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Georgia curriculum lesson · State Laws and Rules

Georgia Licensees Acting as Principals

A Georgia licensee buying, selling, leasing, renting, exchanging, or optioning property as a principal must first advise the broker in writing when Rule 520-1-.11 applies. The licensee must disclose licensed status in the transaction and cannot advertise as an unlicensed private party. Affiliated licensees advertising personally owned property outside a brokerage engagement need written broker notice and consent plus the required license legend or license number.

Facts checked against the current PSI Candidate Information Bulletin and GREC sources. Editorial standards.

What is the exam-ready answer?

A Georgia licensee buying, selling, leasing, renting, exchanging, or optioning property as a principal must first advise the broker in writing when Rule 520-1-.11 applies. The licensee must disclose licensed status in the transaction and cannot advertise as an unlicensed private party. Affiliated licensees advertising personally owned property outside a brokerage engagement need written broker notice and consent plus the required license legend or license number.
Official syllabus mapping for Georgia Licensees Acting as Principals
Official syllabus topicState Laws and Rules: Substantive Regulations; Unfair Practices
Official PSI groupState Laws and Rules
Published group count16 of the 52 Georgia questions
Exam portionGeorgia salesperson supplement
Source editionPSI 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.

Written broker notice

Before acting as principal in the listed capacities, an affiliated licensee must advise the broker in writing, including when acting through an entity in which the licensee has an interest.

Transaction disclosure

A licensee selling or leasing owned property must clearly disclose the principal role and insert the required clause in the contract.

Advertising legend

Principal advertising must disclose that the party holds a real estate license or display the Georgia real estate license number in the permitted form.

Inactive licensees

Inactive status does not erase licensed status for principal-advertising disclosure and does not authorize brokerage for others.

Decision rule

Treat licensed status as a material fact: disclose it to the broker, in the advertisement, and in the transaction wherever the rule requires.

Georgia rule and national contrast

Georgia prescribes specific written notice, consent, contract, and advertising requirements for licensees as principals, including inactive licensees.

Worked Georgia example

Scenario. An inactive salesperson advertises a personally owned rental as a private landlord and omits any license disclosure.

Reason it through. Inactive status stops brokerage activity for others but does not erase the license disclosure required in principal advertising.

Answer. The advertisement must include the required license legend or Georgia license number.

Common exam traps

  • Assuming inactive means unlicensed
  • Disclosing only after contract acceptance
  • Ignoring entity ownership
  • Advertising as a private party without the required legend

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 1

An affiliated salesperson plans to buy a rental house as a personal investment. What must happen before the salesperson acts?

  1. A. Nothing, because personal deals fall outside the license law
  2. B. The seller must hire a separate broker for the sale
  3. C. The salesperson must advise the broker in writing
  4. D. GREC must approve the purchase in advance
Show answer and explanation →

Answer: C. The salesperson must advise the broker in writing

A licensee buying, selling, leasing, or optioning property as a principal must first advise the broker in writing, including when acting through an entity in which the licensee has an interest. The license follows the person into personal deals. The outside-the-law answer is the trap, since licensed status is a material fact even when no client is involved.

Question 2

An inactive salesperson advertises a personally owned rental as a private landlord, with no mention of the license. What does the rule require?

  1. A. Nothing, because inactive status ends the license duties
  2. B. The ad must note the license or show the license number
  3. C. The ad must name a sponsoring broker as the listing firm
  4. D. Nothing, as long as the owner leases the unit directly
Show answer and explanation →

Answer: B. The ad must note the license or show the license number

Inactive status stops brokerage for others but does not erase licensed status for principal advertising. The ad must carry the required license legend or the Georgia license number. The first answer looks plausible because inactive licensees cannot practice, but the disclosure rule still applies.

Question 3

A licensee sells a lot the licensee owns to an unrepresented buyer. How must the licensed status be handled in the transaction?

  1. A. Disclosed clearly, with the required contract clause
  2. B. Disclosed only if the buyer asks whether the seller is licensed
  3. C. Kept private, since licensed status does not affect price
  4. D. Mentioned verbally at closing, after the contract is signed
Show answer and explanation →

Answer: A. Disclosed clearly, with the required contract clause

A licensee selling or leasing owned property must clearly disclose the principal role and include the required clause in the contract. Licensed status is a material fact the buyer should know before agreeing. The only-if-asked answer confuses this rule with situations where a truthful answer is owed only on a direct question.

Ready to move on?

You are ready for the next lesson when all of these are true.

  • Explain Georgia Licensees Acting as Principals in one clear answer without notes.
  • Separate Written broker notice from Transaction disclosure 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 Maintaining, Renewing, Reinstating, and Changing a Georgia License. Principal deals come up throughout a career, and the next lesson covers keeping the license itself in order: birth-month renewal in the fourth year, CE, the lapse windows, and the ten-day and one-month notice deadlines.

Return to the State Laws and Rules hub for the complete official branch and the full lesson list for this Georgia group.

Georgia Licensees Acting as Principals questions

Facts checked against the current PSI Candidate Information Bulletin and GREC sources. Editorial standards.

Is Georgia Licensees Acting as Principals on the Georgia real estate exam?

Yes. It maps to PSI's State Laws and Rules group, which has 16 of the 52 Georgia questions. PSI does not publish a guaranteed question count for this individual lesson.

What is the main Georgia rule for Georgia Licensees Acting as Principals?

Treat licensed status as a material fact: disclose it to the broker, in the advertisement, and in the transaction wherever the rule requires.

How is this different from a national real estate rule?

Georgia prescribes specific written notice, consent, contract, and advertising requirements for licensees as principals, including inactive licensees.