Property Management Licensing Requirements In Georgia

Third-party property management in Georgia is regulated activity: before a company can lease units, collect rent, or manage properties on behalf of an owner for compensation, it needs to understand exactly who must hold a license, what that license requires, and how client money has to be handled once the business is operating. This guide covers both, with the statute or agency rule behind each requirement.

Who Needs A License To Manage Property

Georgia requires a real estate broker's license, issued by the Georgia Real Estate Commission (GREC), for anyone who manages property, collects rents, or provides community association management for others for compensation. The statutory definition of a broker in O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 40 expressly covers property management and rent collection, and the exemptions in O.C.G.A. 43-40-29 are narrow (chiefly owners and their regular employees). A 2025 law (HB 399) goes further and forces out-of-state owners of single-family and duplex rentals to hire a Georgia-licensed broker. Georgia also has a separate community association manager (CAM) license category.

• Georgia's license law defines a broker to include any person who, for another and for a fee or other valuable consideration, collects rents or other trust funds or performs property management or community association management services, so third-party property management requires a GREC license. (O.C.G.A. 43-40-1)
• GREC states that if an individual performs brokerage activities for a fee in Georgia, including locating tenants for rental properties or performing property management services, and does not fall within the exceptions of O.C.G.A. 43-40-29, the person must be licensed by the Commission; unlicensed activity can lead to fines or sanctions and is also a criminal misdemeanor. (O.C.G.A. 43-40-29; O.C.G.A. 43-40-30)
• The license-law exemptions cover an owner, the owner's spouse or family member, or the owner's regular employees performing acts with reference to property owned or leased by that owner in the regular course of managing the property, plus a community association member who provides management services only to the one association of which they are a member. (O.C.G.A. 43-40-29(a)(1) and (a)(12))
• Effective for 2025, any landlord that is not a Georgia resident and owns or operates single-family or duplex residential rentals in Georgia must employ a Georgia-licensed broker; if that broker does not reside in Georgia, the broker must employ at least one person located in the state who is responsible for receiving, coordinating, managing, and responding to tenant communications about maintenance and related issues. (O.C.G.A. 44-7-25 (created by HB 399, 2025))
• HB 399 also provides that the owner-related exemptions in O.C.G.A. 43-40-29(a)(7) and (a)(8) do not apply to out-of-state landlords of single-family or duplex rentals, closing the self-management loophole for those owners. (O.C.G.A. 44-7-25(b))
• To renew an active license, a Georgia licensee must complete 36 instructional hours of continuing education during the renewal period, including at least 3 hours on the topic of license law. (GREC Rule 520-1-.05(1)(d) and (e); O.C.G.A. 43-40-8)
• Effective July 1, 2025, any broker or associate broker renewing an active Georgia license must have completed at least 18 hours of continuing education on the topic of broker education during each renewal period. (GREC Rule 520-1-.05(1)(f))
• Georgia real estate licenses, including community association manager licenses, operate on a four-year renewal cycle administered by GREC. (GREC Rule 520-1-.04)

Client Trust Account Requirements

Georgia brokers who hold client money, including rents and security deposits, must keep it in a separate, federally insured trust (escrow) account registered with GREC. Rule 520-1-.08 and O.C.G.A. 43-40-20 require registration of each account within one month of opening, monthly reconciliation, clear accounting records open to Commission inspection, and prompt delivery of funds by licensees to their broker. A broker may not treat trust funds as commission income until the underlying transaction is consummated or terminated.

• Trust funds include down payments, earnest money deposits, security deposits, rents, association fees, or other funds received in a real estate brokerage transaction; generally any funds that could be returned or refunded or that belong to others must be maintained in a separate, federally insured account designated as a trust or escrow account. (GREC Rule 520-1-.08)
• A broker must notify the Commission of the name of the financial institution and the account name or number for each trust account, and this notification must be made within one month of opening each trust account; a broker may maintain more than one trust account. (O.C.G.A. 43-40-20; GREC Rule 520-1-.08(1)(a))
• A broker is not entitled to any part of earnest money, a security deposit, or other trust funds paid to the broker in connection with a real estate transaction as part or all of the broker's commission or fee until the transaction has been consummated or terminated. (O.C.G.A. 43-40-20; GREC Rule 520-1-.08)
• A broker who does not accept trust funds is not required to maintain a designated trust account, but if such a broker later receives trust funds, the broker must open the designated trust account within one business day of receipt and register it with the Commission within one month. (O.C.G.A. 43-40-20)
• A broker must maintain clear records of the accounting of trust funds, reconcile the trust account monthly, and provide access to those records to the Commission upon request. (GREC Rule 520-1-.08)
• A licensee must place all cash, checks, or other items of value received in a brokerage capacity into the custody of the broker holding the licensee's license as soon after receipt as is practicably possible; licensees may not deposit such funds into their own accounts. (GREC Rule 520-1-.08)
• When registering a trust account, the firm certifies that the account is federally insured and used only for the deposit of funds of others in real estate brokerage transactions, and authorizes the Commission to examine any of the firm's escrow or trust accounts at such times as it may direct. (O.C.G.A. 43-40-20(f) and (h))
• Depending on the level of trust funds held, a broker providing property management or community association management services may need to maintain a fidelity bond or insurance policy. (GREC Rule 520-1-.06; O.C.G.A. 43-40-1)

Holding a license is the entry requirement; keeping client trust accounts clean is what actually determines whether a Georgia management company stays in business. A trust shortage is a licensing problem, not just a bookkeeping one, so the habits that keep a company compliant are the same ones that keep it audit-ready: deposit on time, never mix operating and client money, and reconcile every account every month. Our guide to preparing for a trust account audit walks through what examiners actually ask for.

Staying Licensed And Compliant

Requirements change over time, education hours get updated, and license periods renew on a fixed schedule, so this is worth a periodic check against the current rule rather than a one-time read. This guide is a starting point for professional managers, not legal advice. For a specific licensing question, confirm the current requirements directly with the Georgia real estate regulator.

Sources

Every fact above is drawn from one of the official sources below.

• O.C.G.A. 43-40-1, Georgia Real Estate Commission (GREC RENews, August 2021)
• O.C.G.A. 43-40-29(a)(1) and (a)(12), Office of the Governor of Georgia (HB 399 as signed, 2025)
• GREC Rule 520-1-.05(1)(d) and (e); O.C.G.A. 43-40-8, Georgia Real Estate Commission (Rule 520-1-.05)
• GREC Rule 520-1-.04, Georgia Real Estate Commission (Real Estate Education in Georgia manual)
• GREC Rule 520-1-.08, Georgia Real Estate Commission (GREC RENews, April 2021)
• O.C.G.A. 43-40-20(f) and (h), Georgia Real Estate Commission (Trust Account Registration Form)