Georgia Auctioneer License Law: Structure, Licensing, and Prohibited Practice
Georgia's auction profession is governed by the Auctioneers statute within O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 6, together with the rules of the Georgia Auctioneers Commission, which is administered through the Professional Licensing Boards Division of the Secretary of State. Begin with the licensing architecture, because most exam items turn on it: the statute licenses individuals (auctioneer) and business entities (auction company) separately, and a company must have a designated licensed auctioneer responsible for its auction activity. An individual license does not authorize a company to conduct business, and an unlicensed person may not call bids, solicit consignments for compensation, or hold out as an auctioneer.
Know the eligibility chain: minimum age, fitness and character, completion of an approved auction education program, examination, and any experience or apprenticeship component the Commission currently requires. Nonresident applicants may qualify through reciprocity, but only where the other jurisdiction's standards have been recognized as comparable.
Traps cluster around exemptions and status changes. Statutory exemptions (for example, judicially ordered and governmental sales) are read narrowly; a private consignment of household goods is not exempt. A lapsed or suspended license means unlicensed practice even if reinstatement remains available. Assisting an unlicensed caller, or letting an unlicensed clerk take bids, is generally charged to the licensee.
Rule of thumb: before any event, answer "who is licensed for what?" - the individual, the company, and any branch or additional location.
Worked example: a licensed auctioneer forms an LLC and runs an online-only estate sale. Because the entity is conducting auctions, it needs an auction company license with the individual designated; the individual's license alone is insufficient, and online format changes nothing.