Management
Twelve state items — a quarter of the Georgia Broker Supplement — test what a broker owes as the person running a firm rather than as the person closing a deal. Bulletin 4672 prints no subtopics here, so the material is drawn from the broker-only duties in O.C.G.A. § 43-40-18 and GREC Rule 520-1-.07, plus the property and community association management rules and the 2025 legislation aimed at out-of-state landlords.
Supervision and the Broker's Defense
O.C.G.A. § 43-40-18(b) makes the broker responsible for an affiliated licensee's violations unless the broker can demonstrate all three of: reasonable procedures in place for supervising the affiliate, no participation in the violation, and no ratification of it. Subsection (c) lists ten standing duties the broker must establish, implement and continue, including reviewing all advertising, reviewing every listing, lease, sales contract, management agreement and accepted offer within 30 days of its date, systematic review of trust accounting practices, ensuring proper trust disbursements, and giving all licensed personnel written policies and procedures. Subsection (d) allows delegation but keeps responsibility with the broker for the delegate's acts.
The Firm and the Qualifying Broker
Section 43-40-18(e) fixes who may qualify a firm: a sole proprietorship must be owned entirely by a licensed broker; a partnership's qualifying broker must be a partner; a limited partnership's must be the general partner; a limited liability company's must be a member or a manager where management is vested in managers; a corporation's must be an officer. In every case the broker must have signatory powers on all trust accounts the firm maintains. If the qualifying broker dies, resigns or is discharged unexpectedly, GREC Rule 520-1-.07(3) gives the firm 60 days to secure a replacement or stop all brokerage activity, and requires it meanwhile to designate a partner, member or officer to sign filings and disburse trust funds.
Support Personnel and Transferring Licensees
Rule 520-1-.07(6) sets task guidelines for unlicensed support personnel. They may answer the phone, submit listing data, assemble closing documents, install lockboxes, place signs, and record and deposit earnest money, security deposits and rents. They may not show real estate, host open houses, discuss amenities with a prospect, answer questions on title, financing or closing beyond time and place, negotiate any fee, or collect or hold deposit monies. When a licensee asks to be released, Rule 520-1-.07(5)(b) requires the broker to sign immediately; a compensation dispute is expressly not grounds to refuse, though the departing licensee still must account for listings, keys and records, and may not contact the firm's clients under an existing engagement without written approval.
Property and Community Association Management
Rule 520-1-.06(2) lists nine terms every written property management agreement must contain, among them how and when income is remitted, written statements of income and expenses at least annually, which expenses the broker pays to third parties and how they are funded, whether the broker or the owner holds security deposits and prepaid rents, and the terms for termination by either side. Rule 520-1-.08(4) requires enough money credited to an owner's or association's account before a bill is paid from it, security deposits clearly credited to the tenant with the account balance always equal to their total, and no bond in lieu of a trust account for a licensee managing property he owns. A broker providing community association management must carry a fidelity bond or fidelity insurance unless the broker at no time handles more than $60,000 of association funds; where required, coverage must be at least three months' assessments plus required reserves, name the association as an additional named insured, and give 30 days' notice before cancellation (Rule 520-1-.06(3), O.C.G.A. § 43-40-22.1).
Out-of-State Landlords: House Bill 399 (2025)
Effective July 1, 2025, O.C.G.A. § 44-7-25(a) requires any landlord who is not a Georgia resident and who owns or operates single-family or duplex residential rental property in the state to employ a broker licensed under Chapter 40 of Title 43; if that broker does not reside in Georgia, the broker must employ at least one person located in Georgia responsible for receiving, coordinating, managing and responding to tenant communications about maintenance and other issues. Subsection (b) switches off the owner-management exemptions in § 43-40-29(a)(7) and (a)(8) for those landlords, so the self-management route is closed to them. The same Act amended § 36-74-30(b) so that a tenant must give a code enforcement officer the name, license number and contact information of a licensed property manager, while leaving intact the bar on local governments requiring registration of residential rental property.
Broker Continuing Education
For renewals on or after July 1, 2025, GREC Rule 520-1-.05(1)(f) requires a broker or associate broker to complete at least 18 hours of continuing education on broker education topics during each renewal period. Those 18 hours sit inside the 36 hours required of every active licensee by Rule 520-1-.05(1)(d), and the 3-hour license law requirement in (1)(e) is unchanged. Rule 520-2-.04(6)(g) defines a qualifying course: minimum three credit hours, and subject matter limited to training licensees, supervising licensees, reviewing brokerage agreements, and managing a firm. Note that the copy of Chapter 520-1 published on rules.sos.ga.gov has not been updated to show paragraph (1)(f); GREC's own adopted-rule document and its education requirements page are the current authority.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Georgia Real Estate Commission (GREC)
- Exam vendor
- PSI
- Prelicensing education
- 60-hour GREC-approved Brokers Prelicense Course (or a qualifying college/law-school or out-of-state equivalent)
Who regulates real estate brokers in Georgia?
The Georgia Real Estate Commission (GREC) licenses brokers, associate brokers, salespersons, and community association managers under O.C.G.A. Title 43-40. GREC contracts with PSI to deliver the licensing exams statewide.
What experience do I need before the Georgia broker exam?
Under O.C.G.A. § 43-40-8(c) and GREC Rule 520-1-.04(5)(b), a broker applicant must be at least 21, be a high school graduate or equivalent, and have held a license in active status for at least three of the five years immediately preceding the application. The education requirement can be met by the 60-hour Brokers Prelicense Course, by qualifying college or law-school coursework, or by 60 hours of approved prelicense coursework from another state or Canadian province.
How is the Georgia broker exam structured?
PSI bulletin 4672 gives the broker examination a 75-item national portion plus a 48-item Georgia Broker Supplement: State Laws and Rules (31 items), Management (12 items), and Closing and Calculations (5 items). The national broker portion is scenario-based — items carry more than four options and each option is weighted zero, one, or two points, so you pick the BEST answer rather than the only right one. The bulletin publishes no time limit and no numeric passing score for the broker exam; GREC Rule 520-1-.04(3)(a) says the passing score is set psychometrically and published before the exam is given.
Sources: https://grec.state.ga.us, https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/4672, https://rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/520-1
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