Home › Georgia › Habersham County
Divorce in Habersham County, Georgia: costs, court rules and local help
Summary
Divorces in Habersham County are filed with the Habersham County Superior Court. The filing fee is $218, and sheriff service is $50.
Habersham County is in the Mountain Judicial Circuit with Banks, Rabun and Stephens counties; Banks joined the circuit on January 1, 2025.[1] The county's fee list shows $218 to file a civil case and $50 to serve one defendant, and notes that fees can change at any time.[2] The standing order warns both spouses that evidence from a temporary hearing can be used again at later hearings, including the final one.[3] The district's online seminar must be watched in full; if you fast-forward, you get no certificate and have to pay again. Once you finish, the office sends the original certificate to the clerk in the county where your case is filed.[4]
Where to file
Habersham County Clerk of Superior Court
295 Llewellyn Street
Clarkesville, GA 30523
Phone: 706-839-0300[5]
Filing fee
$218 to file. Sheriff service: $50.[2]
Parenting class
In every case involving minor children, all parties must complete the "Seminar for Divorcing Parents" before the final hearing. A parent who lives outside the circuit can take another seminar approved by the Ninth Judicial Administrative District's dispute resolution office, and a certificate of attendance is good for three years. Domestic violence cases, U.R.E.S.A. cases, and uncontested changes to visitation or child support are exempt.[3]
Mediation
Before a final hearing or trial, the spouses in every contested case must go to mediation or to a settlement conference hosted by a judge. Mediation isn't required when domestic violence is alleged, unless the court assigns the case to a qualified mediator. Child support enforcement and contempt cases are also left out.[3]
Standing order
The circuit's standing order applies to every domestic relations case, and the filing spouse attaches it to the complaint. While the divorce is pending, neither spouse may sell, borrow against, damage, give away or move out of the court's reach any property either one has an interest in, apart from ordinary spending such as household bills or reasonable lawyer's fees. Neither may cut off the other's utilities or change insurance covering the family or its property. Unless a custody order already exists, neither may take the children out of Georgia for more than eight days, except in an emergency, or move them from the school they attend. Neither spouse may harm, harass, molest or vilify the other, or threaten to.[3]
Also good to know
The clerk's office can't hand out forms or say which ones your case needs, and staff can't check whether your paperwork is complete. You can look up closed cases at the office and copy them to use as examples. If paperwork isn't done correctly, you may have to redo it, and the case can be pushed to the next term of court.[6]
Free and low-cost help in Habersham County
- Georgia Mountain Women's Center (Circle of Hope). A state-certified family violence program in Cornelia serving Habersham, Stephens and White counties. The number below is its crisis line; its office is 706-776-3406.
Phone: 706-776-4673[7] - 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: 833-457-7529[8]
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.[9]
Habersham County Superior Court website
Sources
- ^ O.C.G.A. § 15-6-1, judicial circuits (Justia) (law.justia.com)
- ^ Habersham County, court filing fees: key points and filing fees (habershamga.com)
- ^ Mountain Judicial Circuit, standing order in domestic relations cases, 2025 (PDF): key points, parenting class, mediation and standing order (mountain.georgiacourts.gov, PDF)
- ^ Ninth Judicial Administrative District, divorcing parents seminar (adr9.com)
- ^ Habersham County, Clerk of Superior Court (habershamga.com)
- ^ Habersham County Clerk of Court, representing yourself (habershamga.com)
- ^ 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 (rulesofcivilprocedure.com)
Court fees and rules change. Check with the clerk before you file. If something here looks out of date, email help@divorce.city.