Questions to ask before a contractor starts on a wet house in Douglas County

The Secretary of State's FAQ for residential and general contractors says a license is required for contractors, and defines the word by pointing to section 43-41-2(4) of the Georgia Code. The same answer exempts certain specialty trades, along with work under $2,500, from the requirement to hire a contractor with a state license.

Nothing in the FAQ names water damage, mold or restoration, which leaves open which side of the line a drying job lands on. The state board that handles it covers residential and general contractors.

Justia reproduces the 2025 text of section 43-41-17; the official Code is the authority. Three parts matter here. A contract that requires a license cannot be enforced by a contractor who lacks one. A state license covers the whole state, and local governments generally cannot add licensing of their own, except for local rules in effect on July 1, 2004. And someone without a license may take on repairs that leave structural integrity untouched, provided they say up front that they are unlicensed.

The Code leaves the board to define "repair." Whether a given water damage job counts is a question for the board, not for this site.

The state's lookup tool sits at verify.sos.ga.gov and goes by "Search for a Professional Licensee." Searches run by name, number, profession or type of license, and the page links to complaint forms, including one against an unlicensed person or facility.

The lookup page lists no phone number. The division's page gives the Georgia Call Center, 1-800-436-7442, weekdays from 8:00 in the morning to 5:00 in the afternoon, Eastern time, and a street address of 3920 Arkwright Rd., Suite 195, Macon, GA 31210.

Douglas County's Building Permits and Inspections office, at 4655 Timber Ridge Dr., Douglasville, GA 30135, lists permits for structures of 200 square feet or more and for exterior and interior renovations. It also lists plumbing, electrical and HVAC permits for new or renovation work. Its main number is 770-920-7201, and inspection requests go to 770-920-7333.

The page says that to get a building permit, builders need a state contractor's license, a business license and a driver's license. It does not address repairs or water damage, and it does not say whether its rules apply specifically to unincorporated areas, so the department is the place to confirm.

Douglas County's occupational tax page says each person engaged in any business, trade, profession or occupation in the county shall pay an occupational tax, and that it applies to businesses in unincorporated Douglas County. It does not mention contractors by name.

The office is at the same Timber Ridge Drive address, 770-920-7351, with payments handled weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. A business license is valid for one calendar year, so a date on a certificate is worth a glance.

Douglasville's Community Development Department sits in City Hall at 6758 Spring Street and lists building permitting and inspections. Its Building Division number is 678-449-3230, weekdays from 8:00 in the morning to 5:00 in the afternoon, except holidays. The page does not mention contractor licensing or repairs.

The city's Occupational Tax office is at the same address, 678-449-3078. Its page says licenses expire December 31 each year and does not mention contractors specifically.

Lithia Springs and Winston are unincorporated, so the county offices are the ones that apply there. A Douglasville address belongs to the city. Some streets sit near the line, and the City of Douglasville offers an address lookup map for checking whether a location is inside the city or in unincorporated Douglas County.

Making that check first saves a call to the wrong desk.

Does the work fall under the state contractor rule, and if so, what is the license number? Can I look it up on the Secretary of State's page? Who applies for any permit the work needs, and with which desk? Does the business hold the county or city business license that applies to the address? What is the plan for the sewage, electrical or gas parts of the job, if there are any?

A contractor can answer these in a sentence each. If an answer is hard to get, that tells you something too.

None of the pages cited here mentions water damage by name, and several are silent on repairs. The state's $2,500 line, the structural-integrity exception and the county's renovation permits all need a human at the desk to say how they apply to one wall in one house.

The phone numbers in the table below are the published ones. Hours and rules can change, and the desk's own answer outranks this page.