---
title: O.C.G.A. § 14-2-1502. Consequences of transacting business without authority.
collection: code
id: 14-2-1502
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 14-2-1502 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/14-2-1502
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/14-2-1502.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/14-2-1502/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t14-(v12)-2017-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=507372ea_0#page=531
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md
version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: CORPORATIONS, PARTNERSHIPS, AND ASSOCIATIONS / BUSINESS CORPORATIONS / FOREIGN CORPORATIONS / CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY
---

# O.C.G.A. § 14-2-1502. Consequences of transacting business without authority.

(a) A foreign corporation transacting business in this state without a certificate of authority may not maintain a proceeding in any court in this state until it obtains a certificate of authority.

(b) Each foreign corporation that has not obtained a certificate of authority within 30 calendar days after the first day on which it transacts business in this state shall be liable for the civil penalty set out in Code Section 14-2-122. Such civil penalty shall be in addition to other consequences set out in this Code section and shall be collected without discretion by the Secretary of State.

(c) The successor to a foreign corporation that transacted business in this state without a certificate of authority and the assignee of a cause of action arising out of that business may not maintain a proceeding based on that cause of action in any court in this state unless before the commencement of the proceeding the foreign corporation or its successor obtains a certificate of authority.

(d) Notwithstanding subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this Code section, the failure of a foreign corporation to obtain a certificate of authority does not impair the validity of its corporate acts or prevent it from defending any proceeding in this state.

## History

Code 1981, § 14-2-1502, enacted by Ga. L. 1988, p. 1070, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 257, § 26; Ga. L. 2002, p. 989, § 5.

## Law Reviews

For article, ‘‘Defending the Lawsuit: A First-Round Checklist,’’ see 22 Ga. St. B. J. 24 (1985). For article, ‘‘Georgia’s ‘Door-Closing’ Statute: Who Bears the Burden?,’’ see 24 Ga. St. B. J. 141 (1988). For annual survey article on evidence law, see 52 Mercer L. Rev. 303 (2000).