Georgia licenses EMTs through the Department of Public Health's Office of EMS and Trauma, and it licenses only people who already hold National Registry certification. Everything below comes from the Office's personnel licensure page and the Georgia rules, checked October 18, 2026. Confirm on the linked pages before you pay.
Study aid, not a protocol. Nothing on this site replaces your course, your medical director or your agency's protocols. Built by an RN and former EMT. Headed In LLC is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) or any state EMS office; their names appear here only to point you to the real thing.
The national steps, briefly
A state-approved EMT course
Every state approves its own programs, all taught to the National EMS Education Standards. Most run 150 to 300 hours over three to six months.
A healthcare-provider CPR card
AHA BLS or an equivalent your state accepts, usually before clinicals.
The cognitive exam
The National Registry (NREMT) EMT exam: 70 to 120 adaptive questions in 2 hours, $104 per attempt, six attempts within two years of your course.
Your state's license or certification
The card comes from the state, not the Registry. The state's own steps are below.
Georgia Department of Public Health, Office of EMS and Trauma
Course and exam first: you apply only after you hold full National Registry certification at the EMT level; the rule requires Registry certification before any license.
Age: the rules and the Office's page set no age of their own; ask your program.
Application: online only, through the Office's License Management System; paper is not accepted, and an incomplete application expires 45 days after it arrives. The fee is $75, non-refundable, plus $2.75 by card; money orders and business or cashier's checks go with the Medic Payment Form; no cash or personal checks.
Fingerprints: a fingerprint-based Georgia (GCIC) and FBI check through GAPS. Register at ga.state.identogo.com with service code 2TGJY5, but only after the Office approves your GAPS registration, which needs your paid application. The Office does not accept criminal history reports you bring yourself.
Documents: a scan of a current, signed CPR card from the Office's accepted list, a notarized Verification of Lawful U.S. Residency form with a secure ID, and an out-of-state verification for every health care license you have ever held.
Renewal: a traditional Georgia license expires in the same year as your National Registry certification. Renew with at least 40 contact hours of continuing education every 24 months, including cardiac, pediatric and trauma care, with CPR on top. Late renewal is allowed for six months at double the fee; after that you apply as new.
From another state: Georgia has no reciprocity. A current National Registry certification and the same online application are the way in.