---
type: "Bill"
title: "Domestic relations; process by which individuals may change their married surname to previous surname following divorce; provide"
description: "A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 5 of Title 19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to divorce, so as to provide for a process by which individuals may change their married surname to a prior surname or the given surname on their birth certificate following a divorce; to provide for applicability; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ga"
legislature: "Georgia General Assembly"
session: "2023_24"
identifier: "HB 896"
citation: "Georgia HB 896 (2023_24)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bethany Ballard", "Brent Cox", "David Huddleston", "Jodi Lott", "Joseph Gullett", "Kimberly New"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 17
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2024-01-10"
last_action: "2024-04-22"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/2d9a2570-a032-4a19-84b3-a258a81009ee"
source_url: "http://webservices.legis.ga.gov/GGAServices/Legislation/Service.svc?wsdl"
source_hash: "bea639a05f8fac36a38b077db319d9711e6d890d711c5f645ccc864576fe7ae3"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ga"]
---

# Georgia HB 896 (2023_24) — Domestic relations; process by which individuals may change their married surname to previous surname following divorce; provide

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 5 of Title 19 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to divorce, so as to provide for a process by which individuals may change their married surname to a prior surname or the given surname on their birth certificate following a divorce; to provide for applicability; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **HB 896/AP*** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/228433.pdf)
2. **LC 44 2464/a** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/220981.pdf)
3. **LC 57 0061S/hcs** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/224915.pdf)
4. **LC 57 0061S/hs** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20232024/224099.pdf)

## Votes

- Senate Vote #751 - 2023-2024 Regular Session — **49–0** (pass) · upper
- House Vote #505 - 2023-2024 Regular Session — **167–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Bethany Ballard — primary (person)
- Brent Cox — primary (person)
- David Huddleston — primary (person)
- Jodi Lott — primary (person)
- Joseph Gullett — primary (person)
- Kimberly New — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2024-01-10** House Hopper `introduction`
- **2024-01-11** House First Readers `reading-1`
- **2024-01-12** House Second Readers `reading-2`
- **2024-02-15** House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2024-02-21** House Third Readers `reading-3`
- **2024-02-21** House Passed/Adopted By Substitute `passage`
- **2024-02-22** Senate Read and Referred `referral-committee`
- **2024-03-08** Senate Committee Favorably Reported `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2024-03-11** Senate Read Second Time `reading-2`
- **2024-03-21** Senate Tabled
- **2024-03-21** Senate Taken from Table
- **2024-03-21** Senate Third Read `reading-3`
- **2024-03-21** Senate Passed/Adopted `passage`
- **2024-04-01** House Sent to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2024-04-22** House Date Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2024-04-22** Act 397 `executive-signature`
- **2024-04-22** Effective Date

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/2d9a2570-a032-4a19-84b3-a258a81009ee`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Georgia legislature records).