Last updated
Georgia keeps general business licensing at the local level. The Secretary of State registers the LLC, the Department of Revenue handles state taxes, and your city or county decides whether you need a license to operate there. Most owners deal with all three.
Who issues a Georgia business license?
The Secretary of State's First Stop business guide is plain about it. Business licenses may be obtained from the county and/or city in which the primary place of business will be located. The guide suggests you contact your local business licensing authority. To find out who regulates licenses in your county, it says to ask your local chamber of commerce or the county or municipal government.
Some types of business also need federal licenses, or state and local licenses for the occupation itself. In certain cases the employees need their own licenses. The guide says new owners should expect to pay a fee to get a license, but the amount belongs to each local authority, so we quote none.
What do I do at the state level?
Register for taxes. The Department of Revenue runs the Register a New Business page, and the registration itself is done in the Georgia Tax Center. Steps in order:
- Form the company with the Secretary of State. Our Georgia LLC guide covers it.
- Get an EIN. The Department says you cannot proceed without it, and our EIN guide shows how.
- Find your NAICS code. The Department requires one for every business registration.
- Open a Georgia Tax Center login and register for the tax types your business needs.
You will have the date of first Georgia sales, officer details and at least one responsible party ready. The date may be set before or after today, but not more than six months back. Expect a state taxpayer ID by email within a few hours, and use it to file monthly or quarterly, depending on your situation.
The state's registration overview also reminds you that unemployment insurance tax is not paid through Revenue. Register with the Department of Labor if you have staff.
Which Georgia professions need a state license?
The Secretary of State grants professional licenses, and its Professional Licensing Boards Division supports 42 licensing boards. Anything from a regulated trade to a profession can sit there. Use the licensing division on the Secretary of State site to apply or renew.
Our other Georgia pages help here. The Georgia registered agent guide explains the address you need on the LLC filing, and that address is separate from any license you hold. Keep the Secretary of State annual registration current too, because lapses can lead to administrative dissolution, and a dissolved LLC is a poor base for a license application.
How do I check a Georgia license?
For a city or county license, ask the office that issued it. There is no single state search for local licenses that we could confirm. For the LLC itself, the Corporations Division business search shows status. Our business license lookup and state tax ID lookup guides explain the other numbers.
If you will trade under a different name, a county trade name filing is a separate step. See the Georgia DBA guide. Next door, Florida charges a local business tax instead.
This page does not cover local fee schedules, zoning, or alcohol and tobacco permits.