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Divorce in Effingham County, Georgia: costs, court rules and local help
Summary
Divorces in Effingham County are filed with the Effingham County Superior Court. The filing fee is $209, and sheriff service is $50 per copy served.
- The posted cost schedule is dated January 1, 2020, so confirm the amount with the clerk before you file. It lists $80 for a divorce notice by publication.1
- No hearing except an emergency, and no mediation, is scheduled until both of you show proof you finished the parenting seminar.2
- The clerk's office is in Springfield, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Legal notices run in The Effingham Herald.3
- Effingham County is in the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit with Bulloch, Jenkins and Screven counties.4
Where to file
Effingham County Clerk of Courts
Effingham County Judicial Complex, 700 North Pine Street, Suite 110
Springfield, GA 31329
Phone: 912-754-21185
Filing fee
$209 to file. Sheriff service: $50 per copy served.1
Parenting class
When a divorce involves children under 18, every party must successfully finish the three-hour Seminar for Divorcing Parents within 31 days after the original complaint is served. It covers how children react to divorce at different ages, co-parenting and parents' financial duties. Then:
- Attend all three hours, or you won't get credit. Bring the certificate to court with you.
- Ask the clerk's office for the seminar schedule. The court's order assigns the seminar to Parent and Child, Inc. in Rincon.
- You can substitute another three-hour seminar approved by a Georgia Superior Court; a certificate is good for three years.
The fee can be waived if you file a sworn poverty affidavit and qualify, and the judge can excuse the seminar for good cause. A parent who doesn't finish it can be held in contempt.2
Mediation
A June 2026 order covering the Ogeechee and Atlantic circuits sends every contested divorce filed on or after June 17, 2026 to mediation unless the court exempts it:
- When you file the complaint or the answer, file an ADR initiation form and send a copy to the ADR office (P.O. Box 187, Richmond Hill, GA 31324). If it doesn't arrive on time, the case is referred to mediation automatically.
- Attempt mediation, or get an exemption, within 90 days after the last answer is filed or was due.
- Before you ask for a pretrial conference or trial, file a signed statement with the clerk that the case went to mediation or was exempted, and send a copy to the ADR office. Without it, the case is put off until you do.
- If you can't afford mediation, ask the ADR office (912-837-9329) for a fee waiver before mediation is scheduled. Waivers follow federal poverty guidelines, and anyone who hires a lawyer can't get one.
Family violence petitions are exempt, and either spouse can ask the judge for an exemption in a case that involves violence.6
Court forms
The clerk posts its own packets for contested and uncontested divorces, with and without minor children, along with forms for a pauper's affidavit, an order for service by publication and a sheriff's return of service. Go to the forms.7
Also good to know
The clerk's uncontested divorce packet sets out how to fill in its forms:
- Type or print neatly in black ink, and keep the papers in the same order as the packet.
- Fill in every blank except the civil action number and the lines for the notary and the judge.
- Where the complaint or settlement agreement gives two choices separated by [OR], keep only the one that fits and leave the other out.
- Get every signature that needs a notary notarized first; the papers won't be approved for filing otherwise.
Incomplete or wrongly filled forms can delay your divorce, and court staff can't give legal advice about which forms you need.8
Free and low-cost help in Effingham County
- Safe Haven (Citizens Against Violence). A state-certified family violence program based in Statesboro that serves Effingham, Bulloch and four other nearby counties. The number below is its crisis line; its office is 912-764-9366.
Phone: 912-764-46059 - 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
Effingham County Superior Court website
Sources
- ^ Effingham County Superior Court cost schedule, effective January 1, 2020 (PDF): key points and filing fees (effinghamclerk.org, PDF)
- ^ Effingham County Superior Court, Seminar for Divorcing Parents order, 2001 (PDF): key points and parenting class (firstjudicialdistrict.org, PDF)
- ^ Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority, Effingham County clerk directory entry (gsccca.org)
- ^ O.C.G.A. § 15-6-1, judicial circuits (Justia) (law.justia.com)
- ^ Effingham County Clerk of Courts (effinghamclerk.org)
- ^ Atlantic and Ogeechee circuits, order mandating alternative dispute resolution, June 17, 2026 (PDF) (firstjudicialdistrict.org, PDF)
- ^ Effingham County Clerk of Courts, forms and documents (effinghamclerk.org)
- ^ Effingham County Clerk of Courts, uncontested divorce packet without children, revised 2025 (PDF) (effinghamclerk.org, PDF)
- ^ 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.
Nearby counties
Fees and court rules differ from county to county. Guides for neighboring counties: Bryan County, Bulloch County and Chatham County.
Effingham County also borders Screven County. Its clerk is listed on the Georgia page.