Atlanta Business License: Office of Revenue, Feb 15 Filing and Apr 1 Payment Dates for the City Certificate

October 29, 2026

If your business operates inside Atlanta city limits, you need the City of Atlanta occupation tax certificate, which most people call the Atlanta business license. Georgia has no general statewide business license. The Secretary of State issues none, and a Department of Revenue sales tax registration is not a business license. The city certificate is the local license that applies to you, and it has its own calendar, paperwork and fees. This guide covers who issues it, the renewal dates, what the renewal asks for, and what to check before you apply.

This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. City rules, rates and dates can change, so confirm current requirements with the City of Atlanta Office of Revenue. If your situation is complex, such as multiple locations, several business classes or a large payroll, talk with a qualified attorney or CPA.

Who Issues the Atlanta Business License

For a business located inside Atlanta city limits, the Atlanta Georgia business license application goes to the City of Atlanta Office of Revenue in the Department of Finance. You apply for, renew and pay for the certificate through the city's online licensing portal, ATLCORE. For questions, call the Office of Revenue at 404-330-6270.

Atlanta sits in both Fulton and DeKalb counties, but neither county issues a license for an address inside the city. The Fulton County finance page says Fulton licenses only the Fulton Industrial District, and every other Fulton business is licensed by its city. A business inside the city limits pays the city, not the county.

The issuer follows the location of the premises, not the mailing address. An Atlanta mailing address or ZIP code does not by itself put your business under the city certificate. A business just outside the city line, whether in unincorporated county land or in another city's territory, gets a different license from a different office. Confirm the exact address with the Office of Revenue before you apply, especially if you are near a boundary.

Where the City Certificate Fits

The city certificate is the last layer of a typical setup, not the first. Most businesses take these steps in order:

1. Register the entity with the Secretary of State. An LLC files Articles of Organization and a corporation files Articles of Incorporation. Each costs $110 in total, the $100 fee plus a $10 service charge, whether filed online or on paper. A name can be reserved for 30 days for $35. Filings go through the Secretary of State's eCorp portal, and the Corporations Division is at sos.ga.gov/corporations-division.
2. Register with the Department of Revenue. If you sell taxable goods or have employees, register through the Georgia Tax Center. Sales tax registration there is free, and Georgia issues no separate resale permit. The resale instrument is Form ST-5, the certificate of exemption.
3. Add the city certificate and any activity-specific licenses. This is where the Atlanta occupation tax certificate comes in, along with any occupational or permit requirements for your industry.

The state annual registration with the Secretary of State is a separate filing from the city certificate and is covered in our annual registration guide. Do not confuse the two calendars.

The Renewal Calendar: Feb 15 Filing and Apr 1 Payment

Atlanta's certificate expires December 31. The city's recent renewal advisories set two separate deadlines for renewal, and they fall on different days. Missing either one carries its own penalty.

Date	What is due	Penalty if missed
December 31	Current certificate expires	Renewal is needed for the next year
February 15	Renewal filing	$500 failure to file fee
April 1	Payment	10 percent failure to pay fee, plus interest of 1.5 percent a month

The filing date and the payment date are different dates. Filing on time does not stop the payment clock, and paying on time does not replace the filing. Treat February 15 as the filing deadline and April 1 as the payment deadline, and put both on your calendar.

The city can change its dates. Confirm the current year's filing and payment deadlines with the Office of Revenue before you rely on this schedule.

What the Renewal Asks For

The renewal asks for the prior year's actual gross receipts and your employee count, and you must support those figures with financial documents. It asks for actual results, not projections, so use closed books rather than estimates.

Keep the records that back up what you report, such as sales records, bank statements, tax filings and payroll reports. The city can audit what you report on the renewal, so an accurate filing with clean backup is your best protection.

How the Fee Is Set

Atlanta's tax is based on gross receipts by business class, plus an administrative fee. Your rate depends on the class your business falls into.

The city has been working on a rate increase under Ordinance 25-O-1417. As reported, the rates in place before the change were about $0.60 to $2.15 per $1,000 of receipts. The proposal would raise the rates in steps to about $1.01 to $3.61 per $1,000 by 2027, and it would lift the revenue cap from $200 million to $600 million. This is a proposal as reported, not a settled schedule.

Ask the Office of Revenue which rates and administrative fee apply to your business class for the current year. This guide does not print a fee total, because your total depends on your class and your receipts.

New Applications: Zoning and Inspection Review

If you are applying for the certificate for the first time, expect zoning and inspection review before the city issues it. Confirm that your intended use is allowed at the address before you sign a lease or buy equipment. A use that fails zoning can delay your opening, and the certificate will not issue until the review clears.

Affidavits: E-Verify and Lawful Presence

Two affidavits come up in the application process:

• E-Verify affidavit. A private employer with more than 10 employees on January 1 must file an E-Verify affidavit to get the local certificate, under O.C.G.A. 36-60-6.
• Lawful presence affidavit. Every applicant signs a lawful presence affidavit.

Have these ready before you start the ATLCORE application so you do not stall partway through.

Professionals and the $400 Question

You may see a flat $400 figure quoted for licensed professionals. That is not a flat Atlanta charge. Under the occupation tax statute, O.C.G.A. Title 48, chapter 13, $400 is a ceiling that a city may set for certain listed professions. It is not a fixed amount that every professional pays.

If you are a professional, ask the Office of Revenue whether the election is offered for your profession and what Atlanta actually charges. Separately, occupational licenses for contractors, electricians, plumbers, cosmetology, real estate and similar trades come from state boards, such as the Secretary of State Professional Licensing Boards Division. Those state credentials do not replace the city certificate.

Related Permits With Their Own Rules

The city certificate does not cover every activity. These topics have their own rules, and our guides on each one explain the details:

• Alcohol licensing. Alcohol sales have their own licensing rules that sit on top of the city certificate.
• Short-term rentals. Rentals of this type have their own local rules.
• Food trucks. Food trucks have their own rules, and they also need a Fulton County Board of Health permit.
• Cottage food. No state license is needed for cottage food since 2025-07-01 under HB 398, but local business licensing and zoning still apply, so the Atlanta certificate and zoning review may still reach a home-based food business.

Your Action Checklist

1. Confirm that your business premises, not your mailing address, sit inside city limits.
2. Form your LLC or corporation and register with the Secretary of State.
3. Register with the Department of Revenue through the Georgia Tax Center if you sell taxable goods or have employees.
4. Gather your E-Verify and lawful presence affidavit materials before you apply on ATLCORE.
5. Expect zoning and inspection review if this is a new application.
6. Calendar December 31 (expiration), February 15 (renewal filing) and April 1 (payment), then confirm the year's dates with the Office of Revenue.
7. Keep the prior year's gross receipts and employee records that support your renewal.

When to Get Professional Help

Most single-location businesses can handle the Atlanta certificate directly through the Office of Revenue. Bring in a qualified attorney or CPA if you have multiple locations, several business classes, a boundary-line address, a large payroll or a question about how gross receipts are classed. This guide is informational only and is not legal or tax advice.