Georgia Control of Mass Gatherings — O.C.G.A. §§ 31-27-1 to 31-27-12, with DPH Rules ch. 511-3-2 REPEALED effective 26 April 2025[1]
Summary
Georgia retains a classic 1972 mass-gathering statute administered by the Department of Public Health — but its implementing rules were repealed in 2025, and the numeric staffing standards are gone. A "mass gathering" is "any event likely to attract 5,000 or more persons and to continue for 15 or more consecutive hours." No person may hold or promote a mass gathering unless a permit has been issued; application goes to DPH at least 15 days before first advertising and at least 45 days before the gathering. The application must include plans covering water, sewage, toilets, refuse, food service and medical facilities, and before issuance the applicant must provide an emergency plan covering medical supplies, facilities and personnel, evacuation procedures and emergency access roads, a command post with an adequate communication system, and completion of facilities at least 48 hours before the event. No numeric physician, nurse or ambulance ratios appear in the statute; the numeric detail lived in Rule 511-3-2-.03, repealed effective 26 April 2025.
So what
The single most important operational fact about Georgia is that the staffing standards no longer exist: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. ch. 511-3-2 was repealed effective 26 April 2025, so Rule 511-3-2-.03 is historical only and must not be cited for compliance. The 5,000-person, 15-hour permit statute still stands with its required medical and emergency plan, but staffing adequacy is now negotiated case by case with DPH and county boards of health rather than read off a table. Practically this means the event physician's own plan, county mass-gathering ordinances and general EMS licensure rules carry the load that the repealed rules used to carry.