--- title: "Georgia E-Verify Requirements for Employers | MCC Solutions" description: "Georgia E-Verify rules: 11 or more employees, public employers, state contractors, quoted from official pages." url: "https://mcc-solutionsnj.com/bookkeeping/e-verify-georgia" --- E-Verify · Georgia # Georgia E-Verify requirements Who must use E-Verify here, and what the official pages say about public employers, state contractors and when the rule began, in their own words. [![Intuit ProAdvisor Gold tier badge](/img/credentials/intuit-proadvisor-gold.png)](https://proadvisor.intuit.com/app/accountant/search?searchId=matthew-coleman77)Gold tier in Intuit's ProAdvisor program. [See my Intuit listing](https://proadvisor.intuit.com/app/accountant/search?searchId=matthew-coleman77) Keeping your own books? Tallyfinch does invoices, bank import and reports on your computer. [See Tallyfinch](/bookkeeping/mcc-books-downloadable-bookkeeping-software) **Short answer.** Yes for private employers with 11 or more employees. Separate rules cover public employers and state contractors. ## At a glance Private employers A private employer with more than 10 employees must be registered with and use E-Verify, and swears to it on an affidavit when applying for or renewing a local business license. Employers with 10 or fewer sign an exemption affidavit instead. Public employers Every public employer must register for and use E-Verify. State contractors A contractor working for a public employer swears it is registered with and uses E-Verify, keeps using it for the whole contract, and subcontracts physical services only to firms that give the same affidavit. In effect since Phased in through local business license (occupation tax certificate) applications: January 1, 2012 for private employers with 500 or more employees, July 1, 2012 for 100 or more, and July 1, 2013 for more than 10. Who enforces or publishes it Georgia cities and counties (business license affidavits) and public employers (contract affidavits) ## In the official wording **Private employers** Hiring in another state? [Employer registration in Georgia, done for you](/bookkeeping/out-of-state-employer-registration), or [a free bookkeeping health check](/bookkeeping/health-check). "On January 1st of the below signed year the individual, firm, or corporation employed more than ten (10) employees." **Public employers** "every public employer shall register and participate in the federal work authorization program" **State contractors** "has registered with, is authorized to use and uses the Federal Work Authorization Program commonly known as E-Verify" **Effective date** "employers with more than 10 employees must be registered beginning on July 1, 2013." ## Three example businesses - **8 employees, private, no state contract:** Not required by the headcount rule. [See why](/bookkeeping/does-my-business-need-e-verify?state=ga&employees=8&public=no&contract=no) - **40 employees, private, no state contract:** Required. [See why](/bookkeeping/does-my-business-need-e-verify?state=ga&employees=40&public=no&contract=no) - **40 employees, private, with a state contract:** Required. [See why](/bookkeeping/does-my-business-need-e-verify?state=ga&employees=40&public=no&contract=yes) Your own numbers: [open the checker for Georgia](/bookkeeping/does-my-business-need-e-verify?state=ga). ## Worth knowing The headcount wording comes from a city's private employer affidavit under O.C.G.A. 36-60-6(d); a county audit report describes the same rule as ten or more employees, so check the affidavit your city or county uses. The headcount is taken on January 1 of the license year. **Not stated on the pages we opened:** a penalty and limits on how E-Verify is used. **Hiring someone remote in New Jersey?** MCC Solutions acts as an [I-9 authorized representative](/notary/i9-verification): we meet the new hire, examine the original documents and complete Section 2 for you, from $65 per employee. E-Verify cases are created by the employer, in its own E-Verify account; we don't create them. ## Official sources - [Business License / Occupation Tax Certificate Private Employer Affidavit, City of Marietta](https://www.mariettaga.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3166/Private-Employer-Affidavit-PDF) - [Security Immigration and Compliance Affidavit (E-Verify), Georgia Division of Family and Children Services](https://dfcs.georgia.gov/document/document/security-immigration-affidavit/download) - [Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act Audit Report, Fulton County Office of the County Auditor (May 16, 2025)](https://fultoncountyga.gov/-/media/Departments/Office-of-the-County-Auditor/Audit-Reports-and-Management-Responses/2025-Audit-Reports/GSICA-Audit-Report-F.pdf) - [E-Verify, Augusta, Georgia (Augusta-Richmond County)](https://www.augustaga.gov/2112/E-Verify) General information, not legal advice. Checked November 2026. Federal rules on Form I-9 and E-Verify timing are on the [all-states table](/bookkeeping/e-verify-requirements-by-state). ## Common questions **Do private employers in Georgia have to use E-Verify?** Private employers with 11 or more employees. A private employer with more than 10 employees must be registered with and use E-Verify, and swears to it on an affidavit when applying for or renewing a local business license. Employers with 10 or fewer sign an exemption affidavit instead. The official wording: "On January 1st of the below signed year the individual, firm, or corporation employed more than ten (10) employees." **Does Georgia require E-Verify for public employers?** Every public employer must register for and use E-Verify. **Do contractors with the state of Georgia need E-Verify?** A contractor working for a public employer swears it is registered with and uses E-Verify, keeps using it for the whole contract, and subcontracts physical services only to firms that give the same affidavit. **When did the Georgia rule take effect?** Phased in through local business license (occupation tax certificate) applications: January 1, 2012 for private employers with 500 or more employees, July 1, 2012 for 100 or more, and July 1, 2013 for more than 10. **Is a Form I-9 still needed in Georgia?** Yes. Every employer completes Form I-9 for each hire under federal law, and an E-Verify case is created from the finished form, so the state rule adds to the I-9 rather than replacing it. All states: [E-Verify requirements by state](/bookkeeping/e-verify-requirements-by-state) · [Florida](/bookkeeping/e-verify-florida) · [Illinois](/bookkeeping/e-verify-illinois) Tallyfinch ### Books you keep on your own computer Tallyfinch does invoices, bills, bank import, reconciliation and the main reports, in a file you own. $99 once, then $5 a month for updates; the app keeps working if you stop the plan. It does not do payroll or sales tax filing. The free download records up to 60 entries. [See Tallyfinch](/bookkeeping/mcc-books-downloadable-bookkeeping-software) [Download it free](/tools/pro/trial/mccBooks) [Compare the three apps](/software) ## Want hiring and payroll records kept for you? [See bookkeeping services](/bookkeeping/)[Call (908) 444-6373](tel:+19084446373)