Georgia CommonsHouse · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 270: Eviction Service and Airplane Evictions Act; enact
Last action July 1, 2025 · Effective Date
House Bill 270 changes who can legally deliver eviction paperwork in Georgia, allowing an approved process server to serve eviction summonses in addition to sheriffs and constables.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Under current Georgia law, when a landlord files an eviction (called a dispossessory) affidavit, a judge or clerk issues a summons that must be delivered by a sheriff, sheriff's deputy, or county constable. House Bill 270 adds a new option: an approved process server can now also serve that summons and the affidavit on the tenant. The bill keeps the existing backup methods for service if the tenant cannot be found in person, such as leaving papers with an adult living at the property, or posting the summons on the door and mailing a copy to the tenant's last known address. The bill is officially named the 'Eviction Service Act.' It also repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with these changes.
What the bill does
- Adds 'an approved process server' as a person legally allowed to serve eviction summonses, alongside sheriffs, deputies, and constables.
- Updates the law's wording to refer to 'his or her' instead of just 'his,' modernizing the gender language used for defendants.
- Keeps the existing fallback service methods (leaving papers with a resident or posting and mailing) unchanged for all types of servers, including process servers.
- Gives the law the short title 'Eviction Service Act' and repeals any conflicting Georgia laws.
Who it affects
Landlords and tenants involved in eviction (dispossessory) proceedings in Georgia, county sheriffs and constables who currently handle eviction paperwork, and private process serving companies that could now be authorized to deliver eviction summonses.
Why it matters
By allowing approved process servers to deliver eviction paperwork, the bill gives landlords another option besides waiting on county sheriffs or constables, potentially speeding up how quickly eviction cases move through Georgia courts and reach tenants.
Key provisions
- Section 1 names the law the 'Eviction Service Act.'
- Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 44-7-51(a) to let a judge or clerk issue an eviction summons to a sheriff, deputy, constable, or an approved process server.
- Section 2 preserves existing rules for substitute service, such as delivering papers to a resident of the property or posting and mailing them if the tenant cannot be found.
- Section 3 repeals any Georgia laws that conflict with this Act.
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 255
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
Show full history (17 actions)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Matt Reeves (R, HD-99)
- Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)
- Beth Camp (R, HD-135)
- Deborah Silcox (R, HD-53)
- David Jenkins (R, HD-136)
- Trey Kelley (R, HD-16)
- Bo Hatchett (R, SD-50)
Votes
- House voteMarch 6, 2025
172 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 5 excused)
- Senate voteMarch 31, 2025
49 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 4 excused)
Topics
- evictions
- landlord tenant law
- process servers
- court procedure