Georgia Real Estate License Law and Commission Rules
The regulatory framework
Georgia real estate licensing is governed by O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 40 and the Rules of the Georgia Real Estate Commission, Chapter 520. The Commission licenses salespersons, associate brokers, and brokers; administers the licensing examination; investigates complaints; and may reprimand, suspend, revoke, or fine. Know your own license category: a salesperson must work under a sponsoring broker and may not accept compensation for brokerage services from anyone other than that broker.
Licensing requirements
Candidates must be at least 18, hold a high school diploma or equivalent, complete the required Commission-approved prelicense course, pass the examination, submit to a background check, and be sponsored by a licensed broker. Active licensees must maintain errors and omissions insurance as required by rule and complete continuing education each four-year renewal cycle, including a license-law component. Confirm current hour requirements with the Commission because they change.
Trust funds and records
Earnest money and other trust funds must be held in a properly designated trust account, with no commingling with the broker's own funds and no conversion. Keep transaction records and trust account records available for Commission inspection, reconcile accounts, and disburse only as authorized by the parties or a court.
Advertising and prohibited conduct
Advertising must identify the brokerage firm as licensed; a team name cannot substitute for the firm name. Prohibited conduct includes undisclosed dual agency, making a false promise likely to influence, commingling, paying a commission to an unlicensed person, and failing to disclose a personal interest. Certain persons are exempt from licensing, including attorneys acting in the practice of law and owners selling their own property, but exemptions are narrow.
Trap
A licensee who refers a client to a lender for a fee, or who accepts payment directly from a cooperating broker as a salesperson, has violated license law regardless of good intentions.