Which Georgia Trades Need No State Contractor License: Roofing, Fencing, Siding, Drywall, Concrete and More

Georgia licenses general contractors, residential and commercial, plus five trades covered by Chapter 14 of the licensing code: electrical, plumbing, conditioned air, low voltage and utility. Most other construction trades need no state contractor license, because they appear on lists kept by the State Licensing Board for Residential and Commercial General Contractors. If you are asking what trades don't need a license in Georgia, the short answer is that listed trades are exempt as long as you perform only that work. This guide gives you the trade list, shows you how to check your own scope against it, and flags the situations where the exemption stops applying. For the broader picture, start with our general contractor licensing guide.

This guide is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Board lists can change, and local rules vary. Before you bid a specific project, confirm your position with the State Licensing Board, your local building department, and a qualified attorney or CPA.

How the Georgia specialty contractor exemption works

The exemption does not come from a single statute. It comes from two lists the Board keeps, and the lists are Board policy statements, not the statute itself:

• Traditional Specialty Contractors list: about 100 trades. The Board last revised it on March 6, 2020, and marks it as under development and subject to change.
• Limited Service list: about 20 scoped categories of work. The Board last revised it on January 31, 2012.

A contractor who does only listed work is exempt from general contractor licensing under O.C.G.A. 43-41-17(f). Because the lists are policy, check the Board's current versions before you rely on them. The table later in this guide covers the trades this guide tracks. The Board's full traditional list is longer, so if your trade is missing from the table, check the full list before you assume it is not covered.

What you need before you start

You do not need much paperwork to work under the exemption, but these items should be in hand before your first bid:

• A written scope of work that names each trade you will perform, using the list's exact wording
• The Board's current Traditional Specialty and Limited Service lists
• Your entity filing with the Secretary of State Corporations Division (sos.ga.gov/corporations-division). An LLC files Articles of Organization and a corporation files Articles of Incorporation. Each costs $110 total, which is the $100 fee plus a $10 service charge. Online filings take about 7 to 10 business days, and paper filings take about 15 business days.
• A Georgia Tax Center registration with the Department of Revenue if you sell taxable goods or have employees. Sales tax registration is free, and Georgia issues no separate resale permit. The resale instrument is Form ST-5, the certificate of exemption.
• A local occupation tax certificate from your city, or from your county if you are outside city limits
• A workers' compensation policy once you have three or more workers, including part-time workers
• The phone number and address of your local building department, so you can confirm permit rules for each trade
• General liability insurance, as your practice and your customers require

Step-by-step: checking whether your trade is exempt

Step 1: Rule out Chapter 14 work first

Before you look at any list, separate out electrical, plumbing, conditioned air (HVAC), low voltage and utility work. These trades need their Chapter 14 license at any price, and the specialty exemption never covers them. A small electrical add-on to a fence job, a new bathroom supply line on a tile job, or a thermostat wiring change on an HVAC-adjacent job each needs a licensed person, however small the work. If the work is partly Chapter 14, split the job, or bring in a licensed subcontractor for that part.

Step 2: Match each task to the Traditional Specialty list

Write each task you perform as a trade name, then find it in the table in the next section. Use the list's exact wording. Siding is on the list. A job that combines several listed trades stays within the exemption as long as every part of it is on the list.

Step 3: Check the Limited Service list for roof repair work

The Limited Service list covers scoped categories of work. The example that matters most for roofers is repair and re-roofing of existing roofs. That entry does not include structural work or changes to the structure. A framing change, a new opening, or a rafter replacement is outside it, even if the job starts as a roof repair.

Step 4: Watch for the general construction trigger

A specialty contractor who also takes general construction work can lose the exemption. On residential jobs above $2,500, the work can fall under the residential contractor definition in O.C.G.A. 43-41-2. Commercial general construction has no dollar trigger, so the same risk applies at any job size. Keep general construction work separate from specialty work, and ask the Board whether a given combination of work crosses the line.

Step 5: Handle repair work for an owner separately

Repair work performed for an owner falls under a separate exemption from the specialty lists. It requires a disclosure that the person doing the work is not licensed, and it excludes structural work. Do not treat this as a substitute for the specialty list. Confirm the exact conditions with the Board before you rely on it for a paid job.

Step 6: Pull local permits and the local occupation tax certificate

The state exemption does not override local rules. Local permits, building codes, and any local contractor license that was in force on July 1, 2004 still apply. Cities can require permits for fences, roofs and windows even where the state requires no license, so call the building department before you start each job.

Georgia issues no general statewide business license. The local license is an occupation tax certificate, often called a business license, issued by the city, or by the county for unincorporated areas, under O.C.G.A. Title 48, chapter 13. Georgia has 159 counties and about 537 cities, and each sets its own formula, deadlines and prerequisites. More than half of Georgians live outside any city, so for many readers the county is the issuer. A business inside a city pays the city, not the county. 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 our Georgia business license guide for more.

Step 7: Set up the business basics

Exempt specialty work still makes you a business. Register your entity with the Secretary of State, register with the Department of Revenue if required, and obtain your local certificate. If you operate under a name other than your legal entity name, you need a trade name (DBA) registration. Trade names are filed with the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where the business is chiefly carried on, not with the Secretary of State. Expect a clerk fee of about $165 plus a newspaper notice published once a week for two weeks. Confirm the current clerk fee and publication cost with your county clerk.

Workers' compensation is required at three or more workers, including part-time workers. See our workers' compensation requirements guide. On taxes, a typical single-member or partnership LLC pays no franchise tax. Corporations, and LLCs taxed as corporations, pay a net worth tax of $0 to $5,000 depending on net worth. Georgia income tax is one flat rate: 5.19% for 2025 and 4.99% for 2026, and the corporate rate equals the individual rate. Review our Georgia business taxes guide and confirm your position with a CPA.

Traditional specialty list: trades that need no state contractor license

Use this table to scan your trades. Each listed trade is exempt when the work stays within that trade and does not require a Chapter 14 license. The notes are shortcuts, not a substitute for the Board's current list.

Trade (Board list name)	Note
Acoustical ceilings	Exempt
Awnings	Exempt
Cabinets and countertops	Exempt
Carpet	Exempt
Ceramic and hard tile	Exempt
Concrete (cast in place)	Exempt, cast in place only
Demolition	Exempt
Doors, frames and hardware	Exempt; local permit may apply
Drywall	Exempt
EIFS and stucco	Exempt
Fencing	Exempt; local permit may apply
Finish carpentry	Exempt
Fireplaces	Exempt
Flagpoles	Exempt
Flat roofing	Exempt; repair may fall under Limited Service
Glazing	Exempt
Grading	Exempt
Gutters and downspouts	Exempt
Insulation	Exempt
Landscape and irrigation	Exempt; any electrical or plumbing part needs its license
Masonry	Exempt
Overhead doors	Exempt; local permit may apply
Painting and special coatings	Exempt
Rough carpentry	Exempt
Sheet metal roofing	Exempt; repair may fall under Limited Service
Shingles and shakes	Exempt; repair may fall under Limited Service
Siding	Exempt; local permit may apply
Signage	Exempt; any electrical hookup needs its license
Skylights	Exempt; local permit may apply
Structural steel	Exempt
Terrazzo	Exempt
Wall finishes	Exempt
Window treatments	Exempt
Windows	Exempt; local permit may apply
Wood flooring	Exempt

Trades that are not on the list

Two common trades do not appear on either list, so they need separate checks:

• Tree service: no Georgia contractor license found; check local rules.
• Solar: solar is not on the list. The electrical work in a solar installation falls under the electrical contractor license. See our electrician business guide.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming a trade is exempt because it sounds similar to a listed one. Match the list's exact wording.
• Doing a small electrical, plumbing or HVAC add-on under a specialty exemption. Chapter 14 work needs its license at any price.
• Mixing general construction into specialty jobs without checking the $2,500 residential threshold or the commercial rule.
• Treating the state exemption as the end of permitting. Fences, roofs and windows often need local permits.
• Relying on old list dates without checking the Board's current versions.
• Skipping the local occupation tax certificate because the state requires no license.
• Assuming a county certificate covers a business inside city limits. A business inside a city pays the city.
• Forgetting workers' compensation when your crew reaches three workers, including part-time workers.

What to expect once your trade is confirmed

If your scope matches the list and your business basics are in place, you should generally be able to bid and perform the listed work without a state contractor license. You will likely still need permits on some individual jobs, and a local inspector may raise requirements you did not plan for. Results vary by county and city, so treat the local building department as the final word on each project. Plan for the entity filing and local certificate to take a few weeks, not a few days, and do not promise a start date to a customer until both are done.

Which page should you read next?

• Roofing business guide
• Painting business guide
• Landscaping business guide
• Handyman business guide

Frequently asked questions

Does a fence installer need a license in Georgia?

Not a state contractor license, because fencing is on the Traditional Specialty list. A local permit may still apply, so check with your city or county building department before you start.

Do you need a license for drywall in Georgia?

Drywall is on the same list, so drywall-only work does not require a state contractor license. Local permit requirements may still apply, and any electrical or plumbing work in the same job needs its own license.

Can a roofer do structural work?

Not under the Limited Service entry, which covers repair and re-roofing of existing roofs but excludes structural work and changes to the structure. Structural work moves toward the residential contractor definition, so check with the Board before taking it on.

This guide is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Confirm your licensing, tax and insurance position with the State Licensing Board, your local government and a qualified attorney or CPA before you act.