What Happens to Public Notices When the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Goes Digital-Only?
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) recently announced it will end its print edition on December 31, 2025, becoming a fully digital publication starting in 2026. That’s a major milestone for Georgia media — but it raises an important question: what does this mean for legal notices and the AJC’s status as a “legal organ”?
Georgia’s Public Notice Rules
Under Georgia Code § 9-13-142, each county must designate a legal organ — the official newspaper that publishes required public notices like foreclosures, tax sales, and probate filings.
To qualify, a paper must:
- Be a printed product, multiple pages in length.
- Publish weekly for at least two years.
- Maintain paid circulation (not free distribution).
- Keep its advertising content under 75% of most issues.
If a paper stops printing, it no longer qualifies. That’s exactly what Fulton County decided in 2023, when its prior legal organ lost standing after going digital-only.
What This Means for the AJC
When the AJC goes digital-only in 2026, it will no longer meet the statutory definition of a legal organ. That means:
- The AJC cannot continue publishing official public notices under current law.
- Counties currently using the AJC will need to designate a new legal organ that still meets print requirements.
- Governments, law firms, and businesses will have to shift their notices elsewhere.
Could the Law Change?
There have been rumblings about modernizing Georgia’s law to allow digital-only newspapers to qualify. Bills in recent years have tweaked fees and circulation standards, but no change has been made yet to allow online-only publications to serve as legal organs.
Unless legislators act, Georgia will remain a print-first state, even as major papers like the AJC move digital.
Bottom Line
The AJC’s move to digital-only is historic, but under current Georgia law it means the paper will lose its ability to run legal notices. For now, public notices in Georgia remain tied to print newspapers — a reminder that while journalism is going digital, the law hasn’t quite caught up.
 recently announced it will end its print edition on December 31, 2025, becoming a fully digital publication starting in 2026. That’s a major milestone for Georgia media — but it raises an important question: what does this mean for legal notices and the AJC’s status as a “legal organ”? Georgia’s Public Notice Rules Under Georgia Code § 9-13-142, each county must designate a legal organ — the […])
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