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Chatham County

Chatham County Department of Building Safety & Regulatory Services, Occupational Tax Division

In short

Chatham County Department of Building Safety & Regulatory Services, Occupational Tax Division issues 3 permits we publish for Chatham County, last verified 2026-10-02. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.

What this agency issues

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Occupational Tax Late-Renewal Penaltyonly if it applies to youChatham County Department of Building Safety & Regulatory Services, Occupational Tax DivisionCode §16-113, amended August 22, 2025, sets a graduated penalty for failing to pay/renew the Occupational Tax Certificate by the January 31 due date: a $50 late fee if paid February 1-28; an additional $75 (on top of the first late fee) if paid March 1-31; and an additional $100 per month beginning April 1 — each added to the original tax and any prior late fees. Operating unregistered or after delinquency is also punishable, on Magistrate Court conviction, by up to a $1,000 fine and/or jail (§16-113(1)). This graduated schedule is separate from the 'greater of $25 or 10% of the additional tax due' delinquency fee under §16-112, which applies only to an underpayment correction (for example after a gross-receipts audit), not to a late renewal.not applicable — this is a penalty tied to Record 1's annual tax, not a license term of its own2026-10-02
Occupational Tax CertificateChatham County Department of Building Safety & Regulatory Services, Occupational Tax DivisionA $75 non-refundable, non-transferable administrative fee (§16-105(1)) built into a 15-bracket gross-receipts schedule (§16-106) crossed with a profitability class A-F by NAICS dominant activity (rates .00047-.00097 per $1 above the bracket floor). Examples, confirmed identically in both the codified §16-106 table and the current application-form schedule: Bracket 1 ($0-$30,000) runs $82 (Class A) to $89 (Class F); Bracket 8 ($1,000,001-$2,000,000) runs $780 to $1,530; Bracket 15 ($10,000,001 and over) runs $4,775 to $9,775. Certain licensed professionals named in §16-105(2) — including veterinarian, attorney, physician, engineer, architect and several others — may instead elect a flat $400-per-practitioner tax in lieu of the gross-receipts schedule.annual, calendar year; the certificate expires December 312026-10-02
Alcoholic Beverage Licenseonly if it applies to youChatham County Department of Building Safety & Regulatory Services, Occupational Tax DivisionApplication fees (non-refundable, §17-106): Beer $150, Wine $150, Liquor $300, Sunday Sales $100, GBI background check $45, newspaper ad $15, business-name change $25. Late-renewal penalty (renewal after Jan 31 requires full reapplication at 150% of the new-application fee): Beer $225, Wine $225, Liquor $450, Sunday Sales $150. Retail package sale: Beer $600, Wine $600, Liquor $2,500, combined Package Shop $3,700, Sunday package permit $100. Drink-for-consumption (pouring): Beer $600, Wine $600, Liquor $2,500, Sunday pouring $200. Wholesale distributor: Beer $1,500, Wine $1,500, Liquor $5,000; Distiller/Brewer/Manufacturer $5,000. Special Event (temporary) permit: $100/day plus $25 application, $15 newspaper ad, $45 GBI check; vendor permit $10/day; maximum 5 calendar days, not eligible more than once every 6 months per applicant.annual, calendar year; the license expires December 312026-10-02

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

About each permit

Occupational Tax Late-Renewal Penalty

This penalty applies to any business holding, or required to hold, a Chatham County Occupational Tax Certificate that pays or renews after the January 31 due date. The $50/$75/$100-per-month schedule is read directly from the current codified §16-113 text in the county's own Code Book PDF, amended August 22, 2025 — after the county's own printed Occupational Tax application form (rev. 08/22/2024) was last issued. That application form still prints the older '$25 or 10%, whichever is greater' language for late payment; that figure is actually §16-112's separate delinquency fee for an underpayment correction, not the renewal-lateness penalty, and the current §16-113 graduated schedule above is the one that applies to a late annual renewal. A business should budget for the current code figure rather than the form's older wording.

Occupational Tax Certificate

Any business operating at a location in unincorporated Chatham County needs this certificate from the Occupational Tax Division, 1117 Eisenhower Drive, Suite D, Savannah, GA 31406, (912) 201-4300. The bracket and rate figures above are read from the county's own current application/fee-schedule PDF (rev. 08/22/2024) and are identical to the codified §16-106 table in the county's own Code Book PDF (chathamcountyga.gov/OurCounty/CodeBook), which is cited directly alongside the application form. The schedule runs 15 brackets in total, from Bracket 1 ($0-$30,000) through Bracket 15 ($10,000,001 and over). New certificates issued July 1-December 31 are prorated to 50% of the annual rate (§16-109(4)); regulatory fees and seasonal businesses are not proratable. Every application is routed for Zoning Administrator, Fire Inspector, and (for certain classes including alcohol) Police Department sign-off before issuance (§16-132(1)(c),(e),(g)).

Alcoholic Beverage License

A business selling, serving or dispensing alcohol at a location in unincorporated Chatham County needs this county license before a Georgia Department of Revenue state license can be processed — the county's own Alcoholic Beverage License page states verbatim that 'a state license cannot be processed until the county alcohol license has been obtained.' Issued by the same Occupational Tax Division as the general business certificate. The fee table above is identical in the codified §17-106 table and the current fee-schedule PDF. Hours of sale: package 9:00 a.m.-2:00 a.m. (Sun. 12:30 p.m.-11:30 p.m.); on-premises consumption 9:00 a.m.-2:00 a.m. (Sun. until 2:55 a.m.), consistent with Code §17-113's Sunday-sales hours. Every applicant with a 10% or greater ownership share undergoes a GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigation) non-criminal background check as part of the application.

Contact

Jurisdiction
Chatham County
Phone
(912) 201-4300

Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.

Sources

Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.

  1. Chatham County Alcoholic Beverage License pageChatham County Department of Building Safety & Regulatory Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  2. Chatham County Alcoholic Beverage Yearly Fees scheduleChatham County Department of Building Safety & Regulatory Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  3. Chatham County Code of Ordinances, Chapter 16 — The Chatham County Occupational and Regulatory Tax OrdinanceChatham County · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  4. Chatham County Code of Ordinances, Chapter 17, Article I — Alcoholic Beverages OrdinanceChatham County · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  5. Chatham County Occupational Tax Certificate New Application and Fee Schedule (rev. 08/22/2024)Chatham County Department of Building Safety & Regulatory Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  6. Chatham County Special Event Temporary Alcoholic Beverage Permit ApplicationChatham County Department of Building Safety & Regulatory Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  7. O.C.G.A. §48-13-6, County occupation tax on unincorporated-area businesses; authority to classify and set rateslaw.justia.com (Code of Georgia mirror) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02

Other offices serving Chatham County

The full permit list for this jurisdiction

Industry permit lists that include this agency

Georgia jurisdictions

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.