Court of Appeals of Georgia

Format

Type

Times New Roman 14 pt, double-spaced

Margins

1-inch margins

Opening brief

8,400 words or 30 pages

Reply brief

4,200 words or 15 pages

What counts

Civil: 8,400 words (e-filed) / 30 pp (typed or handwritten); criminal 14,000 words / 50 pp. Excludes TOC, table of citations, cover sheet, certificates of service and word-count compliance.

Rules

Rules of the Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia — Ct. App. R. 2, 24(c), 24(e); Ct. App. R. 24(f)

Parts of the brief, in order

1. TABLE OF CONTENTS — If applicable · Ct. App. R. 25(a)(1)
2. TABLE OF CITED AUTHORITIES — If applicable · Ct. App. R. 25(a)(1)
3. INTRODUCTION — Optional · Ct. App. R. 25(a)(2)
4. JURISDICTIONAL STATEMENT — Required · Ct. App. R. 25(a)(3)
5. ENUMERATION OF ERRORS — Required · Ct. App. R. 25(a)(4)
6. STATEMENT OF THE CASE — Required · Ct. App. R. 25(a)(5)
7. SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT — Optional · Ct. App. R. 25(a)(6)
8. ARGUMENT AND CITATION OF AUTHORITY — Required · Ct. App. R. 25(a)(7)
9. Signature block — Required · Ct. App. R. 2
10. Word-count certification — Required · Ct. App. R. 24(f)
11. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE — Required · Ct. App. R. 6

Argument headings: Argument generally follows the order of the enumeration of errors; point headings encouraged; each enumeration unsupported by argument/authority may be deemed abandoned (Rule 25).

Standard of review: Concise statement of applicable standard(s) of review within the argument (Rule 25(a)(7)).

Record citations: (V2-46) = electronic record volume and PDF page; audio/video by record location and time range

None (attachments prohibited)

This court does not use a separate appendix — it relies on the record prepared by the clerk. We still build an index of your record documents if you upload them. Pages are numbered like A12. (Ct. App. R. 24(g))

Do not attach documents or exhibits to briefs; cite the electronic record instead.

Certificates

• Compliance: 'This submission does not exceed the word count limit imposed by Rule 24.'
• Service: Certificate of service per Rule 6

Good to know

• Reply briefs and motions for reconsideration limited to 4,200 words (15 pp if typed/handwritten).
• Serif proportional 14 pt+; sans-serif only in headings/captions; monospaced (Courier) prohibited (Rule 2).
• Minimum mandatory parts: jurisdictional statement, enumeration of errors, statement of the case, argument; others recommended for long/complex briefs.
• Criminal defendant's counsel must include defendant's address (Rule 24(h)).
• Appellee omits enumeration of errors; reply need only include argument.
• Official rules PDF (eff. Mar. 26, 2026) could not be fetched directly; verified via courtrules.net mirror.

Filing: Mandatory e-filing for counsel (Rule 46); searchable PDF only (Rule 2).