Georgia: who needs a license to work on your chimney or fireplace?
Checked Sep 2026·Laws as cited·1 of 2 records checked Sep 2026; 1 still dated Jul 2026
Public recordGA LAW
For consumer remedies, home-sale rules and carbon monoxide law, see Georgia chimney & fireplace laws — know your rights. That page was verified Sep 2026.
Stove & insert installation: is a credential required in Georgia?
#stove-installNONE- Credential
- No credential attaches — chimney/hearth work is specialty-exempt from the GC/residential-contractor license (O.C.G.A. § 43-41-17(f), 2025 code: specialty contractors may do 'limited, specialty, or specific trade contractor work' plus incidental work up to 'the greater of $10,000.00 or 25 percent'; SOS Traditional Specialty list names 'Masonry' and 'Fireplaces'; § 43-41-17(g) separately exempts non-structural repair with a no-license disclosure; residential license trigger otherwise >$2,500, § 43-41-2(9)), and the Conditioned Air definitions (§ 43-14-2(3)-(5), fetched) frame the licensed trade around 'conditioned air systems' and 'heating and air-conditioning equipment covered under state codes' — a freestanding wood/pellet stove is not a conditioned-air system, though the 'heating equipment covered under state codes' phrase is textually gray (same unresolved gray zone as Pass 1's decorative-log question; no board guidance found); permits local, licensing preempted (§ 43-14-13(b), pre-2026 numbering — Title 43 ch. 14 reportedly re-enacted by SB 553 eff. 7/1/2026, REF only); CODE — CONFLICT FOUND Sep 2026: the DCA announcement (dated 12/9/2025; URL slug 'new-codes-jan-2026') as fetched 9/25/2026 is titled 'New Georgia Codes and Amendments - Effective January 1, 2027' and adopts the 2024 IRC with Georgia Amendments 'with an effective date of January 1, 2027', while DCA's Current State Minimum Codes page lists the 'International Residential Code, 2024 Edition, with Georgia Amendments' as current — the July row's 'effective 1/1/2026 / first Southern state on the 2024 IRC' claim is NOT safe to publish; name no effective date until DCA resolves it
- Issuing body
- n/a; local building departments (permits); GA DCA (state minimum standard codes)
- Statute
- O.C.G.A. § 43-14-2 (pre-2026 text); § 43-41-2(9), § 43-41-17(f),(g) (2025 code); DCA 2024-code adoption (effective date in conflict: 1/1/2026 vs 1/1/2027)
- Dollar threshold
- none
- Exam
- n
- Local overlay
- y — Atlanta and cities issue permits; municipal trade licensing preempted
- Confidence
- medium · checked 2026-09-25
- Sources
Gas fireplace service: is a credential required in Georgia?
#gas-fireplace-serviceLICENSE- Credential
- NG = Conditioned Air Contractor Class I/II ('conditioned air equipment' includes 'the natural gas piping system on the outlet side of the gas meter', O.C.G.A. 43-14-2(5); license required 43-14-8(c), exam) OR Master/Journeyman Plumber ('plumbing' includes 'natural gas piping systems on the outlet side of gas meters', 43-14-2(12)); whether a purely DECORATIVE gas fireplace/log set is 'heating equipment covered under state codes' is a statutory gray zone — FLAG; LP vs NG SPLIT is agency-level: LP companies licensed by the Safety Fire Commissioner (rule 120-3-16-.03; O.C.G.A. Title 10 ch. 1 art. 10) and the § 43-14-13(o) bridge lets a properly insured LP dealer install/repair/service propane systems and piping WITHOUT any ch. 14 license (but not conditioned-air/forced-air systems); no individual LP installer license found; homeowner exemption 43-14-13(d); statewide license preempts municipal licensing (43-14-13(b)); MISMATCH: chimney masonry/sweeping is specialty-exempt from the GC license (43-41-17(f); SOS 'Traditional Specialty Contractors Policy Statements' list 'Masonry' and 'Fireplaces' — but specialty contractors still need any Chapter 14 trade license their work requires) — gas licensed from $0, chimney nothing; SEP 2026 FLAG (STILL OPEN): SB 553 (2026, reported as Act 472) reportedly REPEALS AND RE-ENACTS Title 43 ch. 14 effective 7/1/2026 (REF only — legis.ga.gov not fetchable) — every ch. 14 cite in this row is from the pre-2026 text (FindLaw currency 3/28/2024) and may be renumbered; re-verify before publish
- Issuing body
- GA State Construction Industry Licensing Board — Divisions of Conditioned Air Contractors and Master/Journeyman Plumbers (Secretary of State); GA Safety Fire Commissioner, Safety Fire Division (LP)
- Statute
- O.C.G.A. §§ 43-14-2(5),(12), 43-14-8, 43-14-13(b),(d),(o); Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 120-3-16-.03; O.C.G.A. §§ 10-1-263, 10-1-269 (LP authority; article popular name UNVERIFIED); § 43-41-17 (chimney specialty exemption)
- Dollar threshold
- none for ch. 14 trades (no de minimis); $2,500 GC exemption applies only to the ch. 41 layer
- Exam
- y (conditioned air + plumber exams; LP is company-level licensing without an individual exam found)
- Local overlay
- n at credential level (state preemption); local permits/inspections per 43-14-12; Atlanta = permits only
- Confidence
- medium (ch. 14 cites pre-date the reported 7/1/2026 SB 553 re-enactment) · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
What insurance does Georgia require of contractors?
#insurance- Regime
- license (GC/residential O.C.G.A. 43-41; conditioned air/plumber 43-14; LP company licenses via Safety Fire Commissioner)
- Liability minimum
- Residential-Basic contractor $300,000/occurrence GL; Residential-Light Commercial and General Contractor $500,000/occurrence (O.C.G.A. § 43-41-6) — certificate MAINTAINED WITH the licensing division as a condition of renewal, changes reported within 30 days = STATE-FILED (carrier cancellation-notice duty UNVERIFIED); conditioned air contractors / plumbers (ch. 14): NO GL minimum found (absence, medium); LP dealers (Rule 120-3-16-.03(8), amended eff. 5/1/2025): $1,000,000 CSL GL incl. products/completed ops if storage >2,000 gal / $500,000 CSL if <=2,000 gal + $1,000,000 CSL auto — filed with the Safety Fire Division BEFORE licensure and the INSURER MUST NOTIFY the Commissioner of any change in coverage = state-verified with carrier duty
- Bond
- none at state level for contractor/conditioned-air/plumber licenses (absence finding); local governments may require bonds of licensees under § 43-14-12 (LOCAL overlay); GDA 'LP Gas Mechanic' company license carries a $1,000 bond but is a weights-and-measures (meter calibration) credential — do not conflate with the Safety Fire LP dealer license
- Guaranty fund
- NONE — no recovery/guaranty fund in O.C.G.A. Title 43 ch. 41 or ch. 14 (verified by chapter exhaustion); AG consumer page routes contractor complaints to courts/board discipline only
- Workers' comp threshold
- 3+ employees (§ 34-9-2(a)(2) — employers with fewer than three regularly in service exempt); officer exemption via Form WC-10 (§ 34-9-2.2): up to 5 officers/LLC members may exempt, BUT exempted officers STILL COUNT toward the 3-employee threshold; sole props/partners not employees unless they opt in; WC-10 filed with the insurer (or Board if none)
- How to verify
- insurance: active GA residential/GC license = state-filed $300k/$500k GL (solid proxy); conditioned-air/plumber license is NOT an insurance proxy; LP license = $500k–$1M state-verified; license lookup sos.ga.gov + OCI licensed-professionals search (AUTOMATED); WC: SBWC Online Coverage Verification (sbwc.georgia.gov/online-employers-workers-compensation-coverage-verification)
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
Download the full licensing matrix (CSV) · All states
Before anyone goes on your roof
What should you ask a chimney company in Georgia?
- Is your company a member of the National Chimney Sweep Guild (NCSG)?
- Does the technician coming to my home hold an individual NCSG certification, and which one?
- Does the technician hold a National Fireplace Institute (NFI) certification — and for which fuel: wood, gas, or pellet?
- What other certifications does the technician hold (for example, CSIA), and can I check them on the issuer's own roster?
- What state or local license or registration covers this work here, and what is the number?
- Will you send a certificate of insurance, dated and naming your company, before work starts?
- Which NFPA 211 inspection level — Level 1, 2, or 3 — are you performing, and why that level?
- Will you show me what you found — photos or video of the flue — in writing?
We take no fee from any certification body, guild, or contractor, and are not paid to mention anyone named.