2020 Georgia Code
Title 43 - Professions and Businesses
Chapter 40 - Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons
§ 43-40-15. Grant of Licenses; Grounds for Suspension or Revocation of License; Other Sanctions; Surrender or Lapse; Conviction

1. Licenses shall be granted only to persons who bear a good reputation for honesty, trustworthiness, integrity, and competence to transact the business of a licensee in such manner as to safeguard the interest of the public and only after satisfactory proof of such qualifications has been presented to the commission. The commission may deny a license to a corporation, limited liability company, or partnership if a stockholder, member, or partner or any combination thereof which owns more than a 20 percent interest therein does not bear a good reputation for honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity; has been convicted of any of the crimes enumerated in subsection (b) of this Code section; or has been disciplined by any legally constituted regulatory agency for violating a law regulating the sale of real estate.
2. 1. As used in this Code section, the term:

      (1.1) No person who has a conviction shall be eligible to become an applicant for a license or an approval authorized by this chapter unless such person has successfully completed all terms and conditions of any sentence imposed for such conviction, provided that if such individual has multiple convictions, at least five years shall have passed since the individual satisfied all terms and conditions of any sentence imposed for the last conviction before making application for licensure or approval; and provided, further, that if such individual has a single conviction, at least two years shall have passed since the individual satisfied all terms and conditions of any sentence imposed for the last conviction before making application for licensure or approval.

      (1.2) A person who has a conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction of this state or any other state shall be eligible to become an applicant for a licensure or an approval authorized by this chapter only if:

      1. "Conviction" means a finding or verdict of guilty or a plea of guilty to a charge of a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude, regardless of whether an appeal of the conviction has been brought; a sentencing to first offender treatment without an adjudication of guilt pursuant to a charge of a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude; or a plea of nolo contendere to a charge of a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude.
      2. "Felony" means any offense committed:
         1. Within this state and deemed a felony under the laws of this state or under the laws of the United States; or
         2. In another state and deemed a felony under the laws of that state or the laws of the United States.
      3. Such person has satisfied all terms and conditions of any conviction such person may have had before making application for licensure or approval, provided that if such individual has multiple convictions, at least five years shall have passed since the individual satisfied all terms and conditions of any sentence imposed for the last conviction before making application for licensure or approval; and provided, further, that if such individual has been convicted of a single felony or of a single crime of moral turpitude, at least two years shall have passed since the individual satisfied all terms and conditions of any sentence imposed for the last conviction before making application for licensure or approval;
      4. No criminal charges for forgery, embezzlement, obtaining money under false pretenses, theft, extortion, conspiracy to defraud, a felony, a sexual offense, a probation violation, or a crime involving moral turpitude are pending against the person; and
      5. Such person presents to the commission satisfactory proof that the person now bears a good reputation for honesty, trustworthiness, integrity, and competence to transact the business of a licensee in such a manner as to safeguard the interest of the public.
   2. Where an applicant for any license or approval authorized by this chapter has been convicted of forgery, embezzlement, obtaining money under false pretenses, theft, extortion, conspiracy to defraud, or other like offense or offenses or has been convicted of a felony, a sexual offense, a probation violation, or a crime involving moral turpitude and has been convicted thereof in a court of competent jurisdiction of this state or any other state such conviction in itself may be sufficient ground for refusal of a license or approval authorized by this chapter. An applicant for licensure as an associate broker or a broker who has been convicted of any offense enumerated in this paragraph may be licensed by the commission as an associate broker or a broker only if:
      1. At least ten years have passed since the applicant was convicted, sentenced, or released from any incarceration, whichever is later;
      2. No criminal charges are pending against the applicant; and
      3. The applicant presents to the commission satisfactory proof that the applicant now bears a good reputation for honesty, trustworthiness, integrity, and competence to transact the business of a licensee in such a manner as to safeguard the interest of the public.
3. Where an applicant or licensee has been found guilty of a violation of the federal fair housing law or Article 4 of Chapter 3 of Title 8 by an administrative law judge or a court of competent jurisdiction and after any appeal of such conviction is concluded, such conviction may in itself be a sufficient ground for refusal of a license or the imposition of any sanction permitted by this chapter.
4. Where an applicant or licensee has made a false statement of material fact on his or her application or caused to be submitted or been a party to preparing or submitting any falsified application to the commission, such action may, in itself, be a sufficient ground for the refusal, suspension, or revocation of the license.
5. Grounds for suspension or revocation of a license, as provided for by this chapter, shall also be grounds for refusal to grant a license.
6. The conduct provided for in subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (h) of this Code section which relates to the denial of a real estate license to an applicant shall also be grounds for imposition of any sanction permitted by this chapter when the conduct is that of a licensee.
7. Whenever the commission initiates an investigation as permitted by Code Section 43-40-27 to determine whether a licensee has violated any provision of this chapter or its rules and regulations and such licensee has:
   1. Surrendered or voluntarily surrenders the license to the commission;
   2. Allowed or allows the license to lapse due to failure to meet educational requirements provided by law; or
   3. Allowed or allows the license to lapse due to failure to pay any required fees,

      the commission may issue an order revoking such licensee's license. The order shall be effective ten days after the order is served on the licensee unless the licensee makes a written request for a hearing before the commission, in which event, the commission shall file a notice of hearing in accordance with Chapter 13 of Title 50, the "Georgia Administrative Procedure Act." Service shall be accomplished as provided for in Code Section 43-40-26.

8. Whenever any occupational licensing body of this state or any other state has disciplined the license of an applicant for any license authorized by this chapter or whenever such an applicant has allowed a license to lapse or has surrendered a license to any occupational licensing body of this state or any other state after that body has initiated an investigation or a disciplinary process regarding such applicant's license, such discipline, lapsing, or surrender in itself may be a sufficient ground for refusal of a license. Whenever any occupational licensing body of this state or any other state has revoked the license of an applicant for any license authorized by this chapter or whenever such an applicant has allowed a license to lapse or has surrendered a license to any occupational licensing body of this state or any other state after that body has initiated an investigation or a disciplinary process regarding such applicant's license, the commission may issue an associate broker's or a broker's license only if:
   1. At least ten years have passed since the date that the applicant's occupational license was revoked or surrendered;
   2. No criminal charges are pending against the applicant at the time of application; and
   3. The applicant presents to the commission satisfactory proof that the applicant now bears a good reputation for honesty, trustworthiness, integrity, and competence to transact the business of a licensee in such a manner as to safeguard the interest of the public.
9. Whenever any licensee is convicted of any offense enumerated in subsection (b) of this Code section, such licensee shall notify the commission of that conviction within ten days from the date of the conviction. Such licensee's license may be revoked by the commission 60 days after the licensee's conviction unless the licensee has made a written request to the commission for a hearing during that 60 day period. Following any such hearing, the commission in its discretion may impose upon such licensee any disciplinary action or sanction permitted by this chapter or impose no disciplinary action or sanction. If a licensee fails to make a written request for a hearing during the 60 day period after the conviction, then the commission, upon discovery of the conviction, shall have the option of revoking the licensee's license without the licensee being entitled to a hearing or the commission in its discretion may impose upon such licensee any other disciplinary action or sanction permitted by this chapter or impose no disciplinary action or sanction.
10. Whenever the commission revokes or suspends the license of a community association manager, a salesperson, an associate broker, or a broker, then any school or instructor approval which such licensee holds shall also be revoked or suspended. Whenever a licensee surrenders a real estate license as provided for in subsection (g) of this Code section, any school or instructor approval which such licensee holds shall also be subject to the provisions of subsection (g) of this Code section.
11. Where an applicant or licensee has been found not in compliance with an order for child support as provided in Code Section 19-6-28.1 or 19-11-9.3, such action shall be sufficient grounds for refusal of a license or suspension of a license. In such actions, the hearing and appeal procedures provided for in those Code sections shall be the only such procedures required under this chapter.
12. Where an applicant or licensee has been found to be a borrower in default who is not in satisfactory repayment status under the Georgia Higher Education Loan Program as determined by the Georgia Higher Education Assistance Corporation or who has been certified by any entity of the federal government for nonpayment or default or breach of a repayment or service obligation under any federal educational loan, loan repayment, or service conditional scholarship program, such finding shall not be grounds for refusal of a license or suspension of a license.
13. Where the commission has previously sanctioned any applicant for a license under Chapter 13 of Title 50, the "Georgia Administrative Procedure Act," such sanction may in itself be a sufficient ground for refusing the license.

(Ga. L. 1925, p. 325, § 1; Ga. L. 1931, p. 231, § 1; Code 1933, § 84-1409; Ga. L. 1943, p. 572, § 1; Ga. L. 1949, p. 943, § 3; Ga. L. 1950, p. 278, § 2; Ga. L. 1965, p. 629, § 5; Ga. L. 1968, p. 277, § 2; Code 1933, § 84-1410, enacted by Ga. L. 1973, p. 100, § 1; Ga. L. 1978, p. 231, § 2; Ga. L. 1981, p. 1311, § 3; Ga. L. 1983, p. 1411, § 2; Ga. L. 1984, p. 844, § 5; Ga. L. 1986, p. 364, §§ 4, 5, 6; Ga. L. 1989, p. 1619, § 5; Ga. L. 1990, p. 8, § 43; Ga. L. 1990, p. 650, § 4; Ga. L. 1991, p. 94, § 43; Ga. L. 1991, p. 642, §§ 4, 5; Ga. L. 1993, p. 123, § 54; Ga. L. 1994, p. 1168, § 2; Ga. L. 1995, p. 1216, § 6; Ga. L. 1996, p. 6, § 43; Ga. L. 1996, p. 194, § 8; Ga. L. 1996, p. 453, § 15; Ga. L. 1998, p. 1094, § 12; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1527, § 16; Ga. L. 2003, p. 370, § 11; Ga. L. 2007, p. 483, § 7/SB 114; Ga. L. 2008, p. 324, § 43/SB 455; Ga. L. 2012, p. 1099, § 9/SB 365; Ga. L. 2017, p. 125, § 2/HB 39; Ga. L. 2019, p. 462, § 1-18/SB 214.)

The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, substituted the present provisions of subsection (i) for the former provisions, which read: "Whenever any licensee is convicted of any offense enumerated in subsection (b) of this Code section, the licensee shall immediately notify the commission of that conviction. The licensee's license shall automatically be revoked 60 days after the licensee's conviction unless the licensee makes a written request to the commission for a hearing during that 60 day period. Following any such hearing requested pursuant to this subsection, the commission in its discretion may impose upon that licensee any sanction permitted by this chapter.".

The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, in subsection (l), rewrote the first sentence, which read: "Where an applicant or licensee has been found to be a borrower in default who is not in satisfactory repayment status as provided in Code Section 20-3-295, such status shall be sufficient grounds for refusal of a license or suspension of a license.", and deleted the last sentence, which read: "In such cases, the hearing and appeal procedures provided for in Code Section 20-3-295 shall be the only such procedures required under this chapter."

- Failure to enter into satisfactory repayment status and when is a borrower in default, § 20-3-295.

- For note on the 1994 amendment of this Code section, see 11 Georgia St. U.L. Rev. 240 (1994).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Applicant made false statement of material fact on application.

- Commission was authorized to find that applicant made a false statement of material fact on application and that applicant, therefore, violated O.C.G.A. § 43-40-15(c), since the applicant signed the application without attaching the details of prior license revocation, and therefore falsely certified to the Commission that the applicant had never been disciplined. Georgia Real Estate Comm'n v. Syfan, 192 Ga. App. 3, 383 S.E.2d 605 (1989).

"Suspension" applies to both license and to licensee; in other words, the license itself is suspended, as well as the licensee's right to practice real estate brokerage for the term of suspension. Georgia Real Estate Comm'n v. Howard, 133 Ga. App. 199, 210 S.E.2d 357 (1974).

Suspension of license may be for period greater than unexpired portion of license, and such action by Real Estate Commission is neither in violation of statutory provisions nor in excess of statutory authority of agency. Georgia Real Estate Comm'n v. Howard, 133 Ga. App. 199, 210 S.E.2d 357 (1974).

- O.C.G.A. §§ 10-6A-5,10-6A-14,43-40-15(a), and43-40-25(b)(25) and related code sections fail to impose any duties regarding pets other than the general duty to exercise reasonable skill and care in performing all duties; a trial court's summary judgment dismissing claims against real estate agents and brokers for injuries arising from a dog bite while the injured person was viewing listed property for sale was affirmed. Gibson v. Rezvanpour, 268 Ga. App. 377, 601 S.E.2d 848 (2004).

Cited in Citizens & S. Nat'l Bank v. AVCO Fin. Servs., Inc., 129 Ga. App. 605, 200 S.E.2d 309 (1973).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

- Hearsay in proceeding for suspension or revocation of license to conduct business or profession, 142 A.L.R. 1388.

Validity of statute or rule which makes specified conduct or condition a ground for cancellation or suspension of license, irrespective of licensee's personal fault, 3 A.L.R.2d 107.

Broker's liability to prospective purchaser for refund of deposit or earnest money where contract fails because of defects in vendor's title, 38 A.L.R.2d 1382.

Grounds for revocation or suspension of license of real estate broker or salesman, 56 A.L.R.2d 573; 22 A.L.R.4th 136.

Disqualification, for bias or interest, of member of occupation or profession sitting in license revocation proceeding, 97 A.L.R.2d 1210.

Revocation or suspension of real estate broker's license for violation of statutes or regulations prohibiting use of unlicensed personnel in carrying out duties, 68 A.L.R.3d 530.

Real-estate broker's liability to purchaser for misrepresentation or nondisclosure of physical defects in property sold, 46 A.L.R.4th 546.

Grounds for revocation or suspension of license of real-estate broker or salesperson, 7 A.L.R.5th 474.