Georgia nonprofits register with the Secretary of State Charities Division for charitable solicitation, file annual renewals on a fiscal-year cycle, and obtain sales and use tax exemption separately through the Georgia Department of Revenue. Georgia's audit thresholds under the Charitable Solicitations Act are mid-tier, and the Atlanta concentration of nonprofits creates significant funder due diligence on the Charities Division database.
An Atlanta-based education nonprofit had filed federal Form 990 timely and held current Georgia Secretary of State Corporations Annual Registration. What it had not done was file the Charities Division annual renewal — the previous executive director had assumed the Corporations filing satisfied charitable registration. A grant program officer at a major Atlanta foundation pulled the Charities Division record during routine due diligence, found no active registration, and surfaced the issue to the program review committee. The grant decision was held pending registration — a four-week delay during which the organization scrambled to assemble three years of back filings.
Georgia’s two state filings are administered by different divisions of the same Secretary of State office: the Charities Division handles charitable solicitation registration; the Corporations Division handles nonprofit corporation annual registration. They run on different calendars, have different triggers, and produce different consequences when missed. Layer on top federal Form 990 timing and the Uniform Guidance single audit when federal expenditures cross $1M.
The 12 questions below cover Georgia’s specific compliance terrain — Form C-100 mechanics, audit thresholds, and the sales tax exemption complication that distinguishes Georgia from most states. For federal compliance baseline, see the grant compliance FAQ, the single audit FAQ, and the Subpart D procurement guide for Georgia-funded organizations administering federal pass-through procurement.
Implementation realities and migration notes
Mid-sized nonprofits in this category typically inherit a tangle of restricted-fund histories: federal pass-throughs, state agency contracts, family-foundation grants, and partner funding stretching back many years. Migrating that history cleanly is not optional — auditors and program officers will ask questions that require a year-by-year reconstruction. Implementation timelines run six to ten weeks for organizations that scope the data inventory before signing. Cutting corners on migration to chase a fast launch usually surfaces gaps during the next single-audit cycle, and the cost of fixing those gaps after the fact is meaningfully higher than doing migration right at the start.
Plan accordingly, and require any vendor on the shortlist to demonstrate restricted-fund handling, grant tracking, and donor record migration on a representative sample of your actual historical data before you sign. Vendors that decline to demo on real data are filtering you out for a reason. The demo on your data is where the gaps surface — both the gaps in the vendor’s product and the gaps in your existing records that you will need to clean up regardless of which system you choose. Use that demo to set realistic expectations with the board and the audit committee about timeline and scope before contracts get signed.
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Approximately 65,000 active 501(c)(3) public charities are registered with the IRS in Georgia as of recent BMF extracts.
Division of the Georgia Secretary of State that administers charitable solicitation registration.
DEFINITION
O.C.G.A. §43-17
Official Code of Georgia Annotated section establishing the Georgia Charitable Solicitations Act of 1988.
DEFINITION
Form C-100
Georgia Charitable Organization Registration form — used for both initial registration and annual renewal.
DEFINITION
Annual Registration (Corporations)
Georgia Secretary of State filing for nonprofit corporations, due January 1 – April 1 annually.
DEFINITION
Paid solicitor
Under Georgia law, a person who, for compensation, solicits contributions in Georgia for a charitable purpose; subject to separate registration.
Q&A
Why doesn't Georgia provide a blanket sales tax exemption to 501(c)(3)s?
Georgia tax policy treats specific charitable categories (hospitals, schools, food banks) as exemption-eligible but does not extend exemption to all 501(c)(3) activity. The legislature has updated specific exemptions periodically, but the general default is that nonprofits pay sales tax.
Q&A
Are Georgia churches subject to Charities Division registration?
Bona fide religious organizations and certain religious-affiliated entities are exempt from Charities Division registration. Religious-affiliated charitable activities operating under a separate 501(c)(3) generally must register.
Q&A
Does Georgia accept the federal de minimis indirect cost rate on state contracts?
Most Georgia state contracts that flow federal funds accept the 10% de minimis rate or a NICRA. Georgia state-only contracts may impose lower indirect cost caps — read each contract.
Frequently asked
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has to register with the Georgia Charities Division?
Any organization soliciting charitable contributions from Georgia residents must register with the Georgia Secretary of State Charities Division under the Georgia Charitable Solicitations Act of 1988 (O.C.G.A. §43-17). Both Georgia-incorporated and out-of-state organizations soliciting in Georgia must register. Solicitation includes mail, online, telephone, and in-person fundraising directed at Georgia residents. Limited exemptions exist for certain religious organizations, educational institutions, and small organizations with annual contributions below the registration threshold (currently $25,000).
When is my Georgia annual registration renewal due?
Annual renewal is due 6 months after fiscal year end — for a calendar-year nonprofit, that is June 30, the same month as Illinois AG990-IL. Georgia grants extensions on request. Late filing triggers escalating fees and potential suspension of registration. Foundation due diligence in Atlanta and Savannah routinely checks the Charities Division database — a delinquency flag affects funding decisions.
When does Georgia require an audited financial statement?
Georgia thresholds under the Charitable Solicitations Act attach financial statement requirements to gross revenue: organizations with gross revenue of $1,000,000 or more must include audited financial statements with the renewal; organizations with gross revenue of $500,000 or more but less than $1,000,000 must include reviewed financial statements; below $500,000, internally prepared financial statements are sufficient. Verify current thresholds on the Charities Division site at sos.ga.gov/charities — Georgia has updated these historically.
How does my Georgia nonprofit obtain sales tax exemption?
Georgia does not provide blanket sales tax exemption to 501(c)(3) nonprofits. Limited sales and use tax exemptions are available for specific activities — qualifying nonprofit hospitals, qualifying private schools, qualifying food banks, certain organ donation organizations — under O.C.G.A. §48-8-3. Most general nonprofits in Georgia pay sales tax on purchases. Confirm the specific exemption category that applies to your organization with the Georgia Department of Revenue. The application uses Form ST-CHAR or category-specific forms.
Does Georgia have annual report requirements with the Secretary of State for nonprofit corporations?
Yes. Georgia nonprofit corporations file an Annual Registration with the Secretary of State Corporations Division between January 1 and April 1 each year. The Annual Registration is administrative — registered agent, address, officers — and includes a small fee. Failing to file results in administrative dissolution of the corporation. Most Georgia nonprofits file two state-level annual filings (Charities Division renewal + Corporations Annual Registration) every year.
How does Georgia interact with the federal single audit?
Georgia pass-through dollars in many state-administered programs (DCH, DPH, DCS, DECAL, GDOL) flow federal funds and trigger Uniform Guidance on the subrecipient. If your federal expenditures aggregate to $1,000,000 or more in a fiscal year, you must conduct a single audit under 2 CFR 200 Subpart F regardless of agency. Georgia state-only contracts do not count toward the threshold; state administration of federal pass-through funds does.
Are Georgia commercial fundraisers separately regulated?
Yes. Paid solicitors and counsel operating in Georgia must register separately with the Charities Division and post bond. Nonprofits using paid solicitors must disclose contracts and gross receipts on the annual renewal. Mismatches between the nonprofit's filing and the paid solicitor's filing are a Charities Division flag — both filings cross-reference each other.
What is Form C-100?
Form C-100 is the Georgia Charitable Organization Registration form, used for both initial registration and annual renewal. The form is filed online through the Georgia Secretary of State e-services portal. Initial registration also requires founding documents, IRS determination letter, and most recent IRS Form 990.
What disclosures must Georgia solicitations include?
Under O.C.G.A. §43-17, charitable solicitations in Georgia must disclose the registered name of the organization, the purpose of the solicitation, and (for solicitations using paid solicitors) the percentage retained by the paid solicitor. Failure to include required disclosures is itself a violation independent of registration status.
What happens if my Georgia annual renewal is late?
Late filing of the Charities Division renewal results in delinquent status, publicly visible on the Charities Division search. The Secretary of State imposes late fees, and continued non-filing leads to suspension or revocation of registration — terminating legal authority to solicit in Georgia. The Charities Division can refer serious violations to the Georgia Attorney General for enforcement under the Charitable Solicitations Act.
What records does the Georgia Charities Division expect me to maintain?
Georgia requires registered organizations to maintain records sufficient to substantiate annual renewal financial information — donor records, contracts, expenditure records, financial statements, board minutes. Plan retention to the longer of federal 2 CFR 200.334 (3 years from final report), tax records (typically 7 years), and any contract-specific terms. The Charities Division can request records during examination.
How do I withdraw a Georgia charitable registration?
To withdraw, file a final renewal indicating final filing, submit a written request for withdrawal to the Charities Division, and resolve any outstanding fees or filings. Georgia nonprofits dissolving the corporate entity must also file Articles of Dissolution with the Secretary of State Corporations Division and follow the wind-up procedures of the Georgia Nonprofit Corporation Code, including charitable asset distribution.
