What is the exam-ready answer?
| Official syllabus topic | State Laws and Rules: Required Licensure |
|---|---|
| Official PSI group | State Laws and Rules |
| Published group count | 16 of the 52 Georgia questions |
| Exam portion | Georgia salesperson supplement |
| Source edition | PSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026 |
The Rule
PSI publishes 16, 21, and 15 items for the three Georgia groups. It does not publish a guaranteed subtopic count. The statute, current GREC rule, contract, or other cited primary authority controls each lesson.
The lesson
Georgia questions reward the Georgia rule. A national rule that sounds right can still be the wrong answer when the question names a Georgia statute, document, role or procedure.
Owner-side exceptions
An owner, qualifying related person, or regular employee may perform specified acts concerning the owner's property, subject to the current statute and any special property rules.
Professional and fiduciary roles
A licensed practicing attorney acting solely incident to legal practice and a receiver, executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee acting under authority may qualify.
Employee limits
An employee exception depends on who employs the person, what property is involved, and which tasks are performed. Independent contractors do not become employees by label.
2025 amendment
HB 399, in effect since July 1, 2025, widened the owner exception to cover the owner's family members and LLC officers. It also removed two exemptions, one for a person or owner-controlled company the owner hires full time to manage the property, and one for anyone the owner employs full time to manage, lease or sell it. Older summaries of the code still show the pre-2025 version.
Decision rule
Georgia rule and national contrast
Worked Georgia example
Scenario. A licensed salesperson places the license on inactive status and accepts payment to lease homes owned by an unlicensed employer.
Reason it through. GREC Rule 520-1-.05 states that a licensee may not use inactive status to perform brokerage activity for an unlicensed person. The employee exception is not available to licensees in that way.
Answer. The inactive salesperson may not perform the paid leasing activity under the employee exemption.
Common exam traps
- Assuming every owner employee is exempt
- Applying an attorney exception to a separate brokerage business
- Letting an inactive licensee claim an unlicensed-person exception
- Using the 2024 exemption text without the 2025 amendment
Original practice questions with detailed explanations
These are original instructional questions mapped to the July 1, 2026 PSI outline. They are not copied from PSI or a live examination. Choose an answer before opening the explanation.
Question 1A licensed salesperson moves the license to inactive status and takes a salaried job leasing homes for an unlicensed investor. Can the salesperson rely on an owner's-employee exemption?
- A. Yes, because inactive status suspends the license law
- B. Yes, because the investor owns the homes and pays a salary
- C. No, because the exemptions do not apply to a licensee
- D. No, because only attorneys and fiduciaries are exempt
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: C. No, because the exemptions do not apply to a licensee
Georgia's exemptions do not apply to anyone who holds a real estate license, and GREC rules bar using inactive status to do brokerage for an unlicensed person. The salesperson remains a licensee while inactive. The salary answer looks plausible because it looks like the employee idea, but holding a license takes the exemption off the table.
Question 2An LLC owns a rental duplex. Under the owner exemption as amended effective July 1, 2025, who may sell the duplex for the LLC without a real estate license?
- A. A consultant the LLC pays a commission to find a buyer
- B. A manager the LLC hires full time to manage and sell it
- C. A licensed salesperson acting outside the firm to save fees
- D. An officer of the LLC acting on the company's behalf
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: D. An officer of the LLC acting on the company's behalf
HB 399 widened the owner exemption to include an owner's family members and LLC officers. It also removed the exemption for a person the owner hires full time to manage, lease, or sell the property, so that hire now needs a license. The full-time manager answer is plausible because it was correct under the pre-2025 code.
Question 3Which person is most likely exempt from Georgia licensing for the real estate act described?
- A. An executor selling estate property under the will's authority
- B. An attorney who runs a side business listing homes for commission
- C. An unlicensed assistant who negotiates leases for a broker
- D. A friend who shows an owner's home for a promised finder's fee
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: A. An executor selling estate property under the will's authority
Fiduciaries such as executors, administrators, guardians, and trustees acting under their legal authority fall within a listed exemption. An attorney is exempt only when acting incidentally to law practice, not when running a separate listing business. The attorney answer looks plausible because attorneys appear on the list, but the exemption follows the role, not the profession.
Ready to move on?
You are ready for the next lesson when all of these are true.
- Explain Georgia Real Estate License Exemptions in one clear answer without notes.
- Separate Owner-side exceptions from Professional and fiduciary roles using a fresh example.
- Apply the decision rule to a new fact pattern and name the fact that controls the result.
- State the Georgia-specific point or explain why the national rule applies unchanged.
- Answer every practice question and explain the rule each rejected option misapplies.
- Revisit this topic later in mixed practice without category labels.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Georgia Salesperson, Associate Broker, Broker, CAM, and Firm Licenses. If no exemption fits, the person needs a license, and the next lesson sorts out which one: salesperson, associate broker, broker, CAM, or firm, and whose supervision each works under.
Return to the State Laws and Rules hub for the complete official branch and the full lesson list for this Georgia group.