Georgia has no state roofing license and no state roofing exam, so there is no state license fee to pay for roofing work. Roofers work under the specialty contractor exemption in O.C.G.A. 43-41-17, which lets a contractor who stays inside one trade skip the residential or general contractor license. The exam and the cost arrive when a job goes past the roof and into work that needs that license.
Roofers work under Georgia’s specialty contractor exemption
Georgia licenses contractors through the State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors, part of the Secretary of State’s office at sos.ga.gov. Title 43, Chapter 41 of the Georgia code defines a specialty contractor as one whose work is limited to a specific trade and the work directly tied to it, where the trade takes special skill.
Section 43-41-17 lets a specialty contractor offer and do that trade work for an owner without a residential or general contractor license, as long as the work stays inside the specialty. Georgia roofers rely on this section when they say the state has no roofing license, and consumer and roofing-company sites describe roofers as “exempt specialty contractors” under the board.
The board publishes its own reading of the specialty rules on two pages, Traditional Specialty Contractors Policy Statements and Limited Service Specialty Contractors Policy Statements, and keeps its rules in Department 553 at rules.sos.ga.gov. Read the traditional specialty page before you rely on the exemption for anything past a re-roof.
Roofing sites put re-roofing, repair and roof carpentry inside the exemption
Sites covering Georgia’s rules say a roofer without a contractor license can do re-roofing, repairs and the rough carpentry tied to the roof: felt, the roof system, trusses and sheathing. Past that, they say, the job needs a contractor license.
Georgia’s code defines a residential-basic contractor as one who does contractor work on detached one-family and two-family homes and one-family townhouses of up to three stories, plus their accessory buildings. A roofer who starts selling whole-home work beyond the roof needs that license or a higher one.
The exemption also stops short of the trades licensed under Chapter 14 of Title 43, which covers electrical, plumbing and conditioned-air contractors. A roofer who adds attic fans or solar wiring can need one of those licenses even though the roof work itself is exempt.
Before you quote anything beyond the roof, check which license the extra work needs, and sub the electrical to a licensed electrician if you don’t hold that license yourself.
The exam and the fee come with the contractor license
In Georgia, the exam and the fee belong to the residential and general contractor licenses, which a roofer needs only once the company sells work past roofing. The board compares its license classes on a licensure comparison chart (revised 06/22) posted on sos.ga.gov.
Ask the board for the current exam and fee for the class you need before you add whole-home work to your price sheet, and hold the license before you sell the first job that needs it.
In Georgia, “licensed” on its own names nothing a homeowner can check
With no state roofing license, the word “licensed” by itself on your truck or website doesn’t point to anything a homeowner can look up. Name what you hold instead: a business license, a GARCA credential or a state contractor license.
The Georgia Roofing Contractors Association (GARCA) runs a voluntary roofing license program. A roofing company’s blog describes it as optional and says the state doesn’t require it. Ask GARCA for its requirements and fee before you plan around it.
Google Local Services Ads ask for a state license only where one exists
Google’s Local Services Ads requirements for roofing list “Business license on state level” and “Owner license on state level,” each marked “Where applicable by local law.” Georgia has no state roofing license to upload, though Google can still ask a Georgia roofer for local business registration and proof of insurance.
The owner of a family exterior remodeling company that does roofing reported on r/smallbusiness that their Local Services account was suspended for a time because new licensing wasn’t submitted in time. Keep your registration and insurance certificates current, and update them in Google before they lapse. For budgets and disputes once the ads run, see Google Local Services Ads for Roofers: Budget, Cost per Lead and Disputes.
Florida licenses roofers, and North Carolina licenses larger jobs
Florida, across Georgia’s southern border, licenses roofing. A certified roofing contractor can work anywhere in Florida, and a registered one only where they met local rules. Roofing is a Division II trade there, so applicants pass a 120-question Business & Finance exam and an 80-question Roofing exam, both open book.
Florida’s certification takes at least 4 years of experience, at least 1 of them as a foreman, and counts only experience gained under a contractor licensed in that category. Georgia issues no state roofing license, so ask Florida’s board how it will count your Georgia years before you plan a move south. Florida Roofing License: Requirements, Exam and Cost covers the application in full.
North Carolina ties its license to job size. Anyone bidding or building a project of $40,000 or more there needs a general contractor license, issued in limited, intermediate and unlimited tiers. Roofing License Requirements by State, and How Qualifiers Work compares the other states and explains how qualifiers work.
If you work across a state line, get that state’s license before you sell the job there.
Oklahoma added a roofing license in 2025, and Georgia could too
Oklahoma created a Residential Roofing Endorsement in 2025 and requires it for all residential roofing from January 1, 2028. Georgia’s legislature can change its specialty rules the same way, so check the board’s site at the start of each year and before you print anything that says what your company is licensed for.
Check these before your next Georgia job
- Keep each job to the roof and the carpentry under it, or hold the contractor license the extra work needs.
- Read the board’s Traditional Specialty Contractors policy statement on sos.ga.gov.
- Sub electrical, plumbing and conditioned-air work to someone licensed for it.
- Replace a bare “licensed” on your truck and website with the credential you hold.
- Keep your business registration and insurance certificates current for Google.
- Check the neighboring state’s rules before you sell work across the line.
A Georgia homeowner has no state roofing license to look you up by, but they can find you on Google Maps. Pick your Google profile and a search in the free Google Maps heatmap, and in a few minutes you’ll see your rank at 49 points around your office.