- Who sends it
- The lender, usually through a law firm, by certified or registered mail or overnight delivery
- What it starts
- A countdown to a first Tuesday sale at least 30 days after the postmark
- Do this first
- Find the sale date and call the person named in the notice and legal aid today
What this document is in Georgia
Georgia law calls it notice of the initiation of proceedings to exercise a power of sale (O.C.G.A. § 44-14-162.2). Your security deed gives the lender a power of sale, which lets it sell the home at a public auction without suing you first.
The notice must be in writing and must give the name, address and phone number of the person or company with full authority to negotiate, amend and modify all terms of your mortgage. It is sent by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, return receipt requested, to the property address or to another address you gave the lender in writing. It must be a copy of the notice of sale that goes to the newspaper, so it shows the sale date.
What it does and does not mean
- It is not a court case and there is no hearing. No judge looks at it unless you file a case yourself.
- It is not an eviction. You can stay until after the sale, and the new owner must then go to court to remove you.
- The law does not make the lender agree to change your loan. It only tells you who has the power to do it.
- A clause in your security deed that waives this notice is not valid if it was signed at the same time as the loan (O.C.G.A. § 44-14-162.3).
- Once the sale happens, Georgia Legal Aid says you no longer own the home, and there is no period to buy it back. Treat the sale date as your real deadline.
The deadline and how to count it
- The notice counts as given on the official postmark date, or the day a delivery company receives it. It does not matter when you open it or whether you picked it up (O.C.G.A. § 44-14-162.2).
- It must be given no later than 30 days before the sale date. Count calendar days from the postmark to the sale date to see how much time you have.
- The sale is advertised in the county legal newspaper once a week for the 4 weeks right before the sale.
- Sales are held on the first Tuesday of the month between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the courthouse. If the first Tuesday is New Year's Day or July 4, the sale moves to the next day.
- Federal rules: if your servicer receives a complete loss mitigation application more than 37 days before the sale, it generally must decide it before holding the sale. Thirty days of notice is less than 37, so apply before this notice comes if you can.
See how long a Georgia foreclosure takes and use the deadline calculator.
What to do this week
- Check that the address, your name and the sale date are right, and keep the envelope with the postmark.
- Call the person named as having full authority to modify your loan. Ask in writing for a reinstatement figure good through a date before the sale and for the status of any application.
- Call legal aid the same week. Atlanta Legal Aid Society serves Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties; Georgia Legal Services Program serves the rest of the state.
- If you have a defense, such as never getting this notice or a loan that is not actually behind, a lawyer can ask a superior court for a temporary restraining order. It must be done before the sale.
- Get any promise that the sale is canceled in writing. Read how to stop a Georgia foreclosure and what to do when a Georgia sale date is set.
Help and scam warnings in Georgia
- Georgia has no state foreclosure mediation program, and the state's mortgage assistance fund is closed. Your main help is your servicer, a free HUD-approved housing counselor and legal aid. See Georgia foreclosure help.
- Georgia's Fair Business Practices Act makes it illegal to call a deal a loan when it is really a purchase of your home, or to make false or misleading statements to a homeowner in default. If someone buys your home and rents it back to you, the contract must say plainly that it is a sale and give you 10 days to cancel (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393(b)(20)).
- Report deceptive offers to the Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division.
The rest of the Georgia process
See how foreclosure works in Georgia, the timeline, ways to stop it and free help in Georgia, or read the national guide to this letter.
Common questions
Is the Georgia 30-day notice counted from when I received it?
No. O.C.G.A. § 44-14-162.2 says the notice is given on the official postmark date, or the day a delivery company receives it. The sale can be 30 days after that date even if the letter sat at the post office.
Will there be a court hearing before my Georgia foreclosure sale?
Usually not. A judge becomes involved only if you file a case to stop the sale, if the lender asks a judge to confirm the sale so it can seek a deficiency, or if the new owner files an eviction case.
What if I never got the 30-day notice?
O.C.G.A. § 44-14-162 says a sale under power is not valid unless the notice was given as § 44-14-162.2 requires. Georgia Legal Aid lists failure to give written notice as a possible claim. Because the notice counts as given when mailed, talk to a lawyer quickly about whether it was properly sent.
Does Georgia require surplus claim instructions in this notice?
Not today. A 2026 bill, House Bill 948, would have added surplus claim instructions to the notice, but it did not pass the Senate. If your home sells for more than you owe, ask the foreclosing law firm in writing for an accounting.
Other Georgia letters
- Deed under powerThe deed under power is the deed the lender gives the winning bidder after a Georgia power of sale foreclosure. It transfers your home to the buyer, who is often the lender itself. It must state that the 30-day notice was given.
- Notice of hearing on the report of sale for confirmation and approvalIf your Georgia home sold for less than the debt and the lender wants to collect the rest, it must report the sale to a superior court judge within 30 days and get it confirmed. This notice tells you the hearing date. The judge must find the home sold for its true market value.
- Demand for possessionA demand for possession is the new owner's written request that you leave the home after a Georgia foreclosure sale. It is required before the owner can file a dispossessory (eviction) case. It is not a court order, and no one can remove you on the strength of this letter alone.
- Dispossessory warrant (affidavit) and summonsA dispossessory case is the court eviction the new owner must bring after a Georgia foreclosure if you have not left. The summons gives you 7 days from service to answer, in writing or in person. If you do not answer, a writ of possession can issue without a hearing.
Sources
- Georgia General Assembly: House Bill 948 (2026) committee substitute, reprinting current O.C.G.A. §§ 44-14-162.2 and 44-14-190
- Georgia General Assembly: House Bill 948 status page
- GeorgiaLegalAid.org: What to Know About Foreclosure (reviewed February 13, 2026)
- Georgia Consumer Ed: Foreclosure (Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division)
- Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division: File a Complaint
- Atlanta Legal Aid Society
- Georgia Legal Services Program