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Jerry von Thomas was convicted of a felony and sentenced to a term of imprisonment, and because he previously had been convicted of three other felonies, he was sentenced pursuant to OCGA § 17-10-7 c as a recidivist. Years later, von Thomas moved the sentencing court to vacate his sentence, claiming that he should not have been sentenced as a recidivist because he was denied the assistance of counsel in connection with one of his prior convictions. The sentencing court denied his motion on the merits, and the Court of Appeals affirmed, also on the merits. Thomas v. State, 317 Ga. App. 696 732 SE2d 780 2012. The sentencing court, however, had jurisdiction of the motion only to the extent that von Thomas presented a cognizable claim that his sentence was void. We granted certiorari to consider whether von Thomas presented any such claim, and we conclude that he did not. For that reason, his motion should have been dismissed for want of jurisdiction, and no court should have reached the merits. Accordingly, we vacate the decision of the Court of Appeals and remand for the motion to be dismissed.

1. In August 2006, von Thomas entered a plea of guilty on an accusation by which he was charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine. The State previously had given notice of its intent to seek a recidivist sentence pursuant to OCGA § 17-10-7 c, which then provided as follows:

 
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