Georgia trade license reciprocity

Georgia does not issue a journeyman electrician license. The Construction Industry Licensing Board's Division of Electrical Contractors licenses only electrical contractors (Class I Restricted and Class II Non-Restricted); the Board's licensing rules create master and journeyman licenses for plumbers (Rule 121-3-.02) but no journeyman category for electricians, and neither the Board's home page nor its how-to guide offers any individual electrician credential below contractor. Electricians who are not contractors work as employees under a licensed electrical contractor with no personal state license. An out-of-state journeyman license therefore has nothing to transfer to in Georgia and is neither required nor recognized for employment. The one place it helps is the road to a contractor license: the Board's examination application accepts experience 'gained working under a Licensed Electrical Contractor' including one licensed out of state (the applicant notes whether that license is equivalent to a Georgia Restricted or Non-Restricted license), so hours worked as a journeyman elsewhere count toward the 4 years (8,000 hours) needed to sit for the Georgia electrical contractor exam.

Georgia has no 'master electrician' license; its highest person-held electrical credential is the statewide Electrical Contractor license issued by the Construction Industry Licensing Board's Division of Electrical Contractors to an individual who documents experience and passes the PSI-administered exam. It comes in two classes: Class I (Restricted) covers single-phase installations up to 200 amperes, and Class II (Non-Restricted) is unrestricted, so Class II is the master-level equivalent used here. A new applicant needs at least 4 years (8,000 hours) of primary experience under a licensed electrical contractor covering all eight experience areas, including installations above single-phase 400 amperes under a Class II contractor, plus three notarized references and a certified background check; the exam application fee is $110 through the GOALS portal. Georgia no longer offers licensure by reciprocity: the Board's FAQ says it stopped in May 2026, ending the Class II arrangements it had with Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Every out-of-state contractor now applies by examination, with experience under a licensed contractor in any state counting toward the 4 years. Licenses renew by June 30 of even-numbered years; applications are generally processed within 20 business days.

Georgia does not issue a journeyman HVAC, HVAC technician or installer license. The Construction Industry Licensing Board's Division of Conditioned Air Contractors licenses only conditioned air contractors (Class I Restricted and Class II Non-Restricted); the Board's licensing rules create master and journeyman licenses for plumbers (Rule 121-3-.02) but no journeyman category for conditioned air (Rule 121-3-.04), the reciprocity rule's list of licenses has no such credential, and neither the Board's home page, its how-to guide nor its FAQ offers any individual credential below contractor. HVAC technicians who are not contractors work as employees of a company whose qualifying licensee 'must be regularly connected with the business', with no personal state license. An out-of-state journeyman or technician license therefore has nothing to transfer to in Georgia and is neither required nor recognized for employment; the one place it helps is on the road to a contractor license, because the Board's application records employment under licensed employers (Georgia or otherwise) toward the four years (Class I) or five years (Class II) of lead-mechanic, service-technician and supervisory experience required under Rule 121-3-.04. EPA Section 608 certification (Type II or higher, as the Board requires of contractor applicants) is federal and applies to every technician handling refrigerants.

Georgia has no 'master HVAC' license; its highest person-held HVAC credential is the statewide Conditioned Air Contractor license issued by the Construction Industry Licensing Board's Division of Conditioned Air Contractors to an individual who documents experience and passes the PSI-administered exam with a score of at least 70. It comes in two classes: Class I (Restricted) covers systems up to 175,000 BTU of heating and 60,000 BTU of cooling, and Class II (Non-Restricted) is unrestricted, so Class II is the master-level equivalent used here. A Class II applicant needs five years of experience under Rule 121-3-.04 (two years of installation as a lead mechanic with at least one commercial year, one year as a service technician or supervisor, two years of commercial supervisory experience), EPA Section 608 certification of Type II or higher, a Board-approved heat loss and gain and duct design course (Manuals J&D) plus Manuals N&Q or Carrier Design 1-3, three notarized references from licensed professionals, and a local law-enforcement background check; the exam application fee is $110 through the GOALS portal, and the PSI exam fee is paid to the vendor. The licensee then serves as the qualifying licensee for a registered conditioned air company. The Board's FAQ states that 'Reciprocity with other states is not offered at this time' and its online guide has no reciprocity application type; the Board's 2022 paper reciprocity form, which is no longer accepted, named Louisiana as the sole reciprocal state and recorded that South Carolina and Texas reciprocity stopped on April 15, 2022 pending renegotiation. An out-of-state HVAC contractor therefore applies by examination, with experience earned elsewhere documented on the experience record. Licenses renew by November 30 of odd-numbered years with 4 hours of continuing education per year; applications are generally processed within 20 business days.

Georgia issues a statewide Journeyman Plumber license through the Construction Industry Licensing Board's Division of Master and Journeyman Plumbers. Rule 121-3-.02 is the only CILB licensing rule that creates both master and journeyman credentials (electrical and conditioned-air rules license contractors only). Senate Bill 553 (2026) repealed and re-enacted the licensing statute, O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 14, effective July 1, 2026, and the qualifications are now set in law: a journeyman applicant documents one year of full-time plumbing experience (2,000 documented hours) of a type covered by the state plumbing code, supervised by a licensed Master Plumber and attested by a signed affidavit from each supervising master, scores at least 70 on the Board-approved examination, consents to a criminal background check, and pays the Board's published application fee. The Division's application checklist still also asks for three licensed-plumber references, and Rule 121-3-.02 still lists secondary experience such as county water or public-works maintenance and full-time plumbing inspection, so confirm with the Division how it applies the new statute. Medical-gas piping is a separate statewide certificate (Rule 121-2-.11) available only to a current Georgia master or journeyman. O.C.G.A. § 43-14-23 lets the Division, in its discretion, license without examination someone who has practiced for at least two years under a license from a state with substantially equal requirements that gives Georgia licensees equivalent privileges; Rule 121-2-.03 still frames this as a formal written agreement, and the Division's FAQ states that Georgia has no reciprocity with any other state for master or journeyman plumbers. In practice everyone therefore applies by examination, with out-of-state plumbing work counting toward the experience minimum. Exams are given by PSI, and licenses renew every two years by November 30 of even-numbered years with 8 hours of continuing education.

Georgia issues statewide Master Plumber licenses in two classes through the Construction Industry Licensing Board's Division of Master and Journeyman Plumbers. Under the licensing statute as re-enacted by Senate Bill 553 (2026), effective July 1, 2026, Class I covers single-family dwellings, townhomes and multifamily buildings (including duplexes, hotels, motels and apartments) up to three stories and commercial buildings up to 20,000 square feet; Class II is unrestricted and is the master-level equivalent used here. Class II needs five years of full-time experience (2,000 documented hours each) under a licensed master plumber, at least four of them licensed as a Journeyman Plumber and at least two in unrestricted-scope work; Class I needs four years within the restricted scope, at least three of them licensed as a Georgia Journeyman Plumber. Anyone already licensed as a Georgia journeyman before March 1, 2025 needs only two licensed years for Class II and one for Class I. The applicant scores at least 70 on the appropriate master examination, files a signed affidavit from each supervising master, consents to a criminal background check and pays the Board's published fee; the Division's checklist still also asks for three licensed-plumber references (Class I: at least one master; Class II: at least two). O.C.G.A. § 43-14-23 lets the Division, in its discretion, license without examination someone who has practiced for at least two years under a license from a state with substantially equal requirements that gives Georgia licensees equivalent privileges; Rule 121-2-.03 still frames this as a formal written agreement, and the Division's FAQ states that Georgia has no reciprocity with any other state for master or journeyman plumbers. In practice everyone therefore applies by examination. The statute's Class II wording does not require the licensed journeyman years to be Georgia years, so out-of-state journeyman licensure is expected to count there, but Class I's licensed years must be under a Georgia Journeyman Plumber license.

Georgia licenses residential contractors statewide through the Residential Contractor Division of the State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors, part of the Secretary of State's Professional Licensing Boards Division. There are two classifications: Residential-Basic covers detached one- and two-family residences and one-family townhouses not over three stories plus their accessory structures, and Residential-Light Commercial adds multifamily and light commercial buildings under four stories and under 25,000 square feet of interior space, or pre-engineered steel buildings up to 50,000 square feet. A license is required once the value of the work or the contractor's compensation exceeds $2,500. The credential is usually entity-held: an individual license only covers work in your own name or as a sole proprietorship, and to contract through an LLC, corporation or other registered business you apply as that company's qualifying agent, the person who holds final approval authority over its construction work, contracts and related financial affairs. Both classifications require the Georgia trade examination for the classification plus the Georgia Business and Law examination, proof of financial responsibility and general liability insurance in the licensee's or company's own name. Georgia offers reciprocity at the Residential-Basic level with a short list of named states, and none at the Residential-Light Commercial level.

Georgia licenses commercial general contractors statewide through the General Contractor Division of the State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors, part of the Secretary of State's Professional Licensing Boards Division. A General Contractor license is unlimited as to the type of work and carries no financial limit on any project; the General Contractor Limited Tier is the same license capped at contracts of no more than $1,000,000. Neither license covers electrical, plumbing, conditioned air, low voltage or utility work, which must be performed by contractors licensed under O.C.G.A. Title 43 Chapter 14. As in the residential division the credential is usually entity-held: an individual license only covers work in your own name or as a sole proprietorship, and to contract through a company you apply as its qualifying agent, the person with final approval authority over its construction work, contracts and related financial affairs, with the financial and insurance proofs in the company's name. What makes Georgia unusual for an inbound contractor is the examination: the Board's own trade examination for both general tiers is the NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors, so a NASCLA certificate earned in another state already satisfies it. The Georgia Business and Law examination is always separate and is never waived, including for reciprocity applicants.

Georgia issues no home inspector license, certificate or registration, so an inspector moving here has no state credential to apply for, no examination to sit and nothing to transfer from another state. The Secretary of State's Professional Licensing Boards Division supports the 42 licensing boards housed with that agency and publishes the whole list. Under Building and Contractors it names architects and interior designers, conditioned air contractors, electrical contractors, low voltage contractors, plumbers, residential and general contractors, and utility contractors; the rest of the list runs from veterinarians, athlete agents and auctioneers through cosmetologists, foresters, geologists, funeral directors, nurses and private detectives to used motor vehicle dealers and water and wastewater treatment plant operators. Home inspection is not on it. The same page lists the professions that are licensed in Georgia by some other agency - accountancy, certified nurse aides, dentists, engineers and land surveyors, installment lenders, insurance agents, lawyers, manufactured homes, pesticide applicators, pharmacists, physicians, real estate agents, vehicle tag and title, and water well contractors - and home inspection is not on that list either, so there is no other agency to be sent to. The Georgia Administrative Code says the same thing from the rules side: its department index carries the State Construction Industry Licensing Board and the State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors, but no home inspector department, chapter or rule. Because Georgia holds no home inspector examination, the National Home Inspector Examination has nothing to stand in for here, and any "certified" designation an inspector advertises comes from a private trade association rather than from the state. What binds a Georgia home inspector instead is general law. The Fair Business Practices Act, O.C.G.A. sections 10-1-390 and following, exists "to protect consumers and legitimate business enterprises from unfair or deceptive practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce" and declares unfair or deceptive acts or practices in consumer transactions unlawful; it covers services bought mainly for personal, family or household purposes, and its own illustrations include passing off services as those of another and causing actual confusion or actual misunderstanding about the source, approval or certification of a service. A consumer injured by a violation may sue individually for injunctive relief and damages under section 10-1-399, after delivering a written demand for relief to the prospective defendant at least 30 days before filing; the court awards three times actual damages for an intentional violation, plus reasonable attorney's fees and expenses of litigation. The Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division enforces the Act separately whenever it finds a substantial public interest. Georgia has enacted no home inspector practice act, which means no statutory standard of care and no conflict-of-interest rule of the kind that bars inspecting a property you were paid to repair, so the written inspection agreement together with ordinary contract and negligence law sets the duty owed. Georgia does license the work on either side of an inspection: the State Licensing Board for Residential and Commercial General Contractors licenses the residential and commercial general contractors who take on building and remodeling that follows from a report; the State Construction Industry Licensing Board licenses electrical contractors, plumbers, conditioned air contractors, low voltage contractors and utility contractors, so any repair in those trades belongs to a licensee; and putting a value on the property is the work of an appraiser classified by the Georgia Real Estate Appraisers Board as State Registered, State Trainee, State Licensed, State Certified Residential or State Certified General. That appraiser board does offer classification by reciprocity to licensed and certified appraisers from every state, which is the recognition an inbound home inspector will not find anywhere in Georgia.