How to Start a Nonprofit in Georgia

Starting a nonprofit is overwhelming. We make it simple. Georgia has three things that catch founders out: a newspaper publication step with a one-business-day deadline, a state income tax exemption that is not automatic, and no general sales tax exemption at all.

None of them are hard once you know they are coming. Here is the whole process in the order a Georgia founder should do it.

The Georgia steps at a glance

1. Check your name on the Secretary of State's eCorp portal and reserve it if you are not filing immediately.
2. Appoint a registered agent with a physical Georgia street address.
3. File Articles of Incorporation with the Corporations Division, including the IRS purpose and dissolution language.
4. Send the notice of intent to incorporate to your county's legal organ newspaper no later than the next business day after filing.
5. Adopt bylaws and a conflict-of-interest policy and hold your organizational meeting.
6. Get your federal EIN.
7. Apply for 501(c)(3) status on IRS Form 1023-EZ or the full Form 1023.
8. Claim Georgia income tax exemption by attaching your IRS letter, Articles and bylaws to your first Georgia exempt-organization return.
9. Register with the Securities and Charities Division on Form C-100 before soliciting, unless you qualify for an exemption.

Step 1: Name your Georgia nonprofit

Your name must be distinguishable upon the records of the Secretary of State. Superficial differences do not count — articles like "a" or "the", "&" versus "and", singular versus plural, phonetic spellings, or a different entity designator all leave two names indistinguishable.

Words like insurance, bank, trust, college and university require prior written approval from the relevant regulator before they can be used.

Search on the eCorp portal; the Corporations Division will not confirm availability over the phone. A name reservation costs $35 and holds for 30 days, or until you file under that name — whichever comes first. Thirty days is short, so reserve only when you are close to filing.

Step 2: Directors, officers and your registered agent

Directors. Georgia requires a board of at least three directors for a nonprofit corporation without members — which is what nearly every new 501(c)(3) is. Founders working from an older template, or from another state's one-director rule, are the ones who get this wrong.

Officers. Georgia requires a chief executive officer, a secretary and a chief financial officer — and specifically bars the same person from holding both the CEO and secretary roles. On a small startup board trying to keep officer count down, that is an easy trap. There are no residency requirements.

Registered agent. Every Georgia nonprofit must continuously maintain one: an individual who resides in Georgia, or a domestic or authorized foreign entity, whose business address matches the registered office. It must be a physical Georgia street address — a P.O. box or mail drop is not accepted.

Step 3: File your Articles of Incorporation

File with the Corporations Division through eCorp or by mail. The Secretary of State's current fee schedule lists nonprofit Articles of Incorporation at $110, though an older Division guide shows a slightly lower online figure — check the amount at checkout before you pay. Expedited processing is available for an additional fee; confirm the current tiers with the Corporations Division, as published expedite pricing is written for corporations and LLCs generally.

Standard processing runs about 7 to 10 business days online and roughly 15 business days for paper filings.

Georgia's Articles form gives you no IRS boilerplate. You have to add it yourself: a purpose clause limiting the corporation to exempt purposes under section 501(c)(3), and a dissolution clause dedicating remaining assets to another 501(c)(3) or a government body for a public purpose. Filing without them means amending your Articles later, mid-application, with another filing and another wait.

Step 4: Publish your notice of intent to incorporate

This step is still required in Georgia, and the deadline is tight. No later than the next business day after filing your Articles, the incorporator must send a notice-of-intent request, with payment, to the legal organ newspaper of the county where your initial registered office is located.

Georgia law is explicit that a missed or defective publication does not invalidate the incorporation. That is exactly why so many founders and formation services skip it — and why it still shows up as an unmet statutory obligation in later compliance reviews. Publish in the right county: the legal organ of the county where the registered office sits, not where you live and not a statewide paper.

Step 5: Bylaws, policies and your first board meeting

Bylaws are internal and never filed with Georgia, but the IRS asks for them. Adopt a conflict-of-interest policy at the same time — the IRS publishes a model and asks about it on Form 1023, and Georgia's Charities Division reviewers and grantmakers expect one too.

Hold an organizational meeting to adopt the bylaws and policy, elect your CEO, secretary and CFO, set the fiscal year, and authorize the EIN application and bank account. Georgia requires nonprofit corporations to keep minutes of directors' and members' meetings, proper accounting records, and a record of members at the principal office. See our bylaws guide.

Step 6: Get your EIN

Free and immediate at IRS.gov. Georgia does not issue a separate state EIN. Beware third-party sites charging to "obtain" one — the IRS service costs nothing. Our EIN guide walks through it.

Step 7: Apply for 501(c)(3) status

Identical in every state. Most small Georgia nonprofits use Form 1023-EZ ($275 user fee); larger organizations file the full Form 1023 ($600). The IRS issues 80% of 1023-EZ determinations within 22 days and 80% of full Form 1023 determinations within 191 days. Read our Form 1023 vs 1023-EZ guide first.

Georgia income tax, sales tax and property tax

State income tax: not automatic. Georgia does not automatically recognise your federal determination. The old Form 3605 is retired; instead you attach a copy of your IRS determination letter, Articles of Incorporation and bylaws to your first Georgia exempt-organization return. Afterwards, organizations filing federal Form 990, 990-EZ or 990-PF file copies with the Georgia Department of Revenue; 990-N filers submit the e-Postcard receipt with a short explanatory statement; and organizations with unrelated business income file Georgia Form 600-T alongside the federal 990-T.

Sales tax: there is no general exemption. This surprises founders who moved from a state that has one. Georgia grants no blanket sales and use tax exemption to charities, churches or civic groups — your 501(c)(3) letter does not exempt you from paying sales tax on office supplies and event costs, nor from collecting it on ticket and merchandise sales. Narrow, statutorily named exemptions exist for specific organization types: licensed nonprofit orphanages, hospitals, nursing homes and hospices; nonprofit private K–12 schools; blood banks; food banks; and volunteer health clinics, among others. On the selling side, scout councils, PTAs and religious institutions have limited carve-outs. If you are an arts organization, a social-service nonprofit or an advocacy group, budget for full sales tax.

Property tax. Not automatic and not handled by the state. Apply to the Board of Tax Assessors in the county where the property sits. Most nonprofits qualify, if at all, under the "purely public charity" exemption, which requires the organization to be entirely devoted to charitable pursuits, the work to benefit the public, and the specific property to be used exclusively for those purposes. Deadlines and forms vary by county, so contact your county assessor directly.

Step 8: Charitable solicitation registration

Georgia charities register with the Secretary of State's Securities and Charities Division on Form C-100.

Registration is effective for 24 months, with the renewal window opening 90 days before expiry. You submit your IRS determination letter (or a written commitment to file it within 30 days of receipt) and your most recent Form 990. Financial statement requirements scale with revenue: an unaudited statement under $500,000, a CPA review from $500,001 to $1,000,000, and a certified statement above $1,000,000.

The small-organization exemption. Organizations that do not use a paid solicitor and receive less than $25,000 in contributions annually are exempt from registering. Other exemptions cover accredited educational institutions, trade associations that do not solicit the public, membership-only fraternal and civic organizations, religious organizations and political committees. Confirm the threshold against the current statute when you file — these figures get amended.

Penalties are not trivial: the Secretary of State may impose civil penalties of up to $2,500 for a single violation and up to $25,000 for multiple violations, plus cease-and-desist orders and suspension.

Georgia fees at a glance

All in, a small Georgia nonprofit filing the 1023-EZ spends roughly $500 to get to a determination letter and a live charity registration. Compare states in our 50-state registration fee guide.

How long the whole thing takes

Georgia's own steps typically resolve inside the first three to five weeks and run in parallel with the federal timeline. End to end, plan on four to six weeks for a 1023-EZ organization, or four to eight months if the full Form 1023 is required.

Staying compliant after approval

• Georgia annual registration. Filed with the Corporations Division, $40, due by 1 April each year with the window opening 1 January. A $25 late fee applies after 1 April, and continued non-filing can lead to administrative dissolution.
• Charitable registration renewal every 24 months, $20.
• Federal Form 990. 990-N for gross receipts normally $50,000 or less, 990-EZ under $200,000 revenue and $500,000 assets, otherwise the full 990. Due the 15th day of the fifth month after your fiscal year ends. Copies also go to the Georgia Department of Revenue. Three consecutive missed years and the IRS revokes your status automatically. See our Form 990 guide.

Six mistakes Georgia founders make

1. Skipping the newspaper publication. Because a missed publication does not invalidate the incorporation, it gets treated as optional. It is not, and the deadline is the next business day after filing.
2. Publishing in the wrong newspaper. It has to be the legal organ of the county where the registered office is — not your home county, not a statewide paper.
3. Assuming a 501(c)(3) letter exempts you from Georgia sales tax. It does not. Most Georgia nonprofits pay full sales tax on purchases and collect it on sales.
4. Assuming state income tax exemption is automatic. You must attach the IRS letter, Articles and bylaws to your first Georgia return or the Department of Revenue will follow up.
5. Forming with one or two directors. Georgia requires three for a nonprofit corporation without members.
6. Naming the same person CEO and secretary. Georgia's officer statute specifically bars it.

Starting a nonprofit in another state?

The federal steps are the same in all 50 states; only the state incorporation, tax exemption, and charitable registration details differ. See our guides for Florida, North Carolina, Texas, or browse all our guides. Book a free call and we will map the exact steps and current fees for your state.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and fees change, so confirm current requirements with Georgia's agencies and the IRS, or with a qualified professional, before you file.