Georgia: who needs a license to work on your chimney or fireplace?
Checked Jul 2026·Laws as cited·Not in the Sep 2026 verification pass
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 more recently than this matrix.
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, per rights research), 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)); CODE: 2024 IRC with Georgia Amendments effective 1/1/2026 — the first Southern state on the 2024 IRC — carries the listing/manufacturer-instruction rules
- Issuing body
- n/a; local building departments (permits); GA DCA (state minimum standard codes)
- Statute
- O.C.G.A. § 43-14-2 (fetched); § 43-41-17 (per rights research); DCA 2024-code adoption eff. 1/1/2026
- Dollar threshold
- none
- Exam
- n
- Local overlay
- y — Atlanta and cities issue permits; municipal trade licensing preempted
- Confidence
- medium · checked 2026-07-22
- 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) — gas licensed from $0, chimney nothing
- 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
- high · 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.