The Pinellas County subcontractor form is the document the permit holder files to tell the county which licensed trade professionals will work under a building permit in unincorporated Pinellas County. You fill out the PDF, sign it as the primary contractor, upload it to your permit record in the Accela portal, and email Blddiweb@pinellas.gov to let staff know it’s there.1Pinellas County. Add a Subcontractor The permit will not issue until the form is on file, and any subcontractor who isn’t listed cannot perform work or call for inspections on their trade.
When the Form Is Required
You need the subcontractor list before the county will release the permit on any job where someone other than the permit holder handles a specialized trade: electrical, plumbing, mechanical, roofing, fire sprinkler, fuel gas, and the other categories printed on the form.1Pinellas County. Add a Subcontractor Skip it and the project stalls at two different points. The permit sits unissued, and once it does issue, any unlisted sub cannot schedule the trade inspection they’d normally call in.
If you add or swap a subcontractor after the permit is already active, the process is different. That’s covered further down.
What to Gather Before You Open the PDF
For each subcontractor who will work on the project, you need four pieces of information:
- Contractor name as it appears on the license
- Company name, if different from the individual’s name
- Florida state license number for the trade
- Direct phone number
Those are the only fields the form provides per trade. There is no field for a mailing address.2Pinellas County. Subcontractor List Form You will also need your permit number and the job site address for the top of the form, so keep the permit application confirmation nearby.
Verify each license before you type the number in. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation runs a free license lookup at myfloridalicense.com.3Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Licensing Portal – License Search An expired or suspended license entered on the form will hold up the permit, and five minutes of checking up front saves a round of corrections later.
Filling Out the Form
The PDF is laid out with a row for each trade category: Building, Roofing, Electrical, Plumbing, Fuel Gas, Mechanical, Hood, Chemical, Fire Sprinkler, and Solar, with subcategories under several of those headings for things like low-voltage electrical, irrigation plumbing, and underground fire sprinkler. Fill in only the rows that apply to your job and leave the rest blank.2Pinellas County. Subcontractor List Form
If you have more than one contractor in the same trade and run out of lines, use a second copy of the form.1Pinellas County. Add a Subcontractor Type directly into the PDF fields when you can. Handwritten entries are fine if they’re legible, but hard-to-read names and license numbers are a frequent cause of rejections.
Who Signs
The primary contractor, meaning the permit holder, signs the form. Individual subcontractors do not sign it. An authorized agent can sign on the permit holder’s behalf only if a notarized authorization letter is already on file with the county.1Pinellas County. Add a Subcontractor If you’re signing as an agent and that letter hasn’t been filed, get it in before you submit the list, or the county will send the form back.
Mistakes That Cost You Time
Two problems come up again and again. The first is entering a contractor’s informal or trade name instead of the exact name on their DBPR license record. The second is a license number that doesn’t match the name. Both force a resubmission. Pull up the DBPR license lookup while you’re filling out the form and copy the information straight across.
Submitting the Form
Submission is a two-step process. Upload the completed PDF to your permit record on the Pinellas County Access Portal (Accela), then email Blddiweb@pinellas.gov to tell staff the list has been posted.1Pinellas County. Add a Subcontractor All permit documents move through this portal.4Pinellas County. Applying for a Building Permit
Log into Accela, open your permit record, and attach the signed PDF. If you don’t have an account yet, you’ll need to create one, since the county routes all permit activity through the platform.5Pinellas County. Permitting Guide For anything that has to be done in person, Building and Development Review Services is at 440 Court Street, Clearwater, FL 33756, open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a main line at (727) 464-3888.6Pinellas County. Building and Development Review Services Hours
Changing Subcontractors After the Permit Issues
If you need to swap or add a subcontractor after the permit is already active, the paperwork is different. You submit two things: a letter signed by the property owner authorizing the change, and a new subcontractor list showing the updated lineup. Email both to BlddiWeb@pinellas.gov.5Pinellas County. Permitting Guide
The owner’s signature is the critical piece. For the initial filing, only the primary contractor signs. For a mid-project change, the county wants the owner’s written approval of the swap. Until the updated list is processed, the incoming subcontractor cannot perform work or schedule inspections on that permit.
What Happens After You Submit
County staff review the form and confirm that each listed subcontractor holds an active Florida license for the applicable trade. If a license is expired, suspended, or otherwise inactive, the county flags it and holds the permit until you correct the entry. Once everything clears, the permit record is updated and trade inspections can be called in.
There is no separate fee for the subcontractor list; it’s part of the overall permit. Turnaround depends on current workload at Building and Development Review Services, so submit the form early in the application rather than waiting until the rest of the permit package is ready.
Paying Those Subcontractors: a 1099 Reminder
The county form is only the permitting side. Paying subcontractors triggers a separate federal filing obligation. For payments made on or after January 1, 2026, the IRS requires Form 1099-NEC for any subcontractor you pay $2,000 or more in a calendar year, up from the previous $600 threshold, and the amount will adjust for inflation annually starting in 2027.7Internal Revenue Service. Publication 1099 (2026), General Instructions for Certain Information Returns Collect a W-9 from each subcontractor before you cut the first check. Running down that paperwork at year-end, with 1099 deadlines in sight, is a mistake most contractors make exactly once.