Room‐temperature photoluminescence measurements were made on 300‐keV proton‐bombarded GaAs as a function of dose, post‐bombardment time, and temperature of anneal and were compared with measurements on unbombarded surfaces annealed under identical conditions. For heavy‐dose (1017protons cm−2) samples the photoluminescence signal recovers exponentially with temperature of anneal, with an apparent activation energy of 1.15 eV. For lower‐dose samples deterioration or saturation of the recovery process occurs at an anneal temperature of approximately 800 °C. This is explained in terms of the formation of As vacancies near the surface during annealing.