How to Start a Painting Business in Georgia: Specialty-List Exemption and Lead-Safe Rules

October 29, 2026

Short answer: Georgia has no state painting license. “Painting and Special Coatings” appears on the Traditional Specialty Contractors list kept by the State Licensing Board for Residential and Commercial General Contractors, so painting work is exempt from general contractor licensing. You can bid and perform painting jobs, including a commercial repaint, without a general contractor license as long as the work stays within painting. The exemption rests on that list, which is a Board policy statement last revised in March 2020 and marked “subject to change.” Check the Board's current list before you rely on it.

This guide covers the exemption and its limits, the federal lead-safe rules that catch many painting jobs, and the entity, tax, and local setup you need before your first invoice.

This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Talk with a Georgia attorney and a CPA before you choose a business structure or take on work near a licensing line.

What the Specialty-List Exemption Covers

Georgia licenses general contractors through the State Licensing Board for Residential and Commercial General Contractors. The Board keeps a list of specialty trades that do not require a general contractor license. Painting is on that list under the name “Painting and Special Coatings.” That listing is why a painter can run a business that does only painting, even on large commercial projects.

The exemption is narrow. It covers the painting trade. It does not cover every project that happens to involve a painted surface.

Where the exemption stops

• Chapter 14 work. The exemption never reaches work that requires a Chapter 14 license, including electrical, plumbing, and conditioned air (heating and cooling) work. See O.C.G.A. 43-41-17(f).
• Residential general construction. If you add carpentry, framing, structural repair, or other general construction above $2,500 on a residential job, you can fall under the residential contractor definition in O.C.G.A. 43-41-2.

The fix is simple: subcontract that work to a properly licensed trade, or hold the license yourself. If your jobs drift toward remodeling, read the general contractor path at how to start a general contractor business in Georgia and the trade-specific option at how to start a specialty contractor business in Georgia before you bid that work.

Step-by-Step Setup

Materials and records you need

• A business name checked against Secretary of State records
• Formation documents: Articles of Organization for an LLC or Articles of Incorporation for a corporation, $110 total for either
• An IRS employer identification number (EIN)
• Access to the Georgia Tax Center if you will sell taxable goods or have employees
• A local occupation tax certificate from your city or county
• General liability insurance, and workers' compensation once you have a crew
• Lead-safe equipment for pre-1978 work: a HEPA vacuum, plastic sheeting, and wet-scraping tools
• A written contract template, a bid template, and a separate business bank account

Step 1: Confirm the exemption against the current Board list

Before you buy a truck or print a sign, pull the Board's current list of traditional specialty contractors and confirm that painting is still on it. Save a copy with the date. If you ever face a question about your license status, that record shows what you relied on. Ask the Board or an attorney if you plan to offer any service beyond pure painting, such as drywall repair, carpentry, or pressure washing services that include structural work.

Step 2: Choose a name and decide whether you need a trade name

Your legal name is the name you file with the Secretary of State. If you will operate under a different name, such as “Peachtree Painting Co.” while your LLC is “Smith Coatings LLC,” you need a trade name registration, also called a DBA. Trade names are not filed with the Secretary of State. They are filed with the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where the business is chiefly carried on. The clerk fee is about $165 plus a newspaper charge for notice published once a week for two weeks. Confirm the current figures with your county clerk.

To hold a name while you prepare filings, you can reserve it with the Secretary of State for $35. The reservation lasts 30 days. Check the Secretary of State's name rules before you file, because the name must be distinguishable on the state's records.

Step 3: File your formation documents

Most painters form an LLC because it separates personal assets from business debts and passes income through to the owner's return. Filing costs $110 total, which covers the $100 fee and a $10 service charge. Online filings through the Secretary of State's eCorp portal (ecorp.sos.ga.gov) take about 7 to 10 business days. Paper filings take about 15 business days. If you need speed, expedited review costs $120 for 2 business days, $275 for same-day review if received by noon, or $1,200 for one-hour review on business days.

For the full LLC sequence, including the operating agreement and filing details, see how to start an LLC in Georgia.

Step 4: Get an EIN

Apply for an EIN with the IRS before you open a bank account, hire anyone, or register for state tax. Your EIN is the number you will use on bank forms, tax filings, and the local occupation tax application.

Step 5: Register with the Department of Revenue if you sell taxable goods or have employees

Georgia issues no general state business license. Registering with the Department of Revenue through the Georgia Tax Center (gtc.dor.ga.gov) is a tax registration, not a business license, and registration is free. Register if you will sell taxable goods or if you have employees.

Georgia's state sales tax rate is 4%. Combined state and local rates run from 6% to 9% by county and city, and Atlanta's combined rate is 8.9%. If you buy materials tax-free because you resell them on a customer's job, you give the supplier a certificate of exemption. Georgia issues no separate resale permit, and the certificate is Form ST-5. Confirm with the Department of Revenue how that applies to your painting jobs before you buy materials that way.

For income tax context, Georgia uses one flat rate: 5.19% for 2025 and 4.99% for 2026. An LLC taxed as a partnership or single-member LLC generally owes no Georgia franchise tax. Corporations, and LLCs taxed as corporations, owe a net worth tax of $0 to $5,000 depending on net worth. For the full picture, see Georgia business taxes.

Step 6: Get your local occupation tax certificate

Georgia's local license is an occupation tax certificate, often called a business license. Cities and counties issue it under O.C.G.A. Title 48, chapter 13. A business inside a city pays the city. A business outside any city pays the county. More than half of Georgians live outside any city, so for them the county is the issuer. Georgia has 159 counties and about 537 cities and towns, and each sets its own fee formula, deadlines, and prerequisites.

Private employers with more than 10 employees must file an E-Verify affidavit to get the certificate (O.C.G.A. 36-60-6). Your application may also ask for an affidavit of lawful presence. Confirm what your city or county requires before you apply. For how this works across the state, see Georgia business license requirements.

Step 7: Set up insurance and workers' compensation

Get general liability insurance before your first job. Clients and general contractors often require a certificate of insurance before you can start work, and property damage claims are a common risk in painting. Ask two or three carriers for quotes, compare what each covers, and read the exclusions. Do not sign anything you have not read.

Workers' compensation is required when you have three or more workers, and part-time workers count. Painters often add seasonal helpers, so count them as you hire. For the rules, see Georgia workers' compensation requirements.

Step 8: Check local permits for exterior jobs

Some exterior jobs, such as work on a historic district property or a commercial facade, may need a local permit before you start. Permit rules are set by the city or county where the property sits, not by the state. Call the local building or planning office before you bid an exterior job in a new area.

Step 9: Get lead-safe certified if you disturb painted surfaces

Lead-safe rules are federal, not Georgia rules. Under the EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule, a firm that disturbs painted surfaces in housing or child-occupied facilities built before 1978 must be EPA-certified as a firm. The work must be performed by a certified renovator and follow lead-safe work practices.

These everyday tasks can trigger the rule:

• Scraping or sanding painted surfaces
• Cutting into painted drywall, trim, or siding
• Pressure washing painted siding

Certified renovators complete an EPA-accredited course. Check epa.gov/lead for current fees, course requirements, and rules. Georgia has no separate state program that replaces the federal rule, so also check with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. If you do not work on pre-1978 properties, confirm that with a building age check before each job, and document it.

Step 10: Build a pricing and bidding process

Set your price from your actual costs, not a number you saw online. Track the hours each job takes, including prep, masking, patching, coats, cleanup, and travel. Add paint and materials, insurance costs, equipment wear, and the margin you need to pay yourself. Run the first five to ten jobs as a test, then compare your estimates with your real hours and adjust.

Put every bid in writing. A strong bid lists the scope, surface preparation, number of coats, paint product, exclusions, payment terms, and change-order process. If the job involves lead-safe work, list those practices in the bid so the client sees them as a line item, not a surprise.

What to Expect

If you follow these steps in order, you should be able to form the entity, get your EIN, and file for your local certificate in a few weeks, although local processing times vary. An online LLC filing typically takes 7 to 10 business days to process. Your first annual registration is due between January 1 and April 1 of the year after you form the LLC. The fee is $60 ($50 plus a $10 service charge), and a late filing carries a $25 penalty. Check the Secretary of State for the current window before you calendar it.

Lead-safe setup involves training, equipment, and written procedures. Starting that work early may help you avoid turning down jobs on pre-1978 homes later.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming painting covers all remodeling. Once a job moves into carpentry, framing, or electrical work, the specialty-list exemption may no longer apply.
• Skipping the lead-safe check. Scraping an older home without the required practices can create liability for you and your crew.
• Forgetting the occupation tax certificate. Working without the local certificate can delay a project or cost you a client.
• Counting only full-time workers. Part-time helpers count toward the three-worker threshold for workers' compensation.
• Filing a trade name with the Secretary of State. Trade names go to the county Clerk of Superior Court.
• Ignoring the annual registration. The window closes April 1 each year, and late filings carry penalties.
• Quoting from memory. Fees, rules, and the Board's list change. Check each official source before you publish a bid or a marketing claim.

Where to Get Help

The Secretary of State's Corporations Division (sos.ga.gov/corporations-division) handles entity filings and annual registrations. The Department of Revenue (dor.georgia.gov) handles tax registration. The Georgia Small Business Development Center at the University of Georgia (georgiasbdc.org) offers free advising for new owners. For complex situations, such as a business that mixes painting with general construction, consult a qualified Georgia attorney and a CPA.

Reminder: this article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Confirm current fees, deadlines, and license lists with the agencies named above before you act.