Reporting a contractor and getting paid back are two separate processes in Georgia, handled by two different parts of state government, and neither one is a lawsuit. This article covers where each type of complaint goes, what the receiving office can do with it, and what it cannot do. The broader framework sits in Georgia’s consumer protection laws and the Fair Business Practices Act.
Match the problem to the office that can act on it
The State Licensing Board for Residential and Commercial General Contractors holds jurisdiction over licenses. It can discipline a license holder, and that is the extent of its authority. The Secretary of State’s Licensing Division states the limit plainly: boards “only have legal jurisdiction over an individual’s license to practice,” and most boards have no authority to settle business practice, billing, or fee disputes.
The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division handles deceptive or unfair practices in consumer transactions, misleading advertising, high-pressure sales, contracts that do not match what was promised. The division mediates. It does not act as a judge in the dispute and cannot force the business to reimburse a consumer.
A court is the only office in Georgia that can order a contractor to pay. Claims of $15,000 or less belong in magistrate court under O.C.G.A. § 15-10-2(a)(5), which gives each magistrate court jurisdiction over civil claims where “the amount demanded or the value of the property claimed does not exceed $15,000.00.”
Many homeowners file in more than one place. A licensing complaint and a magistrate court case can run at the same time; the board’s file does not depend on the lawsuit, and the lawsuit does not wait for the board.
File the licensing complaint with the contractor board
Complaints against licensed contractors must be submitted in writing, online, through the Secretary of State’s GOALS portal. The board asks for the contractor’s name and license number, and a license search on the Secretary of State site supplies the number when a homeowner has only the business name.
Confirm the contractor holds a state license
Residential and commercial general contractor licenses are issued by the state, not by the county. Verify the license through the Secretary of State’s license search before filing. If no license exists, the complaint becomes an unlicensed-practice report, which the board handles differently.
Gather the paper record
The board asks for supporting documents, contracts, proposals, invoices, cancelled checks, billing statements, and any written communication. Photographs of the work and copies of permits belong in the same file. Complaints are submitted with these documents attached, not sent later.
Write the description of the violation
The complaint requires a detailed description of what the contractor did. Dates, dollar amounts, and the specific promise that was broken carry more weight than a general account of dissatisfaction. Tie the description to conduct the board regulates: abandonment, unlicensed work, no written warranty, work without permits.
Submit through GOALS and keep the confirmation
Complaints are filed online. The complaint must include the filer’s name, address, telephone number, and email address. Boards reserve the right not to accept or process anonymous complaints, so an unsigned complaint may go nowhere.
The mailing address for the Professional Licensing Boards Division is in Macon, and the division’s public phone line is (404) 424-9966. Staff cannot discuss the status of a filed complaint by phone.
What counts as a licensing violation
The board’s grounds for discipline are listed in its own rules, and reading them before drafting a complaint helps a homeowner frame the facts. Under Rule 553-9-.01, the board may discipline a residential or general contractor who has abandoned a construction project, proceeded on a job without obtaining applicable local building permits and inspections, practiced without a current valid license, or committed “gross negligence, repeated or persistent negligence or negligence resulting in a significant danger to life or property.”
Several grounds in that rule track the complaints homeowners actually bring. The rule treats the following as unprofessional or deceptive conduct harmful to the public: not offering the written warranty required by O.C.G.A. § 43-41-7, knowingly charging for unnecessary work, diverting funds received for one project to something else without the consumer’s authorization, and establishing a pattern of charging amounts substantially in excess of the original estimate without prior approval from the owner.
Two more grounds matter for jobs that went sideways with subcontractors. A licensee who falsely tells the owner in writing that all subcontracted work and materials have been paid for, where the owner relies on that statement and loses money, has violated the rule, as has a licensee who knowingly hired an unlicensed subcontractor for work requiring a license under Chapter 14 of Title 43.
What the board does after the complaint arrives
An acknowledgment goes out when the board receives the complaint. From there the file may be referred for investigation, and a referral does not by itself mean a violation occurred. Investigators contact some complainants and not others.
Investigations are confidential by law. Complaints and the information in them are not subject to open records requests, and the board cannot report the status of an investigation over the phone beyond whether it is open or closed. Investigative files stay confidential except for use in a hearing before the board, though the board may release records to another enforcement agency or lawful licensing authority.
Discipline can be a fine, a reprimand, suspension, or revocation. When a licensee declines to sign a consent order, the case goes to an administrative hearing decided by an administrative law judge under the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act, and the complainant may be called to testify, at which point the complainant’s identity can become known. After a final decision, the licensee may appeal to the Superior Court of Bibb County. The process runs for months.
A complaint closes one of several ways: no violation or insufficient evidence, a private letter of concern, closure after an inspection, an order for monies received after a fine is paid, a private consent order, or a public consent order. Public consent orders appear on the licensee’s public license record; private ones cannot be shared with the person who filed the complaint.
## Deceptive practices: the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division
Complaints about advertising, sales tactics, door-to-door solicitation, and contracts that misrepresented the work belong with the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. The division may accept the complaint for mediation, and its intake asks what resolution the consumer wants if the complaint is accepted for mediation. The mechanics of that filing, the online form, the mail option, and what to attach, are covered in the article on how to file a Georgia consumer protection complaint.
The Fair Business Practices Act also gives consumers a private right of action, and it comes with a notice requirement that catches people by surprise. Under No. The board’s authority runs to the license. It can impose a fine, reprimand, suspension, or revocation, and the boards have no authority to set business fees or settle fee disputes. Money comes from a civil judgment, an insurance claim, or a settlement, not from a disciplinary order. Yes, though the board’s options narrow. Where a complaint substantiates unlicensed practice, the board may proceed to a hearing for a cease and desist order or refer the matter for criminal prosecution in the jurisdiction where the act took place. The board has no authority to act further unless that person applies for a license. Separately, Complaints and the information in them are confidential and not subject to open records requests, and the board does not publish the complainant’s name during the investigation. If the case reaches a formal administrative hearing, the complainant may be called to testify and the complainant’s identity may become known at that point, as the Licensing Division’s complaint guidance states. Yes, in most cases. Magistrate court jurisdiction stops at $15,000 under The Secretary of State does not publish a fixed timeline and states that investigations are completed as soon as possible depending on the nature and circumstances of the complaint, with the disciplinary procedure taking months when a case proceeds to a hearing. Status updates are not given by phone beyond whether a file is open or closed.O.C.G.A. § 10-1-399(b), a written demand for relief identifying the claimant, describing the unfair or deceptive act, and describing the injury must be delivered to the prospective defendant at least 30 days before the action is filed. The demand requirement does not apply where the prospective defendant keeps no place of business and no assets in Georgia.
Under O.C.G.A. § 10-1-399(c) and (d), a court that finds an intentional violation awards three times actual damages, and a consumer who wins under the Act is awarded reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses of litigation regardless of the amount in controversy. Those fees can be denied for work done after the rejection of a reasonable written settlement offer made within 30 days of the demand letter.
## Getting money back: magistrate court and the unlicensed-contractor rule
Magistrate court is where most contractor money disputes end up, because the $15,000 ceiling in O.C.G.A. § 15-10-2 covers the majority of residential repair and remodeling claims. Filing happens in the county magistrate court with jurisdiction over the defendant, and no attorney is required. Claims above that ceiling go to state or superior court.
Homeowners who hired an unlicensed contractor have a statutory advantage worth knowing about before any of this starts. Under O.C.G.A. § 43-41-17(b), a contract entered into on or after July 1, 2008 for work requiring a residential or commercial general contractor license, between an owner and a contractor without that license, “shall be unenforceable in law or in equity by the unlicensed contractor.” The same subsection bars any lien or bond claim in favor of the unlicensed contractor for labor, services, or materials provided under the contract.
That rule cuts one direction only. It limits what the unlicensed contractor can collect; it does not create a payment remedy for the homeowner, and it does not affect the rights of other parties, subcontractors and suppliers who were not paid can still pursue their own remedies. When a lien has already been recorded against the property, removing it is a separate procedure covered in the article on mechanics lien deadlines in Georgia.
Frequently asked questions
Will the licensing board make the contractor refund my money?
Can I report a contractor who never had a license?
O.C.G.A. § 43-41-17(b) makes the contract unenforceable by the unlicensed contractor and bars a lien or bond claim on it.Does the contractor find out I filed?
Do I have to send a letter before filing a Fair Business Practices Act suit?
O.C.G.A. § 10-1-399(b) requires a written demand for relief delivered at least 30 days before filing, identifying the claimant and describing both the deceptive act and the injury. The requirement is waived when the prospective defendant maintains no place of business and keeps no assets in Georgia.What if my losses are more than the magistrate court limit?
O.C.G.A. § 15-10-2(a)(5). Larger claims are filed in state or superior court, where the procedure is more formal and the rules of evidence apply in full. A claimant may also reduce the demand to the magistrate court ceiling to keep the case in the simpler forum, giving up the excess.How long does a board investigation take?
Sources
- How To Submit A Licensing Complaint, Georgia Secretary of State
- Rule 553-9-.01, Grounds for Disciplinary Action (State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors)
- O.C.G.A. § 43-41-17, Unenforceable contracts; licensing exceptions
- O.C.G.A. § 10-1-399, Fair Business Practices Act, civil actions and remedies
- O.C.G.A. § 15-10-2, Magistrate court general jurisdiction
- How Do I File a Complaint, Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division