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Divorce in Georgia

One spouse must have lived there 6 months before filing.[1] No-fault divorce is available.[1] Each rule below links to the official text it comes from.

Residency before filing
6 months[1]
Court-roster mediators per 100,000
28.8

3,221 listed · U.S. 8.3[3]

Key facts: divorce in Georgia

Residency requirement6 months[1] details ↓
No-fault divorceYes[1] details ↓
Court mediation for custodyCourt may order[2] details ↓

Statutes and court rules as checked October 26, 2026. Not legal advice.

What are the divorce laws in Georgia?

Not legal advice. These are plain-English summaries of Georgia’s statutes and court rules as of the date shown on each; they can change and courts apply them case by case. Read the linked source or ask a lawyer licensed in Georgia.

  1. Waiting period

  2. Residency requirement

    6 months

    For a Georgia court to hear the divorce, the filing spouse must have lived in Georgia for at least the past six months, or the other spouse must have.[1]

    Judicial Council of Georgia / georgiacourts.gov, “Instructions for Complaint for Divorce Without Minor Children” · checked October 26, 2026

    Show statute text
    “For the court to be able to hear your case you must have lived in Georgia for at least the past six months. If not, your spouse must have lived in Georgia for at least the past six months.”

  3. No-fault divorce

    Yes, fault grounds also exist

    Most Georgia divorces are filed on the ground that the marriage is irretrievably broken, meaning there is no hope of getting back together; other statutory grounds such as cruel treatment exist but must be proved.[1]

    Judicial Council of Georgia / georgiacourts.gov, “Instructions for Complaint for Divorce Without Minor Children” · checked October 26, 2026

    Show statute text
    “Most divorces in Georgia are filed because the marriage is irretrievably broken. That means one party says that the marriage is broken and there is no hope of getting back together.”

  4. Property division

  5. Court mediation for custody

    Court may order

    Under the Georgia Supreme Court's ADR rules, almost any contested case in superior court, including divorce and custody, may be referred to mediation; domestic relations cases must be screened for domestic violence.[2]

    Supreme Court of Georgia ADR Rules, Appendix A, Rule 2(B) · checked October 26, 2026

    Show statute text
    “any contested matter filed in superior, state, probate, magistrate, juvenile, municipal, or civil court, or the Georgia State-wide Business Court, may be referred to alternative dispute resolution (ADR).”
    “All court programs shall screen domestic relations cases using the screening process outlined below.”

  6. Court mediation fees

    Not yet verified

    Start with this official source.

  7. Filing fee

  8. Divorce rate

    2.2 per 1,000 residents (2024)

    Georgia’s courts granted 2.2 divorces per 1,000 residents in 2024, down from 3.3 in 2000; the U.S. rate was 2.3. In the Census Bureau’s 2024 survey, 7.3 of every 1,000 women 15 and older in Georgia divorced in the past year (±0.9; U.S. 6.9), a different measure.[4][5]

    Divorce rates by state, with sources → · CDC/NCHS NVSS; Census ACS · checked October 27, 2026

Estimate your divorce cost in Georgia: mediation vs. court →

How child support is calculated in Georgia →

Official help: Instructions for Complaint for Divorce Without Minor Children (georgiacourts.gov)

Mediators per 100,000: MediationList listings from official court and government rosters in Georgia (3,221) ÷ population (11,180,878, U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 county population estimates (July 1, 2024)) × 100,000, the same figure as mediator statistics.[3]

Talk it through with a court-listed mediator in Georgia

A mediator is a neutral who helps you and your spouse reach your own agreement on property, support and parenting time. Every mediator we list comes from an official court or government roster, with the source on the profile.

Get matched — free1,046 family mediators in Georgia

Counties with the most listed family mediators

All 3,221 mediators on Georgia court rosters, every case type →

Questions about divorce in Georgia

How long do you have to live in Georgia to file for divorce?

For a Georgia court to hear the divorce, the filing spouse must have lived in Georgia for at least the past six months, or the other spouse must have. — Judicial Council of Georgia / georgiacourts.gov, “Instructions for Complaint for Divorce Without Minor Children”[1]

Is Georgia a no-fault divorce state?

Most Georgia divorces are filed on the ground that the marriage is irretrievably broken, meaning there is no hope of getting back together; other statutory grounds such as cruel treatment exist but must be proved. — Judicial Council of Georgia / georgiacourts.gov, “Instructions for Complaint for Divorce Without Minor Children”[1]

Is mediation required for custody in Georgia?

Under the Georgia Supreme Court's ADR rules, almost any contested case in superior court, including divorce and custody, may be referred to mediation; domestic relations cases must be screened for domestic violence. — Supreme Court of Georgia ADR Rules, Appendix A, Rule 2(B)[2]

More

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Mediation in Georgia

Sources

Georgia’s statutes and court rules, read on the official site, plus federal statistics; each with the date we checked it.

  1. Judicial Council of Georgia / georgiacourts.gov, "Instructions for Complaint for Divorce Without Minor Children" (April 2024)georgiacourts.govchecked ↩
  2. Supreme Court of Georgia ADR Rules, Appendix A, Rule 2(B) (Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution)godr.orgchecked ↩
  3. U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 county and state population estimates (July 1, 2024)census.govchecked ↩
  4. CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System: Divorce rates by State: 1990, 1995, and 2000-2024cdc.govchecked ↩
  5. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates, table https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2024.B12503census.govchecked ↩