E-Verify requirements in Georgia: the business license affidavit and the public-contractor rule
On this page
- Who is covered, on which track
- What Georgia employers must do, and by when
- Records to keep
- Penalties
- A worked example: one business, two Georgia counties
- How this sits on top of Form I-9
- What a staffing agency placing workers into Georgia must do
- A compliance checklist for Georgia employers
- Questions people ask
As of September 2026, Georgia does not have one statute that puts every private employer under an E-Verify mandate. Instead, two separate tracks reach most employers who actually need a business license or a government contract to operate: any employer with more than 10 employees needs an E-Verify affidavit to get or renew a city or county business license under O.C.G.A. section 36-60-6, and any employer with 10 or more employees that holds a public contract needs to use E-Verify under O.C.G.A. section 13-10-91, regardless of whether that employer also needs a local business license.
This is not legal advice. Georgia's E-Verify framework runs through both the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts and every county and municipal licensing office in the state, which means local practice can vary in how strictly the affidavit requirement is enforced. What follows was checked against the Georgia Code and the Department of Audits as of September 2026. Confirm current requirements with a lawyer before relying on this for a specific hire or bid.
Who is covered, on which track
| Statute | Who it covers | What triggers it |
|---|---|---|
| O.C.G.A. § 36-60-6 | Any private employer with more than 10 employees | Applying for or renewing a city or county business license, occupational tax certificate, or other document required to operate |
| O.C.G.A. § 36-60-6, exemption track | Any private employer with 10 or fewer employees | Files a private employer exemption affidavit instead of the compliance affidavit, at the same licensing point |
| O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91 | Private employers with 10 or more employees that contract with a public entity, and their subcontractors | Physical performance of labor or services under a public contract expected to exceed $2,500 |
The two tracks can both apply to the same business at the same time: a 30-person landscaping company that needs a county occupational tax certificate and also bids on a county mowing contract has to satisfy both section 36-60-6, when it renews its license, and section 13-10-91, when it signs the contract. A business with no employees, or a contract performed entirely by a sole proprietor with no staff, is exempt from section 13-10-91; a sole practitioner licensed under Title 26, Title 43, or the State Bar of Georgia who is in good standing is also exempt from that section.
What Georgia employers must do, and by when
- Determine which track applies. Count employees company-wide for the business-license affidavit, and confirm whether any part of the business performs work under a public contract.
- Register with E-Verify if the business is covered under either track and is not already enrolled.
- File the correct affidavit with the city or county at the time of applying for or renewing a business license: a compliance affidavit over 10 employees, or an exemption affidavit at 10 or fewer.
- On a public contract, sign and submit a notarized affidavit confirming E-Verify enrollment and use before the contract is awarded, and collect the same from every subcontractor before that subcontractor begins work.
- Complete Form I-9 for each new hire on the standard federal timeline, then create the E-Verify case once the I-9 is complete.
- Renew the affidavit each time the business license or occupational tax certificate comes up for renewal, since the affidavit is tied to that renewal cycle rather than standing permanently on file.
Records to keep
Keep a copy of every affidavit filed, whether the compliance version or the exemption version, along with the business license or occupational tax certificate it supported. On a public contract, keep the contractor's own affidavit and every subcontractor affidavit collected, since the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts and the contracting public entity can both request them during or after the contract term. Keep E-Verify case results with the employee's Form I-9 file, following the standard federal I-9 retention period, since Georgia's statutes do not set a separate, longer state retention period for the underlying verification record the way Arizona's does.
Penalties
- Business license track: a city or county can decline to issue or renew the business license, occupational tax certificate, or other document if the required affidavit is missing or false. Filing a false affidavit carries its own separate exposure under Georgia's false swearing statute, since the affidavit is signed under oath.
- Public contractor track: a missing or false affidavit can disqualify a bid before award, or void the contract if discovered afterward. A public employer or agency that fails to collect proof of E-Verify compliance from a contractor before work worth more than $2,500 begins is itself out of compliance with the statute, which is part of why local governments enforce the affidavit requirement closely at bid intake rather than after the fact.
- Investigation: a complaint or an irregularity found during a routine audit can trigger a review by the Georgia Attorney General's office or the Department of Audits and Accounts, which administers E-Verify compliance and reporting for public bodies statewide.
Georgia's statutes do not set out a per-violation civil fine against a private employer comparable to Florida's or Tennessee's; the practical consequence runs through the business's ability to hold a license or a public contract in the first place, rather than a direct monetary penalty against the employer for a missed verification on an individual hire.
A worked example: one business, two Georgia counties
This is an invented example to show how the two tracks interact, not a real company. Suppose a 14-employee commercial cleaning company is based in Cobb County, where it holds a business license, and also has a contract to clean two county government buildings in neighboring Fulton County worth $18,000 a year.
- Cobb County license: because the company has more than 10 employees, it files the compliance affidavit under section 36-60-6 each time its Cobb County business license comes up for renewal, confirming it is enrolled in and using E-Verify.
- Fulton County contract: because the contract is with a public entity and is worth more than $2,500, the company separately provides a notarized affidavit under section 13-10-91 to Fulton County before the contract starts, regardless of the fact that its business license is held in a different county.
If the company later drops to 9 employees, it would move to the exemption affidavit for its Cobb County license, but the Fulton County contract's 10-employee threshold is measured the same way at the time the contract is entered into, so a company that fell below 10 employees before signing a new public contract would not need the section 13-10-91 affidavit for that new contract, even though the old one might still be in effect. Tracking headcount against both thresholds separately, rather than assuming one number governs everything, is the detail that trips up multi-county Georgia employers most often.
How this sits on top of Form I-9
E-Verify runs off the information already entered on Form I-9 and cannot be used before the I-9 is complete. Neither Georgia track shortens or replaces the federal I-9 process; both add an affidavit and, where applicable, an E-Verify case on top of it. A Georgia employer under 10 employees with no public contract still owes a correctly completed I-9 for every hire under federal law, even though neither Georgia E-Verify track reaches that employer.
What a staffing agency placing workers into Georgia must do
A staffing or recruiting agency counts as the employer of its own placed workers, so the agency's own company-wide headcount, not the headcount at a client's site, decides whether the agency needs the business- license affidavit wherever the agency itself holds a Georgia business license or occupational tax certificate. Separately, if the agency's placement supports a public contract, the agency is a subcontractor for purposes of section 13-10-91 once it has 10 or more employees, and needs to provide the same notarized affidavit any other subcontractor provides before its workers begin that specific engagement. An agency operating across several Georgia counties should track this county by county, since the business-license affidavit is filed locally, not with a single state office, and a compliance affidavit filed in one county does not cover a license application in another.
A compliance checklist for Georgia employers
- Count company-wide employees to determine whether the business-license affidavit applies.
- File a compliance or exemption affidavit at every city or county license renewal, not only the first time.
- Separately confirm whether any part of the business performs work under a public contract worth more than $2,500, which triggers section 13-10-91 regardless of the business-license outcome.
- On a public contract, collect notarized affidavits from every subcontractor before work starts.
- Complete Form I-9 in full, then create the E-Verify case for any hire covered under either track.
- Keep copies of every affidavit filed, alongside the license or contract it supported.
- If using a staffing agency, confirm the agency's own affidavit status in the specific county and on the specific contract, rather than assuming the client's status covers it.
For the paperwork sequence around a new hire more broadly, see the contractor onboarding checklist. For whether your agency needs a state license to operate in Georgia beyond the E-Verify affidavit, see employment agency license requirements. For how Georgia compares with the other states that mandate E-Verify, see E-Verify requirements by state.
Questions people ask
Does Georgia require every employer to use E-Verify?
No single statute reaches every private employer directly. O.C.G.A. section 36-60-6 ties E-Verify to any city or county business license, occupational tax certificate, or similar document for an employer with more than 10 employees, and O.C.G.A. section 13-10-91 separately requires it of private employers with 10 or more employees that hold a public contract.
What if my Georgia business has 10 or fewer employees?
You are generally exempt from both the business-license affidavit requirement and the public-contractor requirement, but you still file an exemption affidavit with the city or county when you apply for or renew a business license, stating why you are exempt.
How often does the business license affidavit need to be filed?
Annually, at the time a covered business applies for or renews its city or county business license, occupational tax certificate, or other required document.
What happens if a Georgia contractor is missing the E-Verify affidavit on a public bid?
It can disqualify the bid, void the resulting contract, or trigger an investigation, since local governments and public agencies are themselves required to collect proof of E-Verify compliance from contractors before work worth more than a small dollar threshold begins.