Georgia general contractor license requirements

Georgia licenses residential and general contractors at state level through one board with two divisions. On the residential side the line is a dollar figure. The statute the board quotes, O.C.G.A. § 43-41-2(9), catches residential work where the total value of the work or the pay for it, whichever is higher, exceeds $2,500.

The general contractor definition, § 43-41-2(5), carries no dollar floor: it covers commercial, institutional, industrial and public buildings. The board’s FAQ puts it plainly: to perform or offer to perform this work for pay in Georgia, you must be licensed.

Three things sit outside the license, each narrower than it sounds:

• Your own house. The board does not require a license to build your own home; local permits still apply.
• Repairs. Rule 553-8-.01 lets an unlicensed person repair, but only with a written disclosure to the owner that they are not licensed, no subcontracted supervision, nothing that touches life safety or structure (no load-bearing walls or beams), and local permits pulled.
• Specialty and Chapter 14 trades. Electrical, plumbing, conditioned air, low-voltage and utility work have their own Georgia boards and licenses. A general contractor may not perform that work itself. The board lists exempt specialty work on its exemptions page; our general versus specialty comparison covers the split.

The residential division issues two licenses and the general contractor division two more. They are separate instruments: moving from residential to commercial is a new application through GOALS, not an upgrade. A General Contractor may do residential work; the reverse is not true.

Light commercial has fine print: buildings of wood or light-gauge metal frame, brick veneer, prefabricated or manufactured construction, or pre-engineered steel buildings up to 50,000 sq ft, and nothing the building code treats as a special hazard. Above the $1,000,000 line a Limited Tier holder needs the full General Contractor license, and change orders count against the cap (rule 553-4-.05(10)).

Every Georgia license is issued either to an individual, working in their own name or a sole-proprietor trade name, or to a qualifying agent who licenses a company registered with the Corporations Division. The difference catches people out.

• The agent swears an affidavit of final approval authority over all construction work, contracts and the company’s finances (rule 553-3-.05(2)).
• A company can have several agents; one person can qualify several companies, with a new application for each.
• Leaving: the FAQ asks for a notarised disaffiliation notice within 30 days; the company then has 180 days to finish open contracts. The rule text allows 45 days for the notice, so filing inside 30 satisfies both.

Every applicant must be at least 21. Beyond that the residential and commercial ladders ask for different proof, sworn on the application and backed by documents when the board asks.

Each license takes two exams through the board’s vendor, PSI: a trade exam and the Georgia Business & Law exam. Commercial applicants sit the NASCLA-accredited exam for commercial general building contractors. Once the board approves you, the approval letter is good for one year and the FAQ allows three sittings in that year. Our license exam guide covers how the two halves differ.

The board says applications are generally processed within 20 business days, and a file must be complete 15 days before a board meeting to make that meeting’s agenda. There is no grandfather route; the exam exemption window closed years ago.

Georgia has no single contractor license bond. It asks for a net-worth figure and insurance, and on the residential side lets a bond stand in for the net worth.

The residential “alternative” is any one of: a bank credit reference form, or a $25,000 surety bond, line-of-credit letter or letter of credit. Our bond premium calculator shows what a $25,000 bond costs a year at your credit tier. Commercial applicants affirm the net worth (the company’s, where a qualifying agent applies), and the application may ask for financial documents.

Rule 553-6-.01 says only that fees are set by a separate schedule the board may change. That schedule lives on GOALS, the Secretary of State’s licensing portal, behind a search form.

Budget for an application fee for each license and each company an agent qualifies, two exam fees paid to PSI, and the biennial renewal. Our license cost calculator lets you enter the figures once GOALS shows them, alongside insurance and the bond.

Every Georgia contractor license renews every two years, online, by June 30 of even-numbered years (rules 553-12-.01 and .05). The 2026 cycle has just closed; the next deadline is 2028-06-30.

The CE year runs July 1 to June 30. No more than half the hours may come from online or correspondence courses, and since 2026-01-01 every hour must be recorded in CE Broker, which the board audits. Keep certificates for two years after the renewal period ends. Our renewal guide covers building the dates into your calendar.

The board’s current FAQ lists two agreements for the unlimited General Contractor license, Louisiana and Mississippi, and three for Residential Basic: Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina. Light Commercial and the Limited Tier have none.

• Your license must have been won by exam and active for at least 3 years with no discipline.
• You must live in, or your business be chartered in, the state that issued it.
• You still sit the Georgia Business & Law exam (rule 553-2-.13).

The board’s 2022 comparison chart also named North Carolina and Tennessee for the General Contractor license, and its residential application guide names only Louisiana and Mississippi. Confirm your state with the board before you apply. Our reciprocity checker shows what an agreement does and does not waive.

1. § 1Open the GOALS licensee search and choose Individual or Business/Facility.
2. § 2Pick “Residential & Commercial General Contractors” as the profession, then the license type.
3. § 3Fill at least two fields, such as license number and last name, and search.
4. § 4Check the type matches the job: a Residential Basic number on a 30-unit building is a red flag.

For other states, our license lookup directory lists every board’s search page.