To get a Florida contractor license, you must qualify under Chapter 489 by choosing between a statewide certified license or a local registered license, meeting age and character standards, documenting four years of qualifying experience (or an equivalent degree-and-experience mix), passing the state examination, clearing a background and credit check, carrying the required insurance, and paying the application fee. After that, Florida contractor license requirements continue through a two-year renewal cycle with 14 hours of continuing education.
The sections below walk through each decision and document in the order you’ll face them.
Pick Your Path: Certified or Registered
This is the first choice, and it shapes everything else. A certified contractor passes the state certification examination and can work anywhere in Florida on one credential. A registered contractor passes a local competency exam in a specific county or municipality, then registers that credential with the state, and can only work in jurisdictions where the local license is active.1Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Chapter 489
If you want to expand into another county on a registered license, you have to obtain a separate local certificate of competency there and register it with the state. Let the local license lapse and the state registration lapses with it. Certification is the more flexible path. Registration works fine if you plan to stay in one area.
Pick Your License Category
Chapter 489 splits construction professionals into two divisions based on the type of work.2Florida Senate. Florida Code Title XXXII Chapter 489 Part I Section 489-105
Division I: General, Building, and Residential
Division I contains the three broadest categories, each with a different scope limit:
- A general contractor has no restriction on the type of construction and can take on anything requiring licensure under Chapter 489, from commercial high-rises to houses.
- A building contractor is limited to commercial buildings and residential structures no more than three stories tall. Building contractors can also do remodeling or repairs on larger buildings as long as the work does not affect structural members.
- A residential contractor is limited to one-, two-, or three-family residences of no more than two habitable stories above one uninhabitable story, plus accessory structures like garages or sheds.
These scope limits are enforced. A residential contractor who takes a four-story condo job is working outside the license and faces the same penalties as someone with no license at all.3Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 489.105
Division II: Specialty Trades
Division II covers fourteen specialty categories, including sheet metal, roofing, air-conditioning (three classes based on system capacity), mechanical, plumbing, underground utility and excavation, solar, commercial and residential pool/spa, pollutant storage systems, and specialty contractors.2Florida Senate. Florida Code Title XXXII Chapter 489 Part I Section 489-105 Each specialty license limits you to that trade. A roofing contractor cannot do plumbing work, and a plumber cannot install solar panels.
Baseline Eligibility
Three requirements apply to every applicant for a certified license: you must be at least 18, demonstrate good moral character, and pass the state certification examination.4Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 489.111 The good moral character standard carries weight. The board can deny certification based on dishonesty or criminal history that relates to contracting, and its findings must be supported by clear and convincing evidence.
Experience or Education
Beyond those baselines, you have to prove you can do the work. The statute gives you three ways:
- Four years of active experience, including at least one year as a foreman supervising a group of workers. The remaining time can be as a skilled worker earning a journeyman-level wage.
- A bachelor’s degree in engineering, architecture, or building construction from an accredited four-year college, plus one year of proven field experience.
- A combination of accredited college credits, skilled-worker time, and foreman time totaling at least four years, with at least one year as a foreman. One year as a foreman plus three years of college credits qualifies, as does two years as a skilled worker, one year as a foreman, and one year of college.
The board verifies experience through documentation from previous employers or licensed contractors.4Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 489.111 Community college and junior college coursework counts.
The Examination
The exam tests both technical construction knowledge and Florida business law. You have to pass it before you file your application. The DBPR will not process an application without a passing score on file.5Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation. CILB 5-A Certified General Contractor as an Individual Florida also accepts the NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors as an alternative to the state-specific trade exam, which helps contractors who have already passed that national exam in another participating state.6National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies. NASCLA Commercial Exam Participating State Agencies
Financial, Insurance, and Background Documentation
The paperwork is heavier than most applicants expect.
Credit and Net Worth
You have to submit a credit report showing a FICO score of at least 660. If your score is below that, you aren’t automatically out, but you have to complete a board-approved 14-hour Financial Responsibility Course before the application can go forward.7Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Financial Responsibility and Stability Requirements for Contractor Applicants The board also sets net worth requirements by rule, with statutory caps of $20,000 for Division I certificate holders and $10,000 for Division II.1Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Chapter 489
Background Check
Every applicant has to clear a criminal background check. You submit fingerprints electronically through an FDLE-registered Livescan provider right after you file your application.5Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation. CILB 5-A Certified General Contractor as an Individual Any criminal history or prior professional disciplinary actions have to be disclosed on the application. Failing to report a conviction is itself grounds for denial, whether or not the underlying offense would have disqualified you.
Insurance
Active coverage has to be in place before the DBPR will issue a license number. General and building contractors must carry at least $300,000 in general liability and $50,000 in property damage. All other categories must carry at least $100,000 in liability and $25,000 in property damage. Workers’ compensation is required for any contractor with employees. Officers of a corporation or members of an LLC who want to exclude themselves from workers’ comp can apply for an exemption through the Division of Workers’ Compensation at the Department of Financial Services, but the exemption covers only that individual and does not remove the obligation to cover other employees.8Florida Department of Financial Services. Exemptions
If You’re Licensing a Business
Operating through an LLC, corporation, or partnership? The company does not hold the license. A licensed individual has to serve as the qualifying agent for the business. The qualifying agent’s application must identify the company’s officers, directors, partners, or members, and the qualifier has to sign an affidavit confirming they have final approval authority over all construction work and all business matters, including contracts and payments.9Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Section 489.119
A business can also name a financially responsible officer for financial oversight and a secondary qualifying agent to supervise day-to-day construction. Each role requires its own affidavit. The license, once issued, belongs to the business but is tied to the qualifying agent’s credentials. If the qualifier leaves and the company doesn’t name a replacement, the business loses the ability to pull permits or take new work.
Submitting the Application
You can file through the DBPR online portal or by mail. Digital submissions generally process faster and make it easier to respond when the board flags missing documents. Fees vary by license type and when you submit. For registered contractors, the fee is currently $305 if submitted before August 31, 2026, dropping to $205 afterward.10Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Current Fee – Registered Contractors Certified contractor fees follow a similar structure at different amounts.
Once the DBPR has your package, a formal review begins. The board will notify you of any deficiencies and give you a window to fix them. If the application is complete and meets all requirements, the board votes on approval at its scheduled meetings. Plan for several weeks to a few months, depending on how fast you resolve any issues.
Keeping the License Active
Florida contractor licenses run on a two-year renewal cycle. Certified contractors renew by August 31 of even-numbered years. Registered contractors renew by August 31 of odd-numbered years.11Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Construction Industry
During each two-year period, every licensee must complete 14 hours of board-approved continuing education covering workers’ compensation, business practices, workplace safety, laws and rules, and at least one hour of a specialized or advanced module. Contractors in applicable categories must also cover wind mitigation methodologies.12Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Section 489.115 If you’ve been licensed for less than a full cycle, the hours are prorated.
Missing the renewal deadline or skipping CE doesn’t immediately void the license, but it makes you delinquent, and a delinquent license can’t pull permits or take new contracts until you fix it. Renewal fees for certified contractors with an active license are currently $105 for an individual license or $155 if you’re qualifying a business, with late submissions costing more.13Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Certified Contractors Insert
What Happens If You Work Without a License
Florida treats unlicensed contracting as a crime, and the penalties climb fast. A first offense is a first-degree misdemeanor. A second offense is a third-degree felony, as is any unlicensed contracting committed during a declared state of emergency, a provision used heavily after hurricanes.14Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 489.127 County and municipal code enforcement boards can also assess civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day per violation. Pollutant storage systems work is a third-degree felony even on a first offense.
A license does not make you untouchable either. The Construction Industry Licensing Board can impose administrative fines of up to $10,000 per violation, place you on probation, suspend or revoke the license, require restitution to harmed consumers, mandate additional CE, and assess investigation and prosecution costs.15Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 489.129 Grounds for discipline include abandoning a project, proceeding without required building permits, mismanaging a job in a way that financially harms a customer, allowing an unlicensed person to use your license, and gross or repeated negligence that endangers life or property. Falsely claiming that work is bonded, that subcontractors have been paid, or that proper insurance is in place is a separate violation on its own. The board also acts on discipline imposed by local municipalities and counties, so a problem at the local level can turn into a state-level consequence.