Post-Judgment Interrogatories in Georgia: Finding the Debtor's Assets

You Cannot Garnish What You Cannot Find

Garnishing the debtor's wages or bank account requires knowing where they work and where they bank. If the debtor was a stranger before the lawsuit — a contractor who damaged your property, a customer who bounced a check — you may have no idea where their money sits. Georgia's post-judgment interrogatories give you a legal tool to force the debtor to disclose that information under oath.

How Post-Judgment Interrogatories Work

Under O.C.G.A. § 15-10-50, a judgment creditor can file a set of standardized questions with the Magistrate Court that issued the judgment, requiring the debtor to reveal details about their financial situation. The statutory interrogatories cover:

• Real property owned in any Georgia county
• Bank accounts and financial institution names
• Current employer, job title, and pay frequency
• Vehicles registered in the debtor's name
• Business ownership or equity interests
• Accounts receivable — money owed to the debtor by third parties

The procedure is available for any unpaid monetary judgment where the outstanding balance does not exceed the current Magistrate Court civil jurisdictional threshold of $15,000 (O.C.G.A. § 15-10-2).

Filing and Fees

File the Post-Judgment Interrogatories form with the Magistrate Court clerk that entered your judgment. The filing fee is $10. If you file in a different court — for example, because the debtor moved to another county — the action is docketed as a new post-judgment proceeding with a higher filing fee ranging from $95 to $103 depending on the county, plus you need certified copies of the underlying judgment.

The Georgia Council of Magistrate Court Judges publishes the standard interrogatory forms (MAG 14 series) at georgiamagistratecouncil.com.

Serving the Interrogatories

Service must comply with O.C.G.A. § 15-10-50(b): certified mail or statutory overnight delivery with return receipt requested. You are mailing directly to the judgment debtor's last known address — no sheriff service required at this stage. Keep the return receipt; you will need it as proof of service if the debtor ignores you.

The Debtor's Response Deadline

The debtor has 30 days from the date they receive the interrogatories to file sworn, notarized answers with the court.

When the Debtor Does Not Answer

This is where the process has teeth. If the debtor ignores the interrogatories, you can escalate through a four-step enforcement sequence:

1. File a Motion to Compel answers with the court clerk.
2. The court issues an Order to Show Cause, scheduling a hearing and requiring the debtor to appear and explain why they should not be held in contempt.
3. The Order is served on the debtor, usually through a sheriff or marshal.
4. At the contempt hearing, if the debtor fails to appear or refuses to answer without legal justification, the Magistrate Judge can impose fines up to $200 and confinement in the county jail for up to 10 days (O.C.G.A. § 15-10-2(a)(7)).

The distinction matters: a debtor who genuinely has no assets cannot be jailed for being unable to pay. But a debtor who refuses to answer the court's discovery order faces contempt sanctions for disobeying the order, not for the underlying debt.

Other Ways to Research Assets

Post-judgment interrogatories are the formal discovery tool, but public records can supplement what you learn:

• GSCCCA (gsccca.org): Search real estate deeds, liens, and property transfers across all 159 Georgia counties.
• County Tax Assessor portals: Cross-reference parcels and property ownership in specific counties.
• Georgia Secretary of State business search: Identify LLCs, corporations, and registered agent addresses associated with the debtor's name.

These searches do not require court involvement, cost nothing, and can help you decide whether it is worth pursuing garnishment or levy before you spend money on filing fees.

The Georgia Small Claims Judgment Collection Guide covers the entire asset discovery workflow — from filing interrogatories through using the answers to target specific enforcement tools against the debtor's wages, bank accounts, vehicles, and real property.

See more Georgia guides →