We have investigated the dynamics of the donor-acceptor-pair (DAP) recombination in Mg-doped GaN layers grown by MOVPE as well as MBE. The observed nonexponential decay curves are perfectly described if all parallel decay channels for each donor impurity surrounded by the acceptor impurities are included. Best fits have been obtained with a donor binding energy of 32 AE 2 meV. Additionally, under resonant excitation of the donor-bound-exciton complex the excited state of the donor could be clearly identified. From these data a donor binding energy of 29:9 AE 1:0 meV has been estimated, in good agreement with the value obtained from the DAP decay. We emphasize that the analysis of the DAP decay yields an accurate estimate for the neutral acceptor concentration in GaN : Mg without any need for further electrical measurements.