GPTC was first established in 1961 as DeKalb Area Vocational School. The college was initially organized in cooperation with the Vocational Division of the State Department of Education and operated by the DeKalb County Board of Education. DeKalb Technical College operated as a division and campus of Georgia Perimeter College (known then as Dekalb College) from 1972 to 1986, and as the post secondary unit of DeKalb County School System until June 30, 1996.
