How long do you have to file a claim against a Georgia county?

If a Georgia county or its employees caused your injury, you must present your claim to the county within twelve months. That rule is O.C.G.A. § 36-11-1. Claims presented late are barred, which means the county never has to pay. The twelve months runs from the date of the injury, and the lawsuit deadline still applies on top of it.

What does O.C.G.A. § 36-11-1 say?

The published heading is “Time for presentation of claims.” The section is a single sentence:

All claims against counties must be presented within 12 months after they accrue or become payable; otherwise, they are barred, provided that minors or other persons laboring under disabilities shall be allowed 12 months after the removal of the disability to present their claims.

The section dates to the Code of 1863 and has not been substantively amended. The 2022 Georgia Code is the version Justia currently serves.

What does it mean for you?

A county is a different legal animal from a city, and Georgia gives it a different notice rule. For a city you have six months. For a county you have twelve. “Presented” means a written claim delivered to the county’s governing authority, usually the board of commissioners. “Accrue” means the day your right to be paid began, which for an injury is the day you were hurt.

When does this come up? A county sheriff’s deputy causes a crash on I-75 in Lowndes County. A county road crew leaves a drop off unmarked and a motorcyclist goes down in Dougherty County. A county owned building has a stairwell with no handrail. In each of those, the county is the party you would be claiming against, and this twelve month rule controls.

“Barred” is the harshest word in the statute. It means gone. A court cannot excuse the delay because you did not know about the rule, and the county has no obligation to tell you about it. The only built in exception is for minors and people under a legal disability, who get twelve months after the disability ends.

One more wrinkle. Georgia counties also have a form of sovereign immunity, which limits when they can be sued at all. The notice rule and the immunity rules work together, and sorting out which applies to your situation is lawyer work. The practical rule for you is simpler: if a county was involved, get the written claim in early.

Related Georgia laws

• O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33: the two year lawsuit deadline
• O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5: six month notice for claims against a city
• O.C.G.A. § 50-21-26: twelve month notice for claims against the State

Not sure which of these clocks is yours? Compare every Georgia injury deadline on one page.

Sources

• Official Code of Georgia Annotated on legis.ga.gov (official text)
• O.C.G.A. § 36-11-1 on Justia (2022 Georgia Code)
• Text verified against the published code on 2026-10-16. Statute text is public record. Nothing on this page is legal advice about your specific case.

What should you do next?

Not sure whether the truck that hit you belonged to the city, the county, or the state? That question decides your deadline, and we can usually answer it within a day of your call.

Call Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. at 770-820-0711, any hour, any day. The call is free, the case review is free, and there is zero fee unless we win. Nine offices across Georgia, and we come to you if you cannot come to us.

One more thing. Don’t sign anything from an insurance company before you talk to a lawyer. A signature on the wrong form can close the door on your claim long before any deadline does.