How to Become a Georgia General Contractor

Georgia has a comparatively difficult process to qualify as a state general contractor. The Georgia State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors issues these general contractor licenses. Qualifications are much more difficult to meet than many states on almost all levels. Whereas some states do not even regulate general contractors, Georgia has financial, educational, exam and experience requirements. Applicants must also be at least 21 to become a Georgia general contractor, which is 3 years older than the typical minimum age of 18.

However, if an applicant can meet all requirements, he can enter the rewarding field of general contracting work in Georgia and make money while managing construction projects.

Step 1:

Accumulate the required combination of education and experience. The Georgia contractor board allows the following educational/experience combinations:

a. Four-year accredited degree in construction management, building construction, architecture, engineering or a board-accepted related field and one year of experience related to general contracting

b. A combined four years of college credit from accredited courses and proven practical experience in work related to general contracting

c. Four total years of in a field of construction, with at least two of those in general contracting and one related to administration, accounting, marketing, estimating, engineering, drafting, supervision, project management or substantially similar duties.

Step 2:

Get a letter of recommendation from an engineer, architect or other industry professional.

Step 3:

Get a CPA reference letter showing that you have a net worth of at least $150,000. This will disqualify many otherwise qualified individuals.

Step 4:

Get liability insurance. You need coverage of at least $500,000 per occurrence.

Step 5:

Get workers comp insurance if you have employees. Check with the workers comp board for state requirements.

Step 6:

Download the Georgia general contractor license application. Fill this out and any related documentation called for by the instructions. You can get the application online.

Step 7:

Prepare a fee of $200. Call 478-207-2440 for additional information about making payment.

Step 8:

Send the application, fee and supporting documents to the following address:

State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors
237 Coliseum Drive
Macon, GA 31217

Step 9:

Prepare for and take the Georgia general contractor exam. PSI is the administrator for this test. You must take a Georgia Business and Law exam and the National Commercial Building Contractor Examination. The cost is $106 to take both of these tests. Download a Candidate Information Bulletin to get registration and payment instructions and learn how to prepare for and take these Georgia general contractor tests.

Note: There are some additional categories of general contractors in Georgia. For example, you can apply for a general contractor limited tier, general contractor qualifying agent, and general contractor limited tier qualifying agent. The candidate information bulletins and applications for these Georgia general-contractor categories can be found on the same websites mentioned above for the individual general contractor forms.

Source:

Georgia Individual General Contractor Application