---
title: O.C.G.A. § 15-11-103. Right to attorney.
collection: code
id: 15-11-103
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 15-11-103 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/15-11-103
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/15-11-103.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/15-11-103/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t15-ch1-11a-(v13)-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=9c57686b_0#page=160
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: COURTS / JUVENILE CODE / DEPENDENCY PROCEEDINGS / GENERAL PROVISIONS
---

# O.C.G.A. § 15-11-103. Right to attorney.

(a) A child, any custodian or guardian subject to a sworn complaint or affidavit, and any other respondent to a proceeding under this article shall have the right to an attorney at all stages of the proceedings under this article.

(b) The court shall appoint an attorney for an alleged dependent child and any child receiving extended care youth services from DFCS at all stages of the proceedings under this article. The appointment shall be made as soon as practicable to ensure adequate representation of such child and, in any event, before the first court hearing that may substantially affect the interests of such child.

(c) A child’s attorney owes to his or her client the duties imposed by the law of this state in an attorney-client relationship.

(d) If an attorney has been appointed to represent a child in a prior proceeding under this chapter, the court, when possible, shall appoint the same attorney to represent such child in any subsequent proceeding.

(e) An attorney appointed to represent a child in a dependency proceeding shall continue the representation in any subsequent appeals unless excused by the court.

(f) Neither a child nor a representative of a child may waive a child’s right to an attorney in a dependency proceeding.

(g) A party other than a child shall be informed of his or her right to an attorney prior to any hearing. A party other than a child shall be given an opportunity to:

(1) Obtain and employ an attorney of such party’s own choice;

(2) Obtain a court appointed attorney if the court determines that such party is an indigent person; or

(3) Waive the right to an attorney, provided that such waiver is made knowingly, voluntarily, and on the record.

## History

Code 1981, § 15-11-103, enacted by Ga. L. 2013, p. 294, § 1-1/HB 242; Ga. L. 2018, p. 935, § 2/SB 131; Ga. L. 2023, p. 140, § 3/HB 460, effective July 1, 2023.

## Code Commission Notes

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2023, “child, any” was substituted for “child and any” and a comma was added following “affidavit” in subsection (a).

## Amendments

The 2023 amendment, effective July 1, 2023, substituted “any custodian or guardian subject to a sworn complaint or affidavit and any other respondent” for “any other party” in subsection (a) and inserted “and any child receiving extended care youth services from DFCS at all stages of the proceedings under this article” at the end of the first sentence in subsection (b).