14 published records
Business licenses and permits in DeKalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County, Georgia, seat Decatur, runs its general business licensing, alcohol licensing, building-permit, Certificate-of-Occupancy and zoning functions through three separate divisions of its Department of Planning & Sustainability, each reaching unincorporated DeKalb County only — every incorporated city within the county runs its own version of each instead. Thirteen incorporated cities sit inside DeKalb County — Decatur, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Stonecrest, Doraville, Avondale Estates, Clarkston, Lithonia, Pine Lake, Stone Mountain, Tucker, and a small portion of the City of Atlanta — and each stacks its own business-license/occupation-tax, zoning and Certificate-of-Occupancy regime on top of (and, inside its own limits, in place of) the county's, independently confirmed for Decatur, Dunwoody and Brookhaven. DeKalb Public Health (DKPH), renamed from 'DeKalb County Board of Health' effective February 5, 2024, is a genuine county-based, one-county Georgia public health district with its own fee-setting ordinance, and its food-service, mobile-food, pool, septic and body-art permits reach the whole county, not only the unincorporated area. The Department of Public Works' Sanitation Division separately requires a commercial sanitation account and dumpster prepayment before any business license issues. A state retail alcohol license from the Georgia Department of Revenue, Alcohol & Tobacco Division is required in addition to, and applied for jointly with, the county alcohol license.
What are you opening in DeKalb County?
- RestaurantsFull-service restaurants carry the densest permit load of any small business: food, fire, occupancy, waste, and usually alcohol.See the full permit list
- Coffee shopsCafés are permitted as food service establishments even where no cooking happens, and the plan review step catches most operators by surprise.See the full permit list
- Retail storesRetail is the lightest common permit load, but the sales tax permit and the certificate of occupancy are non-negotiable in every jurisdiction.See the full permit list
- Salons and barbersPersonal care is licensed at state board level as well as locally, so the shop license and the practitioner licenses are separate obligations.See the full permit list
- Food trucksMobile food is the one category with no certificate of occupancy — but it gains a commissary agreement, and the unit itself is inspected rather than the premises.See the full permit list
- Fitness studiosPrepaid memberships trigger state registration and often a surety bond, which catches operators who budgeted only for the fit-out.See the full permit list
- Childcare centresThe heaviest permit load of any small business: state agency licensing, per-person background checks, and a stricter fire standard than ordinary commercial use.See the full permit list
- Contractors and tradesLicensed at state board level rather than locally, and the only common category with no premises permits at all — the bond is usually the long pole.See the full permit list
- Auto repair shopsOrdinary commercial permitting plus an environmental layer: waste oil, solvents and stormwater are each registered separately.See the full permit list
- Veterinary clinicsA state facility permit, controlled substances registration at both state and federal level, and a medical waste manifest — none of which a general business license covers.See the full permit list
Permits that apply to every type of business in DeKalb County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business and Occupational Tax Certificate | DeKalb County Department of Planning & Sustainability, Business & Alcohol License Office | A $75.00 non-refundable, non-transferable administrative fee, plus a $50.00 minimum flat gross-receipts tax, plus a per-employee fee and a gross-receipts percentage set by one of six NAICS-based Tax Classes: Class 1 $4.00 per employee and 0.0300% of gross receipts; Class 2 $6.00 and 0.0500%; Class 3 $8.00 and 0.0700%; Class 4 $10.00 and 0.0900%; Class 5 $12.00 and 0.1100%; Class 6 $14.00 and 0.1300%. The first $20,000 of gross receipts is exempt from the gross-receipts tax. | annual, calendar year | 2026-10-02 |
| Building Permitonly if it applies to you | DeKalb County Department of Planning & Sustainability, Permits, Plan Review & Inspections Division | A minimum permit fee of $175 plus a $20 technology fee per permit; new construction is priced at the construction cost (per current ICC Building Valuation Data) multiplied by 0.0065 ($6.50 per $1,000); Interior Tenant Finish (move-in as-is) is $175; sign permits are $25 (wall) or $50 (ground/directional) for review plus $50 for inspection; re-inspection fees are $25, $50 or $100 for the first, second or third-and-later re-inspection; after-hours inspection is $50 per hour with a 4-hour minimum. | per project | 2026-10-02 |
| Septic / Land Use Permitonly if it applies to you | DeKalb Public Health (DKPH), Environmental Health Division | Plan review/site approval: Residential lot $200, Commercial lot $400, Subdivision lot evaluation $120 per lot. Installation permits: Residential $250, Commercial under 2,000 gallons per day (GPD) $400, Commercial over 2,000 GPD $600. Repair permit $150. | per project | 2026-10-02 |
| Certificate of Occupancy | DeKalb County Department of Planning & Sustainability, Permits, Plan Review & Inspections Division | $50 for a standard Certificate of Occupancy; $25 for a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (non-residential only). | not applicable (one-time, before a new commercial business license is processed) | 2026-10-02 |
| Commercial Sanitation Account and Dumpster Prepayment Fee | DeKalb County Department of Public Works, Sanitation Division | A $150.00 prepayment delivery-and-removal fee per dumpster, plus the first month's collection service, priced by dumpster size and number of service days per week. | one-time account setup and dumpster prepayment, then ongoing monthly collection service | 2026-10-02 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
What do these permits involve in DeKalb County?
Business and Occupational Tax Certificate
Any business operating in unincorporated DeKalb County needs this certificate from the Business & Alcohol License Office, 178 Sams Street, Decatur — commercial locations, home-based businesses, rental-property owners and independent contractors alike. The fee is read from page 8 of the county's own Business and Alcohol License Guidebook and is cross-confirmed by the live 2026 Multiple Year Renewal Application and by the 'DeKalb County Business and Occupational Tax' summary printed on the 2026 alcohol renewal form itself, both of which restate the same $75/$50/per-employee/over-$20,000 structure. New commercial applicants must hold a Certificate of Occupancy before applying; home-based applicants go through a Home Occupation Supplemental Registration as part of zoning review. The 2026 late-fee schedule ($100/$300/$600) is the current one in effect, replacing an older 10%-plus-1%-per-month renewal penalty described in the 2019 Guidebook for prior cycles.
Building Permit
This permit applies only inside unincorporated DeKalb County; the county's own Permits page states that a project inside any incorporated city is permitted by that city's own office instead. The minimum fee is $175 plus a $20 technology fee per permit; new construction is priced by multiplying the construction cost, per current ICC Building Valuation Data, by 0.0065 ($6.50 per $1,000 of value); an Interior Tenant Finish for a move-in-as-is space is a flat $175; a sign permit review is $25 for a wall sign or $50 for a ground or directional sign, plus a $50 inspection fee; and an after-hours inspection is $50 an hour with a 4-hour minimum. All figures come from the county's 2026 Fee Schedule, last updated June 8, 2026.
Septic / Land Use Permit
This permit applies only to a business sited on a septic system rather than public sewer, in DeKalb County. A commercial lot's plan review and site approval is $400, with installation at $400 for a system under 2,000 gallons per day or $600 above that threshold; a repair to an existing system is $150. A business already connected to public sewer has no obligation under this program. This fee schedule is dated effective January 1, 2024 and was confirmed still current, with no later successor published, as of October 2, 2026.
Certificate of Occupancy
Any new commercial business location in unincorporated DeKalb County must obtain a Certificate of Occupancy from the Permits, Plan Review & Inspections Division before its business license application is processed. A standard Certificate of Occupancy costs $50; a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy, available for non-residential property only, costs $25. The fee is published in the county's 2026 Fee Schedule (last updated June 8, 2026). The county's own Permits page links this ordinance under the label 'Certificate of Occupancy (CO) - Chapter 7,' though the underlying code citation is Chapter 27, Article 7, Division 7 — a labeling inconsistency on the county's own site, not a different requirement.
Commercial Sanitation Account and Dumpster Prepayment Fee
Every commercial business-license applicant in DeKalb County, owner or tenant, must show a sanitation account number and proof of service from the Sanitation Division before a business license is issued. Setting up dumpster service costs a $150.00 prepayment delivery-and-removal fee per dumpster, plus the first month's collection service priced by dumpster size and the number of service days per week. This $150 fee is charged by the Sanitation Division for commercial waste service and is a different, unrelated fee from the Planning & Sustainability Department's separate $50 'Dumpster Permit Fee,' which covers placing a dumpster on a construction or development site under the Land Development Fee Schedule — the two are administered by different divisions for different purposes, and only this $150 Sanitation Division fee is recorded here.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- DeKalb County Business and Alcohol License GuidebookDeKalb County Department of Planning & Sustainability · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- DeKalb County Business & Alcohol License pageDeKalb County Department of Planning & Sustainability · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- DeKalb County 2026 Alcohol License and Business Registration Renewal Application (VSS) — 'ALCOHOL LICENSE FEE' table, read directly from a rendered image of the scanned PDFDeKalb County Department of Planning & Sustainability · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- DeKalb County 2026 Building/Development Services Fee Schedule (last updated 6/8/2026), including the Planning Fee Schedule (SLUP fee) sectionDeKalb County Department of Planning & Sustainability · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- DeKalb County Permits, Plan Review & Inspections pageDeKalb County Department of Planning & Sustainability · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- DeKalb Public Health, Environmental Health Division, Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2024DeKalb Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- DeKalb Public Health, Environmental Health main page — links the current Environmental Health Fee ScheduleDeKalb Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- 2025 Complete Commercial New Application Package — Sanitation Division requirementsDeKalb County Department of Public Works, Sanitation Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
Who issues business permits in DeKalb County?
Permitting in DeKalb County is split across 6 agencies we hold records for, with tax registration handled at state level. No single office issues everything, which is why an opening usually means filing in several places rather than one.
DeKalb County issuing agencies
- DeKalb Public Health (DKPH), Environmental Health DivisionFood service, mobile food, temporary-event and pop-up food permits, county-wide · Swimming pool, septic/land-use and body-art (tattoo/piercing) permits, county-wide7 permits
- DeKalb County Department of Planning & Sustainability, Business & Alcohol License OfficeIssues the county Business & Occupational Tax Certificate, reaching unincorporated DeKalb County only · Issues the county alcohol license, reaching unincorporated DeKalb County only2 permits
- DeKalb County Department of Planning & Sustainability, Permits, Plan Review & Inspections DivisionIssues building permits and Certificates of Occupancy, reaching unincorporated DeKalb County only2 permits
- DeKalb County Department of Planning & Sustainability, Zoning DivisionAdministers rezoning, variances and Special Land Use Permits (SLUP), reaching unincorporated DeKalb County only1 permit
- DeKalb County Department of Public Works, Sanitation DivisionRequires a commercial sanitation account and dumpster prepayment fee before a business license issues1 permit
- Georgia Department of Revenue, Alcohol & Tobacco DivisionIssues the state retail alcohol license through the centralized Alcohol Licensing Portal (ALP), applied for jointly with the county alcohol license under O.C.G.A. §3-2-7.11 permit
Other Georgia jurisdictions we cover
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.