“Do I need a license in Georgia?” That depends on what you build and how big the job is. Georgia licenses contractors through two boards under the Secretary of State. The State Licensing Board for Residential and Commercial General Contractors, under Title 43, Chapter 41 of the Official Code of Georgia (O.C.G.A.), covers building and remodeling. The State Construction Industry Licensing Board, under Chapter 14, licenses electrical, plumbing, conditioned air, low voltage and utility contractors. A long list of specialty trades needs neither. This is Georgia in detail; the method for any state is in Do I Need a Contractor License?
Two recent changes explain the names you will see. A 2024 amendment, effective July 1, 2024, turned the “general contractor” license into the “commercial general contractor” license and renamed the board to match. And Chapter 14 was rewritten with a section for each trade, effective July 1, 2026. Older guides and forms may still use the old names.
The $2,500 line
A residential contractor needs a license where “the total value of the work or activity or of the compensation to be received by the contractor for such activity or work, whichever is the higher, exceeds $2,500.00” (§ 43-41-2(9)). Note “whichever is the higher.” The test is not only what you are paid, so a small labor-only price does not settle the question when the work itself is worth more. Without the license, no individual or business “shall have the right to engage in the business of residential contracting” (§ 43-41-17(a)).
The three licenses
| License | What it covers | Experience to apply | Continuing education, up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential-basic | Detached one- and two-family homes and one-family townhouses not over three stories, and their accessory buildings and structures | Two years of verifiable experience under a licensed residential contractor, mainly residential-basic work, or substantially similar experience | 3 hours a year |
| Residential-light commercial | All of the above, plus multifamily and multiuse light commercial buildings under four stories and under 25,000 square feet of wood or light-gauge metal frame, brick veneer, prefabricated or manufactured construction, or pre-engineered steel buildings up to 50,000 square feet, excluding listed special-hazard buildings | A relevant four-year degree; or four years of college courses and experience combined; or four years of construction experience, two of them with a residential contractor | 6 hours a year |
| Commercial general contractor | Any type of work, subject to the financial limits of any subclassification | A relevant degree, or four years combined, or four years of experience, including two with a commercial general contractor and one in work such as estimating, supervision or project management | 8 hours a year |
The definitions are in § 43-41-2(3), (10) and (11), the experience rules in § 43-41-6(b) to (d), and the continuing education limits in § 43-41-6(k). Every applicant must be at least 21. The board’s rules set general liability insurance of at least $300,000 for residential-basic and at least $500,000 for residential-light commercial (Rules 553-3-.01 and 553-3-.02), plus workers’ compensation as Georgia law requires; the state thresholds are covered in Workers’ Comp: When Your State Requires It.
Applying, and the LLC question
Trades that do not need this license
Specialty contractors. Chapter 41 does not stop a specialty contractor from contracting directly with an owner for its own trade (§ 43-41-17(f)), and the board keeps a list of those trades. Its traditional specialty list, revised in March 2020 and described by the board as under development and subject to change, includes shingles and shakes, flat roofing and sheet metal roofing (roofing), siding, gutters and downspouts, fencing, painting and special coatings, masonry, concrete cast in place, insulation, drywall, ceramic tile, wood flooring, cabinets and countertops, windows, overhead doors, landscape and irrigation, asphalt paving and demolition.
A specialty contractor may also take on other work that would otherwise need a license, if it is incidental to and an integral part of the specialty work and does not exceed the greater of $10,000 or 25 percent of the total contract value at signing (§ 43-41-17(f)). Say a roofer signs a $14,000 reroof: 25 percent is $3,500, so the $10,000 figure is the limit for that other work. The exemption never covers work that needs a Chapter 14 license.
Repair work. Anyone may do repair work for an owner without this license, provided they tell the owner they do not hold a license under Chapter 41 and the work does not affect the structural integrity of the property; the board defines “repair” by rule (§ 43-41-17(g)). The disclosure is not a formality. In Fleetwood v. Lucas (2020), the Court of Appeals held that the repair exception did not apply because the contractor had not disclosed being unlicensed. A handyman relying on it should put the disclosure in writing on every estimate.
Others. An owner building for their own use, not for sale or lease (§ 43-41-17(h)); agricultural buildings (§ 43-41-17(k)); and manufactured home installation (§ 43-41-17(n)).
Electrical, plumbing, HVAC and low voltage: the other board
The State Construction Industry Licensing Board has five divisions: conditioned air, electrical, low voltage, master and journeyman plumbers, and utility contractors. A residential or commercial general contractor may include their work in a contract but may not perform it; it “shall only be performed by a person who is duly licensed” under Chapter 14 (§ 43-41-2(3) and (9)). In Restor-It, Inc. v. Beck (2019), a remodeling contract that included electrical and plumbing work by a contractor without those licenses was held unenforceable under § 43-41-17(b).
A Chapter 14 licensee may contract directly with an owner for incidental building work, up to the greater of $10,000 or 25 percent of the contract (§ 43-41-17(e)). Chapter 14 licenses are good statewide, and a city or county may not add its own licensing requirements, except as § 43-14-16 provides (§ 43-14-19(b)). A homeowner may do this work on a home they own or occupy, to code and inspection (§ 43-14-19(d)(1)). One rule touches your marketing: licensees must show the registration or certificate number on commercial vehicles used only in the business, show it (or a website address where it can be found) on advertising, and print it on invoices and proposal forms (§ 43-14-18(b)). The wider picture is in Your License Number in Ads.
What working without the license costs
Four things to do
- List every service on your website and match it to a specialty trade, a Chapter 41 license or a Chapter 14 license, including small add-ons such as an outlet or a fixture swap.
- If you work through an LLC or corporation, check that the license is issued to the business through a qualifying agent, not only to you as an individual.
- Check every electrician, plumber and HVAC sub’s Chapter 14 license before they start, and keep a copy in the job file.
- If you rely on the repair exemption, put the “not licensed under Chapter 41” disclosure in writing on each estimate.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and vary by state; check with the agency named above or a professional for your situation.