Georgia contractor licenses renew every two years on fixed dates, but the trades do not share a date or even a year. Most licenses come from the Secretary of State's Professional Licensing Boards Division and renew in GOALS, the state's online licensing system. Pest control licenses come from the Georgia Department of Agriculture. This post covers what we track for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, residential and general contractors, roofing and pest control.
A word on our Georgia data. The Secretary of State sites block automated access, so we read their pages through archived copies and some of our Georgia records are only partly verified. The dates and CE rules below are the parts that matched the official pages when we last checked, on October 10, 2026. Check with the board before you rely on any of it.
Deadlines by trade
- Conditioned air (HVAC) contractors, Class I and Class II: renew by November 30 of odd-numbered years. The next deadline is November 30, 2027. A late-renewal window runs from December 1 to December 31.
- Master plumbers, Class I and Class II: renew by November 30 of even-numbered years. The next deadline is November 30, 2026, and the renewal is open now. The late window is December 1 to December 31, 2026.
- Electrical contractors, Class I and Class II: renew by June 30 of even-numbered years. The next deadline is June 30, 2028. The board page for 2026 listed a late window of July 1 to July 31.
- Residential and general contractors (Residential-Basic, Residential-Light Commercial, General Contractor and General Contractor Limited Tier): renew by June 30 of even-numbered years. The next deadline is June 30, 2028. How long the late period runs is not clear: the board pages show July 1 to July 31, while the board rules describe a penalty period through December 31. Ask the board before you count on either.
- Pest control (company license, certified operators and registered employee cards): everything expires on June 30 of odd-numbered years. The next deadline is June 30, 2027.
For the Secretary of State licenses there is no grace period to keep working: after the expiration date the license is not valid, even while the late window is open. A license that is not renewed by the end of the late window lapses, and after three years lapsed the conditioned air and plumbing divisions require the exam again.
Pest control works differently. Fees double for any renewal on or after July 1, and a license or certification cannot be renewed more than 90 days after June 30 (so after September 30) without meeting the initial requirements again.
Roofing has no separate state license in Georgia. A board policy statement lists flat roofing, sheet metal roofing, and shingles and shakes as specialties that do not need a residential or general contractor license. Your city or county may still have its own rules for permits.
CE hours for each license
- Conditioned air: 8 hours per two-year renewal, which is 4 hours a year.
- Electrical contractors: 8 hours per renewal (4 a year), finished before you apply to renew.
- Master plumbers: the board FAQ says 4 hours a year, so 8 per renewal.
- Residential-Basic: 3 hours a year, 6 per renewal. Residential-Light Commercial: 6 hours a year, 12 per renewal.
- General Contractor and General Contractor Limited Tier: no CE.
- Pest control certified operators: recertification runs on a five-year period, separate from the two-year renewals. Household pest control and wood-destroying organism each need 25 approved hours in that period and fumigation needs 12, with a cap on computer-based hours (10, 10 and 5). The hours have to be done at least 90 days before the certification expires.
Since January 1, 2026 the Secretary of State has asked licensees with a CE requirement to report their hours in CE Broker. If your hours are not recorded there, sort that out before the renewal window opens, not during it.
What the renewal costs
We are not quoting a fee for the Secretary of State licenses. The board's posted fee schedule and its newer how-to guides list different amounts, and we could not confirm which one GOALS charges today. Check the amount in GOALS before you pay.
For pest control, a certified operator renewal is about $100 and the fee doubles after June 30. Fees change. Check the official site for the exact amount.
What to have on file before you renew
- Residential and general contractors: a certificate of insurance on file is a condition of renewal. General liability is at least $300,000 per occurrence for Residential-Basic and $500,000 for Residential-Light Commercial, General Contractor and General Contractor Limited Tier. Workers' compensation is needed once you have three or more employees. Verify the amounts with the board.
- Pest control companies: current insurance has to be on file with the Department of Agriculture, or the renewal will not go through. At least one Designated Certified Operator has to be renewed before or together with the company license.
Where to renew
Secretary of State licenses renew in GOALS at goals.sos.ga.gov. Pest control renews through the Kelly Solutions portal at kellysolutions.com/ga. The Georgia state page lists every license we track with the official links, and there are guides for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, general contractors and pest control.
A plumbing company that also holds a conditioned air license renews in November of every year, one license each time. That is the kind of date that slips. ClearLicensed emails you 90, 60, 30, 14, 7 and 1 day before each license expires, so the second one does not catch you out.
Sources
- Secretary of State: conditioned air contractor how-to guide, electrical contractor CE page, electrical contractor how-to guide, plumber how-to guide, residential and general contractors FAQ, specialty contractor policy statements
- Board rules: Chapter 121-4 and Chapter 553-12
- Department of Agriculture: structural pest control, certified operator license, SPD license renewal guide 2025
Informational, not legal advice. Rules and fees change; verify with the issuing board.