The rules where you work $17
A first 30 days checklist, everyday forms, licenses, workers’ comp and taxes for Georgia, with a yearly calendar. Instant PDF download.
Buy the packet: $17Digital product, all sales final. Informational only, not legal, financial, tax or business advice.
What Georgia expects from a new trade business
Georgia licenses residential and commercial general contractors statewide, with a residential line at $2,500. An unlicensed contractor who needed a license can't enforce the contract and has no lien. Comp starts at three employees, and liens run on a 90-day filing clock with a 365-day lien action behind it.
Statewide license, a $2,500 residential line, and a narrow repair exception
Georgia's State Licensing Board for Residential and Commercial General Contractors issues residential-basic, residential-light commercial and commercial general contractor licenses. Residential licensing starts when the work, or your pay for it, exceeds $2,500. That line is in the residential definition. The commercial definition doesn't have one.
The repair exception is narrower than it sounds. The board's rule says you tell the owner in writing that you aren't licensed, you don't hand supervision to anyone but your own employees, the work doesn't touch life safety or structure, and you still pull local permits.
Electrical, plumbing, conditioned air, low voltage and utility work go through a separate state board. The law also lets specialty contractors work for owners without this license, and the board decides who qualifies, so ask first.
A contract between an owner and an unlicensed contractor who needed a license is unenforceable by the contractor, and there's no lien or bond claim. Bidding already counts as contracting. A state license works statewide. A construction attorney can check your scope.
Source: O.C.G.A. 43-41-2 (2025) · O.C.G.A. 43-41-17 (2025) · Board rule 553-8-.01, repair · State Licensing Board
Who to call: an attorney near you
Three employees, and you can owe comp to your sub's crew
Georgia's act leaves out a business with fewer than three employees regularly working in the same business in the state, unless it elects in. There's no separate construction number.
A small crew doesn't end the question. A contractor is liable for comp to a sub's injured employee as if it were the immediate employer, when the injury happens on or around the job it's running. If the sub is under the three-employee line, the claim can come straight to the contractor. You can try to recover from whoever should have paid.
Calling someone a 1099 doesn't settle it. An independent contractor has to have an agreement saying so, control the time, manner and method of the work, and be paid by the job or unit, not hourly or salary.
A 2016 copy of the code says a sole proprietor or partner can elect in through the insurer, a corporate officer can elect out in writing, and refusing to file proof of coverage is a misdemeanor with a possible 10% added to compensation plus attorney's fees. An insurance agent who writes contractors can confirm those and tell you how an LLC member is treated.
Source: O.C.G.A. 34-9-2 (2025) · O.C.G.A. 34-9-8 (2025) · O.C.G.A. 34-9-1 (2016 copy) · O.C.G.A. 34-9-2.2 (2016 copy) · O.C.G.A. 34-9-126 (2016 copy)
Who to call: an insurance agent near you
Getting paid: 90 days to file, 365 to start the lien action
Miss a required step and the lien isn't enforceable:
- Notice to contractor: if you have no contract with the contractor and a notice of commencement is on file, send it to the owner and the contractor within 30 days of that filing or your first delivery, whichever is later. Use registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery.
- File the claim of lien with the clerk of superior court within 90 days after the work is completed or the materials are furnished. Count from your own last day. It must carry the 395-day expiration statement and a notice that the owner can contest it, or it's invalid.
- Send a copy to the owner within 2 business days of filing, and to the contractor if a notice of commencement is on file.
- Start a lien action within 365 days of filing, then file a notice with the clerk within 30 days. A lawsuit, bankruptcy proof of claim or binding arbitration counts.
A notice of contest from the owner or contractor cuts your 365 days to 60 days from receipt. A notice of commencement is due within 15 days of the contractor starting. A preliminary notice is optional: file within 30 days of delivering, then mail a copy within 7 days. A lien waiver you signed but weren't paid on needs an affidavit of nonpayment within 90 days. A construction attorney can set up your forms.
Source: O.C.G.A. 44-14-360 (2025) · O.C.G.A. 44-14-361.1 (2025) · O.C.G.A. 44-14-361.3 (2025) · O.C.G.A. 44-14-361.5 (2025) · O.C.G.A. 44-14-366 (2025) · O.C.G.A. 44-14-367 (2025) · O.C.G.A. 44-14-368 (2025)
Who to call: an attorney near you
Sales tax: you pay it on your materials
Georgia treats a contractor who furnishes materials and does the work on real property as the consumer of those materials. You pay the tax when you buy them, or when you first use them if no tax was paid. Build it into your price.
You still register. The Department of Revenue says all contractors need a sales and use account number through the Georgia Tax Center, and the rule says to do it before your first job in the state. Returns are monthly unless the department authorizes something else, and they're due within 20 days after the period. Ask the department what to file in a month when you paid everything at purchase.
A contractor with no established Georgia location for at least a year before bidding posts a bond of 10% on any contract over $10,000. Selling materials without installing them is a different setup. A CPA who works with contractors can help with that and with local rates.
Source: Georgia DOR, tax guide for contractors · Rule 560-12-2-.26, contractors
Who to call: a CPA or tax pro near you
LLC: $110 to form and $60 a year
Forming an LLC with the Georgia Secretary of State runs about $110. The annual registration runs about $60, filed between January 1 and April 1, with a $25 late penalty. An older copy of the code lists $100 and $50, so go by what the state shows at checkout. There's no franchise tax on an LLC and no publication requirement.
An LLC doing licensed work also needs a licensed qualifying agent who owns part of it or works for it. Profit usually lands on your personal return. The Department of Revenue has the current income tax rate. When an S-corp election helps is a numbers question for a CPA who works with contractors.
Source: Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division · Rule 590-7-22-.03, annual registration · O.C.G.A. 14-11-1101 (2016 copy) · O.C.G.A. 43-41-9 (2025)
Who to call: a CPA or tax pro near you
Education, not legal or tax advice. Rules change. Confirm anything here with a licensed pro in Georgia before you rely on it. Last updated November 2026.