Georgia contractor license requirements
What you need before your first paid job in Georgia, one page for each trade. The license, the least insurance you must carry, whether the state asks for a bond, when you charge sales tax, and the deadlines that protect your right to be paid.
Plumbing in Georgia
- License you need
- Journeyman PlumberRenews every two years
- Workers' comp
- Requiredonce you regularly employ three or more people, full time or part time
- Credit score
- None
- Georgia licenses the person, not the company. The board does not register plumbing businesses. Only a Master Plumber may own one, and a licensed Master Plumber must work there full time and supervise the jobs.
- A Class I Master Plumber license stops at single-family homes, one-level homes for up to two families, and commercial buildings up to 10,000 square feet. Class II has no limit, but you must show commercial or industrial plumbing experience to get it.
HVAC in Georgia
- License you need
- Conditioned Air Contractor Class I (restricted)Renews every two years
- Workers' comp
- Requiredonce you regularly employ three or more people, full time or part time
- Credit score
- None
- Georgia calls the trade "conditioned air contracting". A Class I license stops at 175,000 BTU of heating and 60,000 BTU of cooling (5 tons), and each complete system in one installation counts as its own job for that limit.
- EPA Section 608 certification is written into the state experience rule. You must show it in your license application, not just carry it on the job.
Electrical in Georgia
- License you need
- Statewide Class I Electrical ContractorRenews every two years
- Workers' comp
- Requiredonce you regularly employ three or more people, full time or part time
- Credit score
- None
- Georgia licenses the person, not the company. The board does not register electrical businesses, and the license travels with you rather than with your employer.
- There are two classes and the line between them is a number. Class I stops at single-phase work up to 200 amps at the service drop. Class II has no limit at all.
Across states
Can you charge sales tax on labor? The rule in 25 states. Which states tax the work itself, which tax only the parts, and how a repair differs from a new install.