How to Start a Handyman Business in Georgia

Georgia gives handymen more room to work than most states. The $2,500 threshold — the line below which you can operate without a contractor license — is higher than Virginia’s $1,000 limit and more generous than many other states. If you’re handy, reliable, and willing to handle the basic business setup, you can be legitimate and working in a matter of weeks.

Here’s what the law actually requires, what you can’t touch regardless of price, and how to grow if you want to take on bigger projects.

The $2,500 Rule — What You Can Do Without a License

Georgia has no dedicated handyman license. That category doesn’t exist at the state level. What Georgia does have is a contractor licensing threshold: any project exceeding $2,500 in total cost — labor and materials combined — requires a state contractor license. Stay under that number, and no state contractor license is required.

That threshold is per project, not annual. Each individual job has to come in under $2,500 on its own. You can’t take a $6,000 bathroom renovation and write three separate contracts of $2,000 each to avoid the licensing requirement. That’s contract splitting, and regulators treat it as an evasion. Georgia courts have not been sympathetic.

What actually fits under the threshold? Plenty.

Painting interior and exterior
Drywall patching and repair
Carpentry — trim work, door hanging, cabinet installation
Fixture installation (ceiling fans, light fixtures, faucets — though see the electrical and plumbing section below)
Pressure washing
Gutter cleaning and minor repairs
Caulking, weatherstripping, minor tile work
Assembly of furniture or pre-built structures

These are the bread-and-butter jobs that keep a handyman busy. In most Georgia markets, you can build a full schedule and solid income while staying under $2,500 per job. Most of these projects don’t come close to that number.

What You Cannot Do — Regardless of Price

This is where people get into trouble. The $2,500 threshold only eliminates the general contractor license requirement. It does nothing for licensed trade work. Four categories are off-limits for unlicensed handymen no matter what the job costs:

Electrical work requires a Georgia Electrical Contractor license — either Class I (unlimited) or Class II (limited to certain residential work). Note that Georgia does not license individual journeymen through the state the way some states do. The contractor license is what matters. Swapping an outlet? Replacing a light fixture? Installing a ceiling fan where wiring already exists? The line between “handyman task” and “electrical work” gets blurry fast. When in doubt, refer it out.

Plumbing work requires a Georgia Journeyman or Master Plumber license through the Georgia State Division of Master and Journeyman Plumbers. Replacing a faucet handle is generally fine. Cutting into supply or drain lines is not.

HVAC work requires a Georgia Conditioned Air Contractor license (Class I or II), issued by the Georgia State Board of Conditioned Air Contractors. This covers installation, replacement, and major repair of heating and air conditioning systems.

Roofing sits in a grayer area, but larger-scope roofing work can fall under contractor licensing requirements depending on the project. If someone wants a full roof replacement, that’s not handyman work — and not just for licensing reasons.

These restrictions apply to every job you take. A $300 electrical job doesn’t become legal because it’s cheap. The license requirement is triggered by the type of work, not the dollar amount.

The practical upside: knowing these boundaries lets you build referral relationships. Find a licensed electrician, plumber, and HVAC tech you trust. Send them work. They’ll return the favor. That network is worth real money.

Business Formation

You don’t legally need an LLC to operate as a handyman in Georgia — you can run as a sole proprietor. But the liability protection is worth $100. One cracked tile floor, one water damage claim from a fixture you installed, and a client can come after your personal assets if you’re not incorporated.

Form an LLC. File online at ecorp.sos.ga.gov. The filing fee is $100. After that, you’ll pay $60 per year for the annual registration (that’s a $50 fee plus a mandatory $10 service fee, effective September 6, 2025). Annual registrations are due between January 1 and April 1. Miss that window and you’re looking at a $25 late penalty.

Get an EIN. Free, takes about five minutes at irs.gov/ein. You’ll need this to open a business bank account and to file taxes properly.

Get your occupation tax certificate. Georgia has no statewide general business license, so licensing is handled at the local level — your city or county. This is sometimes called a business license, sometimes an occupation tax certificate. The name varies. What doesn’t vary is this: two affidavits are mandatory for every business license application in Georgia.

E-Verify Affidavit: If you have 11 or more employees, you must register for E-Verify and provide your user number. Fewer than 11 employees? You still have to file an exemption affidavit. This requirement comes from O.C.G.A. § 36-60-6 and there’s no way around it.
SAVE Affidavit: You must verify your lawful presence in the US through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, per O.C.G.A. § 50-36-1. This requires notarization and a Secure and Verifiable Document (passport, driver’s license, etc.).

These aren’t optional and they’re not bureaucratic formalities — your application won’t be processed without them. Get these done before you show up at the county office.

Sales tax. Register at the Georgia Tax Center if needed. Here’s the short version: handyman labor is generally not subject to Georgia sales tax. But if you’re buying materials, marking them up, and selling them to clients as part of a job, that gets more complicated. If you’re running a small operation and billing for labor with a separate materials pass-through, you’re likely fine. As you grow, run this by an accountant familiar with Georgia tax rules.

Insurance

Don’t skip this. One accident at a customer’s home — a broken window, a cracked floor, a ceiling fan that falls and damages furniture — can cost more than you’ve earned in your first six months. As a sole proprietor or single-member LLC, that financial exposure is real.

General liability insurance is the core policy you need. Budget $500–$1,500 per year for a basic policy. The exact cost depends on your revenue, what types of work you do, and the insurer. If you’re pressure washing and doing light carpentry, you’re lower risk than someone doing demo work. Shop around — several insurers specialize in small contractor policies and can bind coverage quickly.

The $300,000 minimum is the threshold you’ll need if you eventually apply for a Residential-Basic Contractor license. But even if you stay under the $2,500 limit indefinitely, $300,000 in general liability is a reasonable floor. It’s not a big number in the context of property damage claims.

Workers’ compensation is required once you have three or more employees — and in Georgia, that count includes officers and part-time workers. If it’s just you and maybe a helper, you’re likely below the threshold. But the moment you bring on a third person, you need workers’ comp. The Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation oversees this at sbwc.georgia.gov.

Commercial auto insurance matters if you’re driving a dedicated work vehicle. Your personal auto policy likely excludes business use. If you’re hauling tools and driving to job sites in a van you use only for work, a personal policy won’t cover an accident. Commercial auto policies run $1,200–$2,500 per year for a single vehicle, depending on coverage and your record.

Growing Beyond $2,500 — The Residential-Basic Contractor License

At some point, clients start asking you about bigger jobs. A deck replacement. A bathroom gut-and-rebuild. A full kitchen renovation. If any of those projects will run over $2,500 in total cost, you need a license.

The right license for most Georgia handymen scaling up is the Residential-Basic Contractor license, issued by the State Licensing Board for Residential and Commercial General Contractors at the Georgia Secretary of State’s office. It covers one- and two-family residences and single-family townhouses under three stories. For most residential handyman-to-contractor growth, this is exactly what you need.

Here’s what the application requires:

Two years of experience. Documented experience in residential construction or contracting work. The good news: your handyman work counts. Keep records of your jobs — client names, project descriptions, dates, approximate values. That documentation supports your application.

Two exams. You’ll need to pass a trade exam (covering residential construction knowledge) and a business/law exam (covering contractor regulations, contracts, and Georgia-specific requirements). These are proctored exams, not online quizzes. Study time is real.

General liability insurance at $300,000 minimum. If you’ve been carrying a $300,000 policy as a handyman — and you should be — you’re already covered.

Fees. The application fee is $310 (the application must be notarized). The exam fee is $133. Neither is refundable if you don’t pass. Take the exams seriously.

The Residential-Basic license doesn’t suddenly open up licensed trade work. You still can’t do electrical, plumbing, or HVAC without the respective trade licenses. But it lets you run the general project — hire licensed subs, manage the job, pull permits — and charge accordingly.

Startup Costs at a Glance

Here’s what getting started actually costs, without inflating it:

Item	Cost
LLC filing fee	$100
Annual registration	$60/year
Occupation tax certificate	Varies by city/county
General liability insurance	$500–$1,500/year
Basic tool kit	$1,000–$3,000
Vehicle	Existing vehicle, or $5,000–$15,000 for a used van/truck
Marketing (business cards, Google profile, basic website)	$500–$2,000

If you already have a vehicle and tools, your real out-of-pocket startup cost can be under $2,000. Even buying a used truck and a solid set of tools, you’re looking at roughly $7,000–$10,000 to get off the ground properly. That’s a low barrier compared to almost any other trade business.

The most important early investment isn’t tools or a truck. It’s insurance and a real business structure. Those protect everything else you build.

The Actual First Steps

Here’s the order that makes sense:

File your LLC at ecorp.sos.ga.gov — $100, done online in under an hour
Get your EIN at irs.gov/ein — free, five minutes
Get general liability insurance — call a local broker or use an online platform like Next Insurance or Hiscox; have your LLC info ready
Apply for your occupation tax certificate from your city or county — bring your E-Verify and SAVE affidavits
Open a business bank account — use your EIN and LLC documents
Start marketing — Google Business Profile is free and where most local service searches start

You don’t need to wait until everything is perfect. File the LLC, get insured, get your local license. Then work. The $2,500 threshold gives you real room to build a profitable operation before you ever need to think about a contractor license.

When you’re ready to scale, the Residential-Basic license path is there. Your early handyman experience is already counting toward the two-year requirement. Keep records now so the application is easy later.