How to Start a Dental Practice in Georgia: Georgia Board of Dentistry License and Fees

October 29, 2026

Opening a dental practice in Georgia starts with a license, not a business filing. A dentist cannot treat patients until the Georgia Board of Dentistry issues an individual license. The business steps, including the entity, tax registrations, local tax certificate, and insurance, come next or alongside that license. This guide follows that order, lists the Board's current fee schedule, and points out the costs and deadlines you need to plan for. This is informational content, not legal or tax advice.

What to Gather Before You Start

Collect these items before you file anything:

• Your dental school diploma, official transcripts, and proof that you passed the required national and clinical examinations
• The current application packet from the Georgia Board of Dentistry at gbd.georgia.gov, which lists the education and examination requirements
• A payment method for the exact fee amount on the Board's schedule
• A business name you want to use, checked against the Secretary of State's business search
• A Georgia street address for the office and a registered agent for the entity
• A federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) and a National Provider Identifier (NPI), both free to obtain
• A written list of the services you plan to offer, and a decision on whether you will provide sedation, which requires a separate permit

Step 1: Get Your Georgia Dental License from the Board of Dentistry

The Georgia Board of Dentistry is a separate state agency. It runs its own office and website and is not part of the Secretary of State. The Board has eleven members: nine dentists, one dental hygienist, and one citizen. Its rules are Department 150 of the Georgia Rules and Regulations, and sedation and anesthesia permits are covered separately in chapter 150-13. The Board's fee schedule lists its phone number as 404-651-8000.

The usual path is graduation from an accredited dental school and passing results on the required national and clinical examinations. The application packet lists the specific education and examination requirements, and those requirements control your application. Read the current packet before you assemble documents, because the Board evaluates your file, not a summary.

The Board's fee schedule, effective April 9, 2021, is below. Fees are non-refundable, and the Board asks you to pay the exact amount.

Fee type	Dentist	Dental hygienist
License by examination	$125	$75
License by credentials	$3,025	$1,025
License by endorsement	$3,025	$1,025
Reinstatement	$1,675	$375
Early renewal application	$260	$85
Late renewal	$525	$275

This schedule is dated. Confirm current amounts with the Board before you send payment, and confirm the amount on the application you are using, because fee figures from older articles and forms may no longer apply.

Step 2: Understand What Georgia Does and Does Not Add

The Board's licensing materials list individual licenses and sedation permits. They do not list a separate office or facility license. Ask the Board directly whether any facility registration applies to your office before you sign a lease or buy equipment.

Ownership is a question to settle early. Who may own a dental practice, and how dental service organizations (DSOs) and management agreements are treated, is not a point this guide can answer. Put it to the Board and a Georgia health care attorney, and do not assume that a structure used in another state works in Georgia.

Several requirements come from federal or other agencies. Confirm each one for your office:

• X-ray equipment: Confirm the rules that apply to your radiographic equipment with the Board and the FDA at fda.gov.
• OSHA bloodborne pathogens: OSHA's standard applies to dental offices with employees and requires a written exposure control plan. Check osha.gov.
• DEA registration: You need a federal DEA registration to prescribe controlled substances. The DEA sets the fee, so check dea.gov for the current amount rather than relying on any figure you have seen.
• NPI: Obtain your NPI free through the federal NPPES system at nppes.cms.hhs.gov. You need it for insurance billing.

Step 3: Form Your Business Entity

Most dentists form a Georgia LLC or corporation. Whether a professional entity is the right choice depends on Board rules and advice from an attorney, so ask before you file. For the filing steps, see how to start an LLC in Georgia or how to start a corporation in Georgia.

The key Secretary of State figures for an LLC are these:

• Articles of Organization: $110 total, which is the $100 fee plus a $10 service charge. You can file online through eCorp or on paper. Online filings take about 7 to 10 business days, and paper filings take about 15 business days.
• Expedited review: $120 for 2 business days, $275 for same-day review if received by noon, or $1,200 for one-hour review on business days.
• Name reservation: $35 for 30 days. The name must include an LLC designator such as Limited Liability Company, LLC, or L.L.C., and must be distinguishable on the Secretary of State's records.
• Annual registration: $60 ($50 plus $10), filed between January 1 and April 1 each year. An LLC files its first annual registration in the year after it forms. A late filing carries a $25 penalty, so confirm the current window and penalty with the Secretary of State.

Corporations file Articles of Incorporation for the same $110 total. A new corporation files its first annual registration within 90 days of incorporating. Georgia levies no franchise tax on a typical single-member or partnership LLC. Corporations, and LLCs taxed as corporations, pay a net worth tax of $0 to $5,000 depending on net worth. Confirm your tax treatment with a CPA.

Step 4: Get an EIN

Obtain a federal EIN for the entity before you open accounts, hire staff, or register with the Department of Revenue. The process is free and covered in how to get an EIN in Georgia.

Step 5: Register a Trade Name If You Need One

If the practice operates under a name other than its legal name, you file a trade name (DBA) with the Clerk of Superior Court of the county where the business is chiefly carried on. It is not filed with the Secretary of State. The clerk fee is about $165 plus the cost of publishing notice once a week for two weeks in the county legal organ. Confirm the exact clerk fee and newspaper charge with your county clerk. The Secretary of State's business division FAQ explains the process.

Step 6: Register with the Department of Revenue

Register through the Georgia Tax Center at gtc.dor.ga.gov if the practice sells taxable products or has employees. Dental services are generally not subject to sales tax, but confirm that with the Department of Revenue at dor.georgia.gov. Sales tax registration is free. If your office sells retail products such as toothbrushes or whitening kits, the state rate is 4%, and combined state and local rates run from 6% to 9% depending on county and city. Georgia issues no separate resale permit. The resale instrument is Form ST-5, the certificate of exemption. For income tax treatment, see Georgia business taxes.

Step 7: Obtain the Local Occupation Tax Certificate

Georgia issues no general statewide business license. The Secretary of State issues none, and the Department of Revenue sales tax registration is not a business license. The local license is an occupation tax certificate, often called a business license. A city issues it for businesses inside city limits, and the county issues it for unincorporated areas. More than half of Georgians live outside any city, so for many practices the county is the issuer. A practice inside a city pays the city, not the county. Each of Georgia's 159 counties and about 537 cities sets its own formula, deadlines, and prerequisites under O.C.G.A. Title 48, chapter 13. For a general overview, see Georgia business license requirements.

Two rules apply to most practices. First, private employers with more than 10 employees must file an E-Verify affidavit to get the certificate (O.C.G.A. 36-60-6). See Georgia E-Verify requirements for business licenses. Second, under O.C.G.A. 36-60-6(c), the city or county will ask for proof of your state license before it issues the certificate, so finish the Board license first.

Professional taxes deserve a careful read. Under O.C.G.A. 48-13-10, a locality may charge licensed professionals in a listed set of professions under a different formula. The $400 figure is only a ceiling a locality may set for those professions. It is not a state fee, and it is not a flat occupation tax you can budget for dentists. Each city or county sets its own amount and decides whether dentists are treated separately. Augusta, for example, publishes $330 per licensed practitioner as an alternative to a gross receipts formula. Ask the issuing office how it calculates the tax for a dental practice.

Step 8: Set Up Workers' Compensation at Three or More Workers

Georgia requires workers' compensation coverage once you have three or more workers, and part-time workers count. Confirm the requirement and your coverage options before you hire. See Georgia workers' compensation insurance requirements.

Step 9: Start Insurance Credentialing Early

Dental plan credentialing takes time, and many practices cannot bill plans until it is complete. Start as soon as you have your license and NPI. Ask each plan for its current application and its credentialing requirements, and ask carriers about professional liability coverage at the same time. This guide does not give a timeline for credentialing, so ask each plan for its own estimate.

Georgia Dental License Renewal

Georgia dental licenses renew every two years. The Board's materials place renewal at the end of December in odd-numbered years. Confirm the exact date on your license and in the Board's renewal notice, and calendar it well before the deadline. Early renewal is less expensive than late renewal: the dentist early renewal application is $260 and the late renewal is $525, and the hygienist figures are $85 and $275. Reinstatement after a lapse is $1,675 for a dentist and $375 for a hygienist. Those amounts come from the same schedule in Step 1, so verify them with the Board before you pay.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Paying an estimated amount. The Board asks for the exact fee, and fees are non-refundable.
• Using old fee figures. Articles, forms, and fee tables change. Confirm each amount on the current form.
• Assuming Georgia has a statewide business license. The local occupation tax certificate comes from a city or county, and the Secretary of State issues no business license.
• Filing a trade name with the Secretary of State. Trade names go to the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where the business is chiefly carried on.
• Budgeting a flat $400 professional tax. The $400 is a ceiling that a locality may set, and each city or county sets its own formula.
• Applying for the local certificate before your state license. The issuing office will ask for proof of the state license.
• Missing the annual registration window. LLC and corporation annual registrations are due between January 1 and April 1.
• Adopting a management or DSO arrangement without legal review. Ownership and management questions belong with the Board and a Georgia health care attorney.
• Waiting to start insurance credentialing. Plans take time to process applications, so start as soon as your license and NPI are in hand.

What to Expect From a Properly Set Up Practice

A practice with the license, entity, tax registrations, local certificate, and insurance in place is set up to begin treating patients. Beyond that point, results depend on your clinical services, location, staffing, patient mix, and payer contracts. No filing or license guarantees patient volume or revenue. In marketing, describe your services in measured language, such as "may help" or "is designed to," and avoid promises of specific outcomes.

Official Resources

• Georgia Board of Dentistry: gbd.georgia.gov
• Georgia Secretary of State, Corporations Division: sos.ga.gov/corporations-division
• Georgia Department of Revenue: dor.georgia.gov
• Georgia Small Business Development Center at the University of Georgia: georgiasbdc.org

Important Disclaimer

This article is informational content, not legal, tax, or professional licensing advice. Fees, deadlines, and requirements change, and the agencies named here control the current rules. Confirm every amount and date with the issuing agency before you pay or file. For complex situations, including ownership structures, DSO arrangements, multi-location practices, and tax treatment, consult a Georgia health care attorney and a qualified CPA.