City of Marietta or Cobb County? Permits, Sorted.

Cobb County permits or City of Marietta permits — which office permits your remodel? The two-jurisdiction trap is the most common permit mistake in Marietta: your mailing address does not decide who permits your remodel. This navigator does.

Call (404) 594-2939Contact & hours
Marietta vs Cobb County permits

Cobb County permits: the 3-step jurisdiction check

  • Find your parcel in Cobb County / City records and read its tax district and city limits status
  • City parcel → Marietta Building Inspection Division, all applications through SagesGov; budget $4 per $1,000 + $50
  • Unincorporated parcel → Cobb County Community Development (Development & Inspections), county fee schedule and portal

Every Golden Hammer estimate starts with this check, because permit fees and timelines quoted for the wrong jurisdiction are fiction.

Georgia contractor licensing — the $2,500 rule

Georgia requires a state contractor licence when residential project value or contractor compensation exceeds $2,500 (O.C.G.A. §43-41-2). Tiers: Residential-Basic (one/two-family and townhouses), Residential-Light Commercial (adds light multifamily/commercial), and General Contractor tiers. Licensed residential applicants show general liability — $300,000 per occurrence for Residential-Basic, $500,000 for Residential-Light Commercial — and net-worth or bond evidence on their applications. Specialty trades (electrical, plumbing, HVAC) are separately licensed and can only lead a job where their trade predominates.

Handyman work genuinely under $2,500, non-structural, is a different legal category — but it does not erase permit or code duties. Verify any contractor free at the Georgia Secretary of State licence search.

Code in force (2026)

Georgia enforces the 2024 IRC/IBC/IPC/IMC/IFGC/ISPSC with Georgia amendments, plus 2026 amendments to the 2023 NEC, from January 1, 2026; energy remains the 2015 IECC with Georgia amendments. Basement bedrooms need code egress; smoke alarms are required in bedrooms, outside sleeping areas and on every level; CO alarms are triggered by permitted alterations and new sleeping rooms. Further Georgia amendments are proposed for January 1, 2027 — code claims on any site should be date-stamped, including ours (October 2026).

ADUs, liens and consumer protection — the short versions

Detached ADUs: not currently allowed as-of-right in unincorporated Cobb — full explainer in our ADU guide. Liens: Georgia's materialman's lien law lets unpaid subs and suppliers lien your home; collect lien waivers at every draw (O.C.G.A. §44-14-361.1). Deceptive contracting claims fall under the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act (O.C.G.A. §10-1-390). This page is homeowner education, not legal advice.

Permit questions

Still have a question?

Call us and talk through your project, your address's permit jurisdiction, and a realistic budget range.

(404) 594-2939

Often not. Most East and West Cobb 'Marietta' addresses are unincorporated Cobb County. A field check competitors use: a parcel tax district marked '(9) UNINCORPORATED' on county records means county jurisdiction.

Published City fee: $4 per $1,000 of total construction cost (labour + materials) plus a $50 base fee, with no plan-review fee, applied through SagesGov. Cobb County publishes its own fee schedule — we quote your project's county fee from the current schedule at estimate time rather than repeating second-hand figures.

Constructing, enlarging, altering, repairing, moving or demolishing a structure, or altering electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing systems (City FAQ). Moving a kitchen sink needs a plumbing permit; cabinets and counters in the same layout generally do not need a building permit — trade permits still apply when systems change.

Locally designated districts (Kennesaw Avenue first, 2013) require a Certificate of Appropriateness before a permit — decided within 45 days. HOA architectural review is separate again: your subdivision's guidelines govern, and we submit to them. Three different approvals can apply to one addition; the order is HOA/COA first, then permit.

Talk through your Marietta project

Call for a walkthrough, a written scope, and a budget range grounded in dated Marietta and Atlanta market guides — not a mystery number.

Call (404) 594-2939 Contact & hours

2575 Delk Rd, Marietta, GA 30067 · Monday–Saturday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM · Sunday: Closed

Contact Golden Hammer Home Renovation

Call (404) 594-2939 Monday–Saturday, 8:00 AM–6:00 PM. Tell us the room or project, your neighborhood, and whether your address is inside Marietta city limits or unincorporated Cobb County — that one detail decides who permits the work. Sunday: closed.