If you have a cleaning, landscaping, construction, or any service business in Georgia and are still working "on your own", registering an LLC is probably the most important step you can take this year.
It's not complicated or expensive. You can do it online, by yourself, for $110, and in one or two weeks you'll have your company. Here I explain every step.
What is an LLC and why is it good for you?
LLC stands for Limited Liability Company.
In simple words: it separates your personal money from your business money.
If you work without an LLC and something goes wrong on a job—a client sues you, something expensive breaks, there's an accident—they can go after your personal assets: your car, your savings, your home. With an LLC, in most cases, only the business is liable.
It also opens doors that are closed without one:
- Bank account in the business name
- Contracts with companies and offices (almost none hire someone without a registered company)
- Commercial liability insurance
- Looking serious to the client
That last point is not minor. An office owner who's going to sign a monthly cleaning contract wants to see an LLC, not just a name on paper.
Step 1: Choose your company name
Three rules:
- It must include "LLC", "L.L.C." or "Limited Liability Company" at the end. Example: GBG Cleaning LLC.
- It must be different from any other business already registered in Georgia.
- You cannot use restricted words like "bank", "insurance" or "university" without special permission.
Before falling in love with a name, search it in the Georgia Secretary of State's business search (the portal is called eCorp). It's free and tells you immediately if it's available.
Watch out: if your name is too similar to one that already exists, they reject the application and you lose the $110. It's worth searching well before paying.
Step 2: Name a registered agent
The registered agent is the person or company that receives legal documents and official notices on behalf of your company.
Requirements:
- Must have a physical address in Georgia (a real street address—a PO Box doesn't work)
- Must be available during business hours to receive documents
Who can be one? You yourself, if you live in Georgia and have a physical address there. It costs nothing.
If you live outside Georgia, or prefer your address not to appear in the public record, you can hire a registered agent service. They cost between $100 and $300 per year.
Your registered agent address appears in the public record. If you work from home and don't want your address to be public, the paid service makes sense.
Step 3: File the Articles of Organization
This is the filing that creates your company. They're called Articles of Organization and are filed with the Corporations Division of the Georgia Secretary of State.
How: online, through the eCorp portal.
Cost: $110 — that's $100 state fee plus $10 service charge.
What they'll ask for:
- LLC name
- Business principal address (can be outside Georgia, but must be a real physical address, not a PO Box)
- Registered agent name and address
- Management structure: member-managed (owners manage) or manager-managed (hire someone)
- Name of the person filing
How long it takes: between 7 and 10 business days normally, and up to 15 days in peak season.
If you're in a hurry, there's express service: $120 for 2 business days, $275 for same day, and $1,200 for one hour.
Step 4: Get your EIN — it's FREE
The EIN (Employer Identification Number) is like your business's "social security number". You need it to open a bank account, hire employees, and file taxes.
The IRS issues it and it's completely free. You get it online, on the official IRS website, and they give it to you immediately.
⚠️ Be careful with this. There are websites and "agents" that charge $50, $100 or more to get your EIN. They're charging for a free process. If someone wants to charge you for the EIN, you're paying too much.
Step 5: Create your Operating Agreement
The Operating Agreement is an internal document where it's written who owns what percentage, how profits are divided, who makes decisions, and what happens if someone leaves.
Georgia doesn't require it by law, but do it anyway—especially if there are two or more partners. Most disputes between partners are avoided with this document.
If you're the only owner, it's still good to have: banks sometimes ask for it, and it reinforces the separation between you and the company.
Step 6: Open the business bank account
With your LLC approved and your EIN in hand, go to the bank and open an account in the company's name.
This isn't optional in practice. If you mix business money with personal money, a lawyer can argue that the LLC isn't real and you lose the protection you went looking for. It's called "piercing the corporate veil".
Simple rule: business money enters and leaves the business account. Period.
Step 7: Check local licenses
The LLC is a state registration. Besides that, your city or county may require a local business license.
It varies a lot: by county and by type of service. Cities like Atlanta have their own requirements. Call or visit your county government's website (Gwinnett, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Hall) and ask what you need for your type of work.
Some trades also require a professional license from the state—plumbing and electrical, for example.
After: the Annual Registration
Once your LLC is formed, every year you have to file the Annual Registration (it's not called "annual report" in Georgia).
- Cost: $60 ($50 plus $10 service)
- Deadline: between January 1 and April 1 of each year
- Your first time: the year following when you formed the company. If you formed it in October 2026, your first Annual Registration is between January and April 2027.
If you miss April 1, there's a $25 penalty and a grace period until July 1. If you don't file then either, the state can administratively dissolve your company—you lose legal protection, can't sign contracts, and have to do reinstatement paperwork.
The state sends notices, but don't depend on that: if your address isn't updated, the notice doesn't arrive. Put it on your calendar every January.
Cost summary
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Articles of Organization (online) | $110 |
| EIN | $0 |
| Registered agent (yourself) | $0 |
| Registered agent (service) | $100–$300 per year |
| Annual Registration | $60 per year |
Minimum to start: $110.
Common mistakes I see
- Paying someone for the EIN. It's free. Always.
- Not searching the name before paying. They reject the filing and you lose the $110.
- Using a PO Box as registered agent address. They don't accept it.
- Mixing personal and business accounts. Voids the LLC protection.
- Forgetting the Annual Registration. It's the number one reason small companies get dissolved.
- Thinking the LLC covers everything. The LLC protects you legally, but it doesn't replace liability insurance. If you clean houses or do renovations, you need both.
And after registering, what's next?
With your LLC formed, your business legally exists. But existing isn't the same as appearing.
Most Latino businesses in Atlanta stay at this point: they have a registered company, they have clients by referral, and when someone searches for them on Google they find nothing. That client ends up calling the competitor who does appear.
The next two steps, in order:
- Your Google Business profile — it's free and it's the first thing someone sees when they search for you
- Your website — with your own domain and professional email, not a Gmail
At NG Studios we build the website and Google Business so people can find you. You can see real work at gbgcleaning.com — a cleaning business in Roswell.