# Georgia HB 635: State Licensing Board for Residential and Commercial General Contractors; revise provisions Georgia HB 635, State Licensing Board for Residential and Commercial General Contractors; revise provisions, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Rob Clifton (Republican), Lehman Franklin (Republican), Spencer Frye (Democrat) and 3 others; status signed, last action 2025-07-01 (Effective Date) (as of 2026-10-19). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB635-2025-2026 - As of: 2026-10-19 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Georgia HB 635 - State: Georgia - Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session - Title: State Licensing Board for Residential and Commercial General Contractors; revise provisions - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-02-26 - Last action: 2025-07-01, Effective Date - Sponsors: Rob Clifton (Republican), Lehman Franklin (Republican), Spencer Frye (Democrat), Holt Persinger (Republican), Matt Reeves (Republican), Marcus Wiedower (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Regulated Industries, Regulated Industries and Utilities, General Bill - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 2 (224 yes, 3 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 6 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Easier licensing for basic residential contractors: benefit, medium. Georgia residential-basic applicants need at least two years working for a licensed residential-basic contractor, or substantially similar experience. An employer or another person who knows the work must verify it in a sworn statement. Applicants no longer need major responsibility for two complet… - Easier licensing for commercial general contractors: benefit, medium. Georgia commercial general contractor applicants can qualify with an accepted bachelor's degree, without an extra year of experience. Another route combines relevant accredited college credits and practical experience totaling at least four years. The work-only route requires four years, including… - Easier licensing for light commercial contractors: benefit, medium. Georgia residential-light commercial applicants can qualify with an accepted bachelor's degree, without an extra year of experience. Another route combines relevant accredited college credits and practical experience totaling at least four years. The work-only route requires four years, including t… - More flexibility for contractor licensing exams: benefit, low. Georgia contractor applicants can take exams before establishing character, skill, integrity, and financial responsibility; these remain required before license issuance. Otherwise qualified applicants who fail can retake the exam at any regularly scheduled session. A new application is needed only… - Contractors face penalties for license sharing: cost, medium. Georgia contractors face discipline for knowingly letting an unlicensed person or unauthorized business use their license. The licensing board can deny or revoke a license, or impose other discipline. The board must make the finding by majority vote. - Contractor tax checks shift to businesses: mixed, low. For Georgia commercial general contractor applications, a qualifying agent is the individual applying on a business's behalf. Required tax-payment verification now concerns that business rather than the individual applicant. The business's tax information must be provided instead of the agent's per… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Rob Clifton (Republican), House - Sponsor: Lehman Franklin (Republican), House - Sponsor: Spencer Frye (Democrat), House - Sponsor: Holt Persinger (Republican), House - Sponsor: Matt Reeves (Republican), House - Sponsor: Marcus Wiedower (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Larry Walker (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-02 | Senate | PASSAGE | pass | 53 | 1 | 1 | | 2025-03-06 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 171 | 2 | 3 | ## Actions (17) - 2025-07-01: Effective Date - 2025-05-09: House Date Signed by Governor (House) - 2025-05-09: Act 91 - 2025-04-10: House Sent to Governor (House) - 2025-04-02: Senate Tabled (Senate) - 2025-04-02: Senate Taken from Table (Senate) - 2025-04-02: Senate Third Read (Senate) - 2025-04-02: Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate) - 2025-03-25: Senate Read Second Time (Senate) - 2025-03-21: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate) - 2025-03-10: Senate Read and Referred (Senate) - 2025-03-06: House Third Readers (House) - 2025-03-06: House Passed/Adopted (House) - 2025-03-04: House Committee Favorably Reported (House) - 2025-02-28: House Second Readers (House) - 2025-02-27: House First Readers (House) - 2025-02-26: House Hopper (House) ## Bill text - HB 635/AP* (v3): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/239066) ## Related bills - SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed) - SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed) - SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed) - SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed) - HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed) - HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed) ## Sources - [HB 635/AP* (v3) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/239066) ## Related - [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026) - [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026) - [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026) - [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026) - [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026) - [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026) - [Georgia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia/bills) - [Georgia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB635-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-19).