How to Change Your Business Address in Georgia

To change your business address in Georgia, file an amended annual registration with the Secretary of State’s Corporations Division through the eCorp portal within 60 days of the move. The filing costs $20. After that, you still need to update your Georgia Department of Revenue tax accounts, local business licenses, federal registrations, and insurance separately, because the state filing does not reach any of them.

Figure Out Which Address Is Changing

Georgia law treats the registered office and the principal office as two different things, and the filing obligations track that distinction.

Every Georgia corporation and LLC must continuously maintain a registered office in the state, along with a registered agent whose business address matches that office. The registered office is where legal papers and official notices get delivered. It does not have to be where you actually run the business.¹

The principal office is simply where the business operates. Both addresses appear on your annual registration, but only the registered office triggers the strict 60-day change deadline. If you move your operations but keep the same registered agent, you can update the principal office on your next annual registration. If the registered office itself moves, the clock starts.

Filing the Amended Annual Registration

The Corporations Division handles address changes through the eCorp online portal. Log in with your entity’s control number, go to the annual registration section, update the registered office address and any other information that has changed, and submit. A receipt and confirmation are emailed to the filer and stored in the dashboard.

The One Click Annual Registration path, which lets entities in good standing file without logging in, does not allow address changes. If you need to update anything, you have to log in.²

The fee for an amended annual registration is $20. The regular annual registration itself is $50, with a $25 late penalty if you miss the annual deadline.³ The portal accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and debit cards carrying Visa or MasterCard logos. Mailed filings can be paid by check, certified bank check, or money order, but not cash.⁴

Under the corporation code, the formal mechanism for changing a registered office is delivering an amendment to the annual registration that states the new street address.⁵

The 60-Day Deadline

You have 60 days from the actual change to notify the Secretary of State. The clock starts when the address changes, not when you get to the paperwork. Miss the window, and the Secretary of State gains authority to begin administrative dissolution proceedings against the corporation.⁶ The same 60-day rule applies to LLCs whose registered office or registered agent changes, resigns, or is discontinued.⁷

Dissolution is not immediate. The Secretary of State first mails a written notice to the corporation’s last known principal office or registered agent, identifying the grounds. You then get another 60 days from that notice to correct the problem or show that the grounds don’t apply.⁸ The problem is obvious: if your address was wrong, the notice goes to the wrong address. After silence, the Secretary of State signs a certificate of dissolution.

A dissolved corporation can only conduct business necessary to wind up affairs and settle claims. It cannot take on new customers, sign new contracts, or operate normally.⁸ File the same week you move and there is no risk of any of this.

If You Get Administratively Dissolved

You have five years from the dissolution date to apply for reinstatement. The application must confirm that the grounds for dissolution have been eliminated, state that all taxes owed have been paid, and be signed by the registered agent or an officer, director, or shareholder listed in the most recent annual registration.⁹

The reinstatement application fee is $250, on top of any back annual registration fees and late penalties that accumulated while the entity was dissolved.³ Once reinstatement takes effect, it relates back to the dissolution date, so the corporation is treated as if the dissolution never happened.⁹ Miss the five-year window and reinstatement is no longer available.

Foreign Corporations Registered in Georgia

A foreign corporation authorized to do business in Georgia must obtain an amended certificate of authority if it changes its corporate name, its period of duration, or its state of incorporation.¹⁰ An address change by itself does not trigger that requirement, though the Secretary of State’s amended certificate form does invite foreign entities to attach additional pages reporting other changes, including address details.¹¹

Foreign corporations still have to maintain a registered office and registered agent in Georgia, and the same annual registration amendment process, $20 fee, and 60-day deadline apply. If your home state also requires an address change filing, that is a separate obligation.

Update the Georgia Department of Revenue

The Secretary of State filing does not touch your tax accounts. Update your business address through the Georgia Tax Center by logging in, selecting Manage Names & Addresses, and editing the address on file.¹² Sales tax permits, income tax notices, and other correspondence will follow that record.

If you moved between counties, local tax obligations may change. Occupational taxes, special-purpose local-option sales taxes, and other local levies vary by jurisdiction. Check what applies in the new location.

Local Business Licenses and Zoning

Most Georgia counties and cities issue business licenses or occupational tax certificates tied to a specific address. A move within the same jurisdiction usually means updating the existing license. A move across county or city lines usually means closing out the old license and applying for a new one where you are now operating; the old license does not travel with you.

Zoning is the other local piece. If both the old and new locations are commercially zoned in compatible ways, the transition is simple. If not, you may need a zoning verification or a variance before you can operate at the new address. Contact the planning and zoning office in the new jurisdiction early.

Federal Updates

Several federal agencies need their own notice.

IRS Form 8822-B

Businesses with an Employer Identification Number file IRS Form 8822-B to report a change in mailing address or physical location.¹³ The form is filed by mail. Georgia businesses send it to the IRS Service Center in Kansas City, MO 64999.¹⁴ There is no filing fee. If the responsible party has also changed, the IRS requires that update within 60 days.

Federal Trademarks

If the business owns federally registered trademarks, update the owner’s address through the USPTO’s Trademark Electronic Application System. A single form can cover up to 300 registrations sharing the same owner. Filing the address change does not generate an updated registration certificate; that has to be requested separately, with its own fee.¹⁵

SAM.gov

Federal contractors registered in the System for Award Management update the physical address and mailing address separately in SAM.gov. Changes become visible within 24 hours, and the system then automatically initiates a modification request for active contracts, which can take another day or more to show up.¹⁶

Insurance and Mail Forwarding

Commercial insurance is priced on your physical location. A move can change premiums, alter coverage needs, or require a new policy. Notify your carrier before the move so an updated policy is in force when you open at the new address. Crossing state lines may mean your current insurer cannot cover you, and a new policy will be needed.

For mail, USPS offers business change-of-address online for a $1.25 identity verification fee. Forwarding usually starts within three business days and can take up to two weeks. First-Class mail, periodicals, and Priority Mail are forwarded at no added cost. Marketing mail is not forwarded, so bulk vendor mail simply stops arriving.¹⁷ USPS handles postal delivery only. Banks, vendors, clients, and every government agency covered above still need direct notice.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 14-2-501 – Registered Office and Registered Agent Required
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Georgia Secretary of State. One Click Annual Registration
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FindLaw. Georgia Code 14-2-122 – Filing, Service, and Copying Fees
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Georgia Secretary of State. How to Guide – File Annual Registration
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Justia. Georgia Code 14-2-502 – Change of Registered Office or Registered Agent
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Justia. Georgia Code 14-2-1420 – Grounds for Administrative Dissolution
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Justia. Georgia Code 14-11-603 – Judicial and Administrative Dissolution
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Justia. Georgia Code 14-2-1421 – Procedure for and Effect of Administrative Dissolution
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Justia. Georgia Code 14-2-1422 – Reinstatement Following Administrative Dissolution
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Justia. Georgia Code 14-2-1504 – Amended Certificate of Authority
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Georgia Secretary of State. Application for Amended Certificate of Authority of a Foreign Entity
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Georgia Department of Revenue. Change Address on Tax Forms
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business
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Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Form 8822-B
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United States Patent and Trademark Office. Change Address or Representation Form
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Vendor Support Center. Updating Your Company Headquarters Address
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USPS. Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address