STATE LICENSE
NoneSee what applies
Flooring is exempt four ways over: the licensing board's Traditional Specialty list separately names Wood Flooring, Carpet/VCT & Base, Ceramics & Hard Tiles, and Terrazzo. Within those scopes, flooring contractors work directly for owners with no state credential and no dollar cap.
The line to watch is the subfloor: floor-covering replacement is specialty work, but structural subfloor or joist repair is contractor territory — permitted locally and, past the incidental cap, licensed at the state level. Installers working under a licensed contractor on a valid permit are expressly exempt.
The state sets the license floor; the county or city permit office controls filing, inspections, and local rules wherever the job site sits.
Floor-covering replacement rarely needs a permit; the local layer is the occupation tax certificate. Structural work routes through the local permit office under a licensed prime.
The local offices section below names the exact permit desk for every Georgia county on file.
Each row names the issuing authority, cost, timeline, citation, and status behind the requirement — verified against the official source.
Published fees from the issuing authorities, as of September 2026. Local permit fees vary by project and jurisdiction — the basis is stated where a flat number does not exist.
Replacing floor coverings is exempt specialty work; repairing subfloors or joists is structural — permits, and possibly a license.
Flooring installers on a licensed contractor's valid permit are expressly exempt per the board's policy statement.
Bundled non-flooring work caps at the greater of $10,000 or 25% of the contract.
A practical sequence for a new flooring contractor in Georgia. Actual agency processing times are noted in the ledger above.
Each item names the issuing authority, cycle, and citation.
Statutory consequences with their citations — not estimates, not “commonly cited” guesses.
Structural or over-cap work without a license makes the contract unenforceable with no lien rights.
Contracting past the exemption without a license is criminal.
Splitting contracts to stay under the caps is separately criminal.
Inside city limits, the city office listed here issues the permit; the county office serves unincorporated areas. Every office links to its official page.
Every fact in this file was checked against these official sources on September 2026.
General information, not legal advice. Always confirm requirements, deadlines, and forms with the issuing authority before filing or contracting.
Store licenses, permits, policies, and renewal dates in one place.