2022 Georgia Code
Title 40 - Motor Vehicles and Traffic
Chapter 8 - Equipment and Inspection of Motor Vehicles
Article 1 - Equipment Generally
Part 5 - Equipment of Law Enforcement and Emergency Vehicles
§ 40-8-92. Designation of Emergency Vehicles; Flashing or Revolving Lights; Permits; Fee; Prohibition Against Use of Flashing or Revolving Green Lights by Private Persons on Public Property

1. All emergency vehicles shall be designated as such by the commissioner of public safety. The commissioner shall so designate each vehicle by issuing to such vehicle a permit to operate flashing or revolving emergency lights of the appropriate color. Such permit shall be valid for five years from the date of issuance. Any and all officially marked law enforcement vehicles as specified in Code Section 40-8-91 shall not be required to have a permit for the use of a blue light. Any and all fire department vehicles which are distinctly marked on each side shall not be required to have a permit for the use of a red light. Any and all ambulances, as defined in Code Section 31-11-2, licensed by this state shall not be required to have a permit for the use of a red light. Any low-speed vehicle shall not be required to have a permit for the use of an amber strobe light.
2. The commissioner shall authorize the use of red or amber flashing or revolving lights only when the person or governmental agency shall demonstrate to the commissioner a proven need for equipping a vehicle with emergency lights. The fee for such lights shall be $2.00, provided that no federal, state, county, or municipal governmental agency or an ambulance provider, as defined in Code Section 31-11-2, shall be required to pay such fee.
3. Nothing contained in this Code section shall prohibit the commissioner from issuing a single special use permit to cover more than one vehicle, provided each vehicle covered under such special use permit shall pay the fee specified in subsection (b) of this Code section.
4. Except as provided in this subsection, it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to operate any motor vehicle or to park any motor vehicle on public property with flashing or revolving green lights. This subsection shall not apply to any motor vehicle being used by any law enforcement agency, fire department, emergency management agency, or other governmental entity to designate the location of the command post for such agency, department, or entity at the site of an emergency.

History. Ga. L. 1971, p. 781, § 2; Ga. L. 1972, p. 1092, §§ 3, 4; Ga. L. 1977, p. 1012, § 4; Ga. L. 1983, p. 447, § 1; Ga. L. 1988, p. 582, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1145, § 3; Ga. L. 2000, p. 951, § 5B-6; Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 19-6/HB 501; Ga. L. 2010, p. 95, § 1/SB 410; Ga. L. 2022, p. 282, § 2/HB 1011.

The 2022 amendment, effective July 1, 2022, in subsection (a), deleted “one year from the date of issuance; provided, however, that permits for vehicles belonging to federal, state, county, or municipal governmental agencies shall be valid for” preceding “five years” in the second sentence and added the last sentence.

Administrative rules and regulations.

Flashing and Revolving Lights on Motor Vehicles, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Department of Public Safety, Chapter 570-11.