Policies & Statements

Several tools, policies and protocols are used to safeguard the submission of information through the DCA website. Security measures have been integrated into the design, implementation and day-to-day operations of the entire operating environment as part of our continuing commitment to the security of electronic content as well as the electronic transmission of information.

For services requiring online financial transactions, the DCA site uses the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption protocol to safeguard your sensitive personal information, including your credit card number. Information is encrypted from your computer to the DCA computer processing your request.

In order to further secure your privacy, do not divulge any passwords or sensitive information (e.g. credit card number) to anyone in a phone call or email. When you are finished with those applications that are password protected or require the input of your credit card information, it is always recommended that you close or otherwise exit the browser page.

The DCA site contains links to other websites, including those owned or maintained by other government, private, or not-for-profit entities. Such links are provided for convenience and/or information purposes only. A link does not constitute an endorsement of content, viewpoint, policies, products or services of that website. Once you link to a website not part of the DCA site, you are subject to the terms and conditions of that website, including but not limited to its privacy policy.

Information provided on the DCA site is intended to allow the public convenient access to services and information. While all attempts are made to provide accurate, current and reliable information we cannot guarantee that the information will be error-free. Therefore, DCA and its respective employees and officers expressly deny any warranty of the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published through this website and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance upon the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information.

All trademarks, service marks or copyrights appearing on the DCA website and other linked websites are trademarks, service marks, or copyrights of their respective owners. Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. Sec. 512(c)(2), notice of claims of copyright infringement should be directed to the Webmaster or by mail to the Department of Community Affairs, 60 Executive Park South, NE, Atlanta, GA 30329-2231.

Thank you for visiting the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) website. The DCA site is designed to make it easier and more efficient for Georgia citizens and businesses to interact with their State Government. But, as with all online resources, we appreciate that many visitors to this site will be concerned about accessibility to digital government. The State of Georgia is committed to providing an accessible, satisfying experience when you visit the DCA site.

Currently, DCA makes every effort to adhere to Priority 1 requirements as set forth by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Accessibility Initiative. Validation testing is conducted with industry-recognized tools for coding and general usability.

Our goal is to provide an accessible, efficient and friendly digital government experience. If you are having difficulties accessing portions of this site, please contact the Webmaster.

Revised: January 17, 2007

Thank you for visiting the website for the Department of Community Affairs (DCA). DCA strives to provide online resources in a safe, secure manner that respects your privacy when you visit our site.

This privacy statement addresses the collection, use, disclosure, and security of information that may be obtained on the DCA site.

Information Collected

When visiting this site, DCA may collect some or all of the following information:

• The name of your domain; for example, "xyzcompany.com" if you use a private Internet access account;
• An IP address; a number automatically assigned to your computer when you are using the Internet;
• The type of browser and operating system used to access our site;
• The Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to our site;
• The pages you visit within the site; and
• The links made to other websites through the site.

This information is collected for statistical analysis using third-party or proprietary software programs to create summary statistics. The statistics are used for the purpose of determining what information is of most and least interest to all visitors and identifying system performance or problem areas in order to better plan future site enhancements. This information is not collected for commercial marketing purposes.

If, during your visit to the DCA site, you voluntarily provide personally identifiable information, we will collect such information. Examples of personally identifiable information may include:

• Your name, address, or phone number;
• An e-mail address if you are communicating to us through e-mail;
• Information you voluntarily submit to the State of Georgia for the purposes of completing or submitting an application or form online;
• Other information volunteered, such as vendor profile/contact information, survey information or content of e-mail.

In general, please note the information collected, whether or not personally identifiable, is not limited to text characters and may include audio, video and other graphic formats you send us. Information is retained and used in accordance with existing laws, rules, regulations, and other policies.

Use
Depending on the specific service or transaction, DCA may share personally identifiable information amongst its agencies in order to provide such service or complete such transaction.

Public Disclosure
As a general rule, we will not disclose any personally identifiable information collected online to entities outside of State of Georgia departments and agencies except where you have given us permission, or where the information is public information under the Georgia Open Records Act O.C.G.A. 50-18-70 et seq., or other applicable laws. Visitors should be aware that information collected through this site may be subject to examination and inspection, if such information is a public record or not otherwise protected from disclosure.

Cookies
The DCA site may occasionally use "cookies" to customize your browsing experience. Cookies are simple text files stored by your web browser and they provide a method of distinguishing among visitors to the websites, and allowing customized features such as a "shopping cart" feature for online purchasing. Cookies created on your computer by using our websites do not contain personally identifiable information and do not compromise your privacy or security. You can refuse the cookie or delete the cookie file from your computer at any time by using any one of a number of widely available methods.

Security
Several tools, policies and protocols are used to safeguard the submission of information through the DCA site. Security measures have been integrated into the design, implementation and day-to-day operations of the entire operating environment as part of our continuing commitment to the security of electronic content as well as the electronic transmission of information.

For services requiring online financial transactions, DCA uses the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption protocol to safeguard your sensitive personal information, including your credit card number. Information is encrypted from your computer to the DCA computer processing your request.

In order to further secure your privacy, do not divulge any passwords or sensitive information (e.g. credit card number) to anyone in a phone call or e-mail. When you are finished with those applications that are password protected or required the input of your credit card information, it is always recommended that you close or otherwise exit the browser page.

Email
E-mail is not a secure form of transmission. As such DCA does not recommend that you submit sensitive or personally identifiable information via e-mail. If you choose to provide us with personal information in an e-mail we may use the e-mail and the information contained within it to improve our service to you or to respond to your request. Sometimes we forward your e-mail to other State employees who may be better able to help you, and this staff may be employed by a different agency within the State. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations or as required by law, we do not share our e-mail with any other organizations outside of the public sector.

Changes to this Privacy Statement
Revisions to this Privacy Statement will be posted to this location so that you will know the type of information we collect and how that information is used. We will also post the last date of revision at the top of this page.

Our goal is to provide a private, efficient and friendly digital government experience. If you have comments or questions regarding privacy at DCA, please contact the Webmaster.