How to start a cat converter desk in Georgia in 2026

Last updated 2026-08-19

What is a cat converter desk under Georgia law?

A cat converter desk in Georgia is a buying station. You pay people for used catalytic converters, log the deal, store the units, and sell the lot to a refiner or a larger recycler. You are not a muffler shop. You are not a smelter.

Georgia does not print a license titled cat converter desk. The state folds this work into the secondary metals recycler statutes in O.C.G.A. Title 10, Chapter 1, Article 14. If you pay compensation for regulated metal property that already served its original economic purpose, you fit that recycler definition. Read O.C.G.A. § 10-1-350 before you name the business. ^[1]

Most new operators want a small warehouse, a scale, cameras, and a buy counter. That is the desk model. If you also crush cars or strip parts, you walk into used motor vehicle parts dealer territory. That is a different statute family. Keep those paths separate in your head.

I would start as a whole-unit desk. You buy intact converters. You do not cut them open. You ship them out. Cutting ceramic on week one creates dust, neighbor complaints, and questions from Georgia EPD you do not need yet.

A cat converter desk in Georgia is still a metal business in the eyes of detectives and refiners. Build it like one.

Do you need a license for a cat converter desk in Georgia?

Yes. If you buy used catalytic converters for compensation in Georgia, you must register as a secondary metals recycler before you purchase regulated metal property. O.C.G.A. § 10-1-351 makes unregistered purchasing unlawful. ^[2]

You also need ordinary business paper. That means a legal entity or a disclosed sole proprietorship, a local occupation tax certificate (the city or county business license), and usually a Georgia tax account if you make taxable sales. A federal EIN is free if you apply on the IRS site. ^[3]

Registration with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is the piece people skip, then regret. Local officers know this statute cold. So do the refiners who ask for your recycler registration before they cut a check.

Confirm the current registration packet on the GBI secondary metals recycler materials. I will not quote a GBI fee or a turnaround here. Those fields move, and this site is not the board.

You may also need zoning clearance for industrial or commercial metal buying. A home garage in a residential district is a bad plan. Ask the county planning desk in writing.

Compare the split with how to start a cat converter desk in Alabama if you ever buy across that line. The paper is not copy-paste.

How much does a cat converter desk cost in Georgia?

There is no official desk cost published by Georgia. The one statewide number I will put in ink is entity paper. The Georgia Secretary of State how-to guide for limited liability companies lists a $100 filing fee for Articles of Organization. ^[4] Annual registration for that LLC has long been listed at $50 on SOS materials. Confirm both on the live SOS page the week you file, because boards change fee schedules.

Everything else is local or market. Occupation tax is set by the city or county under O.C.G.A. Title 48, Chapter 13. ^[5] Small-city certificates can be cheap. Metro Atlanta certificates bite harder. Confirm the current schedule with the clerk. Do not budget from a remembered blog post.

GBI secondary metals recycler registration has its own fee field. Confirm it on the current GBI form. I will not invent it.

The spend that actually hurts is the site and the security, not the state stamp. A small industrial bay with a roll-up door, lighting, a lockable cage, and camera coverage is the real first check. Rural Georgia rent is one world. A Fulton or Gwinnett industrial park is another. Get written quotes. Anyone giving you one statewide rent number is guessing.

Equipment I would buy: a receiving table, a calibrated scale, a camera system that actually retains video, lockable storage, and a plain laptop for the buy book. Equipment I would not buy on day one: a five-figure handheld XRF if your refiner already assays every lot. That gun is useful later if you start grading on the curb. It is a vanity purchase for a new whole-unit desk.

Insurance is a quote, not a statute. Budget for general liability and property. Ask the carrier about theft of metals on premises. Some policies treat scrap like it is already gone.

Working capital matters more than fixtures. You will buy inventory before the refiner pays you. If your first lots sit a month, that is your cash cycle. Nobody has a clean public dataset on Georgia desk working capital. Size the cash to the lots you actually plan to lift.

A Georgia LLC articles filing costs $100 at the Secretary of State. ^[4]

A lean first year (entity, local tax, GBI, cameras, cage, scale, deposits, inventory float) lives in the tens of thousands if you already have a legal bay. If you are building a yard, the number jumps, and it is mostly fencing and construction, not licenses. For a neighboring fee stack, see cat converter desk cost in Alabama.

Line item	What you actually pay	Where to confirm
Georgia LLC articles	$100 filing on the SOS guide	Secretary of State how-to [4]
Georgia LLC annual registration	Confirm live SOS amount (long listed at $50)	Secretary of State [4]
Federal EIN	$0 on the IRS site	IRS EIN page [3]
GBI recycler registration	Current form fee	GBI packet
City or county occupation tax	Local schedule	City or county clerk [5]
Site, cameras, cage, scale	Market quotes	Vendors and landlord
Inventory float	Your lot size	Your refiner pay terms

How long does a cat converter desk take in Georgia?

Entity paper is the fast part. Georgia eCorp can file an LLC in a short window when the filing is clean. The Secretary of State publishes current processing notes on the corporations site. Confirm them the week you file. I will not promise a day count. ^[4]

An EIN from the IRS online application is often immediate during IRS hours if the responsible party has a Social Security number. ^[3]

The slow parts are local. Zoning or a change of use can take one conversation or several hearings. Occupation tax is usually days after you have a site address. Landlord delays are real.

GBI registration time is a board fact. Confirm current processing with GBI. No article can honestly guarantee your approval date. Anyone who does is selling a story.

If you also chase a used motor vehicle parts dealer credential because you want to pull converters off whole cars, add that board's calendar. That path is longer. Neighboring states split the same issue. See cat converter desk license in Alabama.

A clean whole-unit desk, with a legal bay already under lease and no zoning fight, can be paper-ready in a few weeks. A yard that needs a conditional use permit can sit for months. The variable is land use, not the $100 stamp.

Do not buy a converter while the application is pending. O.C.G.A. § 10-1-351 ties the purchase to registration. Pending is not registered. ^[2]

What Georgia agency actually licenses a cat converter desk?

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation handles secondary metals recycler registration. That is the state credential that matches a converter desk. Everything else is a support agency around that one filing. ^[2]

The Georgia Secretary of State handles your entity. ^[4]

Your city or county handles occupation tax and zoning. ^[5]

The Georgia Department of Revenue handles sales and use tax accounts. ^[7]

If you buy whole vehicles and sell parts, the used motor vehicle parts dealer statutes in O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 47 enter the file. ^[8] Confirm the current application home with the Used Motor Vehicle Division. Do not assume recycler registration covers dismantling.

There is no Georgia Cat Converter Board. People search for one. It does not exist.

I would call GBI and the local clerk before I spend on signage. One short call saves a lease in the wrong zoning district.

For a different state's agency split, how to start a cat converter desk in Arkansas is a useful contrast, not a template.

What records does Georgia require when you buy a converter?

Georgia requires a transaction record for regulated metal purchases. O.C.G.A. § 10-1-353 is the record statute. Read the current text before you design your buy screen. ^[6]

Expect to capture seller identity, a government ID, the time and date, a description of the metal, and the vehicle information the statute names when the metal is a catalytic converter. Photograph the seller and the unit if the current code or GBI guidance says so. Some operators photograph everything anyway. That is cheap insurance.

Keep the records for the retention period in the current statute. Do not invent a number from memory. Pull the section the week you open.

Payment method can be restricted for regulated metal. Georgia has amended these rules more than once. Confirm whether your desk can pay cash, must use a check, or must use electronic transfer. Wrong payment method is an easy charge.

If you take more than $10,000 in cash in a trade or business, federal Form 8300 is a separate duty. The IRS Form 8300 reference guide states you must file if you receive "more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or in two or more related transactions." ^{[9] [13]} Georgia payment limits may make that rare at a legal desk. File it if you trip the threshold anyway.

A written buy book plus video plus a VIN log is the operational standard I would run. The statute is the floor. Refiners and detectives will ask for more.

If you want a repeatable seller and VIN file, CatConPath sells a $179 one-time VIN-Log + Theft-Compliance Kit. It does not register you with GBI and it does not replace O.C.G.A. § 10-1-353. ^[6]

Who can you legally buy used catalytic converters from in Georgia?

Read the current Article 14 text before you write a buy policy. Georgia has tightened seller classes for catalytic converters. The safer pattern in recent cycles is licensed motor vehicle dealers, licensed parts dealers, and vehicle owners who can prove the converter came off a vehicle they own. Confirm the live list in O.C.G.A. § 10-1-350 and § 10-1-353. ^{[1] [6]}

A walk-in with a milk crate and no title story is how desks get raided. I would not buy that lot. Ever.

Ask for the VIN, a title or registration, and a matching ID. If the seller is a shop, ask for the shop license and keep a copy. If anything feels off, decline. Volume is not worth a theft case.

Converter theft is not a cute side quest. Georgia theft sentencing lives in O.C.G.A. § 16-8-12, and recent amendments have treated converter theft as serious property crime. ^[10] Buying stolen metal can put you next to that problem even if you never touched a saw.

Train every buyer on one line. No paper, no purchase.

Alabama and Arkansas seller rules are not Georgia's. If you run more than one state, keep separate buy books. cat converter desk license in Arkansas is only a reminder that every legislature writes this differently.

Do you also need a used motor vehicle parts dealer license?

Only if your facts match that statute. A pure desk that buys already-removed converters from legal sellers usually sits inside the secondary metals recycler lane. A yard that buys wrecked cars and cuts the converters off is in the used motor vehicle parts dealer world under O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 47. ^[8]

I would not mix those on week one. Pick the desk model. Stay there until your paper is boring and clean.

Confirm with the Used Motor Vehicle Division and with GBI in writing. Email is fine. Save the reply.

California runs a heavier dismantler culture. If you are comparing coasts, how to start a cat converter desk in California and cat converter desk license in California show a stricter vehicle-code habit. Georgia is not California. Copying that checklist here will overbuild you.

What about sales tax, zoning, and local occupation tax?

Georgia cities and counties may levy an occupation tax on businesses. O.C.G.A. § 48-13-6 authorizes municipal classification and levy of that tax. ^[5] You apply where you physically receive metal. A P.O. box is not a receiving floor.

Zoning is local. Metal receiving, outdoor storage, and truck traffic all trigger complaints. Get the zoning letter before you sign a lease. People pay deposits on pretty warehouses they cannot legally use. That is a waste of money.

Sales and use tax sits with the Georgia Department of Revenue. The state sales tax rate is 4 percent, and local jurisdictions add their own portions. ^[7] Whether your outbound sale to a refiner is taxable depends on the product, the buyer, and any exemption certificate. Do not guess. Ask DOR or a Georgia CPA with scrap clients. Resale and industrial exemptions are fact-specific.

If you sell a converter to a consumer as a used part, that looks more like a parts sale than a scrap lot. Different tax facts. Stay consistent with how you actually operate.

Georgia's statewide sales tax base is 4 percent, published by the Department of Revenue. ^[7]

What do first-year operations look like on paper?

Year one is a compliance job that happens to move metal.

You log every buy. You keep video. You store units in a cage with a unique tag that matches the buy ticket. You ship with a manifest that your refiner can audit. You do not pay random people in cash out of your pocket at a gas station. That is how you look like a fence.

Hold periods, if the current statute imposes them, mean you do not grind, ship, or melt the piece until the clock runs. Confirm the current hold rule in Article 14. Shipping early to catch a PGM spike is how you turn a good lot into evidence. ^[6]

Environmental paper is lighter if you never open the can. Intact converters that you recycle as scrap metal sit inside the federal scrap metal exclusion. EPA's rule at 40 CFR 261.4(a)(13) lists "Scrap metal that is recycled" among materials that are not solid wastes for that part. ^[11] Cut them open and start managing ceramic dust, and you invited a different conversation with Georgia EPD.

OSHA still applies if you have employees. Hazard communication and walking-working surfaces are the boring parts that actually get cited. ^[12]

I would write three one-page SOPs. Buy. Store. Ship. Tape them to the wall. New helpers read them on day one.

Banking is its own paper path. Tell the bank you are a metals buyer. Some banks will close you if they find out later. Have a refiner relationship letter. Expect questions.

What would you spend on, and what is a waste of money?

Spend on the lease you can zone, the cameras, the cage, the scale calibration, and a lawyer who has actually read Article 14. Skip the wrap on the van. Skip a giant we-buy-cats banner on a residential street. That banner attracts the exact seller you should not want, and it attracts patrol units.

Skip buying every converter that walks in. Your margin is in the lots you refuse.

Skip decanning equipment until you have volume and an environmental plan. A torch and a bucket is not a plan.

A handheld XRF can wait. Your first couple hundred units can go to a refiner who reports assays. Learn the grades from those reports. Then decide if a gun earns its keep.

Do not pay a consultant who promises they handle GBI. You sign the registration. You own the record.

Colorado writes still different metal rules. Useful only as a reminder. See how to start a cat converter desk in Colorado.

What is the real paper path, step by step?

Decide the model first. Whole-unit desk only, unless you already know you need Title 43, Chapter 47. ^[8]

Check zoning on the exact address. Get it in writing.

Form the LLC or corporation at the Georgia Secretary of State. Budget the $100 articles fee for an LLC, then confirm it on the live how-to guide. ^[4]

Get the EIN on the IRS site. Pay nothing to a middleman. ^[3]

Open the bank account with the filed articles and the EIN.

Apply for the local occupation tax certificate. ^[5]

Register for the Georgia tax accounts you actually need. ^[7]

Complete GBI secondary metals recycler registration. Wait until it is effective. ^[2]

Build the buy record to O.C.G.A. § 10-1-353. Test it with a practice ticket before a real seller walks in. ^[6]

Put cameras and the cage live. Then buy.

If you later add dismantling, stop and open the Title 43, Chapter 47 file. ^[8]

Confirm every fee and every processing note with the board that owns it. This guide is a map. It is not your approval.

If you want that VIN and seller log layout, start at /start. CatConPath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a service company.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a license for cat converter desk in Georgia?

Yes. Buying used catalytic converters for compensation is secondary metals recycler work. O.C.G.A. § 10-1-351 makes it unlawful to purchase regulated metal property unless you are registered. You also need local occupation tax permission and ordinary entity paper. Confirm the current GBI packet before the first buy.

How much does cat converter desk cost in Georgia?

The only clean statewide stamp is entity paper. Georgia SOS lists a $100 LLC articles fee. Annual registration has long been listed at $50. Confirm both live. GBI, city occupation tax, rent, cameras, and inventory float are the real spend. A lean bay can stay in the tens of thousands. A built yard does not.

How long does cat converter desk take in Georgia?

Entity and EIN paper can move in days when filings are clean. Zoning and GBI registration set the real clock. A leased, already-legal bay can be ready in a few weeks. A site that needs a conditional use permit can sit for months. Confirm current GBI processing. Pending is not registered, so do not buy early.

Can I run a cat converter desk from my house in Georgia?

Usually no, not if neighbors and zoning staff can see metal traffic. Residential districts rarely allow regulated metal receiving. Get a written zoning letter on the exact address before you sign anything. A spare garage is how complaints start. Use a commercial or industrial bay you can defend on paper.

Can I pay cash for catalytic converters in Georgia?

Do not assume cash is legal. Article 14 has been amended more than once on payment method. Confirm the current rule in O.C.G.A. § 10-1-353 and the GBI packet. If you ever take more than $10,000 in cash, federal Form 8300 also applies. Wrong payment method is an easy charge.

Does Georgia require a surety bond for a converter desk?

Do not budget a made-up statewide bond. Confirm bond fields on the current GBI secondary metals recycler form and with your city. Some localities add their own security conditions on occupation tax or zoning. If a bond appears on the live form, buy it from a surety that understands scrap, not a random web ad.

Do I need an EPA ID number to buy converters in Georgia?

Not for a typical whole-unit desk that only buys intact converters and ships them for recycling. EPA excludes scrap metal that is recycled at 40 CFR 261.4(a)(13). If you cut, decan, or treat ceramic waste, ask Georgia EPD before you light a torch. Intact shipping is the cleaner path.

Can I buy converters from out-of-state sellers?

Georgia still wants a legal seller and a complete buy record. Out-of-state paper does not erase O.C.G.A. § 10-1-353. If the seller cannot prove ownership or a licensed source, decline. Crossing a state line also does not let you skip GBI registration for purchases you make in Georgia.

What ID do I have to collect from a seller?

Pull the current text of O.C.G.A. § 10-1-353 the week you open. Expect a government photo ID, seller name and address, time, metal description, and converter-specific vehicle data the statute names. Copy the ID. Match the face to the photo. No matching ID means no purchase, even if the lot looks expensive.

Is a catalytic converter regulated metal property in Georgia?

Treat it that way until the current O.C.G.A. § 10-1-350 definitions tell you otherwise. Article 14 is the statute family GBI and local officers use on converter desks. Read the live definition section, not a forum summary. If you pay compensation for used converters, register first.

Do I need a certified scale to open a cat converter desk?

If you pay by weight, Georgia weights and measures rules likely apply to a commercial scale. Confirm with the Georgia Department of Agriculture weights and measures program and your local inspector. A bathroom scale is not a buy tool. Calibration records belong in the same binder as your buy tickets.

What if I only broker loads and never touch the metal?

Paying compensation for regulated metal can still pull you into the secondary metals recycler definition in O.C.G.A. § 10-1-350, even if a truck never sits in your yard. Do not invent a broker loophole. Ask GBI and a Georgia lawyer who has read Article 14. If you control the money, assume the statute cares.

Can a convicted felon register as a secondary metals recycler in Georgia?

Eligibility is a board and statute question, not a blog guess. Read the current GBI registration form and Article 14 for disqualifiers. Do not have a partner with a clean record front the application if you actually run the desk. False filings create their own problems.

Where do I confirm the current GBI fee and forms?

On the Georgia Bureau of Investigation secondary metals recycler registration materials, and in the live text of O.C.G.A. § 10-1-351. Fees, emails, and upload steps change. Print the form the week you apply. This publisher does not collect GBI fees and cannot quote a current amount.

Sources

1. O.C.G.A. § 10-1-350, Secondary metals recycler definitions: Georgia defines secondary metals recyclers and regulated metal property in Article 14, which is the statute family that covers paying compensation for used catalytic converters.
2. O.C.G.A. § 10-1-351, Registration of secondary metals recyclers: Georgia makes it unlawful for a secondary metals recycler to purchase regulated metal property unless registered under this section with the process the Code assigns to GBI.
3. IRS, Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) online: A federal EIN is obtained at no charge when you apply directly with the IRS.
4. Georgia Secretary of State, How-To Guide: Limited Liability Company: Georgia SOS publishes the LLC formation steps and lists the Articles of Organization filing fee at $100, plus annual registration duties.
5. O.C.G.A. § 48-13-6, Municipal occupation tax authority: Georgia municipalities may classify businesses and levy an occupation tax, which is the local business license a desk needs at its receiving address.
6. O.C.G.A. § 10-1-353, Records of secondary metals recyclers: Georgia requires specified transaction records for regulated metal purchases, including identity and property description fields the desk must capture.
7. Georgia Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax: Georgia's statewide sales tax rate is 4 percent, with local additions, and DOR administers sales and use tax accounts.
8. O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 47, Used motor vehicle dealers and parts dealers: Buying whole vehicles and selling parts, including cutting converters from cars, is governed by Georgia's used motor vehicle dealer and parts dealer chapter, not only the metals recycler article.
9. IRS, Form 8300 reference guide: A trade or business must file Form 8300 after receiving more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or related transactions.
10. O.C.G.A. § 16-8-12, Theft punishments: Georgia sets theft sentencing in this section, which is the criminal backdrop for catalytic converter theft cases that land on a desk's buy book.
11. 40 CFR 261.4, Materials which are not solid wastes: EPA lists scrap metal that is recycled at 40 CFR 261.4(a)(13) among materials that are not solid wastes for that part.
12. 26 U.S.C. § 6050I, Returns relating to cash received in trade or business: Federal law requires reporting of cash receipts over $10,000 in a trade or business, which is the statute behind Form 8300.