Florida contractor licenses: who needs one, who does not, and the $2,500 line

Florida regulates construction trades more tightly than most states, and it regulates them by trade. The Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB) and the Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board, both under the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), license the building trades. A separate state agency licenses pest control and lawn fertilizer application. Counties and cities add business tax receipts and, for some trades, their own licenses. This page sorts out which is which. For the formation side, see our Florida startup guide, and for the national pattern read how to get a contractor license.

Certified or registered: a statewide license versus a local one

Section 489.105 of the Florida Statutes defines a certified contractor as one with a certificate of competency from the department who may contract in any jurisdiction in the state without meeting local competency rules. A registered contractor has registered with the department after meeting the competency rules of a particular jurisdiction and may contract only there. In the DBPR license numbers, certified licenses start with C and registered ones with R.

The statute splits contractors into Division I (general, building and residential) and Division II (everything else). Division II includes sheet metal, roofing, three classes of air-conditioning contractor, plumbing, swimming pool and spa categories, solar, underground utility and excavation, pollutant storage systems, and specialty contractors whose categories the board sets by rule. Three of the scope lines are worth knowing:

• Residential contractors work on one-, two- and three-family homes not exceeding two habitable stories above one uninhabitable story.
• Class B air-conditioning contractors are limited to systems of 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 Btu of heating. A Class A contractor is unlimited, and a Class C contractor is limited to servicing.
• Roofing contractors cover all kinds of roofing, waterproofing and coating, plus skylights, roof-deck attachments, sheathing and fascia repair during roof work.

Our roofing license guide compares Florida's roofing route with other states.

How you qualify for certification

Under section 489.111, an applicant must be at least 18 and of good moral character, and must meet an experience route. One route is a four-year degree in an appropriate field of engineering, architecture or building construction plus one year of proven experience. Another is at least four years of active experience as a skilled worker or foreman, with at least one year as a foreman. Credits for accredited college-level courses can replace part of the time. Certified residential, building and Class C air-conditioning contractors can step up to larger licenses with 3 to 4 years of proven experience, depending on the license.

For licensed contractors from other states, section 489.115 lets the board certify an applicant by endorsement when the other state's criteria were substantially equivalent, when a reciprocal agreement exists, or when the applicant has held a license for at least 10 years. Certificates and registrations renew every two years, and each renewal needs at least 14 classroom hours of continuing education, including workers' compensation, business practices and workplace safety topics.

The $2,500 line for small jobs

Section 489.103(9) exempts casual, minor or inconsequential work when the aggregate price for labor, materials and everything else is under $2,500. The exemption does not apply if the job is part of a larger or major operation, whether done by the same contractor or a different one, or if the work is divided into contracts under $2,500 to avoid the license. It also does not apply to a person who advertises that they are a contractor or otherwise represents that they are qualified to contract. A handyman who puts "contractor" on a truck or a website is outside it.

What working unlicensed costs

Section 489.127 sets out the consequences. Contracting or advertising as available to contract without being duly certified or registered is a first-degree misdemeanor. A repeat violation, or one committed during a state of emergency declared by the Governor, is a third-degree felony. The department can issue a stop-work order for unlicensed work on a project, and working on an inactive or suspended license counts as unlicensed. The statute also says a business tax receipt issued under chapter 205 is not a license for the purposes of the part. A business operating more than 60 days after its only qualifying agent leaves, without naming another, is also in violation.

The financial hit can be larger than any fine. Section 489.128 makes contracts entered into by an unlicensed contractor unenforceable by that contractor, in law or in equity. A short, signed estimate for work that required a license does not fix that. For how that interacts with insurance, see business insurance for contractors.

Electrical and septic work

Electrical, alarm and specialty electrical contractors are licensed by DBPR's Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board under part II of chapter 489. Section 489.503 exempts employees working within a licensed employer's license, with the same warning against holding yourself out as licensed. Septic work is licensed through registration under part III of chapter 489, according to section 381.0065. That section says no one may contract to construct, modify, repair, service or maintain any part of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system without being registered under that part, and it exempts an owner doing their own work on an owner-occupied single-family home.

Pest control and lawn work run through the Department of Agriculture

Under section 482.071, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services licenses pest control businesses, each business location needs its own license, and the license cannot be issued unless a certified operator in charge runs the activities in the licensed categories. The license fee is set by rule between $75 and $300, and the business must carry the required insurance. Operator certificates under section 482.111 come in categories that include fumigation, general household pest control, lawn and ornamental pest control, and termites and other wood-destroying organisms, and the certificate expires after one year. Operators cannot work outside their categories. For the general path, see how to get a pest control license.

Lawn companies need a second, smaller certification. Since January 1, 2014, anyone applying commercial fertilizer to an urban landscape must hold the limited certification in section 482.1562. It costs $25 unless the department sets a different fee, lasts four years, and requires a training certificate and 4 classroom hours of continuing education to recertify. It does not authorize pesticide applications to turf or ornamentals. Yard workers who apply only the property owner's own fertilizer to individual residential properties are in a separate carve-out.

Home inspectors

Home inspection is a licensed profession under chapter 468. An applicant must pass the examination, be of good moral character, and complete a course of at least 120 hours covering the structure, electrical, HVAC, roof covering, plumbing, interior, exterior and site conditions. Applicants submit electronic fingerprints. An inspector licensed elsewhere may apply by endorsement with a substantially equivalent license, or with at least 10 years of licensure.

What Florida leaves to counties and cities

Counties and cities issue local business tax receipts and may license other trades. For lawn mowing, cleaning, junk removal and similar services, this page found no DBPR contractor category, so the local business tax receipt and your insurance usually come first. Check your county before you buy a truck. The Department of Revenue's cleaning-services guide says cleaning of nonresidential building interiors is taxable, so a commercial cleaning route needs to register with the Department of Revenue. Our state sales tax table shows how that compares.

Treat this as general information and not legal advice. Florida rules, fees and exam requirements change, so confirm each one with DBPR or the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services before you rely on it.

Frequently asked questions