Learn how Georgia’s free FANS program can notify you when certain deeds, liens, and other property-related records are filed.

You probably get a text when someone logs into your bank account, a push notification when your card is used at an unfamiliar store, and an email the moment a password changes. We have grown used to being told when something touches the things we own.

Your house is almost certainly the largest asset you own. Yet most Georgia homeowners have no idea that the state offers a free way to be notified when certain property-related documents are filed in the official records.

That service is called FANS, short for the Filing Activity Notification System. It is run by the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority, it is voluntary, and it costs nothing. Signing up takes a few minutes and adds one more layer of visibility over an asset most people already insure, alarm, and maintain.

Here is what the program does, what it does not do, and how to get started.

What Is Georgia’s Filing Activity Notification System?

When a document affecting real estate is recorded in Georgia, it is filed and indexed by a Clerk of Superior Court. Deeds, liens, plats, and certain personal-property filings all move through that system and become part of the official record for a county.

FANS sits on top of that process. You tell the system what you want watched, and when a qualifying document is filed, indexed, and transmitted that matches the criteria you set up, the system can send you an electronic notification.

A few points worth knowing up front:

• It is provided through the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority.
• It is voluntary. Nothing happens unless you choose to set it up.
• It is free. There is no subscription and no charge for alerts.
• Notifications can arrive by email, by text message, or both.
• It is forward-looking. Notifications relate to qualifying documents filed after your notification request has been established, not to filings already on record.

You do not need to understand property law to use it. You are simply asking the system to tell you when something matching your name, your address, or your chosen criteria shows up.

Why Property Filing Alerts Matter

County property records are where ownership and financial interests in real estate are documented. A deed shows how title has moved. A lien shows that someone claims a financial interest in the property. A plat shows how land is divided and described. UCC filings can attach to certain personal property connected with real estate.

Most of what gets filed is routine and expected: a refinance, a satisfaction of mortgage, a contractor’s filing that gets released, an HOA document. An unexpected filing does not automatically mean something is wrong, and it is important not to assume the worst.

What a notification does give you is time. If a filing appears that you did not authorize and cannot explain, finding out within days instead of finding out years later at a closing table changes how much room you have to look into it.

What Can FANS Alert You About?

FANS is a notification service. It does not prevent fraudulent filings or guarantee that every filing will be detected.

Availability and matching depend on the system’s records and on the criteria you establish. Alerts rely on index information submitted by the appropriate Clerk of Superior Court, so the information may not always be comprehensive, complete, accurate, or current.

What FANS Does — and Doesn’t Do

This is the part homeowners most often get wrong, so it is worth being precise.

Think of FANS as a notification tool rather than a security lock on your title. FANS cannot prevent a fraudulent document from being recorded, but receiving an alert may help a property owner identify unexpected filing activity sooner.

How Georgia Homeowners Can Get Started

Follow the official FANS instructions as you go. Options and website functionality may change, and the site itself is always the authority on how the service works.

Received an Unexpected Property Alert? Don’t Ignore It.

Start by reading the notification carefully. Note the document type, the date, and the names involved. Many alerts turn out to be connected to activity that is entirely legitimate:

• A mortgage transaction
• A refinance
• A recently recorded deed
• A legitimate lien release
• HOA-related or contractor activity
• Another authorized filing

If the filing is genuinely unfamiliar and you cannot connect it to anything you authorized, the next step is to talk to the right professionals rather than guess. Depending on the situation, that may include:

• The relevant Clerk of Superior Court
• A Georgia real estate attorney
• A title professional
• Appropriate authorities when fraud is suspected

This article is educational and is not legal or title advice. Questions about a specific filing or a specific property belong with a licensed professional who can review the actual documents.

Who Should Consider Using FANS?

The service is broad enough that most Georgia property owners can find a reason to use it. It tends to be especially worth a few minutes for:

• Long-time homeowners, particularly those who own free and clear
• Seniors who own property
• Owners of vacant homes
• Owners of second homes
• Real estate investors
• Rental-property owners
• Owners of inherited property
• People who recently purchased a home
• Anyone who simply wants another way to monitor property-record activity

If you own property in Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Cumming, Canton, Forsyth County, or anywhere else across North Fulton and North Metro Atlanta, the program is available to you the same way it is available statewide.

A Few Minutes Today Could Give You More Visibility Tomorrow

Think about what homeowners already pay for without hesitating: homeowners insurance, security cameras, an alarm system, credit monitoring, an annual HVAC service, a roof inspection after a storm. Each one is a small, ongoing cost attached to a large asset.

Property-record monitoring fits into that same category of ordinary upkeep, except that this one is free. Setting up notifications will not protect your title, and it is not a substitute for title insurance or professional advice. What it does is give you visibility into certain filing activity you would otherwise have no practical way of seeing.

For most owners, that is a sensible trade for a few minutes on a Saturday morning.

Frequently Asked Questions