Georgia · IOLTA Jurisdiction
Georgia IOLTA Trust Account Management
A complete guide for Georgia attorneys on IOLTA compliance, Rule 1.15 requirements, and how Ethnum keeps your trust accounts audit-ready — every single month.
Georgia at a Glance
Governing Rule
Rule 1.15
Participation
Mandatory
Reconciliation
Monthly Min.
Record Retention
6 Years
Interest Beneficiary
Georgia Bar Foundation
Oversight Body
State Bar of Georgia
Debit Cards / Cash
🚫 Prohibited
TL;DR — Quick Summary
Georgia attorneys who handle client funds must participate in the IOLTA program under Rule 1.15, placing nominal or short-term funds in a pooled, interest-bearing trust account. Interest flows to Georgia Legal Services Program and other civil legal aid organizations — not to the lawyer or client. Firms must reconcile at least monthly, retain all records for six years, and are subject to State Bar of Georgia oversight with automatic bank overdraft reporting to the Office of the General Counsel.
Overview
Purpose & Function of Georgia IOLTA Accounts
Georgia’s IOLTA program was established by the Georgia Supreme Court and is administered by the State Bar of Georgia in coordination with the Georgia Bar Foundation. It addresses a practical problem that all IOLTA jurisdictions share: client funds that are individually too small in amount or held for too brief a period to generate meaningful net interest for any single client would otherwise sit idle in non-interest-bearing accounts, benefiting no one.
Under Georgia’s IOLTA framework, those funds are pooled in a single interest-bearing trust account. Financial institutions remit interest directly to the Georgia Bar Foundation, which distributes grants to the Georgia Legal Services Program, Atlanta Legal Aid Society, law school clinical programs, and other initiatives that expand access to justice for low-income Georgians. These programs serve clients across all 159 Georgia counties, and IOLTA funding is one of their most significant non-governmental revenue sources.
For Georgia attorneys, IOLTA participation is mandatory and non-negotiable. Every attorney licensed in Georgia who handles client or third-party funds is required to maintain a compliant trust account — and the State Bar’s active oversight structure, including automatic bank overdraft reporting to the Office of the General Counsel, means compliance must be maintained consistently throughout the year, not just at annual licensing time.
Requirements
Key Requirements of Georgia IOLTA Accounts
Mandatory Participation
All licensed Georgia attorneys handling client or third-party funds must maintain an IOLTA account. No exemptions exist based on firm size, practice area, or how frequently client funds are handled throughout the year.
Eligible Institutions
IOLTA funds must be deposited at financial institutions approved by the State Bar of Georgia and paying market-rate comparable interest. Verify eligibility with the Georgia Bar Foundation before opening or transferring accounts.
Account Naming
Under Rule 1.15, the account must be clearly designated as a client trust account — titled in a manner that distinguishes it without ambiguity from the firm's operating accounts and all other general business accounts.
Monthly Reconciliation
A mandatory three-way reconciliation is required at least monthly — comparing the adjusted bank statement balance, the pooled trust ledger, and the sum of all individual client sub-ledger balances. All three must match exactly.
Six-Year Records
All trust account records must be retained for at least six years after the conclusion of each matter — a retention period longer than most states and a frequent compliance gap identified during State Bar disciplinary reviews.
Annual Bar Licensing Certification
Georgia attorneys must certify their trust account status annually through the State Bar of Georgia's attorney licensing renewal process, including those who certify they currently hold no client funds.
Georgia-Specific Rules
What Makes Georgia's Rules Different from Other States
- Six-Year Record Retention Rules
Georgia Rule 1.15 requires attorneys to retain all trust account records for a minimum of six years after the conclusion of each matter. This exceeds the five-year standard common across most states — including neighboring Florida, Alabama, and South Carolina — and sits between those states and the seven-year requirements of New Jersey and Washington. The six-year window directly reflects the State Bar’s investigation timelines, and gaps in records from years five and six are a frequent source of violations discovered during disciplinary reviews of Georgia attorneys.
- Debit Cards, ATM Access & Cash Withdrawals Prohibited
Georgia’s trust account rules explicitly prohibit the use of debit cards, ATM cards, and cash withdrawals on any client trust account. Every disbursement must be made by named-payee check or documented electronic wire transfer. The prohibition on checks payable to “Cash” is equally firm under State Bar of Georgia guidance. These restrictions apply regardless of the transaction amount or the circumstances, and violations in this category are among the most commonly cited in Georgia disciplinary proceedings involving trust account misconduct.
- Automatic Overdraft Reporting to General Counsel
Under Georgia’s rules governing approved financial institutions, any bank participating in the IOLTA program is required to notify the State Bar of Georgia’s Office of the General Counsel automatically whenever a client trust account is overdrawn or a presented instrument is dishonored — regardless of the dollar amount or the underlying cause. This automatic reporting channel means the Office of the General Counsel may be aware of a trust account irregularity before the attorney has had any opportunity to investigate, correct, or explain the underlying issue.
- Office of General Counsel Investigation Authority
The State Bar of Georgia’s Office of the General Counsel (OGC) has broad authority to investigate trust account violations proactively — not just in response to client grievances. The OGC’s intake process treats overdraft notifications from banks as self-initiating complaints, meaning an automatic bank report can open a formal disciplinary inquiry without any client ever filing a grievance. This proactive enforcement posture makes continuous, accurate bookkeeping essential — not just a best practice.
Legal Framework
Core Legal Framework
Georgia’s IOLTA framework rests on a layered regulatory structure that gives trust account obligations both ethical force and active procedural enforcement through the State Bar of Georgia.
Rule 1.15 — Safekeeping Property (Parts I & II)
Georgia's foundational trust account rule, which is structured in two parts. Part I governs the safekeeping of client property generally — segregation from firm funds, recordkeeping, disbursement requirements, and the six-year retention mandate. Part II governs IOLTA participation specifically — the obligation to place qualifying funds in an approved interest-bearing account, route interest to the Georgia Bar Foundation, and comply with approved institution requirements. Attorneys must satisfy both parts independently and simultaneously.
Georgia IOLTA Rules (Georgia Supreme Court Order)
Complement Rule 1.15 and govern the mechanics of the pooled interest program administered by the Georgia Bar Foundation. They define eligible financial institutions, establish the interest rate comparability standard, specify which bank fees may be deducted from IOLTA earnings, and designate the Georgia Bar Foundation as the sole administrator of IOLTA interest distributions. Neither attorneys nor clients may benefit from IOLTA interest earnings under any circumstances.
State Bar of Georgia Rules — OGC Enforcement Authority
Empower the Office of the General Counsel to investigate trust account violations, initiate disciplinary proceedings, and receive automatic overdraft notifications from approved financial institutions. The State Bar rules also govern annual attorney licensing renewal, through which Georgia attorneys certify their trust account status each year — giving the OGC statewide visibility into every active attorney's IOLTA compliance posture on an ongoing basis.
Setup Guide
Setting Up a Georgia IOLTA Account
Opening a compliant Georgia IOLTA account requires attention to both parts of Rule 1.15 simultaneously — and each step carries compliance weight because the account is a fiduciary vehicle for client property subject to active State Bar oversight.
Ongoing Compliance
Key Requirements for Attorneys Handling Client Funds
Three-Way Reconciliation
Georgia Rule 1.15 requires all client trust accounts to be reconciled at least monthly. The reconciliation must compare three numbers: the adjusted bank statement balance, the pooled trust account ledger balance in the firm’s accounting system, and the sum of all individual client sub-ledger balances. All three must agree exactly — any discrepancy must be identified, investigated, and resolved before the reconciliation can be considered complete and documented.
The supervising attorney remains personally accountable for reconciliation accuracy even when the mechanical work is delegated to support staff or an outside bookkeeper. Georgia disciplinary proceedings have consistently held that inadequate supervision of delegated trust account functions is not a mitigating factor in Rule 1.15 violations — the attorney of record bears full personal responsibility for the accuracy of all trust account records, regardless of who performed the underlying bookkeeping work.
Recordkeeping Standards
Georgia Rule 1.15 requires attorneys to maintain complete, contemporaneous records of all trust account activity for at least six years after the conclusion of each matter. Required records include:
- Receipt and disbursement journals showing date, amount, payer or payee, and client matter identifier for every transaction
- Individual client sub-ledgers showing funds received, disbursements made, and running balances for each matter
- Bank records including monthly statements, deposit slips, and canceled checks or check images for the full six-year period
- Supporting documents such as retainer agreements, settlement statements, invoices, and written client authorizations for each disbursement
Segregation and Commingling
Client funds must never come into contact with the firm’s operating or business accounts. Retainers, settlement proceeds, and all other funds held on behalf of a client must remain in the trust account until they are properly earned or explicitly authorized for disbursement. Under Rule 1.15, the only firm funds permitted in a Georgia IOLTA account are a minimal amount to cover unavoidable bank service charges — and only when those charges are not already waived by the approved institution.
Disbursement Rules
Georgia prohibits cash withdrawals, debit card use, ATM access, and checks payable to “Cash” on any client trust account. Every disbursement must be made by named-payee check or documented electronic wire transfer. Attorneys must never disburse against deposits that have not yet cleared — disbursing against uncleared funds constitutes commingling under Rule 1.15 regardless of the attorney’s intent or the ultimate outcome of the deposit, and is treated as a per se violation in Georgia disciplinary proceedings.
Oversight & Enforcement
Oversight and Enforcement in Georgia
Georgia Bar Foundation
Administers the IOLTA program, certifies eligible financial institutions, monitors interest rate comparability, and distributes IOLTA grant funds to the Georgia Legal Services Program, Atlanta Legal Aid Society, law school clinics, and other access-to-justice initiatives statewide.
Office of the General Counsel
Investigates trust account violations and enforces Rule 1.15. Approved financial institutions must notify the OGC automatically of any overdraft or dishonored item on a lawyer's trust account, giving regulators visibility into potential violations before they are corrected.
Automatic Bank Reporting
Any overdraft or dishonored instrument on a trust account triggers mandatory automatic notification to the OGC — regardless of cause, amount, or whether the error was corrected immediately. Overdraft notifications can open a formal disciplinary inquiry without any client grievance being filed.
Annual Licensing Renewal Review
Georgia attorneys certify their IOLTA account status annually through State Bar licensing renewal. This gives the OGC statewide visibility into every active attorney's trust account compliance each year — including attorneys who certify they currently hold no client funds but must still complete annual certification.
How Ethnum Helps
Georgia Trust Accounting — Handled by Ethnum
Georgia’s Rule 1.15 framework is among the most actively enforced in the Southeast. The six-year record retention requirement, the monthly reconciliation mandate, the debit card and cash prohibitions, the OGC’s broad proactive investigation authority, and the automatic bank overdraft reporting system create a compliance burden that pulls attorney focus away from client work — with little margin for error before a formal inquiry begins.
Ethnum’s specialists maintain an active knowledge base of Georgia’s Rule 1.15 requirements, updated continuously. Here’s exactly what we handle for Georgia law firms:
- Monthly 3-way trust reconciliation — bank statement vs. trust ledger vs. individual client sub-ledger balances
- Client ledger management for every active matter — funds received, disbursements, and running balances
- Six-year record organization and retrieval-ready filing — built to withstand OGC disciplinary review
- Annual State Bar licensing renewal trust account certification support and documentation
- Trust-to-operating transfer documentation — earned fees moved at the right time, every time
- Integration with Clio, QuickBooks, Xero, CosmoLex, and your existing software stack
- Monthly Trust Score report — your compliance health at a glance, delivered by the 10th
Table of Contents
Georgia Resources
- State Bar of Georgia – Official Website
- IOLTA & Georgia Bar Foundation Program
- Office of the General Counsel – Compliance Hub
- Approved Financial Institutions & Notice Form
- Rules of Professional Conduct (Rule 1.15 I–III)
- Annual Attorney License & Membership Renewal
- Official Handbook – Rules, Regulations & Policies
Georgia Trust Accounting, Off Your Plate.
Let Ethnum handle your IOLTA compliance so you can focus on what matters — your clients and your cases. Free consultation, no commitment required.