Contractor Licensing
State Certified General Contractor:
The state of Florida issues many different "classes" of contractors license.
You can check the status of this license and view a history of any complaints against the person's or business's license at the State of Florida Department of Professional and Business Regulation or DBPR
The state of Florida issues many different "classes" of contractors license.
- At the top of this list is "General Contractor". To obtain a general contractors license a person must pass each individual section of a 16 hr test with a score at least 75%.
- You must also provide a criminal background check and a credit check.
- In addition you must get another general contractor to sign an affidavit that affirms you meet very specific experience requirements. Such as supervising a monolithic concrete pour of 10,000 sq ft. or larger. That's about 5 average sized house slabs all at once.
- You must meet at least 5 such requirements out of a list in the Florida statue of about 12 items. Even after you've done all that, it only qualifies you apply for the license. The application process is legendary for being difficult, slow and confusing. I know some people that took more than a year after they sent in the application to obtain a license. This license must be renewed every two years and requires extensive update classes for renewal.
You can check the status of this license and view a history of any complaints against the person's or business's license at the State of Florida Department of Professional and Business Regulation or DBPR
State Certified Building Contractor:
This is the license that I currently hold. For the most part it is the same as the general contractor with a few notable exceptions.
The Building Contractors test is still 16 hrs long but it's ten questions shorter. The background check and application process is the same. The experience requirements are different. For instance, the concrete requirement is only 5,000 sq ft. and so on. This experience must be confirmed by an affidavit signed by either a certified building contractor or certified general contractor.The main difference in the two classes of license is that I, as a Building contractor cannot build the main structure of anything higher than 3 stories. I can do anything besides the main structure no matter how tall the building or I could build a three story building ten miles wide but not the structure of a 4 story building. Both general contractors and building contractors can permit commercial work and industrial work. And only a General Contractor can do road work or sewer work. The Building Contractors license must be renewed every two years and requires extensive update classes for renewal.
You can check the status of this license and view a history of any complaints against the person's or business's license at the State of Florida Department of Professional and Business Regulation or DBPR
This is the license that I currently hold. For the most part it is the same as the general contractor with a few notable exceptions.
The Building Contractors test is still 16 hrs long but it's ten questions shorter. The background check and application process is the same. The experience requirements are different. For instance, the concrete requirement is only 5,000 sq ft. and so on. This experience must be confirmed by an affidavit signed by either a certified building contractor or certified general contractor.The main difference in the two classes of license is that I, as a Building contractor cannot build the main structure of anything higher than 3 stories. I can do anything besides the main structure no matter how tall the building or I could build a three story building ten miles wide but not the structure of a 4 story building. Both general contractors and building contractors can permit commercial work and industrial work. And only a General Contractor can do road work or sewer work. The Building Contractors license must be renewed every two years and requires extensive update classes for renewal.
You can check the status of this license and view a history of any complaints against the person's or business's license at the State of Florida Department of Professional and Business Regulation or DBPR
State Certified Residential Contractor:
- As the name implies, this license is only valid for single family residential work. You must pass each section of the test with a 75% but it's a totally different test. Still, this type of contractor is tested and certified by the state as being qualified for residential contracting. There is a background check and a credit check but not as extensive as the checks they run on the general contractors and the building contractors. This license must be renewed every two years and requires update classes for renewal.
You can check the status of a license and view a history of any complaints against the person's or business's license at the State of Florida Department of Professional and Business Regulation or DBPR
State Registered Contractor:
This is a category that is not tested and therefore is not certified by the state of Florida as being qualified. The contractor is simply registered with the state so that they know the business is in operation and what it does. This is not a license and therefore no ability to get building permits exists.
Some painting and concrete contractors become Registered Contractors to add credibility to their business even though no official Certified Contractors License exists for their particular trade or business.
You can check the status of this type of license and view a history of any complaints against the person's or business's license at the State of Florida Department of Professional and Business Regulation or DBPR
Subcontractors:
This category includes Plumbing contractors, Electrical contractors, A/C contractors, Swimming pool contractors, Roofing contractors, and others that are tested and therefore state certified. It also includes Insulation contractors, landscaping contractors, cleaning services, and so on that are not in any way state certified or licensed. If they have a state license you can check them out.
If they are not state certified I'm afraid your on your own. You should also know that if they are not state certified you have basically no recourse other than to sue them if they botch the job or run off with the money. The police will tell you it's a civil matter.
You can check the status of this type of license and view a history of any complaints against the person's or
business's license at the State of Florida Department of Professional and Business Regulation or DBPR
Local licenses...
The state of Florida has many different types of contractors license. They are not all equal and knowing the difference can save you time and money.
The first thing you should know is about the local "license" that is not a license at all, it's a tax receipt. You pay money and they give you a receipt, it implies no qualification, nor regulation by the jurisdiction issuing the receipt.
If you have a problem with a "State Licensed Contractor" you can file a complaint with the state and a board of inquiry will look into it, possibly suspending or revoking the license. The city or county that issued the "receipt" can't rescind it, the tax was paid the "receipt" (what they are advertising as a license) is valid. The receipt used to say license on it and so everyone puts "Licensed and Insured" on there trucks. The fact is there is no such thing as a "handyman's license" or a "painting contractors license".
Follow this link ===> Services that require a license - Construction Contractors <=== to a quick reference guide from the state of Florida as to what services that do or do not require a state license.
Follow this link ===> Services that require a license - Construction Contractors <=== to a quick reference guide from the state of Florida as to what services that do or do not require a state license.
So in closing and to be clear, licensing is done by the state. The state of Florida issues and regulates the licenses of, plumbers, roofers, electricians, A/C contractors, swimming pool contractors, solar contractors, and a few others. For a complete list visit http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/. The state does not issue licenses for maids or for landscape companies. So when they say they are licensed and insured it is simply not true. To be fair I should point out that they are following the law such as it is and you can't very well put "I got my tax receipt" on the side of your truck. But you as the owner need to CHECK THEIR INSURANCE because its likely no one else has recently.