Georgia due diligence period: how GAR counts the days
The georgia due diligence period is negotiated in the GAR F201 and counted from the Binding Agreement Date. See how days, weekends and 11:59 p.m. work.
By vikas · Published · 6 min read
The georgia due diligence period is the option window in the Georgia REALTORS (GAR) F201 Purchase and Sale Agreement. For a set number of days after the Binding Agreement Date, the buyer can terminate for any reason or no reason and get the earnest money back. The number of days is negotiated, and the count is less forgiving than many agents assume.
Quick answer: A Georgia due diligence period lasts however many days the parties write into the GAR F201; the form has no default. The Binding Agreement Date is day zero, each day ends at 11:59 p.m. Georgia time, and the deadline does not move for a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday. Only the closing date moves.
How long is the due diligence period in Georgia?
There is no standard length. The F201 reads “a Due Diligence Period of _____ days from the Binding Agreement Date,” and no statute fills that blank. Buyers and sellers settle it in the offer and counteroffers.
When you pick a number, work backward from what has to happen. The buyer needs a general inspection, any specialty inspections the house calls for, contractor quotes, a repair negotiation and time to decide. Financing and appraisal contingencies sit in separate GAR exhibits with their own deadlines, so the due diligence number does not have to cover the whole loan process. It does have to cover everything the buyer wants a free exit for.
What does a buyer get during the Georgia due diligence period?
The F201 turns the contract into an option contract while the period runs. In plain terms:
- The buyer may terminate for any reason or no reason by giving notice to the seller before the period expires, and is entitled to the return of the earnest money without penalty.
- The buyer may ask to amend the agreement to address concerns about the property or the deal.
- If the buyer does not terminate, the buyer accepts the property as is, subject to any amendment both parties sign.
The seller is paid for granting that option. The form recites $10 in nonrefundable option money and has a blank for additional option money, paid directly to the seller. The parties choose whether the additional amount is applied to the price at closing. It is not refundable unless the closing fails because the seller defaults. That is a different pot of money from the earnest money held by the holder.
How does GAR count the days?
The F201 has its own counting rules, and they decide whether a termination notice is on time:
- Day zero is the Binding Agreement Date, and day one is the next calendar day. The form says the date the deadline is counted from “will be day zero.”
- A day ends at 11:59 p.m. The form defines “Day” as a full calendar day ending at 11:59 p.m., and all times are Georgia time. A notice delivered at 11:58 p.m. on the last day is on time. One delivered at 12:01 a.m. the next morning is not.
- Days are calendar days. GAR’s guidance is that a period counts business days only if the contract says so, usually through a special stipulation.
- Business days and banking days mean Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays. That definition matters for items like the holder’s deposit of earnest money, not for due diligence.
If the Binding Agreement Date itself is in doubt, everything above shifts. We covered how that date is set in our post on the Georgia binding agreement date.
Do weekends and holidays extend a Georgia due diligence deadline?
No. The F201 says: “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.”
So a due diligence period that ends on a Saturday ends at 11:59 p.m. that Saturday. One that ends on Christmas Day ends on Christmas Day. The closing date is the only date that rolls forward. The 2026 forms also changed the unilateral 8-day closing extension: it can now be used up to twice per transaction, once by each party, and notice can be given until 11:59 p.m. on the closing day.
Worked example: a 10-day due diligence period over Thanksgiving
Notice of acceptance is delivered on Wednesday, November 18, 2026. The contract has a 10-day due diligence period and earnest money due within 3 days.
| Day | Date | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Wed, Nov 18, 2026 | Binding Agreement Date |
| 1 | Thu, Nov 19 | Inspection should be booked by now |
| 3 | Sat, Nov 21, 11:59 p.m. | Earnest money due; it does not roll to Monday |
| 8 | Thu, Nov 26 | Thanksgiving, still a counted day |
| 10 | Sat, Nov 28, 11:59 p.m. | Due diligence expires |
The buyer’s agent who thinks “10 days, so I have until Monday” is wrong twice. The period ends Saturday, and Thanksgiving week shrinks the useful working days to about six. In this file we would aim to have the repair amendment in the seller’s hands by Monday, November 23.
A 14-day period from the same date would end Wednesday, December 2, 2026, giving a full working week after the holiday. That is often worth asking for in late November.
Now say the closing date written in the same contract is Friday, December 25, 2026. That is a federal holiday, and closing is the one date the F201 lets roll, so it moves to Monday, December 28.
What should get done before due diligence ends?
- Confirm the Binding Agreement Date in writing to both sides the day it happens.
- Schedule the inspection in the first two or three days, plus any sewer scope, radon or pest inspection.
- Collect contractor quotes for big items before drafting the repair amendment.
- Send the amendment early. The seller does not have to answer it at all, and silence does not extend anything.
- If the buyer needs more time, get a written amendment extending the period signed by both parties before it expires.
- If the answer is no, deliver the termination notice the way the contract’s notice provisions require, before 11:59 p.m. on the last day.
The executed contract controls, so confirm every date with your agent, broker or closing attorney. GAR’s summary of the 2026 forms changes lists what moved this year, and our Georgia transaction coordinator page explains how we track these files.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a standard due diligence period in Georgia?
No. The GAR F201 Purchase and Sale Agreement leaves the number of days blank, and no Georgia statute sets a default. The buyer and seller negotiate it in the offer. Pick a number that covers inspections, contractor quotes, a repair negotiation and time to decide, and remember that the count includes weekends and holidays.
Does the Georgia due diligence period include weekends?
Yes. GAR counts calendar days, with the Binding Agreement Date as day zero and each day ending at 11:59 p.m. Georgia time. The F201 says no time deadline is extended because it falls on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday, except the closing date. A period ending on a Sunday ends that Sunday night.
What happens to option money if the buyer terminates in Georgia?
The $10 option money recited in the F201 is nonrefundable, and any additional option money paid directly to the seller is not refundable unless the closing fails because the seller defaults. The earnest money is different. A buyer who terminates by notice before the due diligence period expires is entitled to its return without penalty.
Can a Georgia due diligence period be extended?
Yes, if both parties sign a written amendment before the period expires. A repair request or an unanswered amendment does not stop the clock. If the seller will not extend and the buyer is not ready to accept the property as is, the buyer has to deliver a termination notice before 11:59 p.m. on the last day.
Enter your Binding Agreement Date in the free Georgia closing deadline calculator to see every deadline and download it as a calendar file, or book a call with Lisa to have our team run your next Georgia file.