Georgia Due Diligence Period: GAR F201 Deadlines (2026)

The Georgia due diligence period, in short: it's the number of days from the Binding Agreement Date written into the GAR F201, counted with that date as day zero and ending at 11:59 p.m. Until it ends, the buyer can terminate for any reason or none and recover the earnest money. Weekend deadlines aren't extended.

More on this topic: Contract deadlines by state, every guide in one place.

This guide walks through the due diligence period and the dates around it: option money, earnest money, closing and the 2026 change to the eight-day closing extension. The F201 is a members-only form, so the clause wording here comes from a 2023 printing and the Georgia REALTORS guides to the 2025 and 2026 changes; check the edition in your file. It's general information, not legal advice. For other states, see the deadlines in a purchase contract or Colorado contract deadlines explained.

Key takeaways

• The due diligence period is a blank: the F201 sets what it means, the parties set how many days.
• Day zero is the Binding Agreement Date, and a day ends at 11:59 p.m.
• No deadline is extended because it falls on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday, except the closing date.
• During the period the contract is an option contract: the buyer can terminate by notice before it expires and gets the earnest money back; option money stays with the seller unless the seller defaults.
• From 2026 the eight-day unilateral closing extension can be used once by each side, up to 11:59 p.m. on the closing day.

What is the due diligence period in a Georgia contract?

It's a period, written in as a number of days from the Binding Agreement Date, during which the F201 is an option contract. In the 2023 printing, the buyer may terminate “for any reason or for no reason” by notice to the seller given before the period expires and is entitled to the earnest money back (Section B.8). During the period the buyer may also seek to amend the agreement to address concerns. If the buyer doesn't terminate, the buyer accepts the property “as-is”, subject to any amendment both sides signed.

Georgia leaves the length to the parties: the key terms in Section A.8 simply say the property is sold subject to a due diligence period of a stated number of days. Typical lengths quoted online are opinions, not rules, so take the number from the executed contract.

What is option money in Georgia?

Option money is what the buyer pays the seller for the right to terminate during the due diligence period. In the 2023 printing, the buyer has paid $10 of nonrefundable option money, plus any additional option money written in, paid directly to the seller by check, ACH or wire either as of the Offer Date or within a stated number of days from the Binding Agreement Date. Additional option money isn't refundable “unless the closing fails to occur due to the default of the Seller”, and the parties check whether it's credited toward the price at closing.

Option money is separate from earnest money: it goes to the seller, not to the holder of earnest money. That's the opposite of the earnest money, which a buyer who terminates in time gets back.

When is earnest money due in Georgia?

Earnest money is due on the dates written in Section A.7: an amount as of the Offer Date and/or an amount within a stated number of days from the Binding Agreement Date. The holder then deposits it into its escrow or trust account within five banking days of the Binding Agreement Date, or of receipt if it arrives later (2023 printing, Section B.6).

If earnest money isn't paid on time or a check bounces, the 2023 printing has the holder notify both parties; the buyer has three banking days from that notice to cure, and the seller may then terminate within seven days, or loses that right. For 2026, GAR added that a check or ACH must be drawn on a US financial institution if the holder accepts those methods (Section B.6). More on tracking the deposit in the earnest money deadline.

How are days counted in a Georgia contract?

Days are calendar days. The F201 defines a “Day” as a full calendar day ending at 11:59 p.m., and for counting deadlines the Binding Agreement Date (or other starting date) is day zero (Section C.5, Definitions). The Binding Agreement Date is when the party accepting an offer or counteroffer delivers notice of acceptance to the other side.

Weekends don't help: “No time deadline under this Agreement shall be extended by virtue of it falling on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday except for the date of closing.” Banking days and business days, where the form uses them, are Monday to Friday excluding federal holidays.

The dates are illustrative; the executed contract controls. The free real estate deadline calculator counts from the Binding Agreement Date with the next day as day 1, in calendar or business days; leave its weekend roll-forward off, because the F201 moves only the closing date.

How does a buyer ask for repairs during the due diligence period?

Through an amendment: GAR's Amendment to Address Concerns with Property, which the seller can accept or not. Nothing obliges the seller to agree, so the buyer has to finish negotiating, or terminate, before the period ends.

Because a seller can run out the clock, GAR's special stipulation SS 302 (updated for 2025) lets the amendment double as a conditional termination: if the seller doesn't accept and deliver it back by two minutes before the due diligence period ends, it serves as notice to terminate effective one minute before the end. Track both versions of the deadline when you see it. See also the repair request process.

What happens if the due diligence period expires?

The buyer's free right to terminate ends and the buyer accepts the property as-is, subject to any signed amendment. From then on the earnest money is protected only by any other contingency still running, such as a financing contingency exhibit (the Conventional Loan Contingency Exhibit is F404), or by a seller default. A notice sent after the period ends doesn't work as a due diligence termination.

Two things can move the date. The parties can extend it by signed amendment. And since 2025 the F201 says that if the Governor declares a state of emergency for the county, all deadlines, including the end of due diligence, are extended by the number of days the emergency lasts (Section C.4(c) in the 2025 guide).

How does the closing date extension work in 2026?

Either side can extend closing by eight days on its own, for listed reasons only (Section B.4(a)). The 2026 F201 lets this be used twice per transaction, once by the buyer and once by the seller, so closing can move up to sixteen days. The buyer may extend only if the lender or closing attorney isn't ready through no fault of the buyer; the seller, for a title problem or the closing attorney not being ready. The attorney-not-ready reason can be used once per transaction, and the old 8:00 p.m. cutoff is gone: notice can be given until 11:59 p.m. on the closing day.

Which Georgia forms go with these deadlines?

How do you track the Georgia due diligence period without missing it?

Confirm the Binding Agreement Date on day one, then count every deadline from day zero in calendar days and don't roll weekend dates forward. Record option money and earnest money separately, and note who holds each. Put the 11:59 p.m. end next to the due diligence date, and add an earlier internal deadline if an Amendment to Address Concerns with SS 302 is in play.

In Closingbird, a due diligence period of 10 days is “10 days after acceptance”, counted the same way (acceptance is day zero), and because the F201 doesn't roll weekend deadlines, no adjustment is needed. Closingbird's business days skip weekends and US federal holidays, which lines up with the F201's banking and business day definitions (Monday to Friday excluding federal holidays); check any date next to a holiday that falls on a weekend, and for anything counted from another event, such as a holder's notice, set a fixed date. Every owner gets a morning reminder. See deadline tracking.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the due diligence period in Georgia?

As long as the parties agree. The F201 has a blank for the number of days from the Binding Agreement Date; there's no default length in the form.

Is option money refundable in Georgia?

The $10 option money is nonrefundable. Additional option money isn't refundable unless closing fails because of the seller's default, per the 2023 printing.

Does the Georgia due diligence period include weekends?

Yes. Days are calendar days, and no deadline other than closing is extended because it falls on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday.

What time does the due diligence period end in Georgia?

At 11:59 p.m. on the last day, since the F201 defines a day as a full calendar day ending at 11:59 p.m.

Do you get earnest money back if you terminate during due diligence?

Yes, if the buyer gives the seller notice before the period expires. The option money stays with the seller.

Run it in Closingbird

Upload a Georgia contract, check the dates Closingbird fills in against your F201, and give each deadline an owner who gets a morning reminder. Start a free trial (14-day free trial, no credit card required) or see pricing.

Related reading

• The deadlines in a purchase contract
• Colorado contract deadlines explained
• North Carolina due diligence period
• The earnest money deadline
• Deadline tracking in Closingbird

Sources

Checked in October 2026. Rules and prices change, and many vary by state, so confirm with the source, your state's real estate commission or your broker before you rely on them.

• Georgia REALTORS: New Year, New Forms, a guide to the 2026 GAR forms revisions (Internet Archive capture, January 8, 2026)
• Georgia REALTORS: Changes to the 2025 GAR Contract Forms (Internet Archive capture)
• Georgia REALTORS: Purchase and Sale Agreement F201, 2023 printing, training copy (Internet Archive capture)