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

If a Georgia city or its employees caused your injury, you must send the city a written notice of your claim within six months. That rule is O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5, often called the ante litem notice. The two year lawsuit deadline still applies, but without this notice a court will not hear your case against the city at all.

What does O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5 say?

The published heading is “Written demand prerequisite to action for injury to person or property; time of presentation; statement of damages; service.” Subsection (b) carries the deadline:

Within six months of the happening of the event upon which a claim against a municipal corporation is predicated, the person, firm, or corporation having the claim shall present the claim in writing to the governing authority of the municipal corporation for adjustment, stating the time, place, and extent of the injury, as nearly as practicable, and the negligence which caused the injury. No action shall be entertained by the courts against the municipal corporation until the cause of action therein has first been presented to the governing authority for adjustment.

The rest of the section gives the city 30 days to act, pauses the lawsuit clock while the claim sits with the city, requires the notice to state a specific dollar amount, and names who must receive it. Last amended in 2014 (Ga. L. 2014, p. 125, HB 135).

What does it mean for you?

“Ante litem” is Latin for “before the lawsuit.” “Municipal corporation” just means a city or town. So this law says: before you can sue a Georgia city, you have to tell the city, in writing, what happened and what you want. And you have six months from the day of the injury to do it.

Who does this cover? Think of a city bus that rear ends you in Savannah, a city police cruiser that runs a light in Augusta, a broken sidewalk on a city street in Athens, or a fall at a city owned recreation center. If a city employee or city property was involved, assume this law applies.

The notice has to do several specific things. It must state the time, the place, how badly you were hurt, what the city did wrong, and the dollar amount you are claiming. It must be delivered to the mayor or to the chair of the city council or commission, by hand, by certified mail, or by statutory overnight delivery. A letter to the police department or the city’s insurance company does not count. Courts have dismissed real cases over exactly that mistake.

One piece of good news: the dollar figure you name is treated as an offer to settle, not a cap. If the case goes to trial you are not locked into it.

Related Georgia laws

• O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33: the two year deadline to file the lawsuit itself
• O.C.G.A. § 36-11-1: twelve months for claims against a county
• 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. § 36-33-5 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?

Six months goes fast when you are in physical therapy and fighting with an adjuster. If a city vehicle or city property had anything to do with your injury, call now, not later. We will get the notice right and out the door.

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.