Cobb County Business License: Unincorporated Cobb Only, Dec 31 Expiry, Feb 1 Interest and the Mableton Change

October 29, 2026

Before you pay anything, answer one question: where are your premises? Cobb County issues the occupation tax certificate, the local document most owners call a Cobb County GA business license, but only for businesses located in unincorporated Cobb. A business inside a city pays that city, not the county. This guide covers who issues the certificate, how the Mableton change affects you, the renewal calendar, and the mistakes that cost owners money.

This article is informational, not legal or tax advice. Licensing rules, fee schedules and deadlines can change, so confirm current details with the agency named below, and talk to a qualified attorney or CPA about your specific situation.

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Georgia has no state business license

Georgia does not issue a general business license at the state level. The Secretary of State issues none, and registering for sales tax with the Department of Revenue is not a business license. The local document is the occupation tax certificate, authorized under O.C.G.A. Title 48, chapter 13. Each of Georgia's 159 counties and about 537 cities and towns sets its own formula, dates and prerequisites, so a Cobb rule tells you nothing about Atlanta, Savannah or Athens.

For most businesses, the setup sequence runs in this order:

Form the entity with the Secretary of State. Articles of Organization (LLC) and Articles of Incorporation (corporation) cost $110 total, and you can file online through eCorp at https://ecorp.sos.ga.gov/ or on paper.
Register with the Department of Revenue through the Georgia Tax Center at https://gtc.dor.ga.gov/ if you sell taxable goods or have employees.
Obtain the local certificate for your premises, plus any occupational license your trade requires from a state board.

The Secretary of State's annual registration is a separate entity filing. It is not the county certificate, and our annual registration guide covers it.

Location decides the issuer, not your mailing address

The Cobb County Business License Division issues certificates only for businesses in unincorporated Cobb. The issuer follows the location of the premises. A Marietta mailing address can sit in unincorporated Cobb, so the address on your envelope does not settle which government licenses you. Check the physical location of the business and, if it is unclear, ask before you apply.

These cities issue their own certificates for the territory inside their limits:

Marietta
Smyrna
Kennesaw
Acworth
Austell
Powder Springs
Mableton (incorporated December 13, 2023)

The Mableton change

Mableton was an unincorporated community, and Cobb licensed businesses there like everywhere else outside the cities. Since December 13, 2023, the City of Mableton handles its own business licensing. If your premises are in Mableton, do not assume a Cobb certificate applies. Cobb still processes some regulated licenses, including alcohol in some cases, so call before you assume either way. The old practice of treating Mableton as part of Cobb's licensing no longer holds for general business certificates.

What the certificate does and does not cover

The county certificate authorizes you to do business from a specific location in unincorporated Cobb. It does not replace the other filings and approvals a business needs. Keep these separate in your planning:

Entity formation: handled by the Secretary of State, not the county.
Sales tax registration: handled by the Department of Revenue through the Georgia Tax Center. It is not a business license.
Occupational licenses: contractors, electricians, plumbers, cosmetology, real estate and similar trades are licensed by state boards, such as the Secretary of State Professional Licensing Boards Division.
Zoning approval: handled through Cobb Zoning, and required for home-based businesses and new locations.
Business personal property filing: a property tax return with the county, not a license.

Where to apply and when to call

Cobb County Business License Division (Community Development)
1150 Powder Springs Street, Suite 400, Marietta, GA 30064
Phone: 770-528-8410
Email: [email protected]
Payments are accepted Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The South Cobb Service Center no longer accepts business license documents as of July 1, 2025. Do not take an application or payment there.

Fees follow gross receipts, not a flat rate

The county does not charge one flat fee for every business. Your fee depends on your total gross receipts in Georgia for the prior calendar year. The renewal notice shows your schedule type, and the county's fee schedule is organized by those types. Find your schedule type on the notice, then confirm the amount with the Business License Division before you pay. Do not budget from a number you found on an old web page or forum post, because those figures are often out of date.

Gross receipts must be documented, and the county can audit. Keep a profit and loss statement, your most recent IRS return, or an accountant's affidavit on file. A figure you cannot support will cause trouble in an audit even if the renewal itself went through.

One rule change matters for landlords. Since October 1, 2022, the first $25,000 a year of rental income from real property no longer qualifies for the receipts exemption. Do not treat that income as exempt when you work out your receipts.

Private employers with more than 10 employees must also file an E-Verify affidavit to get the local certificate (O.C.G.A. 36-60-6). Have that affidavit ready before you apply, not after the county asks for it.

The renewal calendar

Certificates expire on December 31 each year. The county's renewal calendar has three dates that matter:

Date	What happens
December 31	Certificate expires. Renew before this date, by mail or in person, even if no notice arrives.
February 1	Interest of 1.5 percent per month begins to accrue on the unpaid tax.
April 1	A 10 percent penalty is added if the tax has not been paid.

Do not wait for a notice. A renewal notice goes only to the mailing address on file with the county, so report any address change promptly. Online renewal is available only to businesses that received an email or a one-page notice with a PIN. If you did not get one of those, renew by mail or in person.

Zoning, out-of-county businesses and back taxes

Home-based businesses and new locations need zoning review. Call Cobb Zoning at 770-528-2035 before you pay for a certificate. A zoning problem found after payment is harder to solve than one found before.

A business based outside Cobb that works in unincorporated Cobb must register with the county too. The county's amnesty offer for unlicensed businesses ran from December 1, 2025 to January 30, 2026, and it has ended. A business found operating without a certificate may owe back taxes, penalties and interest, and the amnesty window is no longer available to shelter that exposure.

Business personal property is a separate April 1 filing

Business personal property means the furniture, fixtures, equipment and inventory you owned on January 1. It must be returned to the county by April 1 on form PT-50P. This is a property tax filing, not part of the business license, and filing it does not renew your certificate. Put it on the same April 1 calendar entry as the penalty date so the two deadlines do not get mixed up.

Common mistakes that cost owners money

Using the mailing address to pick the issuer. The premises location controls, so a Marietta address may still belong to the county.
Assuming Cobb covers Mableton. Since December 13, 2023, Mableton issues its own general business licenses.
Waiting for a notice. The December 31 deadline applies whether or not a notice arrives, and the notice goes only to the address on file.
Paying before the zoning check. Home-based and new locations can be stopped by zoning, and a fee paid earlier does not guarantee approval.
Missing the April 1 personal property return. PT-50P is a separate filing with its own deadline.
Operating without a certificate and hoping no one notices. The amnesty window has closed, and back taxes, penalties and interest can follow.

Action checklist

Confirm the premises sit in unincorporated Cobb. If they do not, contact the city that covers the address.
Form the entity with the Secretary of State and register with the Georgia Tax Center if you sell taxable goods or have employees.
Call Cobb Zoning at 770-528-2035 for any home-based or new location before you pay.
Assemble your gross receipts records: a profit and loss statement, your most recent IRS return or an accountant's affidavit.
Prepare the E-Verify affidavit if you have more than 10 employees.
Calendar December 31, February 1, April 1 and the PT-50P deadline.
Keep your mailing address current with the Business License Division.

When to get professional help

A single-location business with clean books can often handle the county process alone. Bring in a qualified attorney or CPA if you have multiple locations, operations outside Cobb, a back-tax or penalty notice, or a regulated activity that needs a state board license. For entity questions, the Secretary of State's Corporations Division is at https://sos.ga.gov/corporations-division. For general planning help, the Georgia Small Business Development Center at the University of Georgia is at https://www.georgiasbdc.org/.