final as soon as 31 days after filing. If your spouse won't sign but doesn't file an answer, it can take 46 to 60 days or longer. After service by newspaper notice, the earliest is 60 days after the first notice ran, and you have to attend a hearing.2
- The same guide says the court won't accept divorce papers involving children without a completed financial affidavit and child support worksheets, even if a child support order already exists.2
- Dougherty County is its own judicial circuit, the Dougherty Judicial Circuit.3
Where to file
Dougherty County Clerk of Superior Court
Judicial Building, 225 Pine Avenue, Suite 126
Albany, GA 31701
Phone: 229-431-21984
Filing fee
$218 to file. Sheriff service: $50.1
Parenting class
The county law library's checklist for divorce with children says both spouses must complete the Seminar for Divorcing Parents within 30 days after the case is filed and file the certificate. In a case involving domestic violence, you can ask the judge to waive it.5
Mediation
The Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution lists a court-connected mediation program for the Dougherty Judicial Circuit, serving Superior and State Court cases from the Judicial Building at 225 Pine Avenue in Albany. Ask the court whether your case will be sent to mediation.6
Court forms
The county law library posts free divorce forms online, in separate sets for divorces with and without children under 18, each with a filing checklist. Go to the forms.7
Also good to know
The clerk's office is open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, and civil cases can be filed electronically through PeachCourt.4
Free and low-cost help in Dougherty County
- S.W. Georgia Legal Self-Help Center. Run by the Dougherty County Law Library in the Judicial Building, Room 209. A staff attorney and legal navigators help people with forms Monday through Thursday, and the library is open weekdays.
Phone: 229-302-32958 - Liberty House of Albany. A state-certified family violence program serving Dougherty and 16 other southwest Georgia counties. The number below is its crisis line; its office is 229-439-7094.
Phone: 229-439-70659 - 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: 833-457-752910
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.11
Dougherty County Superior Court website
Sources
- ^ Dougherty County Superior Court cost schedule, effective January 1, 2025: key points and filing fees (dougherty.ga.us, PDF)
- ^ Dougherty County Law Library, which divorce packet do I need (dougherty.ga.us, PDF)
- ^ O.C.G.A. § 15-6-1, judicial circuits (Justia) (law.justia.com)
- ^ Dougherty County, Clerk of Court: address and phone and other court rules (dougherty.ga.us)
- ^ Dougherty County Law Library, filing checklist for divorce with minor children (dougherty.ga.us, PDF)
- ^ Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution, Dougherty Judicial Circuit ADR Program (godr.org)
- ^ Dougherty County Law Library, annulment and divorce forms (dougherty.ga.us)
- ^ Dougherty County Law Library (dougherty.ga.us)
- ^ Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, state-certified family violence agencies (PDF) (cjcc.georgia.gov)
- ^ Georgia Legal Services Program, what we do (glsp.org)
- ^ 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.