State Court of DeKalb County, Georgia Filing Requirements

Ink:

black

Font

Minimum font size:

12 pt

Specific typeface required:

No

Paper:

8.5x11

One-sided printing:

Yes

Margins

1″ on all sides

Line spacing:

double

Line numbering:

No

Page numbering:

bottom-center

Division A-2 (Judge Anderson) requires briefs to be double-spaced in 12-point font. General formatting follows the Uniform State Court Rules / Uniform Superior Court Rules (Rule 36 series) and the Georgia Civil Practice Act; this is a TRIAL court — appellate 13-pt serif / Century Schoolbook requirements do NOT apply.

County:

Yes

Court name:

Yes

Case number:

Yes

Party block:

Yes

Document designation:

Yes

Caption must read 'STATE COURT OF DEKALB COUNTY' / 'GEORGIA, DEKALB COUNTY' and indicate jury demand where applicable.

Fields

• name
• georgiaBarNumber
• address
• phone
• email

Required:

Yes

Discovery

Deposition length:

7 hours

Interrogatories:

50

Requests for admission:

25

Division A-2 (Judge Anderson): depositions limited to no more than 7 hours on the record; breaks not counted. Verify with assigned division.

Per O.C.G.A. § 9-11-33(a)(1): 50 interrogatories including subparts, absent leave of court; counsel's/pro se signature certifies compliance.

Division 2-A (Judge Anderson): RFAs limited to 25 per party, INCLUDING subparts, absent leave of Court; if more than 25 served without permission, served party responds only to the first 25 and may disregard the remainder. Interrogatories: parties must observe O.C.G.A. § 9-11-33(a)(1) limits (statutory 50 incl. subparts); signature certifies compliance. Division 6 (Judge Martinez) reiterates O.C.G.A. § 9-11-8 candor and discovery-objection rules but does not state a separate numeric RFA cap.

Page limits by document type

Motion for summary judgment:

25

Brief:

25

Motion:

25

Division A-2 (Judge Anderson): briefs no longer than 25 pages, double-spaced, 12-pt. Extensions rarely granted and must be sought ≥5 days before the filing deadline; arguments beyond 25 pages may be disregarded. Page limits are division-specific — verify with the assigned division/judge.

Methods

• e-service (EFileAndServe)
• DeKalb County Marshal's Office (service fee; defendant must have a DeKalb County address)
• private process server
• US Mail

Proof of service:

Yes

Marshal's Office service requires documents filed with the State/Magistrate Court Clerk's Office; a Marshal's Entry of Service is returned by mail.

Completion:

Service is effected through the EFSP to listed service contacts; some judges still require Marshal's/process-server service in addition.

Consent rules:

Filer may select 'EFileAndServe'; parties/filers listed as service contacts receive e-mail notification with a link to accepted documents. Summons includes a box to indicate consent to e-service. If only 'EFile' is selected, no e-mail notification is generated to other parties.

E-service email notice:

24 hours

Platform:

eFileGA / Odyssey (Tyler Technologies) at www.odysseyefilega.com / www.eFileGA.com (Division A); Division B uses a separate platform

Mandatory:

Yes

File Format:

PDF; proposed orders and jury charges submitted in Microsoft Word

OCR required:

No

Filing deadline:

Documents are filed when submitted to e-File and transmission completes; a document filed after 11:59 p.m. is deemed filed the next day.

Exhibit labeling:

Label exhibits by content, e.g. 'Ex. A: Smith Deposition'; 'Ex. B: Employment Contract'; 'Ex. C: Jones Letter' — rather than simply Ex. A, B, C (Division A-2 standing order).

Maximum file size:

25 MB

Document linking:

Yes

Document title:

Title each lead document by its nature; file separate lead documents separately. For Division A-2, label all electronically uploaded exhibits/attachments by content.

A single e-Filing transaction may include multiple pleadings in the same case but cannot exceed 25 MB total; an average document is ~1.5 MB. Split filings that exceed the limit.

Items

• SSN — last 4 only
• taxID — last 4
• financial account numbers — last 4
• DOB — year only
• minor names — initials

Redaction:

Yes

Follows Georgia Civil Practice Act and Uniform State Court Rule sensitive-information / privacy protections; verify current redaction rule before filing.

Format:

Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx) version required

Prohibition:

Do not discuss the merits of the case with the case manager or staff attorney; documents required to be filed must be e-filed with the Clerk of State Court rather than sent to chambers/case manager.

Consent motions:

For all consent motions, the filing party shall include a proposed order granting the motion (Division A-2).

Delivery method:

Division 2-A (Anderson): When submitting a proposed order, a Word version must be submitted to the Civil Case Manager Ms. Tonay Burch (tsburch@dekalbcountyga.gov) and/or staff attorney Ms. Marny Heit (mjheit@dekalbcountyga.gov); for all consent motions the filing party shall include a proposed order. Division 6 (Martinez): Proposed Orders should be emailed to Civil Case Manager Ms. Nakeya Burton (nlburton1@dekalbcountyga.gov) in Word format. Discovery-extension motions must include a proposed order plus a new proposed scheduling order.

When:

Division 2-A (Anderson): Not generally required except (a) emergency motions under USCR 6.7 and (b) motions with voluminous exhibits, which must be submitted to chambers. MANDATORY: if a party files a motion or any response brief less than 48 hours before a scheduled hearing/trial, a courtesy copy must be provided to Ms. Burch at the time of filing — Judge Anderson will not read briefs filed after 5:00pm the day before a hearing. E-mailed courtesy copies of substantive motions welcomed in complex cases; may use Odyssey 'Courtesy Copies' field. Division 6 (Martinez): Not required; in large cases courtesy copies of substantive motions appreciated via email to Ms. Burton.

Required:

No

Filing:

Per State Court civil fee schedule; payment by credit card at time of e-filing. Indigent filers may seek an Affidavit of Poverty (in forma pauperis).

Service:

$50.00 for service by the DeKalb County Marshal's/Sheriff's Office (party to be served must have a DeKalb County address)

Scanning:

No fee to scan/e-file at the courthouse public access terminals

Technology:

EFSP/Odyssey technology and convenience fees apply at time of filing

Attorney required:

Yes

Division A-2: under Georgia law, corporate entities must be represented by a licensed attorney; noncompliance can result in dismissal of the corporation's complaint or default against it.

Conditions:

E-filing is mandatory but exceptions are recognized. A filer without an e-mail account may submit an 'Electronic Filing Waiver Request' (notarized) and an 'Order Granting Relief From Electronic Filing' (signed by a judge); these forms are provided only inside the courthouse. If the order is signed, documents are e-filed under a dummy account.

Flash-drive filing allowed:

No

Paper filing allowed:

Yes

Public access terminals:

Free public access terminals (no fee) are available in the State Court Clerk's Office, 556 N. McDonough Street, 2nd Floor Administrative Tower, Decatur, GA 30030 (and at the Law Library, 4th floor). Documents may be scanned at no charge.

Pro se filers must compose and file their own motions; resources include the Law Library, Legal Aid, and the DeKalb Volunteer Lawyers Foundation.

Placement:

Must appear at the end of the document, before the signature block. Required of any attorney or pro se litigant who uses AI 'in any capacity' to prepare, draft, or review a filing (briefs, proposed orders, and other written submissions).

Sanctions:

Failure to comply may result in the Court striking the filing, imposing sanctions, or disciplinary referral. Mistake, lack of technical expertise, or time constraints will not be accepted as good faith excuses for noncompliance. Use of AI does not relieve ethical/professional obligations (Ga. Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1 & 3.1).

Required certification language:

This document was prepared with the assistance of [identify AI tool(s) used, for example, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Meta AI, Google AI/Gemini, etc.]. I hereby certify under penalty of perjury that, despite reliance on an AI tool, I have independently reviewed this document to confirm accuracy, legitimacy, and use of good and applicable law. I hereby certify under penalty of perjury that every citation to law, case, statute, or the record in this document has been verified as accurate and that it exists as cited and for the proposition cited.

Disclosure:

Yes

Verify with assigned division:

Yes

Applies to divisions

• Division 6 (Judge Ana Maria Martinez) — all civil and criminal cases

Certification:

Yes

State Court Division 6 AI Standing Order entered Oct. 14, 2025 (Hon. Ana Maria Martinez), effective immediately to all filings submitted after entry. NOTE: A separate AI/citation-certification standing order for 'Division 5' is a SUPERIOR COURT of DeKalb County order (dksuperiorclerk.com), NOT State Court, and is excluded. State Court Division 2-A (Judge Kimberly K. Anderson) has NOT entered an AI-disclosure/certification order. No AI order located for State Court Division A-3 (Judge Yolanda R. Mack) or A-4 (Judge Charles E. Bailey).