Business insurance in Georgia.
In Georgia, the third person on payroll is the one that triggers workers' comp, and a residential contractor license will not renew without a general liability certificate on file. We build your coverage around rules like those: comp, general liability, a BOP, commercial auto, and an umbrella when a contract asks for more. No agency fees on any of it.
What Georgia requires, business by business
Georgia spreads its insurance rules across several agencies: the State Board of Workers' Compensation, the Secretary of State's licensing boards, the Department of Community Health, and the Department of Revenue. This table puts them in one place, along with the businesses where the state asks for nothing and a contract asks for plenty.
| Business type | What Georgia requires | Who checks | What gets asked for anyway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any employer with three or more regular employees | Workers' comp, part-timers included. Officers and LLC members count even after waiving with a WC-10. | State Board of Workers' Compensation, which runs a public coverage lookup | A posted panel of physicians and the Board's bill of rights notice |
| Residential contractor, basic | A state license for jobs over $2,500, with proof of at least $300,000 in general liability and comp where the law requires it | State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors, at application and renewal | Additional insured and waiver of subrogation endorsements for the general contractor |
| Residential-light commercial or general contractor | At least $500,000 in general liability, plus comp where the law requires it | The same board | Higher limits, often met with an umbrella, on commercial bids |
| Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, low voltage | A state trade license, issued separately from the contractor board | The Secretary of State's trade licensing boards | The same certificates a general contractor asks of any sub |
| Private home care provider | A bond for any aide with unlimited access to client funds, and a signed waiver or medical auto coverage when an aide drives a client (Rule 111-8-65) | Department of Community Health | General and professional liability, abuse and molestation, and hired and non-owned auto from referral sources and payors |
| Cleaning and janitorial | No state cleaning license. A local Occupation Tax Certificate. | Your city or county | General liability and a janitorial bond on the vendor application |
| Bars, restaurants, and caterers serving alcohol | No state liquor liability mandate. The state alcohol license needs a bond or a letter of credit from a bank instead. | Department of Revenue, after your local license | Liquor liability, required by the landlord, the venue, or the lender |
| Any vehicle registered to the business | Liability of at least $25,000 / $50,000 / $25,000 | Department of Revenue, at registration | Higher limits, which customer contracts commonly set |
| Employer with more than ten employees | E-Verify enrollment, sworn to on the Occupation Tax Certificate application | Your city or county | Nothing insurance related, but a stalled certificate can stall everything else |
A summary as of October 2026, not legal advice. Each agency has its own exceptions, and rules change. Before you apply for anything, call or text 803-848-0089 to check where your business lands.
What each policy answers to in Georgia.
Some of these the state requires. Some a licensing board checks. Some only a contract or a lawsuit will ever ask about. Here is which is which.
Workers' compensation
Mandatory at three regular employees, part-timers included. The policy is only half of it. Georgia also expects a posted panel of physicians, and without one your injured employee can see any doctor at your expense.
General liability
The certificate a Georgia contractor license is built on: at least $300,000 for a residential-basic license and $500,000 for light commercial or general contractor. Outside construction, it is the first thing a landlord or a vendor list asks to see.
Business owners policy (BOP)
Liability and your own building, equipment, and stock in one policy, for shops, offices, and service businesses that qualify. Carriers limit BOPs by class and size, so tell us what you really do and you will know quickly whether you fit one.
Commercial auto
Georgia's floor is $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. That floor is for registering a vehicle. A crew truck working under a commercial contract usually needs far more.
Commercial umbrella
More limit, stacked on top of your general liability, auto, and employers liability policies. When a Georgia contract asks for $2 million and your primary policy stops at $1 million, this is usually the cheapest way to close the difference.
Professional liability
Covers the advice, the design, or the care itself. Home care agencies get asked for it by referral sources and payors, and consultants, IT firms, and design shops see it written into client contracts.
The Georgia filings that sit next to your insurance.
Georgia has no single statewide business license. Your Occupation Tax Certificate is issued locally, by the city or county that is home to the business, and before it issues or renews, you sign an E-Verify affidavit. If you had more than ten employees on January 1, you have to show you are enrolled. Every LLC and corporation files its annual registration with the Secretary of State by April 1. File late and there is a $25 penalty. Leave it unfiled and the state can administratively dissolve the entity. Your policies are issued in that entity's exact legal name, so keeping it in good standing keeps your certificates matching what a client sees when they look you up.
If you build, the State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors is the filing that runs straight through your insurance. Jobs worth more than $2,500 need a license, and the board's rules make proof of general liability and workers' comp part of qualifying: $300,000 minimum for residential-basic, $500,000 for residential-light commercial and general contractor. For residential licenses, the board keeps the insurer's certificate on file and treats it as a condition of renewal. Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and low voltage work is licensed separately through the Secretary of State's trade boards. The endorsements a general contractor demands of you, like additional insured and waiver of subrogation, work the same way in Georgia as they do on our contractor insurance page.
On the road, Georgia's minimum auto limits are $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. That is a floor for registering a car, not a sensible limit for a work truck. Georgia's tort reform package, signed in April 2025, changed how damages are argued at trial. It does not set your rate, but it is worth knowing when you pick a limit.
- Comp quoted against Georgia's three-person count, with officers who waived still counted
- General liability limits matched to your Georgia license class, $300,000 or $500,000
- A reminder to post your panel of physicians the day the comp policy starts
- Certificates of insurance emailed from Sumter, most of them the day you ask
Georgia counts to three
Part-timers count. Corporate officers and LLC members count, even the ones who signed a WC-10 to waive coverage on themselves. Up to five can waive. None of them come off the headcount.
Quote my Georgia businessGeorgia workers' comp: the posting, the penalties, the subs
Buying the policy is the first step in Georgia, not the last. The State Board of Workers' Compensation expects you to post, where employees will see it, a notice naming your insurer, the Board's bill of rights for injured workers, and a panel of physicians. The panel lists at least six doctors or practices your people can reasonably reach, at least one of them an orthopedic surgeon, and no more than two industrial clinics. If you never provide one, an injured employee may see any doctor they choose, and you pay for it.
Going without required coverage costs more than the policy would have. The Board can assess a civil penalty of $500 to $5,000 per occurrence. Refusing or willfully neglecting to insure is a misdemeanor in Georgia, with a fine of $1,000 to $10,000, up to 12 months in jail, or both. The Board's Enforcement Division also keeps an online coverage lookup, so a general contractor, a landlord, or an injured worker's lawyer can check whether you are covered without ever asking you.
Contractors have one more Georgia rule to plan around. Under O.C.G.A. 34-9-8, a principal or intermediate contractor is liable for comp to a subcontractor's injured employee to the same extent as that sub's own employer. A sub with no coverage turns that claim into yours, and the auditor typically asks for every sub's certificate when the policy year closes, as our premium audit guide explains. The Board's lookup takes a minute per sub. Run it before the sub starts, not after someone gets hurt.
Sole proprietors and partners sit on the other side of the line. Georgia treats them as employers, not employees, so they stay out of the count unless they elect coverage in writing with the carrier.
General information, not legal advice. Your own answer turns on the entity type, the payroll, and the subs you hire.
Send us your headcount and your officers
List everyone on payroll, every officer or LLC member, and any subs you use. You will hear back whether Georgia requires comp yet, which officers can waive, and what the policy would cost. Call or text 803-848-0089.
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Questions Georgia business owners ask us
What insurance does Georgia require for a business?
The state asks two things of most businesses: workers' compensation when three or more people are regularly on payroll, and liability coverage on any vehicle the business registers, at least $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. Some licenses add their own requirement, like general liability for a residential or general contractor license, or a bond for home care aides who handle a client's money. Beyond that, general liability is usually a contract requirement rather than a legal one.
Do corporate officers count toward Georgia's three-employee comp rule?
Yes. If the business is a corporation or an LLC, the State Board of Workers' Compensation treats officers and members as employees. Up to five of them can waive coverage on themselves by signing a WC-10 and filing it with the carrier, but the waiver does not take them off the headcount. Sole proprietors and partners are different. Georgia treats them as employers, so they do not count unless they elect coverage.
What is the penalty for not carrying workers' comp in Georgia?
The State Board of Workers’ Compensation can assess a civil penalty of $500 to $5,000 per occurrence. Refusing or willfully neglecting to insure is also a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $1,000 to $10,000, up to 12 months in jail, or both. The bigger cost is usually the claim itself, which the business then owes with no insurer behind it.
How much general liability does a Georgia contractor license require?
Under the rules of the State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors, a residential-basic license needs at least $300,000 in general liability, and residential-light commercial and general contractor licenses need at least $500,000. Proof of workers' comp is also required wherever the law requires you to carry it. A license is needed once a job's value is more than $2,500.
Do I need a business license in Georgia?
Usually a local one. Cities and counties issue an Occupation Tax Certificate, and the rules and fees vary by jurisdiction. When you apply or renew, you sign an E-Verify affidavit, and employers with more than ten employees must be enrolled. Entities register with the Secretary of State every year too, due April 1, and a late filing costs $25.
What is a panel of physicians, and do I need one?
If you carry Georgia workers' comp, yes. It is a posted list of at least six doctors your employees choose from after a work injury, including an orthopedic surgeon and no more than two industrial clinics. If the employer has not provided one, the injured employee can go to any doctor and the employer pays.
Can an agency in South Carolina write my Georgia business?
Yes. Griffin Insurance Agency holds a Georgia property and casualty license that covers commercial lines. We have no Georgia office. You reach us by phone, text, or email in Sumter, and most certificate requests are turned around the same day. Small general liability and BOP accounts can bind quickly, while larger or more complex risks go through underwriting first.
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