Citation withheld: this record does not yet carry a review status; and its provenance is an internal operational database, which is never published as an authority.
The values are corroborated across independent internal records. What is missing is the link to the agency's own published schedule, which is what promotion to verified requires.
Cost position
Ranked 25 of 51 on first-year state
filing cost, at $170.00 against a national median
of $175.00.
Recurring annual cost $60.
See the full ranking.
Where Georgia sits among its neighbours in the first-year cost ranking (USD)Show all 51 jurisdictionsThe full ranking with Georgia highlighted (USD)
Registered-agent statutes, quoted verbatim
The one section on this page that clears the publication gate in full. 2 citations, verified, quoted from the official code with every elision marked.
O.C.G.A. § 14-2-501
○Pending review
Georgia Business Corporation Code · applies to
corporations
retrieved 2026-07-29
· confidence medium · verified
Registered-agent rules in practice
Who may serve as the agent
○Pending review
A Georgia corporation's registered agent may be a Georgia-resident individual, a domestic corporation/nonprofit/LLC, or a foreign corporation/nonprofit/LLC authorized to transact business in Georgia, in each case with a business office identical to the registered office. For LLCs, O.C.G.A. 14-11-209(b) similarly allows an individual resident, a corporation, another LLC, or an authorized foreign corporation or foreign LLC.
Revocation Foreign. A foreign corporation without a registered agent or registered office in Georgia for 60 days or more, or failing to inform the Secretary of State of agent changes within 60 days, may have its certificate of authority revoked; after revocation the Secretary of State is its agent for service on pre-revocation causes of action.
No Court Access. A foreign corporation transacting business in Georgia without a certificate of authority (the state into which a revoked corporation falls) may not maintain a proceeding in any Georgia court until it obtains one, and is liable for the $500 civil penalty of sec. 14-2-122.
Civil Penalty. The fee schedule fixes a $500 civil penalty for a foreign corporation transacting business in Georgia without a certificate of authority.
Dollar amounts named in the registered-agent statutes
What
Amount
Status
Application for reinstatement following administrative dissolution (corporation and LLC)
$250
○Pending review
Civil penalty for a foreign corporation transacting business without a certificate of authority
$500
○Pending review
Statement of change of address of registered agent
$5 per corporation/LLC, but not less than $20
○Pending review
Filing fee paid to the Secretary of State when serving a foreign corporation by mail after its registered agent cannot be served (copy of process to the Secretary of State)
$10
○Pending review
Annual registration fee / penalty for late filing of annual registration (the filing whose lapse triggers administrative dissolution)
$50 / $25
○Pending review
13 statutory citations and their supporting verbatim quotations sit behind this section in the record and are withheld from public display until the review pass lands, because a citation presented as authority is a verification claimed. Statutory references appearing inside the summaries above are part of the recorded text rather than an authority claim, and they are not rendered as citations, linked, or emitted in this page's structured data. How the gate works.
Governance rules
Georgia corporate and LLC governance rules
Rule
Entity
Applies
Detail
Status
Organizational Meeting Required
Corporation
yes
○Pending review
Annual Meeting Required
Corporation
yes
○Pending review
Written Consent In Lieu Allowed
Corporation
yes
○Pending review
Bylaws Required
Corporation
yes
○Pending review
Operating Agreement Required
LLC
no
○Pending review
Annual Meeting Required
LLC
no
○Pending review
Written Consent In Lieu Allowed
LLC
yes
○Pending review
7 statutory citations and their supporting verbatim quotations sit behind this section in the record and are withheld from public display until the review pass lands, because a citation presented as authority is a verification claimed. Statutory references appearing inside the summaries above are part of the recorded text rather than an authority claim, and they are not rendered as citations, linked, or emitted in this page's structured data. How the gate works.
Perpetual - no fixed term. OCGA 10-1-490 imposes no expiration; a registration remains effective until the facts change.
Renewal
No renewal required. Re-registration (a new/amended statement) is required only upon a change of ownership; counties also accept amendment and cancellation filings (e.g., Fulton $175 amendment/cancellation; Hall $25 cancellation; DeKalb $174 amendment/cancellation).
Publication
Required. OCGA 10-1-490(b): notice of the trade name filing must be published once a week for two weeks in the newspaper in which the county sheriff's advertisements are published (the county's official legal organ). The registrant is responsible for arranging/paying publication; practice varies by county - Gwinnett collects $40 payable to the Gwinnett Daily Post at filing, Hall collects $60 payable to the Gainesville Times, DeKalb has the filer pay The Champion Newspaper directly after the clerk approves the filing. Verified county pages do not require proof of publication to be filed back with the clerk (registration is effective on filing); Georgia caselaw treats the publication duty as directory, but a compliance filer should complete it. [Proof-of-publication handling per county not individually verified - confirm with each clerk.]
Online filing
Available
The regime
Georgia requires every person, firm, or partnership doing business under a name that does not disclose the individual ownership of the business to file a verified trade name registration statement with the clerk of the superior court of the county where the business is chiefly carried on (or, for a domestic corporation using a name other than its corporate name, the county of its legal domicile), followed by newspaper publication. There is no statewide DBA registry.
Where it is filed
Filings are made at the county level with the clerk of the superior court, who registers the statement and keeps an alphabetical index of registered trade names in a permanent record book.
Publication
After filing, notice of the registration, giving the names and addresses of each person, firm, or partnership engaging in business under the trade name, must be published once a week for two weeks in the county's official legal advertising newspaper (the paper carrying the sheriff's advertisements).
Term and renewal
Georgia trade name registrations have no fixed term and no renewal cycle. A registrant must file a new and amended registration statement only upon a change of ownership.
Carrying on a business subject to registration without filing is a misdemeanor, though the statute expressly caps the consequences at that plus court costs. A party who has not registered its trade or partnership name at the time an action is filed is cast with (must pay) the court costs. Contracts made under an unregistered trade name are expressly validated, and no action in contract or tort is defeated because of a failure to register.
Unverified - expect ~$166-$185 + publication; confirm with clerk
Toombs
Unverified - expect ~$166-$185 + publication; confirm with clerk
Troup
Unverified - expect ~$166-$185 + publication; confirm with clerk
Upson
Unverified - expect ~$166-$185 + publication; confirm with clerk
Wayne
Unverified - expect ~$166-$185 + publication; confirm with clerk
Whitfield
Unverified - expect ~$166-$185 + publication; confirm with clerk
Common questions
Where do I file a trade name (DBA) registration in Georgia?
At the county level, with the clerk of the superior court of the county where the business is chiefly carried on. A domestic corporation using a name other than its corporate name files in the county of its legal domicile (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-490(a)). Georgia has no statewide DBA registry.
Does Georgia require newspaper publication of a trade name registration?
Yes. Notice of the filing, giving the names and addresses of each person, firm, or partnership engaging in business under the trade name, must be published once a week for two weeks in the paper in which the sheriff's advertisements are printed (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-490(a)).
Does a Georgia trade name registration expire or need renewal?
The statute imposes no renewal cycle: a person, firm, or partnership already registered is not required to reregister except in the event of a change of ownership, at which point a new and amended statement of registration must be filed (O.C.G.A. § 10-1-490(a)).
What happens if I do business in Georgia under an unregistered trade name?
Failure to register is a misdemeanor under O.C.G.A. § 10-1-493, and a party who has not registered when an action is filed must pay the court costs. However, O.C.G.A. § 10-1-491 expressly validates contracts made in an unregistered trade name and provides that no action in contract or tort is defeated by the failure to register.
Corporate Net Worth Tax (O.C.G.A. 48-13-70 through 48-13-79; imposition on foreign corps confirmed at 48-13-72 per DOR FAQ) - a graduated FLAT-DOLLAR tax on net worth (= issued capital stock + paid-in surplus + retained earnings; treasury stock NOT deducted), levied 'in exchange for the privilege of doing business or exercising a corporate franchise in Georgia'. CORPORATIONS ONLY (C and S, domestic + foreign qualified; LLCs taxed as corporations also caught). LLCs with default classification are EXEMPT: DOR FAQ - SMLLC 'is not subject to the Georgia net worth tax'; 'There is no net worth tax on partnerships'. Brackets (net worth -> tax): <=100,000 -> $0 (must still file); >100k-150k $125; >150k-200k $150; >200k-300k $200; >300k-500k $250; >500k-750k $300; >750k-1M $500; >1M-2M $750; >2M-4M $1,000; >4M-6M $1,250; >6M-8M $1,500; >8M-10M $1,750; >10M-12M $2,000; >12M-14M $2,500; >14M-16M $3,000; >16M-18M $3,500; >18M-20M $4,000; >20M-22M $4,500; >22M $5,000 (CAP). No statutory minimum ($0 zero-bracket since net worth years beginning 1/1/2018); smallest nonzero bracket $125. Foreign (non-domesticated) corps apply the table to net worth apportioned to GA (property + gross receipts ratio, Form 600 Sch. 8); domestic/domesticated = 100%. Filed WITH the income tax return: Form 600 Sch. 2 (C corp, due 15th day of 4th month after tax-year start) / Form 600S (S corp, 15th day of 3rd month)
A per-state research document exists for this jurisdiction and has not yet been converted into records.
See the national picture.
Filing-office closures, 2026
Stored as a delta against the federal baseline:
3 days this state closes that the
federal government does not, and 1 federal
holiday its filing office works through.
Georgia 2026 closure delta
Date
Day
Filing office
2026-02-16
Washington's Birthday (February observance)
OPEN - federal holiday not observed
2026-04-03
State Holiday (observed on Good Friday)
Filing office closed
2026-11-27
State Holiday (observed Friday after Thanksgiving)
Filing office closed
2026-12-24
Washington's Birthday (observed at Christmas)
Filing office closed
Provenance - Georgia 2026 closures○Pending review
Citation withheld: this record is at review status provisionally reviewed, one or more rungs below verified.
CORPORATIONS ONLY (profit, nonprofit, professional, benefit; DOMESTIC incorporation only): notice of intent to incorporate published in the county legal-organ newspaper once a week for two consecutive weeks; $40 fee paid directly to the newspaper no later than the next business day after filing articles; no proof of pu
○Pending review
These come from a research pass its own author graded CANDIDATES. They are shown because they are useful and withheld from every ranking on this site because they are not ratified.