Georgia Dog Business License: Occupational Tax Certificates, State Licenses and Where to Start

The office that decides your first step is the one that governs your address. Georgia.gov's Starting a Business guide lists entity formation, an EIN, Department of Revenue registration, insurance, and permits and licenses as separate steps, and each belongs to a different agency.

• Your city or unincorporated county: zoning, occupancy, animal-control rules and the occupational tax certificate.
• Georgia Secretary of State: LLC and corporation filings, annual registration and name reservations.
• Georgia Tax Center, run by the Department of Revenue: state tax accounts.
• Georgia Department of Agriculture: kennel and pet-dealer licenses.
• County clerk of superior court: trade names for sole proprietors.

Before you sign a lease, rent a space or buy a grooming table, call the zoning office and the animal-control office for that address and ask whether your exact activity is allowed there. Ask the same question if the address is your own home. Dog counts, home-business limits, noise, waste, parking and signs are set by cities, counties and HOAs, not by one statewide rule.

Georgia.gov lays out a practical order, and I would follow it step by step:

1. Choose the structure: sole proprietor, LLC or corporation.
2. Reserve the name if you want to hold it.
3. File your LLC or corporation with the Secretary of State. A sole proprietorship is not registered there.
4. Get a federal EIN when you need one. The IRS issues it free when you apply directly at IRS.gov.
5. Open a business bank account.
6. Register the state tax accounts that apply to you through the Georgia Tax Center, the Department of Revenue's registration portal.
7. Register with the Georgia Department of Labor if you will have employees.
8. Get insurance.
9. Apply for the local permits and licenses.

The Secretary of State says an LLC is a structure with limited personal liability, but it does not tell you which structure to pick. For that question, talk to an attorney or accountant.

The Georgia Secretary of State lists these fees, which are nonrefundable:

Expedited processing costs extra. A name reservation is optional, and it does not authorize you to do business, so file the LLC and get your local approvals separately.

You do not have to form an LLC. A sole proprietor who works under a name other than their own legal name files a trade name with the clerk of superior court in the county where the business is located. Georgia's trade name instructions say the filing fee and publication cost vary by county, and the notice is published once a week for two consecutive weeks. A trade name is for branding. It does not create a separate legal entity or any liability protection, so do not treat it as a stand-in for an LLC.

No single statewide total fits every dog business, because the local certificate, the state kennel fee, the premises, the capacity, the vehicle and the insurance all change with your address and your service. These are the dated government fees, as of October 2026:

Insurance and supplies are the rest of the budget, and they depend on the work you do:

• Dog walker: leashes, waste bags, transportation, scheduling software and insurance.
• Groomer: bathing, drying and clipping equipment, sanitation, plumbing and premises costs.
• Boarder: a suitable facility, fencing, cleaning, climate control, capacity-related approvals, insurance and emergency systems.

Pet Sitters International describes general liability, care-custody-and-control coverage, bonding, workers' compensation and commercial auto as the coverage types pet-care businesses look at, and says to have suitable insurance before you accept assignments. Ask an insurer for a quote based on your actual services, premises and vehicle before you count on a number.

The certificate comes from the city that governs your address, or from the county when the address is unincorporated. Each place sets its own fee basis and its own first step, so read your local office's page before you apply.

• Atlanta: The City of Atlanta charges $50 on the first $10,000 of gross receipts, the business-class rate on receipts above that, and $25 per employee after the first. Its estimating page lists a $75 annual registration fee through tax year 2025 and $191 beginning with 2026, so confirm the current amount in ATL-BIZ.
• DeKalb County: County forms show a $75 nonrefundable administrative fee and a $50 flat fee, plus gross-receipts and employee calculations that vary by classification. Applicants send documents and payment to the Business License office.
• Gwinnett County: The county code sets gross-receipts rates by class, from $0.65 to $1.30 per $1,000. Ask the county for the current issuance fee before you budget, and expect zoning, occupancy, fire, insurance or regulatory approvals before the certificate is issued.
• Chatham County: A new business tax certificate is required within 30 days of starting business activity, through the county's Licensing Division.
• Augusta: The business tax certificate expires automatically on December 31. Ask License and Inspection for the current fee and the zoning or occupancy papers they want.
• Columbus-Muscogee: You need a Certificate of Occupancy first, and the certificate from the Occupation Tax Section comes after it. A business run from a residence needs approval from Inspections and Code Enforcement before it operates, per the city's procedures.
• Macon-Bibb: A Certificate of Zoning Compliance comes first. Planning and Zoning reviews the use, and other departments may then require building permits, inspections or a Certificate of Occupancy before the license application.
• Fulton County: The county issues certificates for the Fulton Industrial District only. Every other Fulton business is licensed by its city, so an address in Roswell or Atlanta goes to that city and not to the county.

In unincorporated DeKalb, Gwinnett and Cobb, the county business-license or occupational-tax office handles it. Working at clients' homes in several cities can raise its own question, so ask each local office whether your activity there needs a certificate of its own.

The state kennel license sits on top of the local certificate, not in place of it. The Georgia Department of Agriculture says a kennel license is needed for an establishment, other than an animal shelter, where dogs or cats are maintained for boarding, holding, training or similar compensated purposes, and its examples include breeding establishments, catteries and grooming shops.

O.C.G.A. § 4-11-3 makes it unlawful to act as a pet dealer or operate a kennel without a license from the Commissioner of Agriculture. The license is annual, and the statutory fee range is $50 to $400. The department says the kennel fee depends on physical capacity.

The application process includes the application itself, compliance with local ordinances, a pre-inspection, documentation and payment. Renew every year: an expired license carries a 100 percent late fee, and the business may not continue until the license is current again. The department's Companion Animal Program regulates kennels, pet dealers and animal shelters.

The local side is the part to watch. The department tells applicants to comply with local ordinances and says a state license does not absolve local compliance. A kennel license cannot make a zoning code allow boarding at an address where it is not allowed. Groomers and trainers who work from an establishment should ask the department directly whether their activity needs the license. A dog walker who works only at clients' homes should describe the real operating model to the department and the local office, because the answer depends on whether dogs are maintained at an establishment.

Renewal dates differ by office, so put each one on your calendar the day you get the certificate:

• Fulton County: certificates run January 1 through December 31 and renew by March 31. Fulton's renewal package warns of penalties, interest and possible revocation for missing the deadline.
• Augusta: the certificate expires December 31. Ask License and Inspection for the current penalty schedule.
• Chatham County: the certificate is required within 30 days of starting. New certificates issued July 1 through December 31 get one-half proration of the occupational tax, but administrative and regulatory fees are not prorated.
• Atlanta: its estimating page states a $500 penalty for not renewing by February 15, 1.5 percent monthly interest after April 1, and an additional 10 percent penalty after June 30.
• Georgia Department of Agriculture: kennel and pet-dealer licenses are annual, and renewing after expiration carries the 100 percent late fee.

Before you add boarding, grooming, training, daycare, retail sales, animal sales, a second location or home-based care, ask the local business-license office, the zoning office, animal control, the department's Companion Animal Program and your insurer whether the new service changes your approvals.

Short answers for anyone planning a dog business in Georgia.

No. Entity filings, state tax registration, the local occupational tax certificate, zoning, occupancy, animal-control rules and Georgia Department of Agriculture licensing are separate requirements handled by separate offices. Your address and your services decide which of them apply.

Georgia does not set a statewide dog-walking or pet-sitting license, but the city or county that governs your address issues an occupational tax certificate, and it can apply even when you work in clients' homes. Call that office with your service and your address, and ask about every city where you plan to work.

No. An LLC is a state entity filing with the Secretary of State. It does not replace the local occupational tax certificate, zoning and occupancy approvals, or animal-facility licensing.

The city where your business address sits issues it, or the county if the address is unincorporated. Inside Atlanta that is the City of Atlanta's Office of Revenue, and in Chatham County's unincorporated area it is the Licensing Division.

No. Georgia's trade name guidance says a trade name is mainly for branding and does not create a separate legal entity or liability protection. An LLC is the structure the Secretary of State describes as limiting personal liability.

Work through these in order, and note the office you called next to each one:

• [ ] Identify the exact operating address, and write down which city or unincorporated county governs it.
• [ ] Ask the zoning office whether your exact use is allowed there, before you sign a lease.
• [ ] Ask animal control about animal limits, nuisance and waste rules, and check the HOA rules and your lease.
• [ ] Choose sole proprietor, LLC or corporation, and file the LLC with the Secretary of State or the trade name with the clerk of superior court.
• [ ] Get your EIN if you need one, and register the tax accounts that apply through the Georgia Tax Center.
• [ ] Complete the occupancy, fire and inspection steps your local office requires.
• [ ] Apply for the local occupational tax certificate.
• [ ] Ask the Georgia Department of Agriculture whether a kennel or pet-dealer license applies to your service.
• [ ] Get an insurer quote for your actual services, premises, employees and vehicles.
• [ ] Put every renewal date on your calendar.

Once those boxes are checked, you are ready to take your first client. If you are planning a specific service, these Georgia guides go deeper: the Georgia kennel license, opening a dog boarding kennel in Georgia and breeding dogs in Georgia and the pet dealer license. Fees and rules vary by address and service, so confirm each figure with the office that issues it before you rely on it. I build websites and marketing for dog businesses, and I am not an attorney, accountant or insurance agent, so use the offices above for the final word.

• agr.georgia.gov: Companion Animal Program
• agr.georgia.gov: Georgia Department of Agriculture
• atlantaga.gov: City of Atlanta
• atlantaga.gov: estimating page
• buildingsafety.chathamcountyga.gov: Licensing Division
• columbusga.gov: procedures
• dor.georgia.gov: Georgia Tax Center
• dor.georgia.gov: Georgia Tax Center
• fultoncountyga.gov: issues certificates for the Fulton Industrial District only
• fultoncountyga.gov: renewal package
• georgia.gov: Georgia.gov's Starting a Business guide
• gmcc.georgia.gov: trade name instructions
• irs.gov: IRS
• law.justia.com: O.C.G.A. § 4-11-3
• maconbibb.us: Planning and Zoning
• sos.ga.gov: Georgia Secretary of State
• sos.ga.gov: name reservation