---
title: O.C.G.A. § 45-5-1. When offices deemed vacated; filling vacancy; notice; appeal.
collection: code
id: 45-5-1
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 45-5-1 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/45-5-1
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/45-5-1.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/45-5-1/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t45-(v33)-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=c5ce751b_0#page=17
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.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/code/45-5.md
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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: PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES / VACATION OF OFFICE
---

# O.C.G.A. § 45-5-1. When offices deemed vacated; filling vacancy; notice; appeal.

(a) All offices in the state shall be vacated:

(1) By the death of the incumbent;

(2) By resignation, when accepted;

(3) By decision of a competent tribunal declaring the office vacant;

(4) By voluntary act or misfortune of the incumbent whereby he or she is placed in any of the specified conditions of ineligibility to office;

(5) By the incumbent ceasing to be a resident of the state or of the county, circuit, or district for which he or she was elected;

(6) By failing to apply for and obtain commissions or certificates or by failing to qualify or give bond, or both, within the time prescribed by the laws and Constitution of Georgia; or

(7) By abandoning the office or ceasing to perform its duties, or both.

(b) Upon the occurrence of a vacancy in any office in the state, the officer or body authorized to fill the vacancy or call for an election to fill the vacancy shall do so without the necessity of a judicial determination of the occurrence of the vacancy. Before doing so, however, the officer or body shall give at least ten days’ notice to the person whose office has become vacant, except that such notice shall not be required in the case of a vacancy caused by death, final conviction of a felony, or written resignation. The decision of the officer or body to fill the vacancy or call an election to fill the vacancy shall be subject to an appeal to the superior court; and nothing in this subsection shall affect any right of any person to seek a judicial determination of the eligibility of any person holding office in the state. The provisions of this subsection shall apply both to vacancies occurring under this Code section and to vacancies occurring under other laws of this state.

(c) Any Governor appointed seat of an executive branch board, commission, or council shall be filled by appointment of the Governor as provided by law when the seat becomes vacant upon term expiration or when declared vacant by the Governor pursuant to this Code section.

## History

Orig. Code 1863, § 131; Code 1868, § 126; Code 1873, § 135; Code 1882, § 135; Civil Code 1895, § 229; Civil Code 1910, § 264; Code 1933, § 89-501; Ga. L. 1986, p. 996, § 1; Ga. L. 2023, p. 113, § 3/HB 76, effective May 1, 2023.

## Law Reviews

For note, “The Case of the Vanishing Supreme Court Contest: Barrow v. Raffensperger Eliminates the Power of the People to Elect their Appellate, Superior, and State Court Judges,” see 72 Mercer L. Rev. 957 (2021).

## Amendments

The 2023 amendment, effective May 1, 2023, inserted “or she” following “he” in paragraphs (a)(4) and (a)(5) and added subsection (c).