Before you say yes to water damage work in North Fulton

The State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors sits within the Secretary of State's office. The General Contractor Limited Tier, General Contractor, Residential-Light Commercial and Residential-Basic are the four types the FAQ names. The duty to hold one comes from the definition of a contractor in section 43-41-2(4) of the state code, which carries the words "except as specifically exempted." The FAQ also lists some specialty trades, and any job under $2,500, as not needing a state contractor license.

The FAQ never mentions water damage, mold or restoration, and it names no specialty trades. Whether a given water job falls under a license is a question for the board and for the contractor.

The state runs a lookup at verify.sos.ga.gov under the heading Search for a Professional Licensee. Its instructions say to fill in any field and use an asterisk as a wildcard, and it calls itself a tool for checking one person at a time. No phone number is listed and no professions are named. If a contractor's name does not appear, raise it in writing before the work begins.

The contractors' FAQ links a separate verification order page without giving an address, and the one phone number on it belongs to the exam vendor, not to license checks. Write down the license type and number the contractor gives you, then compare them with what the lookup shows.

O.C.G.A. 43-41-17 appears on Justia, a legal publisher rather than an official state site. In that print, anyone engaged in residential or general contracting needs a current license (subsection a). A contractor without one cannot enforce a covered contract made on or after 1 July 2008 (b). A trade licensee in plumbing, HVAC, electrical, utility or low-voltage work may take on related work that is incidental, limited to 25 percent of the total value or $10,000, whichever is greater (e). Repair work that does not affect structural integrity may be done without a license if the person tells the owner (g).

It is a summary of someone else's print. For anything that turns on the wording, read the statute on an official site.

On mold, the state health department's page says there is no regulated indoor air quality program and that its branch provides no mold services. It adds that mold inspection, testing and cleanup are not covered by any enforceable state or federal standard, and it points homeowners to EPA's mold guide and to UGA Extension.

With no standard to check against, a written scope does the work: the rooms, the materials, and the photos or readings that will show the job is done.

The city's building permit page takes applications only through its Permitting and Licensing hub. Email, paper and walk-in forms are no longer accepted; at City Hall, 38 Hill Street, staff help people file on their own device. The number it lists is (770) 641-3727, staffed on weekdays, and the page's hours run 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. An owner doing the work creates an account and files an owner affidavit. An owner who hires a contractor skips the account; the contractor files under the contractor's own name and license type.

The city suggests that owners check whether a permit applies before any work starts, and says Georgia law requires contractors to obtain required building permits before starting. The page names no plumbing, drywall or restoration work. Separately, Roswell asks every business operating inside the city limits to register and pay an occupation tax; Business Registration is at (770) 594-6235, and that page does not mention contractors by name.

Permits go through Build Sandy Springs, the city's online portal, and registration there is required. The permitting counter at City Hall, 1 Galambos Way, keeps 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. hours on weekdays, while the civic offices run 8 to 5. The number listed, 770-730-5600, is marked as staffed 24 hours. Staff will meet in person to help with a permit.

The page also describes Contact Registration, which lets the city check professional and business licenses each year. It names no plumbing, water heater or repair work, so what a water job needs is a question for the counter.

The permit counter is at City Hall, 11360 Lakefield Drive, open on weekdays, with hours of 8:30 a.m. through 5 p.m. Permit technicians take calls at 678-512-3250, and the technical assistance line is 678-512-3200. The city defines a building permit as required to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move or demolish a building, and a trade permit as required to install, repair, remove or replace electrical, gas, mechanical, plumbing or low-voltage systems. Contractors register their licenses on the portal before applying, and the city books any inspection requested by 4 p.m. for the next business day.

Property in the regulated floodplain adds a step: the city asks owners to talk to Community Development before altering it, and repairs costing more than 50 percent of a building's market value trigger new-building requirements.

Milton's Community Development office is at 2006 Heritage Walk, with 678-242-2500 as the general number. Permits for building and renovation are handled through the CityView web portal. The fee schedule lists residential work types by name: new houses, basement finish or remodels and additions, decks and garages, pools, roofs and replacement windows, sheds, demolition and fences. Electric, plumbing and mechanical permits share one line, with a $25.00 administrative fee plus a permit fee.

No page read names water damage, drywall or water heaters, and the building page gives no hours. For septic work, Milton's utilities page points to the state Environmental Protection Division.

FEMA's list for a home insurance claim starts with the policy number and the insurer's contact information, then asks for what caused the damage and when it began, a description, a list of damaged or missing items, photos and video from inside and out, and every receipt for repairs and replacements. A copy of the contractor's agreement, with the name, license number, scope and dates, goes in the same folder.

Coverage is for the policy and the insurer to decide.