FREE Georgia Real Estate Exam Study Guide 2026: State & National

This free Georgia real estate exam study guide covers both portions of the Georgia salesperson licensing exam — the Georgia state-specific law tested by the Georgia Real Estate Commission and the national/general principles tested across the country.^[1]Georgia’s state portion has distinctive law — BRRETA agency, security deeds, attorney closings — so we teach it first.

The exam is administered by PSI as 152 questions in one session — a 100-question national portion and a 52-question Georgia portion, each needing 75% to pass.^[4] It’s interactive, not a wall of text: every area has a built-in checkpoint quiz, hover-able glossary terms, worked math examples, and concept questions.

Read the guide area by area, test yourself at each checkpoint, then round out your free prep with our Georgia practice questions and flashcards. Two areas reward the most study time on the state side: GREC license law and trust accounts and BRRETA agency and disclosure.

Georgia Real Estate Exam Snapshot

Confirm the current question counts, fees, and education rules with GREC and PSI before you test — Georgia updates its outlines periodically.^[1][4] The weighting below reflects the published Georgia state-portion emphasis; license law and the GREC Rules dominate it:

Treat the percentages as a planning guide — GREC weights the state portion toward license law, agency, and trust-account rules.^[4] This guide teaches the Georgia state law first, then all eight national content areas, each ending in a checkpoint quiz.

1 · GREC, License Law & the Recovery Fund (Georgia)

The heart of the Georgia portion. Who regulates real estate in Georgia, how you become and stay licensed, the GREC Rules a salesperson must follow, and the Recovery Fund that protects the public.^[2]

GREC & O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 40

The Georgia Real Estate Commission regulates licensees under O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 40. GREC has six members — five active licensees and one consumer member — appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, plus a Real Estate Commissionerwho directs staff and issues orders. Don’t confuse GREC with the Georgia Association of REALTORS® (GAR), a private trade group.

Georgia Licensing & Education

To be licensed, a salesperson completes a 75-hour GREC-approved pre-license course, must be at least 18 years old and a high school graduate (or equivalent), passes the two-portion PSI exam, and submits a background report.^[1] Within the first year, the new licensee must finish a 25-hour postlicense course or the license lapses. A salesperson always works under a sponsoring broker and is paid through that broker — never directly by a client.

GREC Rules & Trust Accounts

The GREC Rules (Chapter 520) implement the statute — covering education, advertising, recordkeeping, conduct, and trust (broker) accounts. Under GREC Rule 520-1-.08, a broker must deposit earnest money into the designated trust account as soon after receipt as practicably possible, reconcile it monthly, and keep records for at least three years. Comminglingclient funds with the broker’s own is a violation.

Discipline & the Recovery Fund

Under O.C.G.A. 43-40-25, GREC may censure, fine (up to \$1,000 per violation, generally capped at \$5,000 in one proceeding), suspend, or revoke a license. The Real Estate Education, Research, and Recovery Fund compensates the public for an uncollectible judgment against a licensee for fraud or conversion — up to \$25,000 per claim and \$75,000 per licensee.^[2] When the Fund pays, GREC revokes the license until the Fund is repaid with interest.

2 · Georgia Agency (BRRETA) & Disclosure

The most distinctively Georgia material.How agency works under BRRETA, the duties a broker owes a client versus a customer, dual and designated agency, and Georgia’s disclosure rules and transfer tax.^[3]

BRRETA: Clients, Customers & Duties

BRRETA (O.C.G.A. Chapter 10-6A) replaces common-law agency with statutory relationships. A client is represented in an agency capacity under a brokerage engagement and is owed full duties; a customer receives only ministerial acts with no agency relationship — owed honesty and disclosure of known latent defects. This client/customer distinction is heavily tested.

Dual Agency & Designated Agency

Under O.C.G.A. 10-6A-12, a broker may act as a dual agent only with the prior written consent of all clients; the consent must describe the transaction and disclose the adverse interests. As an alternative, the broker may use a designated agent — assigning separate licensees in the firm to each client so neither acts as a true dual agent.

Georgia Disclosure & Stigmatized Property

A licensee must disclose known latent defectsthat materially affect the property. But Georgia’s stigmatized-property statute (O.C.G.A. 44-1-16) provides that a death, felony, or a prior occupant’s disease (such as HIV/AIDS) is not a material fact the seller or licensee must volunteer — and a licensee may decline to answer such a question without liability.

Georgia Fair Housing & Transfer Tax

The Georgia Fair Housing Act (O.C.G.A. Title 8, Chapter 3) mirrors the federal protected classes and is enforced by the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity. At closing, the Georgia transfer tax applies: \$1.00 for the first \$1,000 of price plus \$0.10 per additional \$100 — effectively \$1 per \$1,000 — and the seller is primarily liable.^[5]

3 · Property, Legal Descriptions & Land Use

National content area.What real property is, the estates and rights an owner can hold, the government’s powers over land, and how land is legally described.^[9]

Estates & the Bundle of Rights

Real property is land, everything permanently attached to it (including fixtures), and the bundle of rights. The largest estate is fee simple — absolute and inheritable. Use the MARIA tests (Method of attachment, Adaptability, Relationship, Intention, Agreement) to tell a fixture from personal property.

Government Powers & Encumbrances

Even fee simple is limited by four government powers, remembered as PETE: police power (zoning, codes), eminent domain (with just compensation), taxation, and escheat. An encumbrance — a lien, easement, or deed restriction — limits title.

Legal Descriptions

Methods describe land precisely: metes and bounds (the dominant method for older Georgia land), the rectangular (government) survey system, and lot-and-block. One acre is 43,560 square feet. Georgia also has its own historic land-lot and district survey system in many counties.

4 · Ownership, Title Transfer & Recording

National content area. How people co-own property in Georgia, how a deed transfers title, and how recording protects ownership.^[9]

Forms of Ownership in Georgia

The key difference is the right of survivorship. Joint tenancy has it (and in Georgia the survivorship intent must be clearly expressed in the deed); a tenancy in common does not, so each share passes by will. Georgia is not a community-property state, so married couples commonly take title as tenants in common or joint tenants with survivorship.

Deeds, Security Deeds & Recording

A deed conveys title from grantor to grantee. The general warranty deed gives the most protection; a quitclaim deed gives none.

Title passes on delivery and acceptance, but recording at the Clerk of Superior Court gives constructive notice. In Georgia, a lender takes a security deed (deed to secure debt) rather than a mortgage. Title insurance protects against prior defects.

5 · Property Value & Appraisal

National content area.What creates value, the three approaches an appraiser uses, and how a licensee’s CMA differs from a formal appraisal.^[9]

Value Principles

Market value is the most probable price under fair conditions — an opinion, distinct from the actual market price. The basis of value is highest and best use: the legal, possible, feasible, and most profitable use of a site. A CMA helps price a listing; a formal appraisal is an impartial USPAP-compliant opinion by a licensed appraiser.

The Three Approaches to Value

An appraiser estimates value three ways, then reconciles them — weighing the indications, not averaging — into one final opinion.

6 · Contracts & Agency (National)

A large national area. What makes a contract valid, the kinds of listing agreements, and the fiduciary duties at the heart of agency.^[9]

Contract Law & Listings

A valid contract needs mutual agreement, consideration, legal purpose, and competent parties — and, for real estate, writing under the statute of frauds. A missing essential element makes it void; a defect like a minor’s signature makes it voidable.

Agency & Fiduciary Duties

Agency is a fiduciary relationship between agent and principal. The duties are OLD CAR: Obedience, Loyalty, Disclosure, Confidentiality, Accounting, and Reasonable care. In Georgia these national duties are layered on top of BRRETA’s statutory framework.

7 · Real Estate Practice & Fair Housing

National content area. Fair housing, handling client money, and the leasing work a licensee does day to day.^[6]

Fair Housing

The Fair Housing Act (1968) bans discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability — seven federal protected classes.^[6] The Georgia Fair Housing Act mirrors these classes and is enforced through the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity. The classic violations are steering, blockbusting, and redlining.

Trust Funds, Leases & Conduct

A broker must keep client funds — like earnest money — in a separate trust account; commingling is a violation. Commission rates are always negotiable, and fixing them with competitors is an antitrust violation. A lease conveys the right to use property for a term in exchange for rent (landlord = lessor, tenant = lessee); Georgia residential leases are governed by Georgia landlord-tenant law (O.C.G.A. Title 44).

8 · Disclosures & Environmental Issues

National content area. What a seller and agent must reveal, and the environmental hazards the exam expects you to recognize.^[8]

Material Facts & Property Disclosure

A material fact— anything that would affect a buyer’s decision or price — must be disclosed, including known latent defects. In Georgia the seller commonly uses a seller’s property disclosure form, but the stigmatized-property statutemeans a death, felony, or a prior occupant’s disease is not a material fact that must be volunteered.

Environmental Hazards

The most heavily tested federal rule is the lead-based paint disclosure: for housing built before 1978, the seller must disclose known lead paint, give the EPA pamphlet, and (for sales) allow a 10-day inspection window.^[8]

9 · Financing & Settlement

National content area, with key Georgia differences. The instruments that secure a loan, how Georgia forecloses, the main loan types, and what happens at closing.^[7]

Security Deeds, Notes & Foreclosure

Georgia is a security-deed (title-theory) state: the borrower conveys title to the lender until the loan is repaid. On default the lender uses foreclosure by power of sale— a non-judicial foreclosure by advertisement, faster than a judicial action. The promissory note is the borrower’s promise to repay.

Loan Types, Lending Laws & Closing

Three loan types anchor the exam — conventional, FHA, and VA — and the loan-to-value ratio measures lender risk. Two federal laws govern disclosure: RESPA requires settlement-cost disclosures and bans kickbacks, and TILA requires disclosing the cost of credit, including the APR.^[7] In Georgia, a licensed attorney conducts the closing, disburses funds, and records the deed.

10 · Real Estate Math

Tested on both portions. A handful of formulas cover almost every calculation: area, commission, seller net, loan-to-value, taxes, proration, and the Georgia transfer tax.^[5]

Area, Commission & Net

Area of a rectangle is length × width; convert square feet to acres by dividing by 43,560. Commission = sale price × rate. To find the price for a target seller net, divide the net by (1 − rate).

LTV, Taxes & Proration

LTV is loan ÷ value. Proration splits taxes, rent, and interest by the days each party owns the property — the seller is usually charged through the closing date. Georgia exam math problems will specify whether to use a 360-day or 365-day year and who owns the closing day.

How to Use This Study Guide

A study guide is a map, not the whole territory — pair it with our free Georgia practice questions and flashcards. Because Georgia’s state portion is distinctive, lead with GREC license law and trust accounts and BRRETA agency, then layer in the national content areas and lock in the math.

Georgia Real Estate Glossary

Quick definitions for the terms you’ll see most across the Georgia real estate exam:

Acre

A unit of land area equal to 43,560 square feet.

Agency

A fiduciary relationship in which an agent represents a principal in dealings with third parties.

Appraisal

An impartial, supported opinion of value prepared by a licensed appraiser as of a specific date, following USPAP.

Attorney closing

Georgia requires a licensed Georgia attorney to conduct the real estate closing, examine title, and prepare the closing documents.

Brokerage engagement

The contract (such as a listing or buyer agency agreement) that creates a client relationship between a broker and a consumer under BRRETA.

BRRETA

The Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act (O.C.G.A. Chapter 10-6A) — Georgia's statute defining agency relationships, clients, customers, and the duties a broker owes.

Bundle of rights

The rights that come with ownership: possession, use (enjoyment), exclusion, disposition (transfer), and control.

Capitalization rate

The rate of return on an income property: net operating income ÷ value. A higher cap rate implies more risk and lower value.

Client (BRRETA)

Under BRRETA, a person represented by a broker in an agency capacity under a brokerage engagement, owed full statutory duties of loyalty, confidentiality, and care.

Commingling

Improperly mixing a client's trust funds with the broker's own or business funds — a license-law violation under O.C.G.A. 43-40-20.

Comparative market analysis (CMA)

A licensee's estimate of value from recent comparable sales, used to help price a listing — not a formal appraisal.

Contingency

A condition that must be met for a contract to become binding, such as financing, inspection, or appraisal contingencies.

Continuing education (CE)

Georgia requires 36 hours of GREC-approved CE — including a 3-hour Georgia License Law course — during each four-year license renewal period.

Contract

A legally enforceable agreement between competent parties to do or refrain from doing a lawful act.

Customer (BRRETA)

A person for whom a broker performs only ministerial acts without an agency relationship; owed honesty, fair dealing, and disclosure of known latent defects.

Designated agent

Two licensees in the same Georgia firm, each appointed by the broker to represent a different client in the same transaction, so neither acts as a true dual agent.

Dual agency

One broker representing both buyer and seller in a transaction; in Georgia, lawful only with the prior written consent of all clients under O.C.G.A. 10-6A-12.

Earnest money

A buyer's good-faith deposit showing serious intent; held in the broker's trust account and usually applied to the price at closing.

Easement

A nonpossessory right to use another's land for a specific purpose, such as a driveway or utility line.

Eminent domain

Government's power to take private property for public use through condemnation, paying the owner just compensation.

Encumbrance

Any claim, lien, charge, or right that limits an owner's title — liens, easements, encroachments, and deed restrictions.

Escheat

The reversion of property to the state when an owner dies with no will and no legal heirs.

Fair Housing Act

The 1968 federal law prohibiting housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability.

Fee simple

The most complete form of ownership — absolute, of unlimited duration, and freely transferable by deed or will. Also called fee simple absolute.

Fiduciary duties

The duties an agent owes the principal — Obedience, Loyalty, Disclosure, Confidentiality, Accounting, and Reasonable care (OLD CAR).

Fixture

An item of personal property attached to real property so as to become part of it and transfer with the land. The MARIA tests decide whether an item is a fixture.

Foreclosure by power of sale

Georgia's non-judicial foreclosure: under the security deed's power-of-sale clause, the lender forecloses by advertisement and public sale without a court action.

General warranty deed

The deed giving the most protection; the grantor warrants clear title against all defects, even those arising before the grantor's ownership.

Georgia Real Estate Commission (GREC)

The Georgia state agency that licenses and regulates real estate salespersons, brokers, and community association managers under O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 40. It has six members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.

Georgia transfer tax

Under O.C.G.A. 48-6-1, a tax of $1.00 for the first $1,000 of consideration plus $0.10 per additional $100 — effectively $1 per $1,000 — paid when the deed is recorded; the seller is primarily liable.

GREC Rules (Chapter 520)

The administrative rules GREC adopts to implement the statute, covering trust accounts, advertising, education, recordkeeping, and professional conduct.

Highest and best use

The legally permissible, physically possible, financially feasible, and most profitable use of a site — the basis of value.

Joint tenancy

Co-ownership with the right of survivorship; in Georgia a survivorship intent must be clearly expressed in the deed.

Latent defect

A hidden physical defect not discoverable by ordinary inspection; a known latent defect must be disclosed.

Lead-based paint disclosure

The federal requirement that sellers and landlords of pre-1978 housing disclose known lead paint and give a 10-day inspection window for sales.

Listing agreement

A contract employing a broker to find a buyer for the owner's property in exchange for compensation.

Loan-to-value ratio (LTV)

The loan amount divided by the property's value or price; a higher LTV means a smaller down payment and more lender risk.

Market value

The most probable price a property should bring in a competitive, open market under fair-sale conditions; an opinion of value.

Material fact

A fact that would affect a reasonable buyer's decision to buy or the price they would pay; a known latent defect must be disclosed.

Metes and bounds

A legal description using distances (metes) and compass directions (bounds) traced back to a point of beginning — the dominant method for older Georgia land.

Net operating income (NOI)

Effective gross income minus operating expenses, before any mortgage payment; the income figure used in the income approach.

O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 40

The Official Code of Georgia Annotated chapter that governs real estate brokers and salespersons — the source of GREC's authority over licensing, conduct, and the Recovery Fund.

Police power

Government's authority to regulate land for public health, safety, and welfare — the basis for zoning and building codes, with no payment to the owner.

Postlicense course

A 25-hour GREC-approved course a new Georgia salesperson must complete within the first year of licensure, or the license lapses.

Proration

Dividing prepaid or accrued expenses such as taxes, rent, and interest fairly between buyer and seller as of the closing date.

Quitclaim deed

A deed conveying only whatever interest the grantor has, with no warranties; often used to clear a cloud on title.

Real Estate Commissioner

GREC's chief administrative officer, who directs the staff, investigates complaints, issues citations and orders, and carries out the Commission's policies.

Real Estate Education, Research, and Recovery Fund

A Georgia fund (O.C.G.A. 43-40-22) that pays the public for an uncollectible judgment against a licensee — up to $25,000 per claim and $75,000 per licensee.

Real property

Land plus everything permanently attached to it (improvements and fixtures) and the bundle of legal rights of ownership.

RESPA

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act — a federal law requiring loan-cost disclosures and prohibiting kickbacks at closing.

Security deed

Georgia's standard security instrument (deed to secure debt): the borrower conveys title to the lender until the loan is repaid, making Georgia a title-theory state.

Sponsoring broker

The Georgia broker who holds a salesperson's license; a salesperson must work under and be paid through this broker and cannot operate independently.

Statute of frauds

The law requiring contracts for the sale of real estate (and most leases over a year) to be in writing to be enforceable.

Steering

Illegally guiding buyers toward or away from neighborhoods based on a protected class — a fair-housing violation.

Stigmatized property (O.C.G.A. 44-1-16)

Georgia law providing that a death, felony, or a prior occupant's disease (such as HIV/AIDS) on a property is not a material fact a seller or licensee must volunteer.

Tenancy in common

Co-ownership in which each owner holds an undivided, willable share; there is no right of survivorship.

TILA

The Truth in Lending Act — a federal law requiring lenders to disclose the cost of credit, including the annual percentage rate (APR).

Title insurance

A policy protecting the insured against loss from title defects that existed before the policy date, such as liens or recording errors.

Trust (escrow) account

A separate account in which a broker holds client funds such as earnest money; under GREC Rule 520-1-.08 funds are deposited as soon as practicably possible and reconciled monthly.

Free Georgia Real Estate Exam Study Materials & Resources

Everything you need to prepare for the Georgia real estate exam is free here — no paywall, no sign-up. This guide is the foundation; pair it with the rest of our free Georgia study materials for active recall, timed practice, and last-minute review:

• Georgia Real Estate Practice Test — exam-style questions across the Georgia and national content areas, with explanations.
• Georgia Real Estate Flashcards — active-recall decks for GREC law, BRRETA agency, trust accounts, and math formulas.

Georgia Real Estate Exam Study Guide FAQ

References

1. 1.Georgia Real Estate Commission. “Georgia Real Estate Commission & Appraisers Board.” GREC (grec.state.ga.us). ↑
2. 2.Georgia General Assembly. “O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 40 — Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons.” Official Code of Georgia Annotated. ↑
3. 3.Georgia General Assembly. “O.C.G.A. Chapter 10-6A — Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act (BRRETA).” Official Code of Georgia Annotated. ↑
4. 4.PSI Services / GREC. “Georgia Real Estate Commission Candidate Information Bulletin.” PSI Exams. ↑
5. 5.Georgia General Assembly. “O.C.G.A. § 48-6-1 — Real Estate Transfer Tax.” Official Code of Georgia Annotated. ↑
6. 6.U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “Fair Housing Act Overview.” HUD. ↑
7. 7.Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X).” CFPB. ↑
8. 8.U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Real Estate Disclosure (Lead-Based Paint).” EPA. ↑
9. 9.U.S. Geological Survey. “How is the Public Land Survey System organized?.” USGS. ↑

Sources for the concept answers

Every answer in the Georgia real estate concept questions above is drawn from an authoritative primary source:

1. Internal Revenue Service. “Sales and Other Dispositions of Assets (Publication 544).” IRS.

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