UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT Pursuant

to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported) May 22, 2015 (May 18, 2015)

Citizens Bancshares Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Georgia

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)

(404) 659-5959

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

Item 5.02      Departure of Directors or Principal Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Principal Officers

Effective May 18, 2015, Dr. Donald Ratajczak, PhD., 72, retired as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Ratajczak, a highly respected economic forecaster, founder of the Georgia State University Economic Forecasting Center, and a consulting economist at Raymond James & Associates, began his service as a director with the Company in 2003.

Cynthia N. Day, President and CEO of Citizens Bancshares Corporation, said, “We want to thank Dr. Ratajczak for his exemplary service, commitment and contributions to our Board and Company. Don’s insightful wisdom and presence will be truly missed and we wish him all the best in his retirement.”

Item 5.07      Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

The annual meeting of shareholders of Citizens Bancshares Corporation (the “Company”) was held on May 18, 2015 (the “Annual Meeting”). Proxies for the Annual Meeting were solicited pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The matters listed below were submitted to a vote of the Company’s shareholders and the final voting results were as follows:

Votes on the election of three (3) Class I directors to serve a three-year term expiring in 2018 were as follows:

Votes on the proposal to ratify the appointment of Elliott Davis Decosimo, LLC as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2015 were as follows:

Votes on the proposal to approve a non-binding resolution regarding the compensation of the Company’s executive officers named in the Summary Compensation Table of the Company’s Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting were as follows*:

* The Company must include the non-binding resolution in its proxy statement each year as long as it is participating in the U.S. Treasury TARP CDCI Program.

Signatures

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.