TL;DR
- License required: Georgia treats property management for pay as a real estate brokerage activity.
- Governing body: The Georgia Real Estate Commission (GREC) issues and regulates every real estate license in the state.
- Entry path: Third-party property managers must hold a salesperson license under a supervising broker, or a broker's license to operate independently.
- Pre-licensing education: A 75-hour GREC-approved salesperson pre-licensing course meets the education requirement.
- Exam: PSI administers the Georgia Real Estate Salesperson Exam, and the fee is $175 per attempt.
- License fee: $170, which covers all fees due for the first 4 years of licensure.
- Renewal: Licenses renew every four years with 36 hours of GREC-approved continuing education.
If you’re curious how to become a property manager in Georgia, but aren’t sure what type of licensing you need, you’re in the right place. The licensing regulations in this state are pretty straightforward and must be followed by anyone who manages properties for pay.
If you collect rent, sign leases, or list vacancies for a fee, you need a property management license. Georgia issues them through its real estate commission when the requirements are met.
Because Georgia regulates property management under its brokerage laws, becoming a property manager in Georgia starts with a real estate salesperson license. This guide covers the 75-hour course, following exams, employing-broker rule, and when a broker’s license makes more sense.
Duties of a Property Manager
Owners hire a licensed property manager to keep a rental filled, funded, and compliant, which covers several recurring responsibilities across the life of a tenancy:
- Marketing property through listing syndication, showings, and market-rate pricing
- Collecting rent and managing owner disbursements on a set monthly schedule
- Drafting, executing, and enforcing lease agreements, including renewals and terminations
- Coordinating and logging maintenance requests from work order to vendor invoice
- Screening tenants and managing vacancies with credit, background, and income checks
- Handling tenant communication across notices, disputes, and move-in coordination
- Trust accounting and owner financial reporting on client funds held separately
- Conducting inspections at move-in, mid-lease, and move-out
- Ensuring fair housing compliance in advertising, screening, and enforcement
To stay on top of these tasks in an organized, efficient way, many landlords use property management software.
Does Georgia require a property management license?
Yes. Georgia law treats property management for pay as brokerage activity requiring a license from the Georgia Real Estate Commission (GREC). Collecting rent, negotiating or signing lease agreements, advertising vacancies, screening applicants, and holding security deposits for an owner all count (Ga. Code Ann. Title 43, Ch. 40).
The statute broadly defines property management services, covering marketing and referring prospective tenants, leasing, physical and financial maintenance, and the overall management of real property for someone else. Supervising any of that work for another party under a management agreement counts, as well (Ga. Code Ann. § 43-40-1(7)).
Third-party managers who take a fee to run someone else’s property must hold a license. Owners managing their own rentals are exempt (Ga. Code Ann. § 43-40-29(a)(1)).
Georgia Property Manager License Requirements
GREC screens you on eligibility, education, and background before you can sit for the licensing exam. The requirements below apply to the salesperson license, the standard entry point for property managers working under an employing broker:
Age and Residency
You must be at least 18 years old to qualify for a salesperson license, and you must either live in Georgia or fully comply with the state’s nonresident licensee rules (Ga. Code Ann. § 43-40-8(b)(1), § 43-40-8(b)(2), § 43-40-9).
Pre-Licensing Education
Meeting the property manager education requirements in Georgia means finishing 75 hours of salesperson pre-licensing coursework at a GREC-approved school. You also need a high school diploma or an equivalency certificate (Ga. Code Ann. § 43-40-8(b)(3)). Online and classroom formats both count, and prices vary by provider and study materials.
Two alternate routes satisfy the same requirement: 10 quarter hours or six semester hours of qualifying college coursework in real estate, real property law, agency, or contracts, or proof of 75 hours of prelicense coursework approved by another state’s regulator.
Background Check
Bring a criminal history report from the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) to the PSI testing center before your license is issued, and make sure it is less than 60 days old. GREC reviews any convictions or sanctions, and each application is evaluated case by case.
Errors and Omissions Insurance
Georgia does not require E&O coverage to get licensed, but plenty of employing brokers require it as a condition of affiliation, and handling client money without it leaves you exposed.
How to Get Your Georgia Property Management License
If you want to learn how to get a property management license in Georgia, simply follow GREC recommendations. Keep in mind that you must finish each step before moving to the next, and there is no skipping ahead.
Step 1: Complete Your Pre-Licensing Coursework
Finish the 75-hour Salesperson Prelicense Course at a GREC-approved school before you register for the exam. Online and in-person formats are both available, and packages generally run $180 to $650, depending on how much exam prep is bundled in.
Step 2: Pass the Georgia Real Estate Exam
PSI administers the Georgia Real Estate Salesperson Exam, which pairs a national portion with a Georgia portion. The test contains 152 scored questions, plus up to 10 unscored experimental questions. The fee is $175 per attempt.
Step 3: Submit Your License Application
Once you pass, apply to GREC and pay the $170 license fee. That single fee covers everything due for your first four years of licensure.
Step 4: Affiliate with an Employing Broker
You must affiliate with a GREC-licensed employing broker before your license goes active. Your broker is legally accountable for everything you do as an affiliated licensee, including lease negotiations, rent collection, and management agreements signed under the firm’s name.
As a new salesperson, you cannot sign management agreements or collect compensation on your own. To operate independently, you need a broker’s license, which carries its own experience and education requirements.
Costs and Timeline
Earning a Georgia property management license costs anywhere from $625 to $1,295 from your first course through activation, and the total spreads across four charges:
- Pre-licensing course (75 hours): $180 to $650
- PSI exam fee: $175 per attempt
- License fee: $170, covering your first four years of licensure
- Post-license course (25 hours): $100 to $300 during your first year of active licensing
Full-time study wraps up the 75-hour course in four to eight weeks, and part-time study takes slightly longer. Your application must reach GREC within 12 months of the exam, or must be retaken
Who is exempt from Georgia's license requirement?
Georgia’s exemptions are narrower than most people expect. Two of them cover the majority of situations:
Managing your own property: An owner can manage their own property without a license, and that extends to the owner’s spouse, a general partner of a limited partnership, and the owner’s regular employees. The work must stay tied to managing that owner’s own investment (Ga. Code Ann. § 43-40-29(a)(1)).
Working under a licensed broker: A broker may hire someone to assist with property management who can handle a short list of tasks without a license. That covers delivering applications, receiving payments made out to the broker or owner, and showing units at the broker’s direction. Anything past that list falls outside the exemption (Ga. Code Ann. § 43-40-29(a)(10)).
Out-of-state owners face a separate rule: A landlord who lives outside Georgia and owns single-family or duplex rentals here must employ a Georgia-licensed broker, and a broker based out of state has to keep at least one person in Georgia handling tenant communications (Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-25).
What happens if you manage property without a license in Georgia?
Managing property for pay without a license in Georgia can cost you on several fronts:
Unenforceable contracts: An unlicensed person cannot bring or maintain a court action to collect compensation for property management services, which makes those management fees unrecoverable (Ga. Code Ann. § 43-40-24).
GREC enforcement: The commission may issue a cease and desist order against unlicensed brokerage activity. That order becomes final 10 days later unless the recipient requests a hearing (Ga. Code Ann. § 43-40-30(c)).
Unlawful practice: A single act performed for compensation is enough to make someone a licensee under the chapter, so one management deal can trigger a violation. Acting as a licensee without a license is unlawful, and each day of unlicensed practice counts as a separate violation (Ga. Code Ann. § 43-40-30(b), § 43-40-30(d)).
Civil exposure: Violating a GREC cease and desist order triggers further proceedings, and the commission may impose fines of up to $1,000 for each transaction that breaches the order (Ga. Code Ann. § 43-40-30(d)).
Business risk: An owner who discovers an unlicensed manager gains legal standing to void the management agreement, recover fees paid, and report the conduct to GREC.
Beyond the License: Starting Your Georgia Property Management Career
The best time to learn the software that runs a Georgia property management business is before your first owner signs. The license clears the legal hurdle, but smooth daily operations are what keep clients around for years.
Rent collection, lease tracking, maintenance dispatch, owner reporting, and inspection records all land on you at once, starting in your first month with a real portfolio of doors. Property management software holds those tasks in one system instead of scattering them across a dozen spreadsheets and a shared inbox.
Growth adds employees, and each new hire needs access to some records and not others, which is what team management permissions handle. Cash flow ultimately decides whether the business survives, so integrated accounting keeps the books clean from your first management fee forward.
Start a free 14-day trial with TenantCloud and learn the system before you land your first client.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a real estate license to be a property manager in Georgia?
Yes. Managing property for someone else for pay requires a real estate license in Georgia. A salesperson license under a supervising broker satisfies that, and a broker’s license lets you operate independently. Owners managing their own properties are exempt.
How long does it take to get a property management license in Georgia?
It depends on how fast you finish the 75-hour pre-license course, pass the PSI exam, and file your application. Full-time study can clear the coursework in four to eight weeks, and part-time study usually takes longer.
Your application must reach GREC within 12 months of passing. GREC processes it once you have passed the exam and paid the fee.
How much does a Georgia property management license cost?
The main costs are the pre-license course ($180 to $650), the PSI exam ($175), and the $170 license fee. New salespersons also complete a 25-hour post-license course in year one ($100 to $300). Expect to pay roughly $625 to $1,295 out of pocket.
Can I manage a rental property in Georgia without a license?
Only if you own the property yourself. Managing for others without a license exposes you to GREC enforcement, contracts you cannot enforce, and fines of up to $1,000 for each transaction that violates a GREC cease and desist order.
What's the difference between a real estate salesperson license and a broker's license in Georgia?
A salesperson license authorizes property management work only under a broker’s direct supervision, and a salesperson cannot sign management agreements or collect compensation independently. A broker’s license requires three years of active salesperson licensure within the previous five years, more education, a separate exam, and permits independent operation.
