TITLE 44 PROPERTY

Section 2. Recordation and Registration of Deeds and Other Instruments, 44-2-1 through 44-2-253.

ARTICLE 2 LAND REGISTRATION

44-2-136. Cancellation of mortgage, lien, equity, or lis pendens; entry of cancellation on title register and certificate; procedure upon refusal to authorize cancellation.

1. Voluntary cancellations may be made of any mortgage, certificate of indebtedness, or any lien, equity, encumbrance, lis pendens, or other similar matter relating to registered land or any interest therein and may be entered by the clerk upon the title register and the owner's certificate. The entry, notation, or registry of such cancellation may be made upon the written authority of the person for whose benefit the original registration, notation, or entry was made or upon the written authority of his personal representative or his lawful assignee, in a form substantially in compliance with that prescribed in this article, and attested by any officer authorized to attest deeds; alternatively, it may be made upon order of the judge. In case of a creditor's certificate the same shall also be surrendered and canceled. Notations of delinquent taxes or assessments may be canceled upon the production of a certificate of the proper tax officer showing that such taxes or assessments have been paid.
2. If the holder of the mortgage, certificate of indebtedness, or any lien, equity, encumbrance, lis pendens, or other similar matter relating to the registered land or any interest therein refuses to give the requisite authority for the cancellation thereof if and when the debt has been paid or no longer exists or when it is no longer legal and equitable that the registered title should be encumbered by the same, any person adversely affected may petition the court for an involuntary cancellation of the same. In such case, the judge shall cause a rule nisi to be served upon such holder requiring him or her to show cause on a day set, which day shall be not less than 30 days from the date the rule was served, why the mortgage, certificate of indebtedness, lien, or other encumbrance on the registered title should not be canceled. The petition and rule nisi shall be served personally on such holder at least 15 days before the date set for the hearing if such service be practical; but, when it is made to appear to the court that personal service cannot be practically effected, the judge may pass an order providing how the service shall be made. In case the holder is not a resident of this state or is unknown, service by publication shall be made upon the order of the judge in the manner prescribed in Code Section 9-11-4. In case of minors and persons of unsound mind, guardians ad litem shall be appointed. If any issue of fact as to the right of the petition to have the cancellation made appears, such issue shall, upon demand of either party, be tried by jury, with right of the judge to grant a new trial. If it appears that the registered title should be freed from the encumbrance, the court shall decree accordingly and order the cancellation noted upon the certificate of title. The judge shall have power by attachment for contempt, if necessary, to compel the holder of the mortgage certificate of indebtedness or other instrument to surrender it for cancellation.

(Ga. L. 1917, p. 108, § 62; Code 1933, § 60-418; Ga. L. 1943, p. 326, § 1; Ga. L. 2016, p. 883, § 3-11/HB 927.)

The 2016 amendment, effective January 1, 2017, in subsection (b), inserted "or her" in the second sentence, substituted "but, when" for "but, where" in the third sentence, and deleted the former last sentence, which read: "The Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction for the correction of errors in the trial court.". See Editor's notes for applicability.