Licensed electricians · plumbers · HVAC · low-voltage · specialty subs
Your client's job is bigger than your trade license.
Bring in a residential contractor of record.
Transparent Maintenance is the licensed contractor of record for the permitted scope: James Claxton approves the scope, obtains the permit from the county or city with jurisdiction, and supervises the permitted work through the required inspections and final approval. Your trade permits, inspections, and work stay yours. Flat fee, online, across Metro Atlanta.
How it works with a trade contractor
Two licenses, one project
The owner accepts and pays
The agreement is owner-to-contractor. Your client (or their representative) checks the box and pays by card, and lists you — with your license number — as the trade contractor on the job.
You keep your trade scope
Your permit, your inspections, your invoice to the owner. Transparent Maintenance doesn't touch the electrical, plumbing, or HVAC scope.
James owns the general scope
He approves it, pulls the residential permit, and supervises it through inspections and final. Partner tier adds drawings and plan-review follow-through.
Straight talk
If you're not licensed, we can't help with that job
Putting Transparent Maintenance's license on work you perform would be license lending. Georgia treats that as grounds for revocation for the licensee and unlicensed practice for you — and SB 553 (effective July 1, 2026) spells it out for the trades. We won't do it, and you shouldn't want a contractor who would.
What works: the State Licensing Board's Residential-Basic license (experience affidavits, exam, insurance — details at sos.ga.gov), or W-2 employment with a licensed contractor whose qualifying agent supervises you. If your client wants Transparent Maintenance as their contractor, they can order directly and hire licensed subs James supervises.
Working the same counties every week? See the county pages for where each one files.
For your next client
How contractor-of-record works, by email
Questions
Contractor questions
Who is this page for?
Licensed Georgia trade contractors — electrical, plumbing, conditioned air, low-voltage — and licensed specialty subs whose client's project has a general scope beyond their license (framing, an addition, a renovation). Transparent Maintenance becomes contractor of record for that general scope; you keep your trade permits and your work.
I'm not licensed. Can Transparent Maintenance put its license on my job?
No. That is license lending — grounds for revocation under O.C.G.A. § 43-41-16 and Board Rule 553-9 — and as of July 1, 2026, SB 553 names it explicitly for the trades too. The compliant paths: get your own Residential-Basic license (the State Licensing Board's requirements are on sos.ga.gov), work as a W-2 employee of a licensed contractor, or have the owner order directly and hire licensed contractors that James supervises.
When does Georgia require a licensed residential or general contractor?
Generally for residential construction work over $2,500 in value, under the State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors. Specialty trades — electrical, plumbing, conditioned air, low-voltage — carry their own Chapter 14 licenses and pull their own permits. A project that crosses both lines needs both.
Who is the customer — me or my client?
The property owner (or their representative) accepts the Construction Management Agreement and pays, because the agreement is between the owner and Transparent Maintenance. You can sit with them for the five-minute intake and enter your license number as the trade contractor on the job.
What does James actually do on the job?
He approves the general scope before filing, pulls the residential permit, and supervises that scope through the required inspections and final. He can stop work that isn't to code. Your trade work is inspected under your trade permit as usual.
What property types are covered?
Residential-Basic: detached one- and two-family homes and townhouses of three stories or fewer. Multifamily, commercial, and taller buildings are outside this license — call the office first.
General information, not legal advice. Licensing rules: Georgia State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors (O.C.G.A. § 43-41) and the State Construction Industry Licensing Board (O.C.G.A. § 43-14, as rewritten by SB 553). Transparent Permits is a private service of Transparent Maintenance, Inc..