Business Licensing & Operations in Georgia (2026)

Cobb County bars sexually oriented businesses from locating within 750 feet of homes, 1,500 feet of schools or…

Fayette County requires a sexually oriented business permit and denies it if the business sits within 1,000 feet of a…

Forsyth County requires an annual $750 adult entertainment license, bans locating within 1,000 feet of homes, churches…

Hall County requires a separate adult establishment license plus an individual employee license for anyone working at…

Unincorporated Newton County requires a separate adult entertainment establishment license from Development Services on…

Whitfield County requires a Board-investigated license to run an adult entertainment establishment in the…

Acworth requires a city permit before anyone can operate an adult bookstore, adult theater, escort bureau or similar…

Atlanta bars an alcohol license endorsed for adult entertainment within 2,000 feet of homes, schools, churches, parks…

Augusta-Richmond County confines adult entertainment establishments to LI Light Industrial and HI Heavy Industrial…

Unincorporated Bartow County requires a sexually oriented business license before operating any adult bookstore…

Unincorporated Carroll County, Georgia requires a permit before operating any adult bookstore, video store, motion…

Chatham County requires an annual license before any adult bookstore, explicit media outlet, or adult movie house can…

Cherokee County requires an annual adult entertainment license before operating in the unincorporated area, bars the…

Clayton County requires a county license before anyone can operate a sexually oriented business in the unincorporated…

Adult bookstores, adult entertainment establishments, and adult theaters may locate only in C-2 and C-3 zoning under…

Columbus, Georgia bars any adult entertainment establishment within 600 feet of a church, school, day care center…

Coweta County requires a separate license for any sexually oriented business and for each of its employees, on top of…

Adult entertainment establishments in the City of Decatur, Georgia may operate only inside the C-3 heavy commercial…

DeKalb County requires a county license for adult entertainment establishments and keeps them at least 1,000 feet from…

Dunwoody requires a city license to operate or work at a sexually oriented business and bars them within 500 feet of…

Operating a sexually oriented business in unincorporated Floyd County requires a county license, and the business must…

Fulton County requires adult entertainment establishments to hold a separate license from the finance department, on…

Gwinnett County keeps adult establishments 1,000 feet from other adult businesses, residential zones, schools, churches…

Henry County confines adult entertainment establishments to two narrow M-1 zoning locations, requires a license for…

Houston County requires a license before anyone opens an adult bookstore, adult theater, adult arcade, escort bureau or…

Johns Creek requires a sexually oriented business license from the city clerk and confines such businesses to the M-1…

Macon-Bibb County's Comprehensive Land Development Resolution bars adult entertainment establishments from locating…

Marietta requires a $200 adult establishment license, renewable annually for $100, and bans adult establishments within…

Paulding County requires a sexually oriented occupation tax certificate for the business and a separate employee…

Any adult entertainment establishment operating in unincorporated Rockdale County needs a license under Code section…

Roswell, Georgia bars adult businesses from locating within 100 yards of homes, churches, schools, or parks, requires…

Sandy Springs requires an annual license for any adult establishment and imposes strict spacing rules: 300 feet from…

Operating or working at a sexually oriented business in South Fulton requires a city license, and the business must sit…

In unincorporated Walton County, an adult entertainment establishment cannot open unless the site is zoned M1, M2 or B3…

Warner Robins requires a $1,000 annual city license before anyone can operate an adult business, and bars locating one…

Unincorporated Bartow County's zoning ordinance bars massage therapy or similar services from operating as a home…

Cherokee County requires a separate business license for each massage establishment location plus an individual…

Unincorporated Fayette County outlaws "massage parlors," defined as places combining bodywork with sexual activity…

In Floyd County's Neighborhood Office Commercial (N-O-C) zoning district, massage services can't operate at all…

Whitfield County Code Sec. 10-22(a)(6) defines a licensed 'bathhouse or massage parlor' as one offering physical…

A massage, bodywork or spa business in Acworth needs a city business license before opening, on top of any Georgia…

Atlanta requires a police-issued license to operate a massage establishment, with a $2,000 annual fee, a $100…

Augusta-Richmond County requires anyone operating a massage therapy business to hold a current operator's license, with…

Any massage therapy practice operating in unincorporated Chatham County needs its own annual business license under…

Anyone who wants to work as a massage therapist or operate a massage establishment in unincorporated Clayton County…

Cobb County requires anyone operating a health spa or massage business in the unincorporated area to hold a county…

Columbia County requires anyone offering massage services in the unincorporated area to hold an operator's license…

Operating a massage establishment in unincorporated DeKalb County requires a finance department license, and a separate…

Dunwoody requires every massage or spa establishment to hold a separate city license in addition to its occupation tax…

Forsyth County requires every massage or spa establishment to hold a Sheriff's Office license before opening, on top of…

No one may operate a massage therapy business in unincorporated Fulton County without a license from the department of…

Massage and spa establishments in unincorporated Gwinnett County must get a dedicated county license on top of the…

Operating a massage or spa establishment in Johns Creek requires a city license separate from the occupation tax…

Every massage parlor in Macon-Bibb County needs a county license on top of each therapist's Georgia state license, and…

Every massage therapist in Marietta must hold a city Occupational License on top of Georgia Board of Massage Therapy…

Operating a massage or spa establishment in unincorporated Newton County requires a massage/spa establishment license…

Massage therapy businesses in unincorporated Paulding County may only locate in General Business (B-1), Planned…

Roswell, Georgia requires a police-issued massage establishment license under Code of Ordinances Section 10.13.5 before…

Sandy Springs requires every massage or spa establishment to hold a city license on top of its occupation tax…

Operating a massage establishment in unincorporated Walton County without an occupational tax certificate license is…

Warner Robins requires a separate license for every massage establishment and for every individual massaginist before…

Columbus, Georgia requires every massage therapist to pass the National Certification Examination and hold…

Operating a massage establishment in unincorporated Rockdale County requires a license from the Department of Public…

South Fulton requires anyone practicing massage therapy in the city to hold a City of South Fulton Massage Therapist…

Whitfield County's Urban Planned Unit Development (U-PUD) zoning district flatly excludes tattoo parlors from its list…

Acworth's Character Overlay District bans tattoo parlors outright, no matter what the underlying zoning district…

Atlanta requires anyone operating a tattoo establishment or working as a tattoo artist to get a police-issued permit…

Tattoo and body-piercing shops in unincorporated Clayton County must follow the county Board of Health's Body Art Rules…

Cobb County requires tattoo, piercing, and semi-permanent makeup businesses to comply with the county board of health's…

Body art establishments and artists in Columbia County must hold a current body art license from the board of health…

Every tattoo, cosmetic-tattoo and body-piercing studio in unincorporated Fayette County must hold an annual body art…

Forsyth County treats tattoo and body art studios as adult entertainment establishments under Code of Ordinances Sec…

Operating a tattoo or piercing studio in unincorporated Henry County requires a body art establishment permit and…

Every tattoo, piercing and other body craft studio operating in Newton County must hold a permit from the county board…

South Fulton confines tattoo and body piercing studios to the C-2 General Commercial District, and even there the…

In unincorporated Walton County, tattoo and body piercing establishments operate under Chapter 39, Article VII, adopted…

Chatham County incorporates the Board of Health's Rules and Regulations for Body Art Studios and Tattoo/Body Piercing…

Columbus, Georgia requires tattoo and body-piercing shops to hold an annual permit from the health authority, pay a…

Before a tattoo shop can get its Coweta County business certificate, Sec. 18-58(c) requires sign-off from the county…

DeKalb County Code § 13-300 does not run its own tattoo ordinance: it adopts Georgia's body art rules, Ga. Comp. R. &…

Dunwoody's zoning code allows body art establishments, meaning tattoo, piercing, cosmetic tattoo, branding and…

Unincorporated Fulton County requires tattoo and body art businesses to follow the Board of Health's Body Art Rules and…

Gwinnett County regulates tattoo and body-piercing studios by adopting the State Board of Public Health's body art…

Anyone operating a tattoo or body-piercing studio in Hall County needs a permit from the county board of health before…

Tattoo, piercing and other body art studios and artists in unincorporated Rockdale County must follow the Body Art…

Roswell's UDC names tattoo parlors and body piercing studios as a personal service use, requiring a multi-tenant…

Warner Robins tattoo parlors must hold a $235 city license, sit in a district zoned C-2 or higher, and pass an annual…

Decatur, Georgia's Unified Development Ordinance classifies a tattoo parlor or body piercing studio as a personal…

Georgia regulates vape and alternative nicotine retail sales under Title 16 Chapter 12 Article 8, requiring licensing…

Inside the unincorporated Emory Village Overlay District near Emory University, DeKalb County Code § 27-3.22.5(D)(28)…

Unincorporated Rockdale County prohibits vape stores outright. Sec. 218-13(yyy1)(a) of the Unified Development…

Inside the Urban Planned Unit Development (U-PUD) zoning district that covers new mixed-use development in…

Acworth's Zoning Ordinance treats vape and smoke shops as a limited commercial use: Table 73-4.4 allows them only…

Decatur, Georgia's Unified Development Ordinance defines a smoke, vape or tobacco store as any retailer devoting 50…

Any Forsyth County business whose primary retail line is alternative nicotine products or vape juice, meaning at least…

Hall County zones a "Smoke or Vape Shop" under Sec. 7.5.11.E as any business whose principal use is selling or allowing…

Macon-Bibb County confines vape shops to the C-2, C-4, M-1, M-2 and SC zoning districts under Section 23.16.04, added…

Paulding County will not let a vape, e-cigarette or tobacco retailer open on an unincorporated-area lot without a…

South Fulton bars any establishment from selling tobacco, vape products, or accessories within one mile of a school…

Atlanta's Smoke-Free Ordinance (Ref. 19-O-1205), effective January 2, 2020, prohibits smoking and electronic nicotine…

Cherokee County limits tobacco, e-cigarette, and vapor product retailers in the unincorporated county to selling…

Johns Creek's zoning code defines smoke shops covering cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, hookahs and vapes, and…

Retailers in unincorporated Newton County who sell bongs, hookah pipes, or other non-traditional tobacco paraphernalia…

Augusta-Richmond County requires every broker, book dealer and dealer in precious metals or gems to hold a business tax…

Secondhand dealers in unincorporated Bartow County, businesses that buy, sell or trade used items like tools…

Chatham County requires anyone operating a pawnshop or similar secondhand dealing business in the unincorporated county…

Anyone buying used gold, silver, platinum, or gems for resale in unincorporated Cherokee County must hold a dealer…

Anyone who buys, sells or trades used jewelry, gold or silver items, guns, musical instruments or bicycles in…

Cobb County requires anyone buying gold, silver, platinum, or gems from the public in the unincorporated county to…

Unincorporated DeKalb County requires an annual police department permit before anyone can buy precious metals or gems…

Dunwoody requires anyone who buys, sells or trades regulated secondhand items, including precious metals, gems and…

Anyone buying used gold, silver, platinum, gems or jewelry in unincorporated Fayette County must hold an annual dealer…

Anyone buying precious metals or gems from the public in unincorporated Forsyth County, a classic secondhand-dealer…

Fulton County requires every secondhand dealer, junk dealer, and pawnbroker who buys used jewelry, precious metals…

Secondhand dealers in unincorporated Gwinnett County skip the precious-metals dealer's tax certificate and work permit…

Secondhand dealers, pawnbrokers, and their employees in Johns Creek must obtain an annual city permit, submit to…

Anyone who buys used gold, silver, platinum, or gems for resale in Macon-Bibb County, other than from manufacturers or…

Roswell, Georgia requires anyone who buys and resells precious metals, gems, or jewelry from the public to register…

South Fulton requires every metal and secondary metal recycler to hold a current occupational tax certificate or…

Atlanta requires secondhand dealers to log every item's description and seller's identity within one hour of purchase…

Anyone buying precious metals or gems for resale at a permanent Columbia County location must pay the occupational tax…

Columbus, Georgia requires secondhand dealers, trade shops, swap shops, flea markets and thrift shops, to log every…

Secondhand dealers in Coweta County don't need the precious-metals-dealer business license required of general precious…

Hall County requires anyone in the secondhand sales business, alongside pawnbrokers and precious metal dealers, to pass…

Dealers who buy precious metals or gems in unincorporated Paulding County cannot resell, exchange, melt, cut up or…

Sandy Springs treats secondhand dealers, who buy or trade used jewelry, precious metals, guns, bicycles and…

Every pawnbroker or pawnshop in Acworth needs a city occupation tax certificate, and every employee needs a separate…

Atlanta requires a police-issued pawnshop license before operating: $100 application fee, $750 annual license, License…

Augusta-Richmond County requires every pawnbroker to post a $5,000 bond under County Code Tit. 6, § 6-6-15 before…

Pawnshop owners and employees in unincorporated Bartow County need an annual sheriff-issued permit under the county's…

Chatham County requires anyone operating a pawnshop in the unincorporated county to hold a license under Sec. 16-1103…

Cherokee County requires anyone operating as a pawnbroker in the unincorporated area to first file an application with…

Clayton County caps pawnbroker permits at 11 for the entire unincorporated county, and no pawnshop may open without…

Cobb County requires every pawnshop in the unincorporated area to hold a license issued by the business license office…

Every pawnbroker in Columbus, Georgia pays a $150.00 annual regulatory fee on top of occupation tax, records each…

Coweta County treats pawnbroker licensing as a two-step process: the standard business certificate application under…

Operating a pawnshop, or working in one, inside the City of Decatur, DeKalb County, Georgia requires an annual permit…

Unincorporated DeKalb County requires anyone operating or working at a pawnshop to get an annual police department…

Dunwoody's secondhand dealer ordinance defines pawnbroker separately from an ordinary secondhand dealer and layers…

Pawnbrokers in unincorporated Fayette County must hold an annual county license issued by code enforcement, pass a…

Floyd County Code § 2-12-83 requires anyone operating a pawnshop, or working as an employee or pawnbroker, to register…

Pawnbrokers in Forsyth County must hold a county license issued through the sheriff's office and board of commissioners…

Anyone opening a pawnshop in unincorporated Gwinnett County must first get an annual $100 permit from the police…

Hall County requires a background investigation before issuing a business license to a pawn brokerage under Sec…

Henry County requires anyone opening a pawnshop to first obtain a license from the county's occupational tax office…

Macon-Bibb County pawnbrokers need a privilege license approved by the sheriff, must positively ID every pawner or…

Marietta pawnbrokers and every employee need a police-issued permit on top of the occupation tax certificate, must…

Paulding County requires a pawnshop to obtain a Special Use Permit before opening, approved by the Board of…

Pawnbrokers in Sandy Springs need both an occupation tax certificate and a separate pawnshop permit from the city, and…

South Fulton's zoning ordinance allows a pawnshop only in the C-2 General Commercial District, and only after the…

Warner Robins requires every pawnbroker and secondhand dealer to hold a $300 city license and file daily transaction…

Operating a pawnshop or working as a pawnbroker in unincorporated Whitfield County requires a Board of…

Any pawnbroker or pawnshop doing business in Columbia County must pay the occupational tax and hold a certificate under…

Johns Creek requires pawnbrokers to hold a city-issued permit through its secondhand-dealer licensing article, with…

Roswell, Georgia limits pawnbroker business hours to 8:00 a.m. through 9:00 p.m., bans Sunday operation entirely, and…

Pawnbrokers operating in unincorporated Walton County must follow Code of Walton County §§ 18-121 through 18-127, which…

Acworth's zoning code puts vehicle repair on the flat list of businesses that can never qualify as a home occupation…

Unincorporated Bartow County's zoning ordinance flatly forbids running an automobile sales, service, repair, detailing…

Clayton County will not issue a home occupation license for automotive repair, auto sales, or any mobile oil-change…

Unincorporated Cobb County does not treat auto repair as a customary home occupation. Zoning Code § 134-1(3) bars home…

Columbia County flatly bars vehicle repair, along with car washes, vehicle sales, and vehicle leasing, from operating…

Unincorporated DeKalb County's home-occupation rules flatly exclude automobile repair shops and car washes from being…

Dunwoody's home occupation rules flatly prohibit running a vehicle repair business out of a residence. Section…

Unincorporated Fayette County explicitly bars on-premises automobile, motorcycle and farm or heavy construction…

Forsyth County flatly bans repairing or assembling vehicles and internal-combustion engines as a home business. Unified…

Auto repair cannot operate as a home occupation anywhere in unincorporated Fulton County. Zoning Resolution § 4.12.D…

Houston County flatly bars motor vehicle repair or maintenance as a home business. Section 95.4.2 of the Comprehensive…

Johns Creek's home occupation ordinance flatly excludes auto repair, maintenance, and similar operations: you cannot…

Macon-Bibb County's home occupation rules flatly bar auto repair, auto sales, and auto brokerage from residential and…

Roswell's home-occupation rules flatly prohibit vehicle service and repair as a home business, alongside vehicle sales…

South Fulton's zoning code flatly prohibits auto repair as a home occupation. Section 303.11(f) lists it among the uses…

Motor vehicle repair and small engine repair cannot be run as a home occupation in unincorporated Walton County. LDO…

Warner Robins prohibits vehicle repair, painting, or assembly as a home occupation. Section 95.5 of the zoning…

Coweta County allows mobile auto repair as a licensed home occupation but flatly bans running a fixed-site repair shop…

Decatur's home-occupation standards effectively rule out running an auto repair business from a residence: only…

Hall County bars vehicle repair entirely from a home occupation, but allows a limited auto repair shop under the "rural…

Rockdale County's home occupation standard, § 218-13(dd), caps a home-based business to one passenger vehicle and bars…

Cherokee County lets residents perform a major vehicle overhaul at home only if they occupy the property and own the…

Acworth police only dispatch tows to wrecker companies on the chief of police's approved rotation list, capped at two…

Atlanta requires wreckers and trespass-tow operators to hold a mayor-issued license, register every vehicle with…

Augusta-Richmond County lets the Sheriff's Office control wrecker calls at accident scenes, barring any tow company…

Cherokee County requires every wrecker service operating in the unincorporated county to hold a business license, carry…

Any wrecker service operating on unincorporated Cobb County streets, zone-holder or not, must comply with the county's…

Any wrecker operator working in Columbia County must hold a county towing permit before joining the sheriff's rotating…

A wrecker or towing service can't get its Coweta County business license without two extra sign-offs: sheriff's…

Decatur, Georgia requires any wrecker operator doing private trespass towing in the city to hold a business license…

In unincorporated DeKalb County, no one may run a wrecker or towing car without first obtaining a nontransferable…

Wrecker companies that want police-initiated tow calls in Floyd County must apply with the chief of police by October 1…

Anyone operating a wrecker, defined as a tow truck or skid truck for wrecked or disabled vehicles, on Macon-Bibb County…

A private trespass towing firm operating in Marietta needs a city occupation tax certificate and a Georgia Public…

Roswell, Georgia requires any vehicle booting or non-consent towing company to hold a police-issued license before…

Sandy Springs requires every nonconsensual towing carrier operating on city streets to letter its wreckers with the…

Warner Robins licenses towing companies through its police-run on-call wrecker rotation. Wreckers must arrive within 30…

Chatham County Police keep a rotating 'head-out' wrecker list, and getting on it means running a business that operates…

Wrecker and towing service operators in unincorporated Clayton County cannot get a business license until the county…

Dunwoody bars parking on private residential property without the owner's permission and lets the property owner have a…

Before Gwinnett County issues an occupation tax certificate to a wrecker service, Code § 18-44(b)(37) requires the…

South Fulton requires every nonconsensual towing carrier operating on city streets to letter its wreckers with owner…