Deep levels in undoped and weakly Mg‐doped n‐type GaN films fabricated by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition were examined with deep level transient spectroscopy. Deep levels measured at 0.26 and 0.62 eV below the conduction band were found in relatively low concentrations of ∼2×1013 cm−3 in undoped GaN. Addition of small quantities of the Mg acceptor species by means of bis‐cyclopentadienyl magnesium (Cp2Mg) during growth corresponded to a significant increase in the concentration of the level at 0.62 eV. The concentration of the shallower level, found to be independent of the Cp2Mg addition, remained unchanged. These deep levels may detrimentally affect optical and electrical properties when fabricating p‐type GaN. © 1996 American Institute of Physics.