Do you need a license to clean in Georgia?
Do I need a license to start a cleaning business in Georgia?
- Confirm whether your base address is in a city or unincorporated county
- Settle the legal name and entity before you apply
- Get the federal EIN, or have your Social Security number ready
- Look up the six-digit NAICS code for your cleaning work
- Estimate gross revenue from Georgia customers for the year
- Sign the SAVE affidavit, and the E-Verify affidavit if it applies
- Submit the occupation tax application and pay the fee
- Calendar the renewal date so the certificate does not lapse
Georgia has no statewide cleaning license
Georgia does not license cleaning or janitorial work at the state level. The permission to operate comes from the county or city where your business is based.
That surprises people who expect a trade license like a plumber's. Cleaning has no state exam and no state board. Local governments instead charge an occupation tax and issue a certificate, which most people simply call a business license.
The state still matters. You need a legal name and a registered agent located in Georgia before you form an LLC. And the local form asks for details that only exist once the entity and tax numbers are in place. The order is set out in the business setup guide.
A Georgia LLC must name a registered agent located in Georgia when it registers with the Secretary of State. — Georgia.gov, retrieved 2026-09-27
The occupation tax certificate comes from where you are based
Apply to the city if your business address is inside city limits. Apply to the county only if the address is in an unincorporated area.
Gwinnett County is a useful example. Its Licensing and Revenue Office issues certificates for businesses in unincorporated Gwinnett only. A business inside Lawrenceville or Duluth applies to that city instead.
A home-based cleaning business still needs one. Gwinnett asks home-based applicants for a Georgia ID showing the same address and a signed home-based business disclosure. That disclosure sets out the limits on running a business from a residential street.
Gwinnett County's Licensing and Revenue Office issues occupation tax certificates only for businesses located in unincorporated Gwinnett; businesses in a city apply to that city. — Gwinnett County Planning and Development, retrieved 2026-09-27
Gwinnett requires home-based applicants to provide a Georgia driver's license or ID matching the business address and a signed Home-Based Business Disclosure. — Gwinnett County Planning and Development, retrieved 2026-09-27
What the local application asks you to supply
The application is short, but it assumes the business already exists. Have the entity name, formation date, tax ID and revenue estimate ready before you start.
Gwinnett's form asks for the legal entity name and its date of formation with the Secretary of State. It asks for a federal tax ID, or the last four digits of the owner's Social Security number. It also wants a six-digit NAICS code, projected gross revenue from Georgia customers, and the number of employees, counting the owner as one.
The business location cannot be a P.O. box or a virtual office. If you run the business from home, that home is the location. Janitorial work generally falls under NAICS 561720, and carpet and upholstery cleaning has its own code.
Gwinnett County's occupation tax application asks for a six-digit NAICS code, projected gross revenue from Georgia customers, and the number of employees including the owner. — Gwinnett County Licensing and Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-27
The Gwinnett application does not accept a P.O. box or virtual office as the business location. — Gwinnett County Licensing and Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-27
The SAVE and E-Verify affidavits
Georgia local governments must collect a sworn SAVE affidavit with a business license application. Businesses with 11 or more full-time employees also sign an E-Verify affidavit.
The SAVE affidavit confirms lawful presence and comes with one secure and verifiable ID document. It is required because a business license counts as a public benefit under Georgia law.
The E-Verify affidavit applies to private employers with 11 or more employees who each work at least 35 hours a week. A two-person startup signs the version saying it employs ten or fewer. Renewals do not need a new affidavit unless the applicant or the employee count changes.
Private employers with 11 or more employees working at least 35 hours a week must submit an E-Verify affidavit when applying for a Georgia business license or occupation tax certificate. — Georgia Municipal Association, retrieved 2026-09-27
Applicants for a commercial or occupational license in Georgia provide a signed and sworn SAVE affidavit and one secure and verifiable document. — Georgia Municipal Association, retrieved 2026-09-27
What the certificate costs and when it renews
Expect a flat administrative fee plus a tax tied to your gross revenue. In Gwinnett that is an $80 flat fee and a rate per thousand dollars of revenue.
The per-thousand rate depends on your business class and runs from $0.65 to $1.30 in Gwinnett. A new cleaning business with modest revenue pays a small amount. The number grows as the contracts do, which is why the form asks for projected revenue.
Renewal is annual and the deadline is firm. Gwinnett's renewal is due February 15. After that a $25 penalty applies, then a 10% late fee after March 31, plus interest of 1.5% a month.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Flat issuance fee | $80 |
| Tax on gross revenue | $0.65 to $1.30 per $1,000, by class |
| Renewal deadline | February 15 |
| Late renewal penalty | $25 |
| After March 31 | 10% late fee plus 1.5% interest a month |
$80Gwinnett County charges an $80 flat fee to issue a business occupation tax certificate, plus a tax of $0.65 to $1.30 per thousand dollars of gross revenue. — Gwinnett County Planning and Development, retrieved 2026-09-27
February 15Gwinnett business licenses must be renewed by February 15, with a $25 penalty after that date and a 10% late fee after March 31. — Gwinnett County Planning and Development, retrieved 2026-09-27
Before your first commercial walkthrough, check this
Get the certificate before you quote commercial work. Public buyers and many property managers ask for it with the insurance paperwork.
A Douglas County courthouse janitorial solicitation, for example, required contractors to register as county vendors and clear background checks before working in the building. A local certificate is the easy part of that packet. Insurance is the hard part, and it is covered in how a certificate of insurance works.
For what the certificate and everything around it costs in year one, see the startup cost breakdown. For the full vendor packet, see the first commercial contract guide.
A Douglas County, Georgia courthouse janitorial solicitation required all contractor employees to clear background checks before working in the courthouse. — Douglas County Board of Commissioners, retrieved 2026-09-27
Questions
Does a house cleaner working alone need a business license?
In most Georgia counties and cities, yes. The occupation tax applies to businesses, including sole proprietors working from home. Check with the city first if your address is inside city limits, or the county if it is not.
Can I apply for the local certificate before forming my LLC?
You can apply as a sole proprietor, but if you plan to form an LLC, form it first. The local application asks for the legal entity name and formation date, so applying early means changing the certificate later.
Do I need a separate license for every county I clean in?
Generally the certificate follows where your business is based, not every site you clean. Some cities have their own rules for businesses working inside their limits, so ask the city if a large contract sits there.
Is carpet cleaning licensed differently from janitorial work?
Not at the state level. Both register locally. They use different NAICS codes on the application, and the code can change the business class and tax rate the county applies.