State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors

State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors Overview Information

Composition of Board • The Board is comprised of two divisions. • Residential Contractors Division • General Contractors Division • The Residential Contractors Division has jurisdiction over: • Residential Basic Contractors • Residential Light-Commercial Contractors • The General Contractors Division has jurisdiction over: • General Contractors • General Limited-Tier Contractors

Different Types of Residential Contractor Licenses • Residential-Basic Individual • Residential-Basic Qualifying Agent • Residential-Basic Company • Residential-Light Commercial Individual • Residential-Light Commercial Qualifying Agent • Residential-Light Commercial Company

Different Types of General Contractors Licenses • General Contractor Individual • General Contractor Qualifying Agent • General Contractor Company • General Contractor Limited Tier Individual • General Contractor Limited Tier Qualifying Agent • General Contractor Limited Tier Company

Individual vs. Qualifying Agent • Individual – A person licensed in his or her own name for purposes of engaging in the profession of residential or general contracting. • Qualifying Agent – A person licensed to have the responsibility to supervise, direct, manage, and control all of the contracting activities of a business organization, with which he or she is affiliated by employment or ownership.

Qualifying Agent • A qualifying agent may serve in such capacity for more than one business organization, provided that he or she shall satisfy the criteria for serving in such capacity with regard to each such business organization. If approved the Board will issue a Qualifying Agent license and company license for each. • A business organization may employ more than one qualifying agent.

Residential Basic Contractor • Residential Basic Contractor is defined as a person who performs contractor work or activity relative to detached one family and twofamily residences and one-family townhouses not over three stories in height and their accessory buildings and structures.

Residential-Light Commercial • Residential-Light Commercial is defined as a person who performs any contractor work or activity performed by a residential-basic contractor and, additionally, shall include such contractor work or activity related to multifamily and multiuse light commercial buildings and structures, and their related accessory buildings and structures, which are less than four stories in height; less than 25, 000 square feet in aggregate interior floor space, except as provided in O. C. G. A. Chapter 43 -41, and are constructed of wood or light gauge metal frame, brick veneer, prefabricated, or manufactured type of construction; or are pre-engineered steel buildings not exceeding 50, 000 square feet of interior floor space; provided that such buildings or structures are not of the type of building or structure that would constitute a special hazard to property or to life and safety of persons as defined in subparagraphs (A), (C), (D), (E), (F), (G. 1), (H), (I), and (J) and subparagraph (B), as it applies to a building of four or more stories, of paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Code Section 25 -2 -13.

General Contractor • "General contractor" is defined as a contractor whose services are unlimited as to the type of work which he or she may do, subject to the financial limitations as may be imposed by a sub classification created pursuant to paragraph (8) of subsection (b) of Code Section 43 -41 -5, and who may contract for, undertake to perform, submit a bid or a proposal or otherwise offer to perform, and perform any activity or work as a contractor requiring licensure under this chapter including within its scope any work requiring licensure under Chapter 14 of this title; provided, however, that any work contractually undertaken by a general contractor in the nature of electrical contracting, plumbing, conditioned air contracting, low voltage contracting, or utility contracting which falls within the licensing requirements of Chapter 14 of this title may not be performed by the general contractor but shall only be performed by a person who is duly licensed to perform such work under Chapter 14 of this title. The construction of all private, commercial, institutional, industrial, public, and other buildings and structures under contract with or engagement directly by an owner shall be undertaken by a general contractor, except as otherwise expressly set forth in or excluded from operation of this chapter.

General Contractor Limited Tier • A person holding this type license can perform general contractor services, however, the person is limited as to any contract of no more than one million dollars. • This amount was recently changed from five hundred thousand to one million dollars due to a rule change.

Specialty Contractor • Specialty Contractor - A contractor whose scope of work and responsibility is of limited scope dealing with only a specific trade and directly related ancillary work and whose performance is limited to such specialty construction work requiring special skill and requiring specialized building trades or crafts, including, but not limited to, such activities, work, or services requiring licensure under Chapter 14 of this title.

2 Categories of Specialty Contractors • Limited Service Specialty Contractors • Traditional Specialty Contractors • A list of what the Board has determined to fall under these categories is on the Board website. You may visit the Board website on the Secretary of State webpage at www. sos. ga. gov/plb and select Residential and General Contractors under the tab titled “Boards and Licensed Professions”.

Specialty Contractor Information • Under O. C. G. A. § 43 -41 -17, specialty contractors who offer or contract to perform or undertake or perform for an owner limited, specialty, or specific trade contractor work do not have to hold a license as a residential or general contractor if they are performing work within their specialty. However, nothing in Chapter 41 shall permit a specialty contractor to perform work that falls within the licensing requirements of Chapter 14 of Title 43 where such specialty contractor is not duly licensed under such chapter to perform such work.

O. C. G. A. § 43 -41 -14 Role of building inspectors; penalty for noncompliance with chapter; posting of requirements • a) Any person, whether an individual or a business organization acting through a qualifying agent, intending to perform work as a residential or general contractor, upon making application to the building inspector or such other authority of any incorporated municipality or county in this state charged with the duty of issuing building or other permits for contemplated construction work requiring performance by either a licensed residential contractor or a licensed general contractor shall, before being entitled to the issuance of such permit, furnish to such inspector or authority, personally or through his or her authorized agent specifically designated to act on his or her behalf in a sworn written document submitted contemporaneously or previously submitted and maintained by such inspector or authority, his or her residential contractor or general contractor license number and the identity of any business organization for which such applicant is serving as qualifying agent that is undertaking or contracting as a residential contractor or a general contractor to construct or manage the construction.

(continued -O. C. G. A. § 43 -41 -14 Role of building inspectors; penalty for noncompliance with chapter; posting of requirements) • It shall be unlawful for any such building inspector or other authority to issue or allow the issuance of such building permit unless the applicant has furnished his or her residential contractor or general contractor license number and the identity of any such business organization relative to performance of the work for which a permit has been applied. A building inspector or other authority shall issue such building permit under the terms of this Code section to any person, including an individual licensee acting on his or her own behalf or a licensee acting as a qualifying agent for a business organization and such business organization, upon evidence reasonably establishing that such person is duly licensed as a residential or general contractor under this chapter, either individually or as a business organization acting under a duly licensed qualifying agent. Any building inspector or other such authority that issues a building permit to a person known by such building inspector or authority not to be properly licensed under this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be subject to a fine of not more than $500.

(continued) O. C. G. A. § 43 -41 -14 Role of building inspectors; penalty for noncompliance with chapter; posting of requirements • (b) The licensing requirements imposed by this chapter and the effective dates of such licensing requirements must be posted by any county or municipality in this state charged with the duty of issuing building or other permits for construction work requiring performance by either a licensed residential contractor or a licensed general contractor in the same location in which such building or other permits are issued.

Authorized Permit Agent Form • The Board has an Authorized Permit Agent form on the board website. This form was revised in 2016. • This form may be used by a Qualifying Agent to designate an individual to obtain a permit on his/her behalf for a project for the qualifying company. The contractor should submit an original form for each project for which he/she has designated an individual to pull permits. The notarized form with an original signature, a copy of the contractor’s license, a copy of the contractor’s company license, and a copy of the driver’s license of the authorized permit agent is to be given to the permit office in the city or county in which the project is located. It should be the original form and not a copy or fax.

O. C. G. A. § 43 -41 -17 (h) • Nothing in this chapter shall preclude any person from constructing a building or structure on real property owned by such person which is intended upon completion for use or occupancy solely by that person and his or her family, firm, or corporation and its employees, and not for use by the general public and not offered for sale or lease. In so doing, such person may act as his or her own contractor personally providing direct supervision and management of all work not performed by licensed contractors. However, if, under this subsection, the person or his or her family, firm, or corporation has previously sold or transferred a building or structure which had been constructed by such person acting without a licensed residential or general contractor within the prior 24 month period, starting from the date on which a certificate of occupancy was issued for such building or structure, then such person may not, under this subsection, construct another separate building or structure without having first obtained on his or her own behalf an appropriate residential or general contractor license or having engaged such a duly licensed contractor to perform such work to the extent required under this chapter, or it shall be presumed that the person, firm, or corporation did not intend such building solely for occupancy by that person and his or her family, firm, or corporation.

(continued - O. C. G. A. § 43 -41 -17 (h) • Further, such person may not delegate the responsibility to directly supervise and manage all or any part of the work relating thereto to any other person unless that person is licensed under this chapter and the work being performed is within the scope of that person's license. In any event, however, all such work must be done in conformity with all other applicable provisions of this title, the rules and regulations of the board and division involved, and any applicable county or municipal resolutions, ordinances, codes, permitting, or inspection requirements.

Verify Licensure • Licensure should be verified on the Secretary of State website or on the Board website. This is the most current information. • To search for a license you may visit https: //sos. ga. gov/index. php/licensing and select the tab titled “Search for a Licensee”. You can search by Individual or Facility/Company. • Name on license whether individual, qualifying agent, or company it should match information listed on permit form. (i. e. Smiths Construction LLC, or Joeys Renovations Inc. ) A company may change its name, but if not correctly changed with the State Board for Residential and General Contractors then they are not approved to conduct business in the new name. Some will change name with Corporations Division, but not with the board.

Status of License • Status in which one is allowed to practice in Georgia. • Active • Probation • Any status such as inactive, suspended, lapsed, or revoked is not a valid status to practice in Georgia. • If an individual states he/she has applied for a license with the Board and passed the exam, they are not authorized to practice without an active license.

Rule Changes • The Board revised several rules at the beginning of this year. You may view the current rules on the Board website under the tab titled “Laws/Rules”. • The Secretary of State’s Office does have an interested parties list for individuals who would like to receive notifications of any rule changes for the different Board. If you would like to add your name to the interested parties list you may visit the Secretary of State website at www. sos. ga. gov/plb and under the Quick Links tab you can select the tab titled “Subscribe: Interested Parties List” and enter your name, email address and check the Boards in which you would like to be added on the contact list. You will be notified of any proposed changes to any board rules.