Florida contractor license lookup: certified vs registered
Florida contractors are certified statewide or registered locally. Learn how to check a license on the DBPR site and read status values like delinquent.
Florida licenses contractors through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), with the Construction Industry Licensing Board setting the rules. The key distinction is certified versus registered. A certified contractor can work anywhere in the state. A registered contractor is valid only in the jurisdictions where they registered. You verify both on the DBPR license search at myfloridalicense.com.
Certified versus registered
Certified contractors hold a certificate of competency from the state and can work anywhere in Florida without further local approval. Their license numbers typically begin with the letter C, for example CGC for certified general contractor.
Registered contractors meet competency requirements for specific local jurisdictions and register with the state. They may work only in the areas where they are registered, and their license numbers typically begin with R, for example RG. If the local license lapses, the registration is affected too, so a registered contractor needs both the state record and the local license to be current.
Check the prefix on the record, then check where the work is. A registered contractor on a job outside their jurisdiction is a problem even if the record looks clean.
Categories
DBPR's license categories cover general contractor, building contractor, and residential contractor, plus specialty trades such as plumbing, roofing, air conditioning, mechanical, pool and spa, and narrower specialty licenses. Scope varies by category: a residential contractor license, for instance, is limited to certain building types and heights. The board describes them in divisions, with general, building, and residential contractors in one group and trade-specific contractors in another. Read the category on the record, and check what it permits on the DBPR site before you assume it fits your job.
How to verify a license
- Go to the DBPR license search and search by license number, or by name.
- Open the record and confirm the license category and the prefix (certified or registered).
- Read the status and expiration date.
- Check for qualifying business information, because many licenses are tied to a company that the individual qualifies.
- Look for disciplinary actions and any complaint or case information shown.
Reading status values
Status names on the record matter more than most people expect:
- Current, Active: The license is current and the holder may do licensed work. Check the expiration date as well.
- Current, Inactive: The holder has made the license inactive. It does not authorize licensed work.
- Delinquent: The license was not renewed by the deadline. It does not authorize work until renewed.
- Null and Void: A delinquent license that stayed unrenewed past a further deadline. It is generally not a simple late renewal.
- Suspended or revoked: Discipline or other action. No licensed work.
The exact list of labels can change, so read each label as shown and confirm questions with DBPR.
What to ask a subcontractor for
- The license number, category, and exact name of the license holder
- For a registered contractor, the local jurisdiction or jurisdictions where they are registered
- The qualifying business name if the license is tied to a company
- The local business tax receipt, where the city or county requires one
- A certificate of insurance and, where relevant, proof of workers' compensation or an exemption. See workers comp exemptions for sole proprietors.
Common traps
- Company versus individual. The license may belong to the person, with the company shown as a qualified business, or the other way around. The name in your subcontract should match the record.
- Active but wrong category. A building contractor license does not cover roofing or air conditioning work unless the category allows it.
- Registered outside its area. Valid only in the registered jurisdictions.
- Delinquent or null and void. Many licenses share a renewal date, so recheck status after each renewal deadline.
- Local business tax receipt. Cities and counties issue their own receipts, separate from the state license. They are not a license of competency.
When a license is not required statewide, check city and county
Some trades and some work are licensed locally, and local business tax receipts and permit rules apply on top of the state license. Check with the building department where the project is located. Rules change, so confirm current requirements with DBPR and the local jurisdiction. This is not legal advice.
Related reading: subcontractor certificate expired, getting a COI from your insurance agent, and the Texas license guide.
Check this automatically
ComplySub covers license status for Florida, along with Colorado, California, and Texas. It records the status, license number, and expiration date, and flags a license that is delinquent, inactive, or expired beside the insurance checks, against the requirements you set once. Vendors upload through a link without an account, and reminders go out before dates lapse. It does not replace the official DBPR record, and where a state or trade has no usable source you can enter the license manually.
This guide is general information, not legal or insurance advice. Insurance and licensing rules vary by state, carrier, and contract; confirm what applies to you with your insurance professional, attorney, or licensing board.