Residential and Commercial General Contractors Frequently Asked Questions
CE Requirements and CE Broker
As of January 1, 2026, all licensees that are required to do continuing education for renewal in the state of Georgia will be required to:
- Register and report their continuing education into CE Broker®; and,
- Beginning January 1, 2026 and thereafter to record all continuing education taken to satisfy licensure and renewal requirements within their CE Broker® account which will be accessible by the Board and its designees.
In light of this new requirement, licensees will need to create, at a minimum, a NO COST, BASIC LIMITED ACCESS ACCOUNT in CE Broker® and begin recording any completed continuing education activities.
LICENSEES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO LOAD ALL CE ALL CE COURSE ACTIVITIES AND CERTIFICATES BEFORE YOU APPLY TO RENEW AND AS YOU TAKE AND RECEIVE THEM. The Board will use its authority to audit the continuing education. If you do not enter ALL OF THE REQUIRED hours in CE Broker®, there is a high probability that you will be audited and the Board will take action as necessary in accordance with the law and rules.
Step by Step Instructions for Submitting Hours into CE Broker
Please click here for step by step instructions on how to submit your continuing education hours into CE Broker.
Residential and Commercial General Contractors FAQ
Yes. To perform (or offer to perform) residential or commercial general contractor services for compensation in Georgia, you must be licensed in accordance with the laws and rules that regulate this profession. You may view relevant laws and rules at the following link: Residential and Commercial General Contractors Rules and Regulations | Georgia Secretary of State (ga.gov).
However, licenses are not required to perform work that qualifies as a specialty trade. See more details here: (Residential and Commercial General Contractor Exemptions | Georgia Secretary of State (ga.gov).
Georgia does not require that you hold a license to build your own home; however, check with your local authority having jurisdiction to ensure you comply with all required local building codes and regulations.
Applicants with a criminal history may be eligible for licensure on case-by-case basis. For more information concerning the factors a licensing board considers when reviewing criminal history, please review O.C.G.A. 49-1-19(q)(1&22).
Licensure in Georgia as a Residential or Commercial General Contractor can be obtained by completing the necessary application and passing the required examinations.
Create an account in GOALS, select the license type for which you wish to apply, and follow the application flow to complete the application.
To help determine which license type best fits your situation, view this short video. <video in development>
Once your application is submitted, a licensing analyst will review the information. You will receive an email if additional information is needed or if there are questions regarding your application.
When the application has been through the review process, which may include review by the Board, you will be notified of the outcome.
A denial letter is a written notice sent to an applicant that has not met the requirements for licensure. The notice will include the reason for the denial and information on how to appeal.
Georgia offers reciprocity for Unlimited Commercial General Contractors with the following states:
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
Georgia offers reciprocity for Residential Basic Contractors with the following states:
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- South Carolina
The minimum requirements for reciprocity for any of the states listed above are:
- Your license was obtained by passing the necessary exams in your state
- You are a resident of or your business was chartered in the state where you hold your license
- Your license has been active for a minimum of 3 years with no disciplinary actions based on law violation
You may apply by Prior Approval if you currently hold (or have previously held) a license of the same type.
Once the Board approves you to sit for the exam, you’ll receive an Exam Approval Letter with instructions on how to register through our testing vendor, PSI. Exam approval letters are valid for one year.
For more information about our testing vendor, visit www.PSIOnline.com.
ADA Accommodations: For information regarding accommodations, see the following link: ADA Accommodations Form.
Veteran’s Preference Points: For information regarding VPP, see the following link: PLBVeteransInfo.pdf (ga.gov).
Once approved by the Board, you are allowed 3 exam sittings within a one-year period. If you do not pass either exam in 3 sittings, you will be required to wait one year from the date of your application to reapply in order to be approved for additional sittings of the same exam(s). Further instructions will be provided via correspondence from the Board.
The minimum net worth requirements for each category are as follows:
- Residential Basic - $25k
- Residential Light Commercial - $25k
- Commercial General Contractor - $150k
- Commercial General Contractor Limited Tier - $25k
See the licensure comparison chart: 49 Reference - Licensure Comparison Chart.pdf (ga.gov).
Insurance is a condition of applying for and maintaining licensure. General Liability requirements for each category are as follows:
- Residential Basic - $300k per occurrence
- Residential Light Commercial - $500k per occurrence
- Commercial General Contractor - $500k per occurrence
- Commercial General Contractor Limited Tier - $500k per occurrence
Worker’s Compensation insurance in Georgia is only required if you have 3 or more employees. See the licensure comparison chart: 49 Reference - Licensure Comparison Chart.pdf (ga.gov).
An individual contractor may only perform work in his or her name or under a DBA/sole proprietorship. In other words, they are not affiliated with a registered business organization.
A Qualifying Agent performs work on behalf of a business organization (such as a corporation, LLC, LLLP, LP, business trust, joint venture, or other legal entity) that is registered with the Georgia Corporations Division (Georgia Corporations Division (ga.gov).
To help determine which license type best fits your situation, view this short video. <video in development>
Yes, multiple people can serve as qualifying agents for one company.
Yes, a person can serve as a qualifying agent for more than one company.
NOTE: a new qualifying agent application will be required for each additional company.
To report disaffiliation with a company, submit a completed and notarized notice of disaffiliation (49 Form - Disaffiliation of Qualifying Agent.pdf).
You must notify the Board within 30 days of termination, after which the associated company will have 180 days to complete any open contracts before the license number becomes inactive. Please see Board Rule 553-11-.02 for more details.
Different license types are required depending on the type of building/work you intend to perform. To review the breakdown of all four licensure categories, please see the licensure comparison chart: 49 Reference - Licensure Comparison Chart.pdf (ga.gov).
To help determine which license type best fits your situation, view this short video. <video in development>
Yes.
Commercial General Contractor Limited Tier is the only category with a $1 Million per project limitation. See the licensure comparison chart: 49 Reference - Licensure Comparison Chart.pdf (ga.gov)
An SVD is a certifiable photo identification such as a driver’s license or passport.
The complete list of approved Secure and Verifiable Documents may be found at the following address: List of Acceptable SVDs.
Commercial General Contractors are NOT required to complete Continuing Education.
Residential Contractors must complete Continuing Education (3 hours per year for Residential Basic and 6 hours per year for Residential Light Commercial).
Any contracting company registered with the Georgia Corporations Division that is intending to perform work in Georgia must have at least one licensed qualifying agent. Therefore, you would need to submit a completed qualifying agent application for the newly created company.
A request to change the name of your company must be completed through the Georgia Corporations Division. The name change of the business organization must then be reported to the Board within 45 days by completing the appropriate form (49 Form - Change of Name or Address for a Company.pdf (ga.gov).) and submitting a copy of the Certificate of Amendment from the Georgia Corporations Division.
A change in the structure of the business organization (e.g., ABC, Inc. to ABC, LLC) is not considered a name change, and a new application will be required (see Board Rule 553-11-01 (c).
You will find information, including where and how to submit your complaint, at the following link: How To Submit A Complaint | Georgia Secretary of State (ga.gov).
These are two different license types. These are two different license types. You will need to apply for a Commercial General Contractor license type through GOALS.
Set up an account in GOALS, select the license type for which you wish to apply, complete and submit the online application along with required documents for review. Passing the required exams is part of the licensure process. You may apply by Reciprocity if Georgia has an agreement with your state. Otherwise, you would apply by Exam, which means you'll have to pass an exam before licensure.
Verification of Licensure requests can be made through your GOALS account by selecting the license for which you need the verification, then choosing “Request License Verification” from the menu on the left of the screen.
Board meeting dates and links to the virtual meeting can be found here >>
No, the grandfather clause expired many years ago. All applicants must successfully pass the required exams as part of the licensing process.