State license required

Fire extinguisher service license requirements in Georgia

Georgia licenses portable fire-extinguisher service at the state level (Portable Fire Extinguisher License (firm) + Portable Fire Extinguisher Technician Permit (individual)), through Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire (State Fire Marshal). Get licensed before you take a paid job — and verify the exact class and any technician credential with the agency.

What the research found

State
Georgia (GA)
Regulating agency
Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire (State Fire Marshal)
License / class
Portable Fire Extinguisher License (firm) + Portable Fire Extinguisher Technician Permit (individual)
Notes from the source
The rules create both halves: a firm may hold a Portable Fire Extinguisher License to install, inspect, repair, recharge, service or test extinguishers, and an individual may hold a Portable Fire Extinguisher Technician Permit for the same work. You need the firm license and permitted technicians.
Service tag
Tag specified in rule
Adopted code
Georgia's state minimum fire safety standards adopt the International Fire Code, 2024 Edition and NFPA 10, 2022 Edition (Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers). (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 120-3-3-.04(3) (IFC 2024) and 120-3-3-.04(6) (NFPA 10, 2022 Edition); 120-3-23-.13 defers to 120-3-3 for editions)
https://rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/120-3-3

Verify with your AHJ. This is a research-derived starting point, not legal advice. Rules change, and local requirements stack on top of state ones, so the only answer that governs your work is the one you get from Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire (State Fire Marshal) and from your AHJ, the local authority having jurisdiction, before you take a paid job.

Which code edition applies in Georgia

An NFPA standard is a private consensus document. It carries no legal force anywhere until a jurisdiction adopts it, and jurisdictions adopt different editions, years apart, with local amendments on top. So the useful question is never "what does NFPA 10 say". It is "which edition has my authority adopted, and what did they change".

For Georgia the research found this adoption record: Georgia's state minimum fire safety standards adopt the International Fire Code, 2024 Edition and NFPA 10, 2022 Edition (Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers). (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 120-3-3-.04(3) (IFC 2024) and 120-3-3-.04(6) (NFPA 10, 2022 Edition); 120-3-23-.13 defers to 120-3-3 for editions) The record is linked in the at-a-glance table above and in the sources below.

Read that as the floor, not the ceiling. Your local fire marshal may enforce a later edition, an amended one, or a local ordinance the state record does not mention, and an adoption record can be superseded between one job and the next. Confirm the edition in force with Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire (State Fire Marshal) and with the authority having jurisdiction where the work is.

What a service tag must carry in Georgia

Georgia specifies the service tag in rule, and its tag is a different object from the Texas one: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 120-3-23-.14 governs service tags, maintenance labels, test labels, service collars and non-compliance tags.

  • The service tag is light yellow, and at least 3 inches by 5½ inches.
  • It shows the name of the firm that installed or serviced the extinguisher, with its street address, its mailing address where that differs, and its telephone number.
  • It shows the firm license number.
  • It shows the name and permit number of the technician who did the work.
  • It shows the serial number of the extinguisher.
  • It shows the agent weight.
  • It shows the hydrostatic testing due date.

Read the current rule text yourself before a print run. Tag rules move, printers hold old plates, and a box of tags is an expensive thing to get wrong. Confirm with Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire (State Fire Marshal).

The per-state picture, and why the colour folklore is wrong, is laid out in the state-by-state tag requirements guide and what a fire extinguisher tag colour actually means.

The cadence underneath all of it

Whether or not Georgia licenses this trade, the intervals your customers owe are set somewhere else, and one layer of them is federal. Under OSHA's portable fire extinguisher regulation, an employer subject to OSHA has to have extinguishers visually inspected monthly and put through an annual maintenance check, wherever the building is. The state's adopted edition of NFPA 10 and the local fire marshal stack on top of that floor.

The interval that surprises people is the pressure test, because it is not one number: it depends on the agent and the shell, and a unit on the wrong assumption reads as current for years when it is not. The full picture, with the section of the federal regulation each interval comes from, is in the federal extinguisher intervals guide, and the by-type test schedule is in hydrostatic test intervals by extinguisher type. To put dates against a specific unit, the free cadence lookup takes a manufacture date and an equipment type and returns the next dates due. It is a planning aid, never a verdict on a building.

Sources

Every statement above traces to one of these. Open them and read the current text yourself, because the agency page is the record and this page is only a pointer to it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a license to service fire extinguishers in Georgia?
Georgia licenses portable fire-extinguisher service at the state level (Portable Fire Extinguisher License (firm) + Portable Fire Extinguisher Technician Permit (individual)), through Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire (State Fire Marshal). Get licensed before you take a paid job — and verify the exact class and any technician credential with the agency.
Who regulates fire extinguisher service companies in Georgia?
Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire (State Fire Marshal) is the agency the research identified for this trade in Georgia. Requirements and license classes change, so confirm the current rules with them directly.
How do I confirm the exact Georgia requirements before my first job?
Contact Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire (State Fire Marshal) and confirm, in writing, the company license or registration, the technician certification, and any surety bond or insurance filing your scope needs. Requirements vary by jurisdiction — verify with your AHJ (authority having jurisdiction) before you take paid work. This page is a starting point, not legal advice.
Does hydrostatic testing add requirements in Georgia?
Often, yes. Hydrostatic testing of extinguisher cylinders falls under federal DOT rules on top of your Georgia service license, and some shops sub it out to a partner with the equipment rather than build a test bench on day one. Confirm what your license covers and what the testing adds.
What must a fire extinguisher service tag say in Georgia?
Georgia specifies the service tag in rule, and its tag is a different object from the Texas one: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 120-3-23-.14 governs service tags, maintenance labels, test labels, service collars and non-compliance tags. The full list of what the tag must carry is on this page. Rules move, so read the current text yourself and confirm with Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire (State Fire Marshal) before you print a run of tags.

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