Title 44

(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) ‘‘Commission’’ means the Public Service Commission. (2) ‘‘Private property’’ means any parcel or space of private real property. (a.1) Any person or his or her authorized agent entitled to the possession of any private property shal…

(a) As used in this Code section, the term ‘‘abandoned well or hole’’ means any manmade opening upon the surface of the earth which is ten feet or more in depth and which has not been used for a period of 60 days. The term does not include ditches; sand or gravel pits; stone, mar…

(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) ‘‘Geodetic control monuments’’ means those survey monuments which are established by federal, state, local, and private agencies, the position of which monuments on the earth’s surface has been fixed by high-order surveying and comp…

(a)(1) No cause of action shall arise against an owner of real property, a real estate broker, or any affiliated licensee of the broker for the failure to disclose in any real estate transaction the fact or suspicion that such property: (A) Is or was occupied by a person who was …

(a) Prior to any purchase, lease, or other acquisition of real property or any interest in real property located within any county which has land zoned for agricultural or silvicultural use or identified on an approved county land use plan as agricultural or silvicultural use, it…

(a) As used in this title, the term ‘‘realty’’ or ‘‘real estate’’ means: (1) All lands and the buildings thereon; (2) All things permanently attached to land or to the buildings thereon; and (3) Any interest existing in, issuing out of, or dependent upon land or the buildings the…

(a) As used in this title, the term ‘‘personalty’’ or ‘‘personal estate’’ means all property which is movable in nature, has inherent value or is representative of value, and is not otherwise defined as realty. (b) Stocks representing shares in a corporation which holds lands or …

As used in this title, the term ‘‘estate’’ means the quantity of interest which an owner has in real or personal property. Any estate which can be created in realty may be created in personalty. (Orig. Code 1863, § 2225; Code 1868, § 2219; Code 1873, § 2245; Code 1882, § 2245; Ci…

As used in this title in referring to property, the term ‘‘title’’ signifies the means whereby a person’s right to property is established. (Orig. Code 1863, § 2320; Code 1868, § 2317; Code 1873, § 2348; Code 1882, § 2348; Civil Code 1895, § 3208; Civil Code 1910, § 3796; Code 19…

(a) Anything which is intended to remain permanently in its place even if it is not actually attached to the land is a fixture which constitutes a part of the realty and passes with it. (b) Machinery which is not actually attached to the realty but is movable at pleasure is not a…

Personalty is deemed to be in the possession of a party when that party’s right to the property is accompanied by immediate actual or constructive possession. (Orig. Code 1863, § 2218; Code 1868, § 2212; Code 1873, § 2238; Code 1882, § 2238; Civil Code 1895, § 3071; Civil Code 19…

Oysters and clams. Riparian rights in navigable tidewaters. Rights of owners of land adjacent to oysters and clams, §44-8-7. INDEX FISHING —Cont’d Oysters and clams —Cont’d Riparian rights in nonnavigable tidewaters. Rights of adjoining landowners to oysters, clams and other shel…

Anything deposited on realty by wild animals, birds, and fish except wildlife as defined by Code Section 27-1-2 shall belong to the owner of the realty. Honey deposited in a tree by bees shall belong to the owner of the tree even if the bees were hived by another person. The eggs…

Every deed conveying lands shall be recorded in the office of the clerk of the superior court of the county where the land is located. A deed may be recorded at any time; but a prior unrecorded deed loses its priority over a subsequent recorded deed from the same vendor when the …

Absolute deeds and bills of sale to personalty may be recorded in the office of the clerk of the superior court of the county where the maker resides. Such record, being permissive and not compulsory, is not constructive or implied notice to anyone. This Code section shall not ap…

A copy from the registry of any instrument conveying or affecting land in any county of this state which is recorded in the office of the clerk of the superior court of the county, if duly certified by the clerk, may be filed for record and recorded in the office of the clerk of …

When the record of any deed or other recorded instrument or the certificate of record is lost or destroyed, the clerk of the superior court may rerecord the instrument and the certificate of record. The rerecording shall be as valid as the original recording and shall take effect…

(a) When the creation of a new county or a change in county lines causes land to be included in a different county than that in which it was situated at the time of the recording of a deed, mortgage, or other lien therein, any holder of such a deed, mortgage, or other lien may ha…

(a) Before any deed to realty or personalty or any mortgage, bond for title, or other recordable instrument executed in this state may be recorded, it must be attested or acknowledged as provided by law. However, nothing in this Code section shall dispense with another witness wh…

If subsequent to its execution a recordable instrument is acknowledged in the presence of any of the officers referred to in Code Section 44-2-15, that fact, certified on the deed by such officer, shall entitle it to be recorded. (Laws 1785, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 164; Laws 1827,…

(a) As used in this Code section, the term ‘‘state’’ means any one of the states of the United States and any territories and possessions of the United States, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. (b) Wherever a deed, mortgage, bond for title, …

If a deed is neither attested by nor acknowledged before one of the officers named in Code Section 44-2-15, it may be recorded upon the affidavit of a subscribing witness, which affidavit shall be made before any one of the officers named in Code Section 44-2-15 and shall testify…

If the subscribing witness or witnesses are dead, are insane, have moved outside the state, or are otherwise incapacitated to make the affidavit provided for in Code Section 44-2-18, the affidavit of a third person testifying to the execution of the deed and to the genuineness of…

(a)(1) The clerk of the superior court shall file, index on a computer program designed for such purpose, and permanently record, in the manner provided constructively in Code Sections 15-6-61 and 15-6-66, the following instruments conveying, transferring, encumbering, or affecti…

(a) Recorded affidavits shall be notice of the facts therein recited, whether taken at the time of a conveyance of land or not, where such affidavits show: (1) The relationship of parties or other persons to conveyances of land; (2) The relationship of any parties to any conveyan…

(a) To authorize the recording of a deed to realty or personalty executed outside this state, the deed must be attested by or acknowledged before: (1) A consul or vice-consul of the United States, whose certificate under his official seal shall be evidence of the fact; (2) A judg…

A prima-facie case shall be made out in actions respecting title to land upon showing good record title for a period of 40 years, and it shall not be necessary under such circumstances to prove title to the original grant from the state. (Ga. L. 1953, Jan.-Feb. Sess., p. 63, § 1.…

A recorded deed shall be admitted in evidence in any court without further proof unless the maker of the deed, one of his heirs, or the opposite party in the action files an affidavit that the deed is a forgery to the best of his knowledge and belief. Upon the filing of the affid…

Where an affidavit of forgery has been filed to the plaintiff’s deed, and the deed has been turned over to the defendant or his counsel in order to procure evidence upon the issue of forgery, and such deed is destroyed or lost by the defendant or his counsel or for any cause is n…

All decrees, deeds, mortgages, or other instruments affecting the title to land shall be recorded by the clerk of the superior court by the use of printing, typewriting, handwriting in ink, photostating, or photographing, which record shall be clear, legible, and permanent. The r…

The owner of real property or of any interest therein or any holder of a lien thereon may have a plat of the property or a blueprint, tracing, photostatic copy, or other copy of a plat of the property recorded and indexed in the office of the clerk of the superior court of the co…

When any plat or any blueprint, tracing, photostatic copy, or other copy of the plat is securely pasted or fastened in the book provided by the clerk for that purpose, such pasting or fastening shall be deemed a recording of the plat. (Ga. L. 1937, p. 746, § 2.)

When any deed, mortgage, or other instrument conveying an interest in or creating a lien on real property refers to the boundaries, metes, courses, or distances of the real estate delineated or shown on any plat of the property or on any blueprint, tracing, photostatic copy, or o…

Any plats or any blueprints, tracings, photostatic copies, or other copies of plats recorded prior to March 29, 1937, in the manner described in Code Section 44-2-26 are declared to have been duly recorded; and the reference in any deed, mortgage, or other instrument executed pri…

Every unrecorded voluntary deed or conveyance of land made by any person shall be void as against subsequent bona fide purchasers for value without notice of such voluntary deed or conveyance; provided, however, that, if the voluntary deed or conveyance is recorded in accordance …

(a) Any party, or his or her legal representative, to a settlement which will convey legal or equitable title to real estate or any interest therein or create any lien thereon by way of a deed to secure debt, mortgage, or other instrument may file an instrument to be designated a…

This part shall be known and may be cited as the ‘‘Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act.’’ (Code 1981, § 44-2-35, enacted by Ga. L. 2009, p. 695, § 1/HB 127.)

As used in this part, the term: (1) ‘‘Authority’’ means the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority established pursuant to Code Section 15-6-94. (2) ‘‘Document’’ means information that is: (A) Inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or othe…

(a) An electronic document prepared and filed in compliance with this part shall satisfy any requirement as a condition for recording that a document be an original, on paper or another tangible medium, or in writing. (b) An electronic signature shall satisfy any requirement as a…

A clerk of superior court: (1) Who implements any of the functions listed in this Code section shall do so in compliance with standards established by the authority; (2) May receive, index, store, archive, and transmit electronic documents; (3) May provide for access to, and sear…

(a) The authority shall adopt rules and regulations and any standardized forms necessary to implement this part. (b) To promote uniform standards and practices and compatibility of technology used within offices of clerks of superior court in this state and recording offices in o…

In applying and construing this part, consideration shall be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact substantially similar provisions. (Code 1981, § 44-2-39.1, enacted by Ga. L. 2009, p. 695, § 1/HB 127.)

The provisions of this part modify, limit, and supersede the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7001, et seq., but shall not modify, limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that federal act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7001(c), or authorize e…

(a) All innocent persons, firms, or corporations acting in good faith and without actual notice which purchase real or personal property for value or obtain contractual liens on the property from distributees, devisees, legatees, or heirs at law holding or apparently holding real…

Every bond for title, bond to reconvey realty, contract to sell or convey realty or any interest therein, and any and all transfers or assignments of realty shall be filed and recorded in the office of the clerk of the superior court of the county where the land referred to in th…

When any bond for title has been recorded and is subsequently surrendered or satisfied, such surrender or satisfaction may be entered of record by the clerk of the superior court in the same manner that cancellations of mortgages and deeds to secure debts are entered of record. (…