Georgia rules
What changed in Georgia's lawyer advertising rules on March 1, 2026?
Since March 1, 2026, Georgia has three short ad rules instead of five. No filing, no ad label, a broad specialist rule, and a 30-day wait for letters after accidents.
By Santiago Alvarez, Founder, Ad Hoc Digital
Last updated
The short answer
If you read one part of this page, read this.
Georgia rewrote its lawyer advertising rules this year. By order of November 18, 2025, the Supreme Court of Georgia amended Rules 7.1 to 7.3 of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct and turned Rules 7.4 and 7.5 into "Reserved" placeholders, effective March 1, 2026. The rules sit in Rule 4-102 of the State Bar of Georgia's rules, and the Bar's Office of the General Counsel enforces them for the Court.
The new text is short. Nothing is filed, there's no "Advertisement" label in the rules, and every communication names at least one responsible lawyer or firm with contact information (Rule 7.2(d)). The main change for copy is Rule 7.2(c), which lets a lawyer say they're a specialist based on experience, training or education, as long as the statement isn't false or misleading.
Two limits remain firm: no live person-to-person solicitation of strangers, and no written contact about an injury or death claim within 30 days of the accident (Rule 7.3). This is a plain summary for marketing planning, not legal advice. Check the current rule with your bar or law society. We work with law firms across the US and Canada, and also in Australia and the UK.
Which rules apply
Three rules now carry Georgia's whole approach to lawyer marketing.
The State Bar submitted the amendments as Motion to Amend 2023-1. The Court asked for briefing on the Georgia and US constitutions, heard oral argument in February 2024, and approved the rules in November 2025.
| Rule | What it covers | Marketing effect |
|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | No false or misleading communication, including true statements that mislead | Applies to ads, websites, profiles and social posts alike |
| 7.2(a), (b) | Communicating through the media; no paying for recommendations, with seven exceptions | Pay for ads, vendors and lead generators that don't recommend you |
| 7.2(c) | Fields of practice and specialty claims | "Specialist" allowed if based on experience, training, education or a bona fide certification, and not misleading |
| 7.2(d) | Name and contact information | Every communication names a responsible lawyer or firm |
| 7.3 | Solicitation of clients | No live solicitation of strangers; 30 days before written contact after an accident |
| 7.4, 7.5 | Reserved | The old fields-of-practice and firm-name rules are gone; firm names now sit in Rule 7.1's comments |
Before the change, the Court's own June 2025 order listed five rules: 7.2 Advertising, 7.3 Direct Contact with Prospective Clients, 7.4 Communication of Fields of Practice and 7.5 Firm Names and Letterheads. Ads, scripts and disclaimers written under those rules may carry wording the 2026 text no longer asks for. One caution from the order itself: the Court said its approval "does not constitute a definitive determination regarding the constitutional questions it posed." Our ABA Model Rules guide explains the national model text.
Filing or pre-approval
Georgia doesn't file or pre-approve ads, and its rules no longer ask for a label.
Rules 7.1 to 7.3 contain no filing step, fee or review period. A Georgia lawyer with a question about an ad can ask the Office of the General Counsel through the Bar's Member Portal.
- Ethics questions
The State Bar's Ethics & Discipline page tells lawyers to log in to the Member Portal and choose "Submit an Ethics Question" under the Resources tab. The same page says the Bar and the Court periodically issue Formal Advisory Opinions; we didn't review their advertising opinions for this guide. Kentucky, by contrast, offers an optional advisory opinion on each ad.
- An out-of-date page to watch
That Ethics & Discipline page still quotes "Georgia Rule of Professional Conduct 7.3(c)" on paying for recommendations. Under the 2026 rules, that topic is in Rule 7.2(b). Cite the handbook, not older summaries.
- If you also advertise in Florida
Florida's Rule 4-7.11(b) applies Florida's rules to lawyers who target ads at Florida residents, and Rule 4-7.19(a) requires filing at least 20 days before first use. A Georgia firm running ads across the state line follows both. Our Florida Bar advertising guide covers the filing.
What every ad must include
The only universal requirement is a responsible lawyer or firm and a way to reach them.
Rule 7.2(d) says any communication "must include the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content." Comment [11] says a website address, phone number, email address or physical office counts.
- Name and contact (7.2(d) and comment [11]): a firm name and a phone number or website satisfies it; the office city isn't required by the rule text.
- Firm names, handles and URLs (7.1 comment [5]): a trade name, a distinctive website address or a social media username is allowed if it isn't misleading. A name implying a government connection, or a link to a lawyer not associated with the firm, is misleading.
- Geographic trade names (7.1 comment [5]): a name like "Springfield Legal Clinic" may need a statement that the firm isn't a public legal aid organization.
- Firms that aren't firms (7.1 comment [7]): lawyers may not imply they practice together in one firm when they don't.
- No label, no record rule: the 2026 text has no "Advertisement" wording for letters and sets no record-keeping period for ads. We keep dated copies of every version for Georgia firms anyway.
In a search ad, we put the firm name in a pinned headline; Google's help page says text pinned to Headline 1, Headline 2 or Description 1 "will always show". Neighboring Alabama's 2026 rules go the other way and require the office location and several set disclaimers, so firms advertising in both states can't share one template.
Results, testimonials and comparisons
Georgia judges results, reviews and comparisons by one standard: would a reasonable person be misled?
The 2026 rules have no testimonial or results checklist. Comments [2] and [3] to Rule 7.1 explain when true statements still mislead.
- Past results
Comment [3]: a truthful report of results may mislead if it leads a reasonable person to expect the same result "without reference to the specific factual and legal circumstances of each client's case." An appropriate disclaimer "may preclude" that finding, which is permission to use one, not a promise it fixes everything.
- Comparisons and claims
The same comment says an unsubstantiated claim about your services or fees, or an unsubstantiated comparison with other lawyers, may mislead if it's specific enough that a reader would assume it can be proved. "Lowest fees in Atlanta" invites exactly that.
- Calls to action
Comment [2] calls a true statement misleading if it makes a reasonable person think they must take action when no action is required. Copy styled as an official notice falls here.
- Testimonials and reviews
Nothing in Rules 7.1 to 7.3 bans testimonials or dictates a disclaimer. They're judged by Rule 7.1 like any other statement, and paying for them runs into Rule 7.2(b). Our testimonials guide covers how other states handle them. Asking for reviews is in our review requests guide.
Specialist and certified
Georgia now lets lawyers call themselves specialists based on experience.
Rule 7.2(c) allows a lawyer who is a specialist "by experience, specialized training or education", or who is certified by "a recognized and bona fide professional entity", to say so if the statement isn't false or misleading.
Comment [9] says a lawyer is "generally permitted" to state that they concentrate in, are a "specialist" in, practice a "specialty" or "specialize in" fields based on experience, training or education, subject to Rule 7.1. Comment [10] keeps the traditional patent and admiralty designations. That's much broader than South Carolina, which bars the word "specialist" for lawyers not certified under its Rule 408 program or by an organization its Commission approved.
The limit is Rule 7.1. "Specialist" for a lawyer two years into a general practice may still mislead. We use it for Georgia firms only when the lawyer's practice is concentrated in that field and the firm can show it, and we name any certifying body in full.
Direct contact and paying for clients
Live solicitation is out, written contact after accidents waits 30 days, and leads are allowed.
Rule 7.3 covers contact with specific people. Rule 7.2(b) lists what a lawyer may pay for, including two kinds of referral service.
- What counts as solicitation (7.3(a)): a communication "initiated by or on behalf of" a lawyer, directed to a specific person the lawyer knows or should know needs help in a particular matter. Comment [1] says billboards, banner ads, websites, TV and automatic responses to searches aren't solicitation.
- Live contact (7.3(b)): banned for pecuniary gain, except with lawyers, people with a family, close personal or prior business or professional relationship, and routine business users of the service. Comment [2] says texts and chat rooms aren't live contact.
- 30 days (7.3(c)(3)): no written communication about personal injury, wrongful death, or an accident or disaster involving the person or a relative unless it happened more than 30 days earlier.
- Vulnerable people (7.3 comment [6]): live contact with people especially open to coercion, such as the elderly, those whose first language isn't English, or the disabled, "is ordinarily not appropriate".
- Lead generators (7.2 comment [5]): allowed if the generator doesn't recommend you, the payment fits Rules 1.5(f) and 5.4, and its messages don't imply a recommendation, a free referral or an analysis of the person's problem.
- Referral services (7.2(b)(2), (3)): usual fees of a lawyer referral service that doesn't act against the rules, and, for a bar-operated nonprofit service only, a percentage of the fee, if the service meets four criteria including $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate errors and omissions cover for member lawyers.
- Reciprocal referrals (7.2(b)(6)): allowed if not exclusive and the client is told about the agreement.
Our paying for leads guide compares other states' terms. Tennessee and North Carolina add separate rules for marketing platforms; Georgia's 2026 rules don't mention intermediary organizations or platforms by name.
Channel by channel
How Georgia's short rules apply to each channel a firm uses.
Georgia's rules don't name platforms. Each row applies the rule's words; where nothing in Georgia's rules touches a channel, the row says so.
| Channel | What the rule means there | The rule |
|---|---|---|
| Google search ads | Name and contact in a pinned position; claims judged by the misleading standard. The rules we read don't address bidding on another firm's name | 7.2(d); 7.1 |
| Local Services Ads | Google charges per valid lead; nothing in Georgia's rules names the program, so 7.2(b) and comment [5] on lead generators are the test | 7.2(b) |
| Facebook and Instagram ads | Not solicitation when shown to a general audience; results and reviews in creative must not create unjustified expectations | 7.3 comment [1]; 7.1 comment [3] |
| Social media posts | A username is a professional designation and can't mislead; a DM to someone you know needs help is solicitation, banned if live and, about an accident, written only after 30 days | 7.1 comment [5]; 7.3 |
| Website and AI search content | Bios, FAQs and profiles that AI search tools may quote must not overstate results or make unprovable comparisons | 7.1 |
Because Georgia's text is short, most decisions come down to judgment about what misleads. That's where our Meta ads service spends its review time for Georgia firms. Our AI search service does the same for website content. For North Carolina's opinion on competitor keywords, see our North Carolina guide.
What we check
Our Georgia review after the 2026 rewrite.
When we take on a Georgia firm, we first look for copy written under the old five-rule set, because outdated disclaimers and labels are the easy fix.
Find pre-2026 wording
Old disclaimers aren't wrong to keep, but we check each against what Rules 7.1 to 7.3 now require and remove clutter that crowds out the message.
Confirm the name and contact line
Every ad, profile and post names a responsible lawyer or firm with a phone number, email or website.
Test every claim against Rule 7.1
Results, ratings and comparisons each get the reasonable-person question: would this lead someone to expect the same outcome, or assume a fact we can't prove?
Decide on "specialist"
Allowed when the experience backs it; we write down why for the file.
Check any lead source
Lead platforms and referral services are compared against Rule 7.2(b) and comment [5] before money goes in.
One family law firm's case study, 50 to 100 Extra Calls a Month, From ChatGPT, came through AI search. Our family law marketing page shows how we build for that practice.
Common mistakes
Where firms go wrong.
Georgia mistakes we expect to see in the first year of the new rules.
Citing the old rule numbers
Rules 7.4 and 7.5 are reserved since March 1, 2026, and paying for recommendations moved to Rule 7.2(b). Update policies, scripts and vendor contracts.
Treating "specialist" as a free word
Rule 7.2(c) allows it based on real experience, training or education, but Rule 7.1 still applies to a claim the lawyer can't back.
Letters in the first 30 days
Rule 7.3(c)(3) bars written contact about an injury or death claim until more than 30 days after the accident or disaster.
Paying a percentage to a for-profit referral site
Rule 7.2(b)(3) expressly allows a fee calculated as a percentage of legal fees only for a bar-operated nonprofit referral service that meets its criteria.
Forgetting Florida
Ads targeted at Florida residents fall under Florida's Rule 4-7.11(b), with filing at least 20 days before first use.
Real results
What this looked like for real firms.
Published results from firms whose stories don't name their state.
Identifying details are anonymized to protect our clients. Individual result, not a promise or prediction of any specific outcome for your firm.
FAQ
Questions lawyers ask us.
Straight answers to the questions that come up most.
When did Georgia's new lawyer advertising rules take effect?
March 1, 2026. The Supreme Court of Georgia approved Motion to Amend 2023-1 by order of November 18, 2025, amending Rules 7.1 to 7.3 and reserving Rules 7.4 and 7.5.
Do Georgia lawyers file ads with the State Bar?
No. The rules have no filing or pre-approval step. Lawyers can ask the Office of the General Counsel an ethics question through the Bar's Member Portal.
Do Georgia ads need an "Advertisement" label?
The 2026 text of Rules 7.1 to 7.3 doesn't require one, for ads or for letters to prospective clients. Every communication still needs the name and contact information of a responsible lawyer or firm.
Can a Georgia lawyer say "specialist"?
Yes, if the lawyer is a specialist by experience, specialized training or education, or is certified by a recognized and bona fide professional entity, and the statement isn't false or misleading (Rule 7.2(c) and comment [9]).
How soon can a Georgia lawyer write to an accident victim?
Only once more than 30 days have passed since the accident or disaster, for any written communication about a personal injury or wrongful death claim (Rule 7.3(c)(3)). Live solicitation of strangers isn't allowed at any time.
Can Georgia lawyers pay for leads?
Yes, under comment [5] to Rule 7.2, if the lead generator doesn't recommend the lawyer or imply it analyzed the person's problem, and the payment fits Rules 1.5(f) and 5.4. How Google charges for Local Services Ads is in our LSA lead credits guide.
How does Georgia compare with its neighbors?
Georgia now has three advertising rules, against four in North Carolina and five in South Carolina. Tennessee sets a 30-day wait that also covers divorce filings. Our rules by state list shows each neighbor's filing rule. The rules hub compares the states with extra requirements.
Where we do this
The services this guide touches.
What this looks like when we run it for a firm, with a demo for your practice on each page.
Sources
Where these facts come from.
Official pages we read when writing this page. The State Bar's handbook pages for Rules 7.1 and 7.2 are built by script and didn't load when we rechecked them on October 25, 2026. The rule text quoted here comes from the Court's November 18, 2025 order, which sets out all three rules in full. Platforms and rules change, so check the current version before you act on any of it. This is marketing guidance, not legal advice.
- Supreme Court of Georgia, Order in re Motion to Amend 2023-1, Rules 7.1 to 7.5 (November 18, 2025, effective March 1, 2026)
- Supreme Court of Georgia, Amendments to Rules
- Supreme Court of Georgia, Order in re Motion to Amend 2025-6 (June 9, 2025), with the earlier table of contents
- State Bar of Georgia, Handbook, Rule 7.1 Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services
- State Bar of Georgia, Handbook, Rule 7.2 Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services: Specific Rules
- State Bar of Georgia, Handbook, Rule 7.3 Solicitation of Clients
- State Bar of Georgia, Office of the General Counsel, Ethics & Discipline
- The Florida Bar, Handbook on Lawyer Advertising (approved December 10, 2025)
- Google Ads Help, About responsive search ads
- Google Local Services Help, How leads and charges work
Written by
Founder of Ad Hoc Digital. Leads strategy and works directly with every client firm on AI search, Local Services Ads, Google Ads and Meta ads.
More about SantiagoWant a second pair of eyes on this?
Book a free 30-minute call. Tell us how cases come in today, and we'll tell you straight what we'd change, and whether we can help.