Georgia's Packing List Is One Card Long
Georgia's exam runs through PSI test centers, and the rules come from PSI's official Candidate Information Bulletin — which is refreshingly blunt about what invalidates your registration at the front desk. It's never the studying that turns people away; it's the logistics. Here's everything that matters:
It must be valid and unexpired, carry both your photo and your signature, and match the name you scheduled under. The bulletin's accepted list:
- ✓ State-issued driver's license or ID card
- ✓ U.S. passport
- ✓ U.S. military ID
- ✓ U.S. alien registration card
- ✓ Foreign government-issued passport or ID
The consequence for getting this wrong is total: no proper ID means your registration is invalid and your exam fee is forfeited. If your name recently changed — marriage, divorce, anything — make sure the name on the ID and the name on your registration agree before exam day, not at the front desk.
Georgia flips the usual advice here: handheld calculators are on the prohibited list, right alongside phones and smart watches. PSI provides an on-screen calculator built into the exam software, and it handles everything the exam's math requires. You'll also be given scratch paper and a pencil at check-in — both go back to the proctor when you leave.
The practical upshot: practice your math on a basic calculator, not a financial one with special keys you'll miss.
The 30-minute rule has no mercy in Georgia. The bulletin says arrive 30 minutes early for sign-in and ID checks — and that arriving after your examination start time forfeits your $175 fee. No manager's-discretion story, no documented-emergency exception in the bulletin's text. Same rule if you no-show or cancel late: cancellations need 2 days' notice to keep your fee. Treat the appointment like a flight.
The Banned List Is Nearly Everything
- ✕ All electronics — phones, smart watches, earbuds, handheld calculators, cameras, laptops, tablets, music players
- ✕ Reference materials of any kind — books, notes, notebooks, paper, pens, pencils (PSI supplies the scratch set)
- ✕ Hats and headgear — unless worn for religious reasons
- ✕ Bulky or loose outerwear — open sweaters, cardigans, shawls, scarves, vests, jackets, coats. Wear a fitted layer underneath, because they can ask you to take the cozy one off
- ✕ Food, drinks, and gum — nothing to eat or sip at your seat
- ✕ Purses, wallets, backpacks, briefcases — and, in the bulletin's own words, "good luck items"
Reading that list back: the exam room contains you, your ID, PSI's scratch paper, and what you know. Which is honestly the cleanest possible version of the day — there's nothing to forget except the one card and the studying.
How Exam Day Actually Goes
Sign-in, ID verification, the prohibited-items question, and pocket checks. Then you're seated at a computer, handed scratch paper and a pencil, and a 15-minute on-screen tutorial runs before the exam — with sample questions to practice on. The tutorial doesn't count against your exam time.
152 scored questions, 4 hours, 75% on each portion — the 100-question national portion and the 52-question Georgia supplement, scored separately. One question at a time on screen, minutes remaining displayed at the top, and you can return to any question and change your answer until time runs out — so flag the ones that feel wrong and keep moving. Full format details: the exam facts guide.
Your result is displayed on screen the moment you finish, and a score report is emailed to you. Fail, and the emailed report includes a diagnostic breakdown of your strengths and weaknesses — study ammunition — and you can retest as soon as two days later. The retake guide covers that whole path, including Georgia's veteran preference points.
Verified October 2026 against PSI's official Georgia Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin (identification requirements, security procedures and prohibited items, arrival and cancellation rules, and score reporting) and the Georgia Real Estate Commission.
