---
title: O.C.G.A. § 36-1-4. When county liable to be sued.
collection: code
id: 36-1-4
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 36-1-4 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/36-1-4
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/36-1-4.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/36-1-4/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t35-t36-ch1-59-(v27)-2025-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=66569db4_0#page=327
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
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current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Session of the General Assembly of Georgia
heading_path: LOCAL GOVERNMENT / Provisions Applicable to Counties Only / GENERAL PROVISIONS
---

# O.C.G.A. § 36-1-4. When county liable to be sued.

A county is not liable to suit for any cause of action unless made so by statute.

## History

Civil Code 1895, § 341; Civil Code 1910, § 384; Code 1933, § 23-1502.

## Law Reviews

For article, “Quasi-Municipal Tort Liability in Georgia,” see 6 Mercer L. Rev. 287 (1955).

For article, “Actions for Wrongful Death in Georgia: Parts Three and Four,” see 21 Ga. B. J. 339 (1959).

For article discussing necessity of liability insurance for Georgia counties and municipalities, and constitutional authority of the units to provide such insurance, see 25 Ga. B.J. 35 (1962).

For note discussing governmental immunity from tort liability in Georgia, see 5 Ga. St. B. J. 494 (1969).

For article surveying tort liability insurance in Georgia local government law, see 24 Mercer L. Rev. 651 (1973).

For note analyzing sovereign immunity in this state and proposing implementation of a waiver scheme and creation of a court of claims pursuant to Ga. Const. 1976, Art. VI, Sec. V, Para. I, see 27 Emory L.J. 717 (1978).

For article on insurance and indemnity for Georgia local government officers under Georgia law, see 13 Ga. L. Rev. 747 (1979).

For survey article on local government law, see 34 Mercer L. Rev. 225 (1982).

For article, “Defending the Lawsuit: A First-Round Checklist,” see 22 Ga. St. B.J. 24 (1985).

For article, “Georgia Local Government Tort Liability: The ‘Crisis’ Conundrum,” see 2 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 19 (1986).

For annual survey of local government law, see 38 Mercer L. Rev. 289 (1986).

For article, “Georgia County Liability: Nuisance or Not?,” see 43 Mercer L. Rev. 1 (1991).

For article, “Local Government Tort Liability: The Summer of ’92,” see 9 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 405 (1993).

## History of Section.

This Code section is derived in part from the decisions in Hammond v. County of Richmond, 72 Ga. 188 (1883), and Smith v. Wilkes & McDuffie Counties, 79 Ga. 125, 4 S.E. 20 (1887).