How to Start a Restaurant in Georgia: County Health Permit, Alcohol Licenses and Menu Rules

October 29, 2026

Opening a restaurant in Georgia means clearing several layers of approval: your business entity, a local occupation tax certificate, a county health permit, and, if you plan to sell beer, wine or liquor, a state alcohol license plus a local one. Georgia has no general statewide business license, so most of your permits come from your city or county. This guide covers how to start a restaurant business in Georgia in the order that avoids costly rework.

This content is informational, not legal or tax advice. Restaurant formation involves zoning, health, alcohol and tax rules that differ by location, so consult a Georgia attorney and a CPA before you sign a lease or file anything complex.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather these items before you file anything:

• Your proposed restaurant name, checked against the Secretary of State business search at ecorp.sos.ga.gov/BusinessSearch
• The candidate address and its zoning classification from the city or county planning office
• A Georgia street address for your registered agent, since a P.O. box will not work
• A floor plan drawn to scale with an equipment list, for health department plan review
• A draft menu, including any imported shrimp you plan to serve
• A staffing estimate that counts part-time workers, since that number drives workers' compensation and E-Verify obligations
• Filing fee money, plus insurance quotes for general liability, workers' compensation and, if you will serve alcohol, liquor liability
• A federal Employer Identification Number from the IRS if you will hire employees

Step-by-Step: Opening a Restaurant in Georgia

Step 1: Form Your Business Entity

Most restaurant owners form a limited liability company or a corporation. File Articles of Organization (LLC) or Articles of Incorporation (corporation) with the Secretary of State's Corporations Division at sos.ga.gov/corporations-division. Both documents cost $110 in total, which is the $100 filing fee plus a $10 service charge. You can file online through the eCorp portal at ecorp.sos.ga.gov or on paper.

Processing times depend on how you file. Online LLC filings take about 7 to 10 business days, and paper filings take about 15 business days. Expedited review costs $120 for 2 business days, $275 for same-day handling if the filing arrives by noon, or $1,200 for one-hour handling on business days. If you need to hold a name while you finish paperwork, a name reservation costs $35 and lasts 30 days.

Your registered agent must keep a registered office with a Georgia street address. For an LLC, the agent must be an individual Georgia resident or a corporation authorized to do business in Georgia. The entity cannot serve as its own agent.

Georgia levies no franchise tax on a typical single-member or partnership LLC. Corporations, and LLCs taxed as corporations, owe a net worth tax of $0 to $5,000 depending on net worth. For how income tax applies to your structure, see Georgia business taxes.

If your restaurant will operate under a name different from your entity name, such as "Joe's Kitchen" for "Joe's Food Group LLC," you need a trade name registration. Trade names are not filed with the Secretary of State. File with the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where the business is chiefly carried on. Expect a clerk fee of about $165 plus a newspaper notice published once a week for two weeks in the county legal organ. Confirm the exact amounts with your county clerk. Details are at the Secretary of State FAQ.

Step 2: Confirm Zoning and Certificate of Occupancy Before You Sign a Lease

This is the step most often skipped, and it is the most expensive to fix later. Before you sign, get written answers from the city or county planning and zoning office on three points: whether a restaurant is a permitted use at that address, whether you need a special use permit or variance, and what a certificate of occupancy requires for food service at that space. Ask whether the space already holds a certificate for restaurant use.

If you plan to serve alcohol, ask the same office whether the location is in a wet or dry area and what distance rules apply. Those rules are set locally, so a location that works for food may not work for a bar or liquor-serving restaurant.

Step 3: Register With the Department of Revenue

Prepared food is taxable in Georgia, so your restaurant must register for sales tax with the Department of Revenue through the Georgia Tax Center at gtc.dor.ga.gov. Registration is free. The state sales tax rate is 4%, and combined state and local rates run from 6% to 9% depending on county and city. Atlanta's combined rate is 8.9%. Register for employer withholding in the same system once you have staff.

Georgia issues no separate resale permit. If you buy items that you will resell rather than use, you use Form ST-5, the certificate of exemption, instead.

Step 4: Get Your Local Occupation Tax Certificate

The local license is an occupation tax certificate, often called a business license. It is issued under O.C.G.A. Title 48, chapter 13. Your city issues it if your restaurant sits inside city limits. The county issues it for unincorporated areas. A business inside a city pays the city, not the county. More than half of Georgians live outside any city, so for many restaurant owners the county is the issuer.

Georgia has 159 counties and about 537 cities and towns, and each sets its own 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). If another affidavit is requested, ask the city or county clerk what the application requires.

Step 5: Obtain the County Health Permit

A restaurant food service permit is issued under O.C.G.A. 26-2-371 and Department of Public Health Rule 511-6-1-.02. The county health department handles the permit. Do not apply through the Department of Agriculture for a restaurant. That agency licenses food sales establishments such as grocery stores.

Build the permit timeline backward from your opening date:

1. Plan review, at least 14 business days before construction starts. Submit plans and specifications showing equipment, sinks, refrigeration, finishes and flow of food. Plan review must be complete before you build, so changes made after construction are costly.
2. Permit application, at least 10 business days before opening. File the application and pay the fee. Fees are set by each county, so confirm the amount with your county environmental health office.
3. Certified Food Safety Manager, within 60 days of the permit being issued. The manager must be a supervisory employee.

The permit is issued to one holder, for one location and one type of operation, and it is not transferable. If ownership changes, the new owner may receive a provisional permit valid for 60 days. Confirm with your county whether any food handler training is expected from staff. Georgia does not impose a statewide food handler card requirement. For the full walk-through, see how to get a food business permit in Georgia.

Step 6: Start Alcohol Applications in Parallel With Build-Out

Alcohol licensing has a state layer and a local layer. You need both, and you should file them while construction is underway, not after.

The state layer is handled by the Department of Revenue through the Georgia Tax Center, under Rule 560-2-2-.02. State alcohol licenses are calendar-year licenses. To continue into the next year, a new application is due on or before November 1 of the preceding year. The state license is tied to the premises, and the applicant's name and address must match the local application. The entity must be in good standing with the Secretary of State and must name a registered agent. A felony conviction served within the past 10 years, or a misdemeanor within the past 5 years, is a bar to licensing.

Timing matters in two ways. The state license is void if the local license lapses. The state temporary permit requires a valid local license first, but the full state application can be filed in parallel with your local application.

State fees are charged per place of business. The statutory amounts, which come from older statute text, are $100 for a retail consumption dealer (sales by the drink), $50 for retail beer and $50 for retail wine. Beer and wine permits carry annual state fees and renew every calendar year. The package spirits fee appears differently in the source material, so verify the current amount with the Department of Revenue. Georgia has no statewide server or pouring permit, though a city or county may require one.

The local layer is set by each county and city, and some localities are dry. Serving spirits by the drink and allowing Sunday sales both require local authorization after a local referendum. Retail spirits dealers must publish a notice in the county legal organ once within the 30 days before applying. Distance rules for on-premises licensees are set locally.

Atlanta publishes an undated Atlanta Police Department fee sheet. It lists $2,500 for on-premises beer and $5,000 for beer and wine, a requirement that 60% of sales come from food, renewal due February 15, and a $500 charge for late filing. Treat those figures as a sheet to confirm with the APD alcohol unit, not as settled current fees. For the full alcohol process, see how to get a liquor license in Georgia. No alcohol bill was signed into law in 2025 or 2026, but local rules can change, so check before you file.

Step 7: Set Up Staffing, Insurance and Music Costs

Workers' compensation insurance is required once you have three or more workers, and part-time workers count. Georgia has no state paid sick leave or family leave mandate, though local rules and your own policies may add obligations. Ask an insurer about general liability coverage and about liquor liability insurance if you will serve alcohol. Liquor liability is worth discussing in detail with your insurer before opening. If you plan to play recorded or live music, budget for music licensing. Costs vary, so get quotes from the licensing organizations directly.

Step 8: Build Your Menu and Payment Rules Around Current Law

Imported shrimp. HB 117, signed May 6, 2026, requires restaurant menus to label imported shrimp as "FOREIGN IMPORTED" under new O.C.G.A. 26-2-378.1. The law states no effective date, so the default date of July 1, 2026 applies. Confirm the current requirement and its application with the Department of Agriculture or your county before you print menus.

Cash rounding. HB 1112, effective July 1, 2026, requires cash totals to round to the nearest five cents. Exact cash payments must still be accepted, and card payments are not affected. Set your point-of-sale system to handle both.

Step 9: Track Your Annual Deadlines

Once open, your recurring deadlines include the Secretary of State annual registration, filed between January 1 and April 1 each year at $60 ($50 plus $10). An LLC files its first annual registration in the year after it forms. A new corporation files its first within 90 days of incorporating. If you hold alcohol licenses, the state renewal application is due on or before November 1 for the following calendar year. Local alcohol renewals have their own dates, such as February 15 in Atlanta. Check with the Secretary of State for the current filing window and late penalty.

Tips and Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Do not sign a lease first. Zoning, distance rules and certificate of occupancy requirements can rule out a space entirely.
• Do not start construction before plan review. Fixing equipment layout after a build is far more costly than changing a drawing.
• Do not assume one permit covers everything. Entity, trade name, sales tax, local occupation certificate, health permit and alcohol licenses are separate filings.
• Do not assume the county issues your certificate. A business inside city limits pays the city.
• Do not make alcohol plans before checking local status. Some areas are dry, and spirits and Sunday sales may need a referendum before local authorization.
• Do not let the state and local licenses drift apart. The names and addresses must match, and a lapsed local license voids the state license.
• Do not forget the trade name. If your restaurant name differs from your entity name, the Clerk of Superior Court filing and newspaper notice come first.
• Do not plan on fixed approval times. Health, zoning and local license timelines vary by county and city, so build in extra time.

What to Expect From the Process

Based on the sequence above, a restaurant owner may find that the health permit and local licensing steps take the most coordination, because each depends on a different office. Alcohol applications can often run alongside build-out, which may help keep the overall schedule on track, though results depend on your location, your application completeness and local review workloads. This guide does not promise any particular outcome, timeline or approval.

Once your permits are in place, you may be able to open on the date you planned. Keep copies of every approval and calendar every renewal date, since a missed filing can suspend an operation that was otherwise compliant.

Get Help From Georgia Resources

The Georgia Small Business Development Center at the University of Georgia offers free and low-cost advising at georgiasbdc.org. The SBA's Georgia district page at sba.gov/district/georgia lists local counseling resources. For tax questions, start with the Department of Revenue at dor.georgia.gov.

This article is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Fees, deadlines and rules change, and local requirements vary. Confirm each figure with the named agency or your city or county before you file, and consult a qualified Georgia attorney and CPA for your situation.