Cobb County magistrate court for businesses owed money

Which court hears small claims in Cobb County?

The Magistrate Court of Cobb County. Its Civil Division handles small claims, dispossessory and garnishment cases, and the small claims side hears money claims under $15,000.

There is one courthouse for these cases: 32 Waddell Street, Marietta, GA 30090. The Civil Division answers on (770) 528-8910, and the clerk's office is open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The court's own page is the Cobb Magistrate Court Civil Division.

Venue turns on who you are suing. An individual or sole proprietor has to live in Cobb County. A corporation has to be doing business in Cobb, be incorporated there, or have its registered agent there. If your client meets none of those tests, Cobb is the wrong court for the claim. You can look up a company's exact legal name and registered agent on the Georgia Secretary of State business search (ecorp.sos.ga.gov).

This page covers civil claims for money. For warrants or evictions, go to the court's own site.

Cobb County Magistrate Court facts at a glance

Everything in this table comes from the court's own pages, checked on 30 October 2026.

How do you file a claim against a business in Cobb County?

Five steps. The clerk can help you fill in the forms but cannot tell you whom to sue or whether your claim is good.

1. Get the defendant's legal name right. Sue the company itself, not the person you dealt with. For a corporation or LLC, use the name on the Secretary of State record. For an unincorporated business, name the owner and the trade name, for example "John Doe d/b/a John's Grocery".
2. Check that Cobb is the right county. Run the venue tests above before you pay anything.
3. Fill in the Statement of Claim and the Sheriff's Entry of Service. Give the defendant's name and address, the exact amount you are claiming and the reason. Put your own mailing address and phone number on the form too, because the clerk mails the hearing notice to you.
4. File in person, by mail or on eFlex. Take or mail the forms to 32 Waddell Street, Marietta, GA 30090, or file online at efile.cobbcounty.gov. Pay $60.50 plus $50 for each defendant. An owner or officer can act as the agent for a corporation.
5. Prepare your evidence. The invoice, the signed quote or contract, and the emails where the client accepted the work. The court's guide warns that letters and affidavits are treated as hearsay, so plan for the person who made a document to be there.

For the bigger picture on suing over an invoice, read small claims for an unpaid invoice.

What happens after you file in Cobb County?

The sheriff serves the defendant, and that starts the clock on their answer.

• Answer. The defendant has 30 days from service to answer. The court's guide adds a further 15 days in which they can still respond by paying costs, 45 days in all.
• Hearing. If they answer, the clerk mails both sides the trial date. Before the judge hears the case, the parties get a chance to settle.
• Default. With no answer within 45 days of service and a fixed amount owed, such as an unpaid account, judgment can be entered without a hearing. It usually includes the court costs you paid. More on this in default judgment in small claims.
• After judgment. The court does not collect for you. You can ask the clerk for a writ of fieri facias (fi. fa.), which the court says can issue immediately on a default judgment, and then look at garnishment. Either side can appeal within 30 days, but there is no appeal from a default judgment.

If the client dodges service, our guide to serving small claims papers explains what usually goes wrong.

What is different about Cobb County?

Mediation is built in. Cobb runs a mediation program with trained, state-registered volunteer mediators, and it costs nothing extra. When a client is disputing the work rather than just stalling, a session can settle it without a ruling, and any agreement is voluntary. The court also runs pop-up legal clinics with volunteer attorneys, with small claims among the listed topics; it posts the dates on its Facebook page. At the law library, people who qualify financially can get a free 30-minute consultation with an Atlanta Legal Aid attorney on civil matters.

How Easy Small Claims handles a Cobb County claim

We send a proper demand letter first. If the client still does not pay, we prepare your Statement of Claim from your own documents and file it with Cobb County Magistrate Court once you approve. Fix It is $99 to start and $299 through the hearing, court costs at cost, collection steps quoted separately, and no cut of what you recover. Someone from your business attends the hearing. See how our small claims service for businesses works.

For the statewide rules and our Georgia offer, see Georgia small claims for businesses. If your client is based in McDonough or elsewhere in Henry County, the Henry County magistrate court page covers that court.

Last updated October 2026. Easy Small Claims is not a law firm and this page is general information, not legal advice.