Appeal Deadlines and Error Preservation in Georgia

A Georgia notice of appeal is due within 30 days of the judgment, or within 30 days of the order deciding a motion for new trial (O.C.G.A. § 5-6-38). A judge may grant one extension if asked before the deadline. Since May 14, 2025, § 5-6-39.1 allows a request for leave to file late within 100 days, but not for the application now required to appeal a guilty plea.

The notice of appeal

Section 5-6-38(a) provides: “A notice of appeal shall be filed within 30 days after entry of the appealable decision or judgment complained of; but when a motion for new trial, a motion in arrest of judgment, or a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict has been filed, the notice shall be filed within 30 days after the entry of the order granting, overruling, or otherwise finally disposing of the motion.”

A motion for new trial is optional. Under § 5-6-36(a), it “need not be filed as a condition precedent to appeal” and a party “may elect to file the motion first or to appeal directly.” Its own deadline is 30 days from the judgment under § 5-5-40, and § 5-6-39(b) states: “No extension of time shall be granted for the filing of motions for new trial or for judgment notwithstanding the verdict.” The grounds for the motion are covered in motion for new trial in Georgia.

Extending the deadline before it runs

Under § 5-6-39(c), “Only one extension of time shall be granted for filing of a notice of appeal and a notice of cross appeal, and the extension shall not exceed the time otherwise allowed for the filing of the notices initially.” Under § 5-6-39(d), the request “must be made before expiration of the period for filing as originally prescribed or as extended by a permissible previous order.”

After the deadline: § 5-6-39.1

House Bill 176, effective May 14, 2025, added § 5-6-39.1. A defendant may move for leave to file an out-of-time motion for new trial or notice of appeal “within 100 days from the expiration of the time period for the filing of such motion or notice” on one of four grounds:

Ground in § 5-6-39.1(a)(1)	Text
(A)	"With the consent of the state"
(B)	"By showing excusable neglect"
(C)	"By showing that the failure to timely file such motion for new trial or notice of appeal was attributable to the deficient performance of such defendant's counsel"
(D)	"For other good cause shown."

If leave is granted, the defendant has 30 days to file, and an indigent defendant “shall have the right to the assistance of counsel to seek any relief offered under this Code section.” A separate window for defendants whose earlier requests were dismissed under Cook v. State (2022) ran “until June 30, 2026” under § 5-6-39.1(b). In Charles v. State (Aug. 13, 2026), the Supreme Court of Georgia said it was “not clear to us” that a trial court had jurisdiction to grant a motion filed outside the 100 days, without deciding the point.

Appeals from guilty pleas

The same 2025 act added “Direct appeals from guilty pleas” to the list of appeals in § 5-6-35(a) that must be brought by application for discretionary appeal, and § 5-6-35(d) requires the application within 30 days of the order complained of. The same list also includes “Appeals from orders revoking probation”, so an appeal from a revocation order takes the application route as well. In Burkett v. State, 324 Ga. 415 (2026), the Court explained that § 5-6-39.1 “says nothing about out-of-time applications for discretionary appeal” and concluded: “This means that if a defendant has missed the jurisdictional deadline to file an application under OCGA § 5-6-35 to seek a direct appeal from his guilty plea, he has missed his opportunity to appeal his guilty plea, notwithstanding the availability of leave to file an out-of-time notice of appeal under OCGA § 5-6-39.1.” In Charles, applying Burkett, the Court dismissed an appeal from a guilty plea for lack of jurisdiction. Withdrawing a plea after judgment is a separate motion, explained in plea negotiation protections in Georgia.

Preserving errors at trial

Under O.C.G.A. § 24-1-103, error in admitting evidence requires “a timely objection or motion to strike” that states “the specific ground of objection, if the specific ground was not apparent from the context” on the record. Once the court makes a definitive ruling on the record, “a party need not renew an objection or offer of proof to preserve such claim of error for appeal.” The same section adds that nothing in it prevents a court “from taking notice of plain errors affecting substantial rights although such errors were not brought to the attention of the court.” Objections to the jury charge follow their own statute, covered in jury instructions and Allen charge in Georgia.

Counting the days

1. Was the conviction entered on a guilty plea or after a trial?
2. If after a trial, was a motion for new trial filed within 30 days, and when was it decided?
3. Is the 30-day appeal period still running, so that one extension can still be requested?
4. If it has expired, have fewer than 100 days passed, and which § 5-6-39.1 ground applies?
5. If the conviction was on a guilty plea, was a discretionary application filed within 30 days?

Sources

• O.C.G.A. §§ 5-6-35, 5-6-36, 5-6-38, and 5-6-39 (law.onecle.com mirror, pages last modified October 14, 2016; § 5-6-35 amended in 2023 and 2025, the others not listed as amended in the Legislative Counsel summaries for 2017 through 2026).
• O.C.G.A. § 5-5-40 and § 24-1-103 (2022 Georgia Code; § 5-5-40 amended in 2025).
• House Bill 176 (2025), LC 48 1509S/AP, as passed House and Senate, Sections 1-2, 1-3, and 2-1; Office of Legislative Counsel, Summary of General Statutes Enacted at the 2025 Session.
• Burkett v. State, 324 Ga. 415 (2026).
• Charles v. State, No. S26A1046 (Ga. Aug. 13, 2026).

General information about Georgia criminal law as of October 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.