First-Week Checklist for Moving to Richmond Hill

A Living Richmond Hill guide · Updated October 2026

Each item says what to do, the deadline, the cost and where to go. Where official sites disagree or are unclear, we say so and point you to the page to confirm.

First days: utilities

• ☐ Start city water. If your home is inside the City of Richmond Hill, email the completed application, a copy of your photo ID and a copy of your lease or settlement statement to utilitybilling@richmondhill-ga.gov, or apply in person at City Hall, 40 Richard Davis Drive. Deadline: pay the application fee within 10 business days or the city will disconnect service. Cost: $100 residential administrative fee. The city’s page does not mention a deposit, so ask when you apply. Pay: by phone with a credit card at 912-756-3345, or mail a check or money order to City of Richmond Hill, P.O. Box 250, Richmond Hill, GA 31324. Starting service (City of Richmond Hill)
• ☐ Start electric service. Two companies serve the city: Georgia Power and Coastal Electric Cooperative. Which one serves you depends on your address, so check a seller’s or landlord’s bill or call both. Georgia Power: start service online or call 1-888-660-5890; a deposit may be required for some credit profiles and can be up to two times your average monthly bill, per Georgia Power. Georgia Power residential. Coastal Electric: a $5 refundable membership fee and a $28 non-refundable activation fee on all accounts, any deposit based on credit and no more than $500, and an Advance Pay option at $83 to start that includes a $50 prepaid credit. Requests after 3 p.m. for same-day service carry a $50 connection fee. Apply online with your driver’s license and Social Security number, or at the Richmond Hill office, 3700 U.S. 17 South. Call (912) 884-3311. Coastal Electric: start service
• ☐ Find your garbage and recycling days. City of Richmond Hill households get weekly garbage pickup in the green-lid cart and recycling every other week in the yellow-lid cart, handled by Atlantic Waste. Your exact days are on the city’s 2026 collection calendars. Yard waste is picked up Tuesdays and Thursdays depending on your street. For questions or an extra cart, call the city at 912-756-3345; for pickup schedule questions, Atlantic Waste at (912) 964-2000. Outside city limits: Bryan County handles service; see our guide below. Garbage and recycling (City of Richmond Hill)
• ☐ Know where bulky trash goes. Furniture, limbs and other bulk items go to the county’s drop-off sites, not your curbside cart. Hours, addresses and what is accepted are on our page: Bryan County landfill and convenience centers.
• ☐ Check internet options for your address. Providers differ street by street. Enter your address on the FCC National Broadband Map to see who reports service there, then call to confirm before you sign anything.

First 30 days: license, tag, voter registration

Do these in order. The tag office requires a valid Georgia license or ID before it will register your vehicle.

• ☐ Get your Georgia driver’s license.Deadline: within 30 days of becoming a Georgia resident. Cost: $32 for a regular license valid 8 years; a Georgia ID card is also $32 (DDS fee schedule). Where: in person at a DDS Customer Service Center. DDS’s location list shows no center in Bryan County. The nearest listed are Savannah, 1117 Eisenhower Drive, Suite B, and Hinesville, 2301 Airport Road. Before you go: submit the required license form online first; DDS keeps it on file for 60 days. Then bring original documents: one proof of identity, proof of your Social Security number if it does not verify electronically, and two proofs of Georgia residency from separate sources showing your name and street address (a lease or mortgage statement, or a utility bill from the past six months, for example; P.O. boxes do not count). You surrender your out-of-state license, which can’t have been expired more than two years. DDS lists the hours for each center on that center’s own page, so check before the drive. New Georgia residents (DDS) · Documents (DDS) · Center locations (DDS)
• ☐ Register your vehicle and get a Georgia tag.Deadline: within 30 days from the date you moved to Georgia. Cost: new residents pay Title Ad Valorem Tax of 3% of the vehicle’s fair market value, plus a $20 annual registration fee and an $18 title fee. The Department of Revenue links an estimator on its page. Bring: your Georgia license or ID, a signed MV-1 Title/Tag Application, your original out-of-state title (or registration, if it came from a non-title state or country and the vehicle is 1986 or newer), Form T-17 if you have a loan or lease, and proof of Georgia liability insurance. Where: your county tag office, which in Bryan County is run by the Tax Commissioner. Locations and hours are on the county’s motor vehicle page. New to Georgia (Department of Revenue) · Bryan County motor vehicles
• ☐ Skip the emissions test. Georgia requires emissions testing only for residents of 13 metro Atlanta counties named by the Department of Revenue. Bryan County is not on that list.
• ☐ Register to vote.Deadline: it depends on the next election; check the Secretary of State’s election calendar. Cost: free. How: online through the Secretary of State’s system, or by mailing the postage-paid application. You must be a U.S. citizen, a legal resident of the county where you register, and at least 17½ to register (18 to vote). Bring a valid photo ID when you vote. For Bryan County Board of Elections and Registration questions, including where to go in person, use the county’s elections page and confirm the location before you visit; county pages have listed it differently. Register to vote (Georgia.gov) · Online registration (Secretary of State) · Bryan County elections

Your moving-day paperwork at a glance

Before April 1: homestead exemption

• ☐ File for homestead exemption if you own and live in your home.Deadline: the Georgia Department of Revenue says the application is generally due by April 1, the deadline for filing property tax returns, and that you may file any time during the prior year up to then. You must own the home and use it as your legal residence as of January 1 of the tax year. The Department’s pages also mention a later window tied to the notice of assessment, but its relief-grant FAQ says applications filed after April 1 apply to the following tax year, so don’t plan around a late filing. Cost: there is no filing fee listed. Where: the county tax commissioner, or in some counties the tax assessor. Bryan County pages have not been consistent about which office takes the application, so confirm with the county Tax Assessor before you file. Homestead exemptions (Department of Revenue) · Bryan County Tax Assessor

What this means if you bought recently: if you own and live in the house on January 1, file by April 1 of that year. If you moved in after January 1, you will generally be looking at the following year. That is our reading of the state’s rules, not a county statement, so ask the county.

Also: alerts, hurricane zone, pets, library, schools

• ☐ Sign up for emergency alerts. The Bryan County Emergency Management Agency, with Richmond Hill and Pembroke, offers free Smart911 alerts through RAVE by phone, text, email and social media. Add every address you want alerts for. Sign up at bit.ly/BEMARAVE or call (912) 858-2799 for help. Older county materials mention a different system called CodeRED, so use the sign-up link above.
• ☐ Find your hurricane evacuation zone. Enter your address in the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency’s evacuation zone map, or click the spot on the map. The county’s own handout describes two zones: A is south of Fort Stewart, which includes Richmond Hill, and B is Fort Stewart and northern Bryan County. Evacuation route conditions are at 511ga.org. Hurricane evacuation zone lookup (GEMA)
• ☐ Join the hurricane registry if it applies to you. The county’s registry is for people with access, functional or medical needs. Call 1-833-243-7344 or see Coastal Health District hurricane registry. Applications are accepted year-round but not within 72 hours of tropical-storm-force winds.
• ☐ Handle pet licensing and vaccines. Bryan County’s animal control pages cover pet licensing and rabies vaccine requirements, and the county provides animal control for the City of Richmond Hill. To report an animal issue inside the city, call 912-727-3884. Pet license (Bryan County)
• ☐ Get a library card. The Bryan County Public Library at Richmond Hill is at 9607 Ford Avenue (912-756-3580); the Pembroke branch is at 1018 Camellia Drive (912-653-2822). Both are part of the Statesboro Regional Library System. Any Georgia resident can get a free card with a photo ID and proof of current address; a parent signs for anyone under 18. The county lists Richmond Hill hours as 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 9 to 2 on Saturday, but the library catalog shows different hours, so call ahead. Bryan County libraries
• ☐ Register children for school. Start with the district’s registration page, then read our guide for what to know before you choose a neighborhood: Bryan County Schools. District page: Student registration (Bryan County Schools)

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

• Moving to Richmond Hill & Bryan CountyThe full newcomer guide
• Bryan County SchoolsRegistration and what to know before you choose a home
• Cost of livingWhat to budget after you arrive

Sources

1. City of Richmond Hill, Starting or Stopping Service (water, fees, deadline). richmondhill-ga.gov/167/Starting-Stopping-Service (read Oct. 15, 2026)
2. City of Richmond Hill, Garbage and Recycling. richmondhill-ga.gov/169/Garbage-Recycling (read Oct. 15, 2026)
3. City of Richmond Hill, FAQ (electric providers). richmondhill-ga.gov/m/faq?cat=21 (read Oct. 15, 2026)
4. City of Richmond Hill, NewsFlash (BEMA Smart911 alerts). richmondhill-ga.gov/m/newsflash?cat=1 (read Oct. 15, 2026)
5. City of Richmond Hill, Reporting Animal Issues. richmondhill-ga.gov/162/Reporting-Animal-Issues (read Oct. 15, 2026)
6. Georgia Power, Residential: Starting Service and Deposits. georgiapower.com/residential.html (read Oct. 15, 2026)
7. Coastal Electric Cooperative, Start Service. coastalelectric.coop/your-service/start-stop-move-service/start-service/ (read Oct. 15, 2026)
8. Georgia Department of Driver Services, New Georgia Residents and Out-of-State License Transfers; REAL ID documents; Fees and Terms; Locations. dds.georgia.gov (read Oct. 15, 2026)
9. Georgia.gov, Out-of-State License in Georgia. georgia.gov/out-state-license-georgia (read Oct. 15, 2026)
10. Georgia Department of Revenue, New to Georgia: Vehicle Registration. dor.georgia.gov/motor-vehicles/vehicle-registration-license-plates/new-georgia (read Oct. 15, 2026)
11. Georgia Department of Revenue, Property Tax Homestead Exemptions; 2026 Property Tax Relief Grant FAQ. dor.georgia.gov (read Oct. 15, 2026)
12. Georgia.gov, Register to Vote. georgia.gov/register-vote (read Oct. 15, 2026)
13. Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, Hurricane Evacuation Zone. gema.georgia.gov/plan-prepare/hurricane-evacuation-zone (read Oct. 15, 2026)
14. Bryan County Emergency Management Agency, “Be Ready 2025” handout (zones, registry). richmondhill-ga.gov/DocumentCenter/View/6184/BEMA-Be-Ready-2025 (2025)

Facts checked October 15, 2026 by the Living Richmond Hill team. Something changed? Tell us and we’ll update this page.