Starting a cleaning business in Georgia takes five moves: register the business, get your local occupation tax certificate, set up insurance, sort out the required affidavits, and put up a bookable website. Georgia is one of the cheaper and simpler states to start in, with a $100 LLC filing, no franchise tax, and no sales tax on cleaning services. My sister Jen and I built Oak Bay Clean to $2.8M in sales over four years on a model that works in any market, and this is the Georgia version, with the actual costs, the licensing steps, and where your first clients come from in Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, and Columbus.
The model Jen and I use does not require you to buy supplies, a van, or equipment. You hire independent contractors who bring their own supplies, clients book online and leave a card on file, and you pay your cleaners out of money the client has already paid. That is what keeps the startup cost low, and Georgia keeps it lower than most.
The short answer: how to start a cleaning business in Georgia
Here is the whole path in order. The rest of this post backs up each step with Georgia numbers.
- Cleaning the houses yourself, lowest cost: start as a sole proprietor for under $300 and add an LLC later.
- Building a company that runs without you: form an LLC ($100), get your local occupation tax certificate, set up insurance, and put up a bookable website.
- Fastest to your first paying client: email Realtors and property managers about move-out cleans while your Google ranking builds.
- The Georgia detail to know: there is no sales tax on cleaning services, so you do not charge tax on a clean, and your local occupation tax certificate comes with two affidavits to sign.
For most people who want a business rather than a job, the company path is the one Jen and I teach, and it is what the rest of this guide walks through.
How much does it cost to start a cleaning business in Georgia?
You can start a cleaning business in Georgia for under $300 if you clean the houses yourself, or for roughly $700 to $800 to build a company. Georgia keeps the state costs low: a $100 LLC filing, a $50 annual registration, and no franchise tax. After year one, your main ongoing cost is your booking software plus insurance.
Here are the Georgia line items for the company path:
| Line item | Georgia cost |
|---|---|
| LLC filing (Articles of Organization) | $100 online, $110 by mail, one time |
| Annual registration | $50, about $60 with the online service fee, due by April 1 |
| Local occupation tax certificate | about $50 to $200 a year, set by your city or county |
| General liability insurance | about $30 to $100 a month |
| Booking and website software | from $67 a month, often free for the first 30 days |
Two Georgia details to plan for. The annual registration is due each year between January 1 and April 1, so set a reminder once you file. And the cost of your occupation tax certificate is often based on your projected revenue or number of employees, so a brand new cleaning business usually lands at the low end of that range.
The reason this is so much lower than the $2,000 to $15,000 most guides quote: those numbers assume you buy supplies, equipment, and a vehicle. Your contractors bring all of that, so it never lands on your books. For the full breakdown of where every dollar goes, read how much it costs to start a cleaning business.
Do you need a license or permits to clean houses in Georgia?
Georgia has no statewide license for house cleaning, but every city and county requires a local occupation tax certificate, which is Georgia's version of a business license. You get it from your city or county, not the state. This is general information and not legal advice, so confirm your own city's rules before you start.
Georgia adds one step most states do not. When you apply for the occupation tax certificate, you sign two affidavits: an E-Verify affidavit about work authorization, and a lawful-presence affidavit under Georgia law that you confirm with a secure and verifiable ID like a driver's license or passport, and have notarized. Your city or county clerk handles both at the time you apply.
Here is where the largest Georgia metros have you register, so you can find yours fast:
| City or county | What to get | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | Occupation tax certificate | Apply through the city Office of Revenue |
| Savannah | Business tax certificate | Issued by the city |
| Augusta | Occupation tax certificate | Augusta-Richmond County |
| Columbus | Occupation tax certificate | Consolidated city and county |
| Cobb and Gwinnett | Occupation tax certificate | County business license offices for the Atlanta suburbs |
One more note. Georgia requires workers' compensation once you have three or more employees, though on the contractor model your cleaners are independent contractors rather than employees.
For the general version of this question that applies in any state, read do I need a license to start a cleaning business.
Do you charge sales tax on cleaning services in Georgia?
No. Georgia does not tax cleaning services, because sales tax there applies to tangible goods rather than labor. You do not add sales tax to a house clean or an office clean. This is general information and not legal advice, so confirm your situation with the Georgia Department of Revenue.
One thing to know: you do pay sales tax on the cleaning supplies and equipment you buy, the same as any shopper. On the contractor model that mostly sits with your cleaners, who bring their own supplies, so it is a small consideration. The bottom line for pricing is simple, because the price your client sees is the price they pay, with no tax added on top.
How do you register your cleaning business in Georgia?
You register a Georgia cleaning business with the Secretary of State's Corporations Division by filing Articles of Organization for an LLC at $100 online, then getting your local occupation tax certificate. Most cleaning owners choose an LLC because it separates personal assets from the business for a low yearly cost.
The order Jen and I would follow:
- Pick your name. Use your city plus the word clean or cleaning, like Marietta Clean or Savannah Cleaning Services. That is what gets you found on Google and AI search. We walk through this in how to name a cleaning business.
- File the Articles of Organization with the Georgia Secretary of State, $100 online.
- Get an EIN from the IRS, which is free and takes a few minutes online.
- Get your local occupation tax certificate from your city or county, with the two affidavits signed.
- Set up general liability insurance before you take on clients.
- File your annual registration with the Secretary of State by April 1 each year to keep the LLC active.
You can clean as a sole proprietor first and form the LLC once the money is coming in. There is no wrong order as long as you have your occupation tax certificate and insurance before you take clients.
Where do you find your first cleaning clients in Georgia's cities?
Your first clients in Georgia come from two places: Realtors and property managers who need move-out cleans, and Google once your business name and profile are set up. The paid social following you think you need is not where the money is.
Move-out cleans are the fastest opening, because most cleaners avoid them. Metro Atlanta is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, and Savannah, Augusta, Columbus, and Athens all move a steady volume of homes, so Realtors and property managers are booking these constantly. One relationship like that did a lot for us. One email to a Realtor named Danielle turned into 47 cleans over the following years, which is $16,718.34 in revenue from a single email. Georgia has a large and growing pool of active Realtors, so the math there is in your favor.
Three things to get right before you spend a dollar on ads:
- Answer the phone. About 70% of cleaning companies do not answer on the first try, and only 30% call back after a voicemail. Answering puts you ahead of most of your competition in any Georgia city.
- Put your prices online. About 95% of cleaning companies have no transparent pricing on their site. Flat-rate prices a client can see are the biggest thing standing between a lead and a booking.
- Let people book at 10pm. A live booking widget that takes the card means you capture clients while they are interested, without a phone call.
The tool Jen and I use for both of these is ConvertLabs. It puts an instant-quote form on your site, so a client picks their options, sees a flat-rate price on the spot, and books with a card in about 60 seconds. Our own widget turns about 33% of the people who fill it out into paying clients. You can get 30 days free at convertlabs.io/blueprint. That is an affiliate link, so Jen and I earn a fee if you sign up, at no extra cost to you.
For the full playbook, read how to get clients for a cleaning business.
Where do you find cleaners in Georgia?
You find cleaners in Georgia the same way you find clients, by posting where people already look for work and screening for reliability over experience. You are screening for dependable people who will represent your brand well.
Indeed, Facebook groups, and Craigslist still work across Georgia's metros, and the state's large service workforce means there are people looking. Georgia does not have a worker-classification law as strict as California's, so the independent contractor model is straightforward here, though you still follow the federal IRS rules on who counts as a contractor. This is general information and not legal advice. Hire for reliability and communication, pay your cleaners well, which on our model is 60% of the job, and treat the relationship as a partnership. We cover the full process in how to find cleaners for a cleaning business.
New owners worry about three things with contractors. Here is how the model answers each.
- Quality control. You bring on cleaners who already know how to clean, so quality comes from feedback rather than training. Clients rate every clean, you pass that straight to the cleaner, and anyone who slips stops getting offered work. Your standard travels through the feedback loop.
- Will a cleaner take my clients? The client books, pays, and keeps a card on file through your system, so the relationship and the billing stay with your brand. Your contractors get a steady stream of pre-sold jobs they never had to find or quote, which is what they would give up by going around you. A non-solicitation clause in your contractor agreement backs it up.
- Could I get in trouble for treating employees like contractors? You keep them genuine independent contractors through how the work runs. You offer gigs through ConvertLabs and they accept or decline, they wear their own clothes, drive their own cars, and bring their own supplies, and you set what a finished home should look like while they choose how to get there. Put that in a written contractor agreement and it holds up to the control test above.
Is a cleaning business profitable in Georgia?
A cleaning business is profitable in Georgia, and the state's low costs help you keep more of what you bring in. There is no sales tax on your cleans and no franchise tax, so the model has less friction here than in many states. Jen and I built Oak Bay Clean to about $2.8M in sales since July 2021 at roughly a 28% margin, running it with 18 cleaners, and we run it from Canada. The same model works for the owners we coach across Georgia, because profit comes from the model, not the zip code.
The way we set prices is to charge flat-rate packages by square footage and number of bathrooms, landing around 75 to 80% of the most expensive cleaner in your market. Metro Atlanta supports strong prices, and the growth across the state keeps new clients coming. Clients pay at the time of the clean, your contractors are paid out of that same money, and you keep the spread.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to start a cleaning business in Georgia? Under $300 if you clean houses yourself, or about $700 to $800 to build a company. Georgia keeps state costs low with a $100 LLC filing, a $50 annual registration, and no franchise tax. The other main costs are your local occupation tax certificate, insurance, and booking software.
Do I need a license to start a cleaning business in Georgia? There is no statewide cleaning license, but every city and county requires a local occupation tax certificate, Georgia's version of a business license. You also sign an E-Verify affidavit and a notarized lawful-presence affidavit when you apply. This is general information, not legal advice.
Do I charge sales tax on cleaning in Georgia? No. Georgia does not tax cleaning services, because sales tax applies to goods rather than labor. You do pay sales tax on the supplies you buy, but you do not add tax to a client's clean.
Do I need an LLC to clean houses in Georgia? No, you can start as a sole proprietor, but many owners form an LLC to separate personal assets from the business. A Georgia LLC costs $100 to file online plus a $50 annual registration.
How do I get my first cleaning clients in Georgia? Email Realtors and property managers about move-out cleans, set up your Google Business Profile, and put transparent prices and a booking widget on your site. One Realtor relationship was worth $16,718.34 to our business over time.
Do I need to buy supplies to start a cleaning business in Georgia? No. On the contractor model, your cleaners bring their own supplies and equipment, which is the main reason Georgia startup costs stay low.
How much can a cleaning business make in Georgia? There is no structural cap once you have a team. Our own business has done about $2.8M since July 2021 at a 28% margin. Metro Atlanta's growth and the steady demand across the state give you a deep pool of clients to price against.
Should I start with residential or commercial cleaning in Georgia? Residential. Clients pay at the time of the clean, so the money funds the business. Neither is taxed in Georgia, so that is not the deciding factor here. Commercial pays slower, so add it later, once your cash flow can carry it.
Where to start
The steps are the easy part. Getting your first clients and keeping good cleaners is the work, and that is exactly what Jen and I walk through in the free 22-Day Cleaning Business Master Checklist and the 22-Day Blueprint ebook. A few guides that pair well with this one:
- How to start a cleaning business in 2026 (step-by-step guide)
- How much does it cost to start a cleaning business
- How to start a cleaning business in Texas
- How to get clients for a cleaning business
About the author
Victoria Westcott co-founded Cleaning Company Blueprint with her sister Jen. Together they built Oak Bay Clean, their cleaning company in Victoria, BC, to $2.8M in sales since 2021, running it with a team of contractors. Vic writes these guides from inside the business, sharing the model and the numbers behind it. More about Vic and Jen.
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