DeKalb County · county seat Decatur
DeKalb County business formation: LLCs and corporations in Decatur and beyond
Emory and CDC-area research spinoffs, international markets along Buford Highway, and creative firms in Decatur. Your Georgia company is filed once with the Secretary of State on eCorp ($110), then licensed locally. Unincorporated DeKalb businesses license through DeKalb County's business license office; the many newer cities here (Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Tucker, Stonecrest) each have their own process..
Heads up: we are an independent company that prepares and submits Georgia filings for owners. We are not the Secretary of State and we do not give legal advice. Every state charge passes through at the exact amount the state bills, and anyone can file directly on eCorp for no service fee.
Heads up: we are an independent company that prepares and submits Georgia filings for owners. We are not the Secretary of State and we do not give legal advice. Every state charge passes through at the exact amount the state bills, and anyone can file directly on eCorp for no service fee.
Your local license in DeKalb County
Unincorporated DeKalb businesses license through DeKalb County's business license office; the many newer cities here (Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Tucker, Stonecrest) each have their own process.
Cities we see most
Decatur · Dunwoody · Brookhaven · Tucker · Stonecrest · Chamblee
What DeKalb owners should know
- New cities formed recently in DeKalb mean an address you think is unincorporated may now be inside a city. Verify before applying.
- An S-election is a federal tax choice made with the IRS after formation; Georgia's Articles are the same either way.
- Corporations here send their notice to The Champion or whichever paper the clerk confirms.
Worked example: A consultant in Decatur who wants a corporation for an S-election
Entity: Georgia corporation (O.C.G.A. Title 14, Ch. 2)
| Corp USA Starter package | $149 |
| Georgia state filing fee | $110 |
| Newspaper notice of incorporation | $40 |
| Day-one total | $299 |
Next spring: a $60 annual registration (January 1 to April 1), plus the corporation's initial registration within 90 days of incorporating. Local certificate fees are set by each city or the county and are not included.
Heads up: we are an independent company that prepares and submits Georgia filings for owners. We are not the Secretary of State and we do not give legal advice. Every state charge passes through at the exact amount the state bills, and anyone can file directly on eCorp for no service fee.
Publishing a DeKalb corporation notice
Because this example is a corporation, the $40 notice of intent to incorporate must reach the DeKalb legal organ no later than the business day after the Articles are filed (O.C.G.A. 14-2-201.1). In DeKalb County that has commonly been The Champion newspaper; the clerk of superior court in Decatur confirms the current paper. It runs once a week for two weeks.
Georgia Corporations Division guidanceDeKalb questions
Does choosing S-corp change my Georgia filing?
No. You file ordinary Articles of Incorporation ($110) and publish the notice. The S-election is a separate IRS form after you have an EIN.
SourceMy address says Atlanta but I am in DeKalb. Which paper do I use?
The publication follows the county of your registered office, not the mailing city name. Many Atlanta addresses sit in DeKalb.
Source