Peachtree City, Georgia Business License: How to Get Your Occupation Tax Certificate
Peachtree City, Georgia Business License: How to Get Your Occupation Tax Certificate
Peachtree City charges for business licenses differently than almost every other city in Georgia. Instead of taxing your gross receipts — which means your bill goes up every time your revenue does — the city taxes based on how many full-time employees you have. Your revenue is irrelevant. Your headcount is everything.
That’s genuinely useful for budgeting. You know what you’ll owe before you open your doors.
The certificate you get at the end of this process is called an Occupation Tax Certificate, and it functions as your Peachtree City business license. It’s a non-regulatory tax — the city isn’t certifying your professional competence or inspecting your product. They’re collecting a local business tax and giving you documentation that you paid it.
Here’s what you need to know to get one.
Understanding Peachtree City’s Employee-Based Tax
Most Georgia cities calculate occupation tax as a percentage of your gross receipts. Peachtree City doesn’t. Every business pays based on full-time employee count, period.
The minimum payment is $107, which covers your first four employees. That’s the floor — every business with one to four full-time employees pays $107. If you’re a solo operator or a two-person shop, you’re paying $107. Above four employees, the fee increases on a graduated scale. The maximum annual tax caps out at $6,176. The full fee chart is available at peachtree-city.org.
On top of the occupation tax itself, every business pays a $20 administration fee. No exceptions. Tax-exempt organizations — nonprofits, churches, certain government-adjacent entities — still owe the $20 admin fee even if they’re exempt from the occupation tax itself. The admin fee is universal.
A few categories are fully exempt from the occupation tax under state law: entities regulated by the Georgia Public Service Commission, electrical service providers under O.C.G.A. Chapter 3, Title 46, and bona fide farm operations (not agribusinesses — actual farm operations). If you fall into one of those categories, you still need to complete the application process and pay the $20 admin fee.
City Hall is at 151 Willowbend Road, Peachtree City, GA 30269. That’s where you’ll submit your application and payment.
Step-by-Step Application Process
The sequence here is not flexible. Peachtree City won’t process your application without both zoning approval and fire inspection approval already in hand. Don’t try to do these steps out of order — you’ll waste time and possibly a trip to City Hall.
Step 1: Get Zoning Approval
Before anything else, contact the Peachtree City Zoning Department to confirm your business location is zoned appropriately for what you’re doing.
This applies to every business, including home-based operations. If you’re running a consulting business out of your spare bedroom in a PTC residential neighborhood, you still need zoning sign-off before you can apply for your certificate. The Zoning Department will give you a signed Zoning Approval Form when you’re cleared. That form goes into your application packet.
Don’t assume your location is fine because a previous business operated there. Zoning use can be specific to business type, and a retail tenant’s approval doesn’t carry over to your restaurant.
Step 2: Pass Your Fire Inspection
If your business operates outside your home — any commercial location, retail space, office, warehouse, studio — you need a fire inspection before you file. Daycares operating from a home also require fire inspection regardless of the home-based classification.
The fire inspection has to be completed and approved before you submit your application. You’ll receive a Fire Inspection Approval Form when you pass. That form also goes in your packet.
Schedule this early. Inspections take time to book, and if something fails inspection, you need time to fix it and get re-inspected before your target open date.
Step 3: Download and Complete the New Business Application Packet
The New Business Application Packet is available at peachtree-city.org. Download it, read through all the components before you start filling anything out, and then complete everything.
The packet includes the main application plus the affidavits described in the next section. If you need notarization, City Hall provides notary services at no charge — but you’ll need to bring valid photo ID and sign in front of the notary, so don’t pre-sign the affidavits.
Step 4: Submit Packet and Payment to City Hall
Bring your completed application packet — with all supporting documents and approvals — to City Hall at 151 Willowbend Road. Include a copy of your photo ID. Payment is due at submission.
If you have up to four full-time employees, that’s $107 for the occupation tax plus the $20 admin fee. If you have more employees, calculate your fee using the chart at peachtree-city.org before you arrive so there are no surprises at the counter.
Step 5: Receive and Display Your Certificate
Once the city processes your application, you’ll receive your Occupation Tax Certificate. State law requires you to display it at your place of business. Keep it visible.
Required Documents Checklist
Pull this list together before you go to City Hall. Missing a single item means a return trip.
New Business Application — from the packet on peachtree-city.org
Zoning Approval Form — signed by the Peachtree City Zoning Department. You can’t skip this even if you’re home-based.
Fire Inspection Approval Form — required for all non-home-based businesses and home daycares. Must be completed before you submit.
SAVE Affidavit — required under O.C.G.A. § 50-36-1. This is the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements affidavit, which verifies lawful presence in the United States. It must be notarized and accompanied by a Secure and Verifiable Document — a Georgia driver’s license, U.S. passport, or similar government-issued ID.
E-Verify Affidavit — required under O.C.G.A. § 36-60-6. Here’s where Peachtree City differs from the standard Georgia threshold: the city requires E-Verify registration and an affidavit with your E-Verify user number if you have 10 or more employees. Most Georgia cities use 11 as the cutoff. PTC uses 10. If you have fewer than 10 employees, you file an exemption affidavit instead. Either way, something goes in the packet.
Copy of photo ID — for the person signing the application.
Payment — minimum $107 occupation tax + $20 admin fee = $127 total for businesses with up to four full-time employees.
And again: if you need notarization, City Hall does it free. Bring your ID, don’t pre-sign, and they’ll handle it on the spot.
Renewal Process and Deadlines
Peachtree City certificates renew annually. The renewal deadline is January 31.
That’s earlier than most Georgia cities, which typically run through March 31 or even April 1. If you’re used to a Georgia city that gives you until spring to renew, Peachtree City will catch you off guard. Put January 31 in your calendar now.
Miss that deadline and you owe a 10% late penalty on top of your renewal amount. That’s not a flat fee — it’s a percentage, so the more employees you have, the more the penalty hurts.
When you renew, update your employee count. If you’ve hired since last year, your tax goes up accordingly. If you’ve reduced staff, it goes down. The employee-based system works in your favor when business is lean.
You also have to re-submit both the E-Verify Affidavit and the SAVE Affidavit with every single renewal. These aren’t one-time filings. Every year, fresh affidavits. Plan for the notarization step each renewal cycle — you can still get it done free at City Hall, but you need to go in person.
Special Situations
Home-based businesses: You pay occupation tax. No exemption for working from home. But you skip the fire inspection — that requirement is for commercial locations and home daycares only. Zoning approval is still mandatory. Get that first.
Alcohol sales: An Occupation Tax Certificate does not cover alcohol. If your business sells or serves alcohol, you need a separate city alcohol license through the City Clerk’s office. The Occupation Tax Certificate and the alcohol license are two distinct processes with separate fees.
Massage establishments: Massage businesses face an additional regulatory fee certificate on top of the standard occupation tax. This is separate from any state licensing requirements for individual practitioners. Budget for it and ask City Hall about the specifics when you submit your application.
Not sure if you’re actually in Peachtree City? The city limits aren’t always where you’d expect them to be. Parts of the area that feel like Peachtree City are actually in unincorporated Fayette County — which means you’d need a Fayette County business license instead of (or possibly in addition to) a PTC certificate. Check your address against the official city limits before you go through the PTC application process. The city can help you confirm jurisdiction.
Georgia PSC-regulated entities and electrical service providers under O.C.G.A. Chapter 3, Title 46 are exempt from the occupation tax itself — but as noted above, the $20 admin fee still applies, and you should still contact City Hall to confirm your status and complete whatever reduced application applies to you.
What This Costs in Total
For a solo operator or small team of up to four, your all-in cost to open is $127 ($107 occupation tax + $20 admin fee). That number doesn’t change whether you make $40,000 this year or $400,000. That’s the employee-based system working exactly as intended.
For context on the full scale: the maximum occupation tax is $6,176, which applies to businesses with the highest employee count brackets. Add the $20 admin fee and you’re at $6,196 at the ceiling. The fee schedule at peachtree-city.org shows every bracket between the $107 minimum and the $6,176 maximum — look up exactly where your headcount lands before you apply.
If your employee count changes significantly during the year, it doesn’t trigger a mid-year adjustment — the tax is assessed annually at renewal based on your count at that time. When you renew, report your current count accurately.
Before You File: Two Things to Do First
Get your zoning approval. Then schedule your fire inspection if you’re in a commercial space.
Those aren’t suggestions — they’re prerequisites. The city will not process your application without both approvals in hand. The application itself is straightforward, the fees are predictable, and City Hall makes notarization free and easy. The only way this process gets complicated is if you try to shortcut the sequence or show up without the complete packet.
Download the New Business Application Packet at peachtree-city.org, contact the Zoning Department to start your approval, and get that fire inspection scheduled. Once those two are done, the rest of the process moves fast.