We have studied the dependence of the surface states upon relaxation in GaP (110) surface. Calculations were performed using a tight binding model with an approximate treatment of the self‐consistency. Different relaxation models, involving both rotation and stretching of the bonds were considered. The location and orbital composition of the surface bands their dispersion and the local density of states at the surface are presented for the various models. Unlike the other III–V compounds, we find that the relaxation does not remove the empty surface states from the band gap. Such a conclusion agrees with the experimental information on the pinning of the Fermi level in n‐doped samples of GaP. A comparison with partial‐yield photoemission data and a theoretical estimate of the surface excitonic binding energy are also given.