The incidental-work exemption
O.C.G.A. 43-41-17(g) lets a Chapter 14 licensee (plumbing, conditioned air, utility, electrical or low-voltage) contract directly with an owner for work that would otherwise need a 43-41 license, when:
- the work is predominantly in the licensee's own trade;
- the other work is incidental to and an integral part of it; and
- the other work does not exceed the greater of $10,000 or 25% of the total contract value at the time of contracting.
Working the limit
Compute 25% of the contract value, compare it with $10,000, and keep the larger.
- $60,000 plumbing contract: 25% × 60,000 = 15,000. 15,000 is greater than 10,000, so the limit is $15,000.
- $30,000 HVAC contract: 25% × 30,000 = 7,500. 7,500 is less than 10,000, so the limit is $10,000.
Traps in the arithmetic
- Taking the lesser figure is the common misreading of "greater of". $10,000 on the $60,000 job and $7,500 on the $30,000 job are both wrong.
- The remaining 75% of the contract ($45,000 or $22,500) is the trade work, not the cap on the other work.
- The percentage is 25%, not 10%; 10% of $30,000 gives a wrong $3,000.
- 25% is measured against the value at the time of contracting, not the final value with change orders.
- $2,500 is the 43-41-2 licensing threshold, not the incidental-work limit.
The owner-builder exemption
Under O.C.G.A. 43-41-17(h) an owner-builder is exempt when building on property they own solely for their own use or occupancy, or that of their family, firm or corporation, and not for public use, sale or lease.
The exemption is lost if the owner sold or transferred a structure they built without a licensed contractor within the prior 24 months. Those 24 months are counted from the date the certificate of occupancy for that sold structure was issued.
The common error is starting the clock on the sale or transfer date. The start of construction and the permit date for the new project are not reference points either.