How do I collect unpaid invoices in Georgia?
How to collect unpaid invoices in Georgia: lien rights, call rules, and small claims
Published May 14, 2026
Short answer
Georgia is a one-party consent state, so callers recording a business conversation do not need to notify the other party. Mechanic's lien rights must be filed within 90 days of the last day of furnishing labor or materials, and suit to enforce must be filed within 365 days. The contract statute of limitations is 6 years, one of the longer windows in the country. Georgia Magistrate Court handles small claims up to $15,000 -- high enough to cover most residential service disputes without attorney involvement.
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Connect your booksGeorgia's wiretapping statute (O.C.G.A. §16-11-62) criminalizes intercepting wire or oral communications without the consent of at least one party. Because the caller's own consent satisfies the statute, Georgia is effectively a one-party consent state for telephone calls. Businesses collecting their own invoices -- and AI tools calling on their behalf -- can record calls without notifying the customer, though disclosing the recording at the outset is standard practice for transparency.
Georgia mechanic's lien law (O.C.G.A. §44-14-361.1) requires contractors, subcontractors, and materialmen who furnish labor or materials to an improvement of real property to record a claim of lien in the superior court of the county where the property is located within 90 days after the last day of the month in which the claimant last furnished labor or materials. For a contractor whose last day of work was June 15, the lien must be filed by September 30. Mark this date on the day the job is complete.
After filing, suit to enforce the lien must be brought within 365 days of the date the lien was filed (O.C.G.A. §44-14-361.1(b)(2)). No preliminary notice is required for direct contractors. Subcontractors also do not face a preliminary notice requirement in Georgia, which makes Georgia's lien law significantly simpler to comply with than California's, Florida's, or Texas's. The absence of a preliminary notice requirement does not mean the 90-day lien filing deadline is flexible -- it is not.
Georgia Magistrate Court handles small claims up to $15,000, one of the higher limits in the country. Filing fees are typically $50 to $100. Hearings are generally scheduled within 30 to 60 days of filing. For residential service invoices under $15,000, Magistrate Court is the fastest and cheapest path to a judgment. Georgia courts do not generally award attorney's fees in contract disputes unless the contract specifically provides for them or the defendant's conduct was in bad faith.
The Georgia statute of limitations on written contracts is 6 years (O.C.G.A. §9-3-24). For simple verbal agreements or open accounts, the limit is 4 years (O.C.G.A. §9-3-25). The clock begins when the cause of action accrues -- when the invoice was due and payment was refused. A 6-year window is longer than most states, but waiting past 2 years to pursue a disputed invoice makes collection meaningfully harder as evidence and witness recollection deteriorate.