1.1 Georgia Real Estate Commission (GREC) Overview
Key Takeaways
- The Georgia Real Estate Commission (GREC) regulates licensees under O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 40 and the Chapter 520 administrative rules.
- GREC has six members appointed by the Governor: five active brokers (5+ years licensed) and one consumer member, serving staggered five-year terms.
- GREC may issue, suspend, and revoke licenses, investigate complaints, and issue citations carrying fines up to $1,000 per violation.
- Georgia requires 75 hours of GREC-approved pre-license education before sitting for the PSI-administered salesperson exam.
- The salesperson exam has 152 questions (100 national + 52 state), a 4-hour limit, and requires 75% on each section to pass.
Georgia Real Estate Commission (GREC)
The Georgia Real Estate Commission (GREC) is the independent state agency that licenses and regulates real estate brokers, salespersons, and community association managers. GREC administers the Georgia Real Estate License Law, codified at O.C.G.A. (Official Code of Georgia Annotated) Title 43, Chapter 40, and its detailed administrative rules at Chapter 520 of the Georgia Rules and Regulations.
Commission Structure
GREC is governed by a six-member Commission appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate:
| Member Type | Number | Qualifications |
|---|---|---|
| Active Licensed Brokers | 5 | Georgia broker for at least 5 years |
| Consumer Member | 1 | Not licensed in real estate |
Members serve staggered five-year terms, so seats turn over on a rotating basis to preserve institutional continuity. The Commission elects a chairperson and vice-chairperson from among its members and hires a Real Estate Commissioner as the chief administrative officer who runs day-to-day operations.
Statutory Powers
GREC's authority falls into four buckets the exam tests repeatedly:
- Licensing — issue, renew, transfer, place on inactive status, suspend, and revoke licenses.
- Education — approve schools, instructors, and pre-license, post-license, and continuing-education courses.
- Enforcement — investigate complaints, subpoena records, issue citations, and refer matters for formal hearing.
- Rulemaking — adopt and amend the Chapter 520 rules that interpret the License Law.
Exam trap: GREC does not resolve commission disputes between brokers, set commission rates, or adjudicate private contract claims. Those are civil court or arbitration matters. The exam loves answer choices that hand GREC powers it does not have.
The Recovery Fund
GREC administers the Real Estate Education, Research, and Recovery Fund. A consumer who wins a court judgment against a licensee for fraud, misrepresentation, or conversion of trust funds — and cannot collect — may apply to the Fund. Payment is capped at $25,000 per transaction, regardless of how many people were harmed. When the Fund pays on a licensee's behalf, that licensee's license is automatically revoked and cannot be reinstated until the Fund is fully repaid with interest.
Citations and Penalties
For lower-level violations GREC may issue a citation rather than holding a full hearing. A citation can carry a fine of up to $1,000 per violation, with a $5,000 maximum for multiple violations grouped in a single citation. More serious conduct — fraud, trust-fund conversion, repeated violations — goes to a formal hearing where GREC may suspend or revoke the license.
Worked scenario: A salesperson runs an ad that omits the brokerage's name. GREC issues a $500 citation. The salesperson pays it; no hearing occurs and the matter is closed administratively. Had the same licensee instead spent escrow money on personal expenses, GREC would pursue a formal hearing, likely revoke the license, and could trigger a Recovery Fund claim by the harmed party.
Where Georgia Law Lives
The exam expects you to know where rules originate, because investigators and answer choices cite specific authorities:
| Authority | What It Contains |
|---|---|
| O.C.G.A. § 43-40 | The statute — the Georgia Real Estate License Law passed by the legislature |
| Chapter 520 Rules | GREC's administrative rules interpreting and applying the statute |
| Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act (BRRETA) | Agency duties, disclosure, and brokerage-relationship rules (O.C.G.A. § 10-6A) |
When the statute and a rule appear to conflict, the statute controls — a GREC rule can never enlarge or contradict the License Law, only implement it.
Disciplinary Spectrum
GREC's enforcement is graduated, and the exam tests the order of severity:
- Letter of findings / reprimand — lowest, often paired with remedial education.
- Citation with fine — up to $1,000 per violation, $5,000 per citation.
- Suspension — license temporarily inactive for a set period.
- Revocation — license cancelled; reapplication generally barred for years.
GREC may also require additional education as a condition of keeping or regaining a license. Procedurally, a licensee accused of a serious violation is entitled to notice and a hearing under the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act before a license is suspended or revoked — due process the exam contrasts with the streamlined, no-hearing citation track.
Exam tip: Memorize the two dollar figures together — $1,000 per violation and $5,000 per citation for the citation track, versus the $25,000 per transaction cap on the Recovery Fund. The exam routinely swaps these three numbers among answer choices to see whether you can tell an administrative fine from a consumer-recovery payment.
GREC Contact and Logistics
For the practical questions, GREC maintains a single statewide office and an online licensing portal where applicants and licensees handle renewals, transfers, and address changes. Fingerprint-based background checks are processed through GREC's approved vendor, and exam scheduling is handled separately through PSI, not GREC directly. Knowing that the regulator (GREC) and the exam vendor (PSI) are distinct bodies prevents a common exam mistake — the Commission does not proctor the test or set the daily exam schedule.
How many members serve on the Georgia Real Estate Commission, and how are they composed?
A consumer wins a $40,000 court judgment against a licensee for fraud but cannot collect. What is the maximum the Real Estate Education, Research, and Recovery Fund will pay on that single transaction?
Which action is OUTSIDE the statutory authority of the Georgia Real Estate Commission?