Florida general contractor license: what your CGC, CBC or CRC lets you build, and what your company must do

Published November 8, 2026 · Law checked November 8, 2026

• Free to read, nothing to download. The "can I take this job?" table below is the tool.
• Deepsel is our product: free estimate, invoice and scheduling software for contractors (scheduling, quotes, invoicing, card payments). The section before the FAQ says where it fits and where it doesn't.
• Not legal advice. Every rule here links to the statute or rule it comes from. Ask DBPR or a Florida construction attorney before you bet a job on my reading.

Florida licenses general contractors in three classes, and none of them has a dollar limit. A general contractor (CGC) can build anything. A building contractor (CBC) can build commercial and residential buildings of up to three stories, and remodel a building of any height as long as the work doesn't affect its structural members. A residential contractor (CRC) can build and remodel one-, two- and three-family homes of up to two habitable stories.¹ All three must sub out electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing and pool work to a contractor licensed in that trade.² A C at the front of the license number means certified and good statewide; an R means registered and good only where you hold a local certificate of competency.^1,8 And if you contract under any name but your own, your license has to qualify the company, which makes you answerable for its jobs and its money.⁴

You've either just been licensed, or you've just qualified a company with a license you've held for years. Either way, this is what Florida lets you take, what it makes you carry and display, and what crossing a line costs, with the statute or rule behind each point. These rules come from the Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB) at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), and the insurance, qualifier and renewal sections apply to every CILB license, pool and specialty contractors included. What has to be in the contract you sign is its own article (Florida construction contract requirements), and so is getting paid when a customer won't (Florida mechanics lien).

Florida contractor license classes: what CGC, CBC and CRC let you build

The definitions come from section 489.105(3) of the Florida Statutes.¹ A few details sit around them:

• No dollar or size cap. Unlike Virginia's classes, Florida's set no limit per job or per year, and no square-footage limit. The money tests (a credit report with a FICO score of 660, or a 14-hour financial course) are for getting the license, not for capping your jobs.^1,5
• A story is a level with at least 7 feet of clear height, measured floor to floor or floor to roof.⁷ So a CRC can build two living floors over one non-living floor, such as a ground-level garage and storage level, and no more.
• Accessory structures are things like "a garage, guest house, garden shed, or other outbuildings," in DBPR's words.⁸
• Structural work is yours. A general, building or residential contractor "shall be responsible for any construction or alteration of a structural component," which means any load-bearing member: foundations, load-bearing walls, columns, beams, floors and the roof structure.^1,2
• Site work. A certified general contractor can do clearing, grading and excavation on any project in the state. A certified building or residential contractor can do it only on the lot where the building stands.²
• You can be the prime contractor on a job when most of the work is inside your license, and sub the rest to licensed contractors.²

What you must sub out: electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing and pools

This is the line that matters most on a remodel. Section 489.113(3): "A contractor shall subcontract all electrical, mechanical, plumbing, roofing, sheet metal, swimming pool, and air-conditioning work, unless such contractor holds a state certificate or registration in the respective trade category."² There's no small-job exception in it. The carve-outs are narrow:

• Shingles on your own new building. A general, building or residential contractor doesn't have to sub "wood shingles, wood shakes, or asphalt or fiberglass shingle roofing materials on a new building of his or her own construction," or warranty repairs to them. A reroof on an existing house goes to a licensed roofing contractor (CCC or RC), and you may not advertise yourself as a roofer.² DBPR adds that roofing "cannot be subcontracted to unlicensed roofers."⁸
• Structural pool work, for a CGC only. "All other swimming pool work shall be subcontracted" to a licensed pool contractor. A CBC or CRC subs all of it.²
• Main sewer, storm and water lines. A general contractor may build them, and do underground utility work, without subbing.²

Electrical work sits under a different board (the Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board) and a different part of the law, and that part has no small-job exemption at all: I read its whole list of exemptions and none turns on the price.²⁵ Swapping a light fixture for pay is a job for a licensed electrical contractor; the Florida electrical contractor license article covers what an EC or ER may do. For the air conditioning and plumbing contractors you sub to, the Florida HVAC license and Florida plumbing license guides do the same.

Unlicensed helpers and subs can work for you, within limits. Someone without a license may do construction work "under the supervision of a person who is certified or registered," if the work is inside your license, you're responsible for it, and it isn't trade work such as plumbing, roofing or HVAC.² On single-family homes and townhouses, a drywall, tile or painting sub under a general, building or residential contractor's supervision needs no local license either.³ Two warnings. Knowingly helping an unlicensed person contract is grounds for discipline against your license.¹³ And an uninsured sub's crew lands on your workers' comp (the insurance section below).

One new rule for paying subs. Since July 1, 2026, a licensed contractor must pay a subcontractor or supplier within 45 days of being paid for their work, or by the terms of their contract, unless the amount is in genuine dispute. Knowingly or willfully missing it is grounds for discipline.²¹

Certified vs registered contractor in Florida

The same three classes come in two forms, and the first letter of your license number tells you which you hold.⁸

• Certified (CGC, CBC, CRC). You passed the state exam, and you can "contract in any jurisdiction in the state without being required to fulfill the competency requirements of that jurisdiction."¹ To work in a new county or city you show your certificate to the building official or tax collector and pay their business tax and permit fees, and that's all the state requires.² Some counties still make you enroll the state license before you pull permits: Palm Beach County does, and has state contractors re-enroll every two years.²⁷
• Registered (RG, RB, RR). Your registration rests on a local certificate of competency, and "Registered contractors may contract only in such jurisdictions."¹ Miami-Dade County's Construction Trades Qualifying Board and Palm Beach County's own licensing board are two of the local boards still issuing them, and Miami-Dade restricts permits for its certificate holders who don't register with the state.²⁷

If you're registered, four rules apply to you and not to certified contractors:^3,13

• Report every local jurisdiction and category where you hold a certificate of competency to the CILB within 30 days of getting it.
• Stay inside those jurisdictions. "Persons working outside the geographical scope of their registration are guilty of unlicensed activity," with the penalties further down.
• One exception: after a declared natural-disaster state of emergency, you may work in the declared area for work your registration covers, until 24 months after the declaration ends. Your local board can still discipline you for what you do there.
• Your local board, not the CILB, disciplines you for local matters.

Two ways to move between them. With five years of active experience in the category, a passed exam the board treats as substantially similar to the state's, and a clean record (no revocation, no suspension or fine over $500 in five years), a registered contractor can be certified without retaking the state exam.³ And since a 2024 law, someone who held a local license in 2021, 2022 or 2023 in a city or county that no longer offers it can get a state registration for that jurisdiction without an exam.^3,15

A local certificate alone never gets you a permit for CILB work. Building departments may not issue one to anyone without "a valid active certificate or registration in the appropriate category."¹³

Qualifying a business in Florida: your duties as qualifying agent

If you contract in your own name, or as a sole proprietor under a fictitious name, the license is issued to you. If you contract as an LLC, a corporation, a partnership, or under any other name, you must apply "as the qualifying agent of the business organization."⁴ DBPR then lists the company as a qualified business on your license.⁸ Many of the new Florida records we see each month are exactly this: a licensee qualifying a new company. If that's you, these duties are new even if the license isn't.

What you swear to, and what you answer for

• Final say over the work and the money. Your application includes an affidavit that you have "final approval authority for all construction work performed by the business organization" and "final approval authority on all business matters, including contracts, specifications, checks, drafts, or payments," unless the board approves a financially responsible officer.⁴
• Every site and every job's finances. Primary qualifying agents "are jointly and equally responsible for supervision of all operations of the business organization; for all field work at all sites; and for financial matters, both for the organization in general and for each specific job."⁴
• The company's violations are yours. The board can discipline the qualifying agent for acts of the business, fine the business itself or any officer who took part up to $5,000 per violation on top, and a license revocation bars you from being an officer, partner or manager of a contracting business for five years.¹³
• Leaving. Tell DBPR when you stop qualifying the company. If you were its only licensee, it has 60 days to employ another qualifying agent and may not contract in the meantime, except to finish existing contracts under a temporary certificate the board can grant. Running it past 60 days with no qualifier is a crime.^4,13

The financially responsible officer

A company can ask the board to approve a financially responsible officer (FRO), a person other than you who "assumes personal responsibility for all financial aspects of the business organization."¹ Then you're responsible for all construction activities and the FRO for the money.⁴ The FRO's affidavit says their approval is required for every check, draft or payment, and the FRO must post a $100,000 bond or irrevocable letter of credit payable to the board for fines and costs.^4,5 DBPR says a "letter of bondability" won't do.⁸

Qualifying a second or third company

Approval of each additional business "is discretionary with the board," and you pay the original license fee again for each one.⁴ Under the board's rule as amended December 23, 2025, you must appear before the board for a second company unless you own 20% or more of it or are its W-2 employee. A third company also means a board appearance, unless you own 20% or more of all three.⁵ Each company needs a credit report, and the board refuses an applicant with unsatisfied judgments or liens against a business they qualified before.^5,8 Parent and subsidiary companies are qualified separately.⁵

Lending your license

The offer comes early. A newly licensed Florida GC wrote this summer: "as soon as contractors hear that I'm licensed they either tell me license is a waste of time, I pay $500 a job and a GC pulls my permits for me, others ask me if I can pull permits for them" (r/GeneralContractor).²⁶ Florida law answers both offers:¹³

• You may not agree, orally or in writing, to let an unlicensed person or an unqualified business use your license number, or knowingly allow it.
• You may not pull a permit unless you, or the business you qualify, has a contract for the work at that property (your own property and unpaid work aside).
• Either one is a first-degree misdemeanor, and a felony the second time.
• For the board, letting a business use your license "without having any active participation in the operations, management, or control" of it is "prima facie evidence of an intent to evade" the law.

Qualifying a company you don't run is the same thing in a more permanent form. The article on pulling a permit for someone else covers the asks and how to say no.

Florida contractor license requirements you keep paying for: insurance and workers' comp

Before the license issues, and again at every renewal, you sign an affidavit that you carry workers' comp, public liability and property damage insurance in the board's amounts.⁹ The board's rule then requires you to keep that coverage "for the life of an active certificate or registration," and says it's "a violation of this rule for any licensee to fail to continually maintain" it.¹⁰

The rule calls these the "aggregate amount" of coverage.¹⁰ You don't send a certificate with the application. The board audits licensees at random by zip code, and then you have 30 days to produce one that shows:¹⁰

• the exact name of the business you qualify, and its d/b/a;
• "State of Florida, Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the Construction Industry Licensing Board" as certificate holder;
• a 30-day cancellation notice to the board;
• your license number.

Ask your agent to set it up that way on day one. A building department can also refuse or suspend your permits if you can't show the insurance or the comp.² These are floors for the license. A GC, a property manager or a commercial owner will often ask for more, and the contractor insurance article has what policies cost and what to collect from subs.

Workers' comp: from the first employee, and owners count

• The trigger. In construction, Florida's comp law covers "all private employment in which one or more employees are employed by the same employer." Most other industries start at four.^11,12
• Owners. "A sole proprietor who engages in the construction industry and a partner or partnership that is engaged in the construction industry" count as employees under the statute, and the construction exemption is open only to corporate officers and LLC members.^11,12 Read together, a sole proprietor in construction needs a policy that covers himself.
• The exemption. Up to three officers of a corporation or LLC (or of a group of affiliated companies), each owning at least 10%, can file a construction exemption with the Division of Workers' Compensation: $50, an online tutorial, good for two years.^11,12 It covers only the named officer. Anyone else on the payroll still needs a policy.
• At licensing. You need comp or an exemption to get and renew the license. If you'll use an exemption, you attest that you'll have it within 30 days of the license being issued.^9,8
• A lapse. When a policy is cancelled, the Division reports you to DBPR, you must prove you're covered again and pay a $500 fine, and the board can suspend or revoke the license.⁹ The Division can also stop the job with a stop-work order, fine you $1,000 for each day you keep working under it, and assess twice the premium you should have paid over the past 12 months, or $1,000 if that's more.¹¹
• Subs. When you sublet work, your employees and the sub's on that work are treated as "one and the same business," and you're liable for comp to all of them except the employees of a sub who has his own coverage. The statute tells you to "require a subcontractor to provide evidence of workers' compensation insurance," or a copy of an exempt officer's certificate.¹¹

Hiring your first helper changes the paperwork in other ways too; the first-hire article walks through it.

Florida handyman license: the $2,500 minor-work exemption

Florida has no handyman license. It has one exemption from contractor licensing for small jobs, in section 489.103(9):⁶

"Any work or operation of a casual, minor, or inconsequential nature in which the aggregate contract price for labor, materials, and all other items is less than $2,500."

The figure was $1,000 until July 1, 2020, when HB 1193 raised it.^16,8 The old number hasn't gone away. On the day I wrote this, Google's AI answer for "florida handyman license" said: "The $1,000 Threshold: Total project cost (labor and materials combined) cannot exceed $1,000."²⁹

How Florida counts the $2,500

• Less than $2,500, not up to it. A $2,499 job can qualify; a $2,500 job can't.
• Labor, materials and everything else. The statute counts "the aggregate contract price for labor, materials, and all other items."⁶ It doesn't say what happens when the customer buys the materials. Near the line, I'd count them.
• Per job, judged against the whole project. The exemption doesn't apply when the work "is a part of a larger or major operation, whether undertaken by the same or a different contractor." So a $2,000 tile job inside someone else's $40,000 remodel doesn't qualify.⁶
• No splitting. It also fails when "a division of the operation is made in contracts of amounts less than $2,500 for the purpose of evading this part or otherwise."⁶ The words "or otherwise" suggest the reason for the split doesn't matter.
• The nature of the work, as well as the price. The CILB's rule lists what is never "casual, minor, or inconsequential": "any work affecting structural components, any work involving use of toxic or hazardous chemicals or substances, any work affecting access or egress to a structure, any work affecting accommodations for the physically disabled, any work for which a building permit is required and any work affecting life-safety matters."⁷ DBPR puts it simply: "Typically, work requiring a permit is not of a casual, minor, or inconsequential nature."⁸
• No advertising as a contractor. The exemption doesn't apply "To a person who advertises that he or she is a contractor or otherwise represents that he or she is qualified to engage in contracting."⁶
• Per job, not per year. I found no yearly cap on small jobs in the statute, the rule or DBPR's FAQ.

What it means once you hold a license

You don't need the exemption for work inside your class. You can't use it for work outside your class either: you advertise as a contractor, and the subcontracting rule has no small-job exception. So a $150 faucet swap on your remodel is still plumbing to sub out. That's my reading of the two sections together; if small trade calls are a big part of your week, get the CILB's answer in writing.

For the people around you (your helper, your tile sub, the handyman who wants to go out on his own), the exemption is the line. Under your supervision, inside your license, they don't need one. On their own, they need every job under $2,500, minor in nature, not part of a bigger project, and no "contractor" on the truck. For pricing that kind of work, see the handyman price list.

Watch for the owner-builder ask. A homeowner may pull a permit as an owner-builder and do their own work, but the exemption "does not exempt any person who is employed by or has a contract with such owner and who acts in the capacity of a contractor." The owner's disclosure statement says it plainly: "it is a frequent practice of unlicensed persons to have the property owner obtain an owner-builder permit."⁶

Local licenses and business tax receipts

What Florida cities and counties may no longer license

HB 735, in force since July 1, 2021, preempted occupational licensing to the state.¹⁵ Local licenses that existed before 2021 were allowed to run on for a while, but "any such local government licensing of occupations expires on July 1, 2025," unless a general law authorizes it.¹⁵ Chapter 489 names job scopes a local government may not license, and it may not require a license to get a permit for them: "painting; flooring; cabinetry; interior remodeling when the scope of the project does not include a task for which a state license is required; driveway or tennis court installation; handyman services; decorative stone, tile, marble, granite, or terrazzo installation; plastering; pressure washing; stuccoing; caulking; and canvas awning and ornamental iron installation."³

What survives:³

• local certificates of competency in the state categories, which are what registered licenses rest on;
• local licenses for veneer (including aluminum or vinyl gutters, siding, soffit and fascia), rooftop painting, coating and cleaning above three stories, and fences, where the local government had them before January 1, 2021;
• pre-2021 licenses in a county that includes an area of critical state concern.

Florida business tax receipt

The license lets you contract. A business tax receipt (what used to be the occupational license) lets the county and city tax you for doing business there. Each can levy one.¹⁷ A few rules for contractors:

• A qualified business applies in the name of the business and the qualifying agent, and the receipt carries your state license numbers.⁴
• You pay where your permanent business location or branch office is. Once you have, "no other local governing authority may levy a business tax" on you for temporary work in its area, and a contractor wrongly charged can challenge it and recover attorney's fees.¹⁷
• A business tax receipt "is not a license" for contracting, and not having one doesn't make your contracts unenforceable.¹³ It's still owed.

Lead paint and asbestos: licenses your contractor license doesn't include

Lead paint (EPA's RRP rule)

Florida doesn't run its own lead renovation program, so EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule applies directly.²² If you disturb paint for pay in a home built before 1978, the firm needs EPA certification and the work must be directed by a certified renovator. The exception is minor repair: "6 square feet or less of painted surface per room for interior activities or 20 square feet or less of painted surface for exterior activities," and never "window replacement or demolition of painted surface areas." Jobs in the same room within the same 30 days count as one.²² The civil penalty under the federal statute behind the rule is up to $49,772 per violation, the figure still in force in November 2026.²²

Asbestos

"No person may conduct asbestos abatement work unless licensed by the department under this chapter as an asbestos contractor."²³ The exemptions that matter on a house: an owner working on the home they live in; a licensed roofing contractor removing asbestos roofing under a trained roofing supervisor; and nonfriable vinyl floor covering that stays intact, removed under OSHA's rules, with written notice to DBPR at least 3 days before.²³ A popcorn ceiling or old pipe insulation isn't on that list. Test before you scrape.

Can I take this job? A table for Florida CGC, CBC and CRC license holders

The verdicts assume an active license, a house unless the row says otherwise, and, if your number starts with R, a job inside a jurisdiction where you hold the local certificate. Florida's building code lists only a few gas, mechanical and plumbing repairs as exempt from permits; the building official can approve "ordinary minor repairs" without one, and many local departments publish their own lists, so call when in doubt.¹⁹ Since July 1, 2026, a building department must also exempt work on a single-family home valued under $7,500 if you ask in writing with the contract, unless the property is in a flood hazard area or the work is electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical or gas.²⁰

Sources for the table: classes,¹ subcontracting,² the $2,500 exemption and sheds,^6,7 electrical,²⁵ permits,^19,20 lead,²² asbestos.²³ For what the electrician you hire can and can't do, see the Florida electrical contractor license article.

Permits and the Florida Building Code

• Your number goes on every permit application, and the building department must check it before it issues the permit.⁴
• The code in force is the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023), effective since December 31, 2023.¹⁹ The 9th Edition (2026) is scheduled to take effect December 31, 2026; the Building Commission's August 2026 work plan still showed the final rule hearing as pending.¹⁹ A permit is reviewed under "the code in effect as of" the application date, so on a job you're pricing now, ask the building department which edition your application will fall under.¹⁹
• Starting work that needs a permit without one is a crime for an unlicensed person and grounds for discipline for a licensee, "unless otherwise provided by law."¹³ That last phrase came in July 1, 2026 with the $7,500 exemption.²⁰

What happens if you cross the line

No license for the work (or a registered license outside its area)

Florida treats all of these as unlicensed contracting: no license; an inactive or suspended one; work outside your license's scope; a registered license outside its jurisdictions; a business with no qualifying agent for more than 60 days.¹³

• It's a crime. A first offense is a first-degree misdemeanor, up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. A repeat is a third-degree felony, up to five years and $5,000.^13,14
• In a state of emergency, it's a felony the first time. Contracting without a license "during the existence of a state of emergency declared by executive order of the Governor" is a third-degree felony.¹³ That's when storm work is everywhere, so check whether a declaration covers your county before you take work outside your license. If an insurance claim pays for the repair, s. 489.147's claim rules bind every CILB contractor, not only roofers; they're in Florida roofing insurance claim law.
• DBPR can fine an unlicensed person up to $10,000, plus investigative and legal costs. A county or city can cite you too, with penalties of up to $2,500 a day after a hearing, and the order can become a lien on your property.¹³
• DBPR can issue a stop-work order on the whole project.¹³
• You may not get paid. A contract by an unlicensed contractor is "unenforceable in law or in equity by the unlicensed contractor," and you have no lien or bond claim. "Unlicensed" here includes not having the license required "concerning the scope of the work," and a business without a qualifying agent for that scope.¹³ The contract article covers how that plays out.

One softer rule for licensees: someone who holds a state or local license and is found guilty of unlicensed contracting for the first time gets a notice of noncompliance first.¹³

Licensed, but you broke a board rule

The CILB can fine you up to $10,000 per violation, order restitution and costs, and put you on probation, suspend or revoke the license. The grounds include working without permits or inspections, helping an unlicensed person contract, lending your license, abandoning a job, and mismanagement that costs a customer money.¹³ The board won't renew a license until fines and restitution are paid.¹³

Where your Florida license number has to appear

• Every building permit application.⁴
• "Each offer of services, business proposal, bid, contract, or advertisement, regardless of medium."⁴ The board's definition of advertising covers business cards, proposals, contracts, job-site signs, newspapers, radio and TV, "any electronic media including Internet sites," phone directories, flyers, billboards, coupon guides and "signs on vehicles." It leaves out pens, hats, shirts and other giveaways, and a plain one-to-three-line directory listing.⁷
• Your truck, if it carries your company name or anything that "would lead a reasonable person to believe that the vehicle is used for contracting." The number has to be "conspicuously and legibly displayed" with it. A plain truck needs nothing: the law says it doesn't "create a mandatory vehicle signage requirement."⁴
• The number is the license holder's (your CGC, CBC or CRC number), even on the company's ads.⁴

A missing number earns a notice of noncompliance the first time, then a fine or citation if it isn't fixed within 30 days.⁴ Website and Google profile included.

Florida contractor license renewal and continuing education

• Dates. "Certified contractors renew their licenses on August 31 of every even-numbered year. Registered contractors renew their licenses August 31 of every odd-numbered year."⁸ A certified license issued this fall next renews on August 31, 2028; a registered one on August 31, 2027.
• Hours. 14 per two-year cycle. One hour each must cover a Florida Building Code advanced module, workplace safety, business practices, workers' comp, and laws and rules. General, building and residential licenses also need an hour of wind mitigation and an hour on stucco, plaster and cladding.¹⁸ Up to four hours can come from sitting in on a board disciplinary session.¹⁸
• Your first renewal. No hours if the license was issued less than 12 months before the renewal date; 7 hours if it was 12 to 24 months before.^18,8 So a certified license issued in November 2026 owes 7 hours by August 31, 2028, and a registered one issued now owes none in 2027. Hold several CILB licenses? You do the hours once.¹⁸
• Insurance again. Each renewal carries the same insurance and comp affidavit.⁹
• Lapses. You can't contract on an inactive or delinquent license. Miss the renewal and the license goes delinquent; leave it delinquent past the end of the next cycle and it's void, and you start over as a new applicant.⁹

Specialty and pool/spa licenses (SCC, RX, CUC, CPC, RP)

Specialty contractors (SCC certified, RX registered) hold one of the board's specialty categories, such as aluminum and screen enclosures, window and door installation, structural masonry, drywall, demolition or marine work. The law calls these "a voluntary statewide licensing category" that "does not create a mandatory licensing requirement," and each is limited to its phase of construction. The aluminum category, for one, may not "alter the structural integrity of the building," and must sub out other trades.^2,24 Underground utility and excavation contractors (CUC, RU) are a full CILB trade license: main sewer, water and storm systems, and lines up to the meter.¹ All of them carry $100,000 and $25,000 of coverage and follow the same qualifier, comp, license-number and renewal rules above.¹⁰

Pool/spa contractors (CPC certified, RP registered) come in commercial, residential and servicing classes. The license covers building, repairing and servicing pools, spas and hot tubs: equipment, interior finishes, package heaters, perimeter and filter piping, and equipment rooms. It doesn't cover "direct connections to a sanitary sewer system or to potable water lines," which go to a plumber.¹ On electrical work, a pool contractor may work only on the load side of an existing dedicated disconnect; installing or upgrading the circuit "shall be performed by a licensed electrical contractor only."⁷ Two kinds of crew work under a pool contractor, and the law treats them differently. Pool specialty contractors hold one of the board's licensed pool specialties (layout, structural, excavation, trim, decking, piping or finishes); they may not contract directly with the public, so they work for a pool contractor.⁸ Separately, since 2022 someone with no license at all may do that same specialty work, if a certified or registered pool contractor supervises it, it's within that contractor's scope, and the contractor is responsible for it.^3,8 The pool license needs one CE hour on pool electrical requirements.¹⁸ What each class covers, where cleaning ends and licensed work starts, and a new pool contractor's first 30 days are on the Florida pool contractor license page, and the barrier a new pool needs to pass final inspection is on the Florida pool fence requirements page.

Florida laws that changed in 2025 and 2026

I checked the history of every section above in the 2026 Florida Statutes and read the session laws behind the recent changes:

• July 1, 2026 (SB 290, ch. 2026-3): pay subs and suppliers within 45 days of being paid, or by contract.²¹
• July 1, 2026 (HB 803, ch. 2026-63): the $7,500 single-family permit exemption, and the "unless otherwise provided by law" change to the permit discipline rule.²⁰
• December 23, 2025: the board's rule on qualifying additional businesses (20% ownership or W-2 employment, and the third-business rule).⁵
• July 1, 2025: pre-2021 local occupational licenses expired.¹⁵
• 2025 (HB 715, ch. 2025-40): the roofing contractor's scope and roofing contract notices. That one is for the roofing articles: Florida roofing license and Florida roofing insurance claim law.²⁸

No 2025 or 2026 change touched the $2,500 exemption, the class definitions, the subcontracting rule, the qualifier rules, the insurance amounts (last changed in 2007) or the continuing education rule (2023).

Before the next job

1. Look yourself up on DBPR's license search. Check the class, C or R, active status, and that the business you qualify is listed.
2. Have your agent issue a liability certificate with the qualified business's exact name, DBPR's Construction Industry Licensing Board as certificate holder, your license number, and the board's minimums at least.
3. Sort out comp: a policy from the first employee, or for yourself as a sole proprietor; or an officer exemption, filed within 30 days of the license if that's what you attested to.
4. If you're registered, report every jurisdiction where you hold a certificate of competency within 30 days, and keep your jobs inside them.
5. Put your license number on the truck (if it's lettered), the website, your Google profile, business cards, proposals and every contract.
6. Get the business tax receipt where your office is, in the business's and your name.
7. Line up a licensed electrician, plumber, HVAC contractor and roofer now, check each on DBPR's search, and collect their comp certificates before they start.
8. If you'll disturb paint in pre-1978 homes, get the firm EPA-certified and take the certified renovator course.
9. Put August 31 of your renewal year in the calendar, with your CE hours, and pay subs within 45 days of being paid.

Pricing the jobs your license now lets you take is its own subject: the construction estimate template and contractor markup articles cover it.

Where Deepsel fits

Deepsel is the field service software I build, and it doesn't know Florida licensing. It won't warn you that a job needs a plumber, track your insurance or comp expiry dates, count your CE hours, or remind you of the 45-day rule for paying subs; it doesn't track bills from subs at all. What it does help with: the shop-wide terms text you set once is copied onto every quote and shows on the customer's quote page, and the invoice footer is copied onto every invoice, so your license number goes on every proposal and invoice without retyping. An estimate can hold internal files the customer never sees, and they follow it onto the job, so a sub's insurance certificate can sit with the work it covers. Quotes can carry options, the customer approves and signs on screen, and an optional card deposit is credited on the final invoice. Free covers 30 estimates and 30 invoices a month for your whole team, with scheduling and dispatch, quotes, invoicing, card payments, and customer and equipment records; Pro is $29 a month with unlimited estimates and invoices (pricing).

Frequently asked questions

Are general contractors required to be licensed in Florida?

Yes. Anyone who contracts for work in a CILB category needs a state license: certified (a C license, good statewide) or registered (an R license, good only where you hold a local certificate of competency). The general contractor class (CGC or RG) covers any building of any size. The building (CBC or RB) and residential (CRC or RR) classes are narrower. The only small-job exemption is for casual, minor or inconsequential work under $2,500, and it isn't open to anyone who advertises as a contractor.

What can a residential contractor do in Florida?

A CRC (or RR) can build, remodel, repair or improve one-, two- and three-family homes of no more than two habitable stories above no more than one uninhabitable story, plus garages, sheds and other accessory structures, including the structural work on them. It can't build or remodel commercial buildings or homes of four or more units. Like every general class, it must sub out electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing and pool work to a contractor licensed in that trade.

What is the difference between a certified and a registered contractor in Florida?

A certified contractor passed the state exam and can contract anywhere in Florida; the license number starts with C (CGC, CBC, CRC). A registered contractor holds a local certificate of competency from a county or city and registered it with DBPR; the number starts with R (RG, RB, RR), and it's good only in the jurisdictions where that local license is held. Working outside them is unlicensed contracting. Certified licenses renew on August 31 of even years, registered ones on August 31 of odd years.

Do you need a license to be a handyman in Florida?

Florida has no handyman license. A handyman can take work of a 'casual, minor, or inconsequential nature' with an aggregate contract price, labor and materials included, of less than $2,500. The CILB's rule says work that needs a building permit, touches structural parts, or affects egress or life safety isn't minor. The exemption is lost if the job is part of a larger project or split to stay under the line, or if the handyman advertises as a contractor. There's no small-job exemption at all for electrical work.

How much can a handyman charge without a license in Florida?

Less than $2,500 per job, counting labor, materials and all other items, and only for casual, minor or inconsequential work. The line was $1,000 until July 1, 2020; some sources still quote the old figure. A $2,400 job that's one piece of a bigger remodel doesn't qualify, and neither do two $1,500 contracts for the same bathroom.

What is a qualifying agent in Florida?

The licensed person who qualifies a company. If you contract as an LLC, a corporation, a partnership or under any name other than your own (a sole proprietor's d/b/a aside), your license must qualify that business, and DBPR lists it as a qualified business. As primary qualifying agent you swear you have final approval over all its construction work and its contracts and payments, and you're responsible for supervising every job and its finances, unless the board approves a financially responsible officer to take the money side.

What insurance do you need for a Florida contractor license?

General and building contractors must keep $300,000 of public liability and $50,000 of property damage coverage; residential contractors and every other CILB category, $100,000 and $25,000. The certificate holder is DBPR's Construction Industry Licensing Board. Workers' comp is required in construction from the first employee, and sole proprietors and partners in construction count as employees; corporate officers and LLC members owning 10% or more can file a $50 exemption instead.

How many continuing education hours do Florida contractors need?

14 hours each two-year cycle, with one hour each of a Florida Building Code advanced module, workplace safety, business practices, workers' comp, and laws and rules, plus wind mitigation and a stucco and cladding hour for general, building and residential licenses. If your license was issued less than 12 months before the August 31 renewal date, you owe nothing that cycle; 12 to 24 months before, you owe 7 hours.

Sources

1. Florida Statutes § 489.105 (2026), definitions: (3)(a) general contractor ("unlimited as to the type of work"), (3)(b) building contractor (commercial and residential buildings that "do not exceed three stories in height," and remodeling of "any size building if the services do not affect the structural members"), (3)(c) residential contractor (one- to three-family residences "not exceeding two habitable stories above no more than one uninhabitable story"), (3)(j)-(l) pool/spa contractors, (3)(n) underground utility and excavation contractor, (3)(q) specialty contractor, (8) certified contractor, (10) registered contractor ("may contract only in such jurisdictions"), (14) financially responsible officer, (15) structural component. leg.state.fl.us, read November 8, 2026.
2. Florida Statutes § 489.113 (2026): (2) unlicensed subcontractors under a licensee's supervision; (3) "A contractor shall subcontract all electrical, mechanical, plumbing, roofing, sheet metal, swimming pool, and air-conditioning work," with (a) structural responsibility and site work, (b) shingles on a new building of the contractor's own construction, (c) structural pool work, (d)-(e) utility mains, (g) no advertising as a roofer; (4)(a) certificate shown to local officials; (4)(c) permits refused without insurance or comp; (6)(a) specialty categories voluntary; (9)(a) prime contractor where the majority of the work is in scope. leg.state.fl.us, read November 8, 2026.
3. Florida Statutes § 489.117 (2026): (1)(a)-(c) registration on local competency, limited to those jurisdictions, report within 30 days; (2)(b) registration where the local license type is no longer offered; (4)(a) job scopes a local government may not license, and the veneer, rooftop and fence licenses it may keep; (4)(d)-(e) unlicensed specialty work under supervision; (5) registered contractors in a declared emergency area for 24 months. § 489.118, certification of registered contractors. 489.117, 489.118, read November 8, 2026.
4. Florida Statutes § 489.119 (2026): (1)-(2) individual license or qualifying agent, with the affidavit of "final approval authority"; (3)(a) 60 days to replace a qualifier; (4) business tax receipt in the business's and qualifier's names with license numbers; (5)(a)-(e) license number on permits, offers, bids, contracts, advertisements and lettered vehicles, notice of noncompliance first; (6) additional businesses at the board's discretion. § 489.1195, responsibilities of primary and secondary qualifying agents and the financially responsible officer. 489.119, 489.1195, read November 8, 2026.
5. Florida Administrative Code: Rule 61G4-15.0021, Business Organizations, effective 12/23/2025 (board approval for another business; appearance unless 20% owner or W-2 employee; third business; FRO bond or letter of credit of $100,000; subsidiaries separately qualified), flrules.org; Rule 61G4-15.0024, Supervision of Business Entities, flrules.org; Rule 61G4-15.006, Financial Responsibility and Financial Stability (FICO 660 or a 14-hour course; no unsatisfied judgments or liens), flrules.org. All read November 8, 2026.
6. Florida Statutes § 489.103 (2026), exemptions: (7) owner-builders, including (7)(b) and the disclosure statement; (9) "Any work or operation of a casual, minor, or inconsequential nature in which the aggregate contract price for labor, materials, and all other items is less than $2,500," not when part of a larger operation or split, and not for anyone who advertises as a contractor; (20) prefabricated sheds of 250 sq ft or less; (21) approved storage buildings of 400 sq ft or less. leg.state.fl.us, read November 8, 2026.
7. Florida Administrative Code Rule 61G4-12.011, Definitions: (1) "story" (seven feet of clear height); (2) activities that are not "casual, minor, or inconsequential"; (3) "advertise"; (15) pool/spa electrical work limited to the load side of the existing dedicated disconnect. flrules.org, read November 8, 2026.
8. DBPR, Construction Industry: license categories and code letters ("Certified contractors are designated by an occupation code which begins with the letter 'C'"; registered with "R"; pool specialty contractors "may not contract directly with the public"), myfloridalicense.com; Construction Industry FAQs (handyman jobs "below $2,500" since July 1, 2020; renewal on August 31 of even and odd years; first-renewal CE; insurance amounts; comp or exemption within 30 days; additional businesses; FRO bond of $100,000; roofing not subbed to unlicensed roofers; qualified business listed on the license; the pool specialty licenses, "Layout, Structural, Excavation, Trim, Decking, Piping and Finishing"; unlicensed pool specialty work under a pool contractor "Effective July 1, 2022"; these two read November 9, 2026), myfloridalicense.com. Both read November 8, 2026.
9. Florida Statutes § 489.114 (comp evidence at issuance and renewal; $500 fine after a lapse), § 489.115(4)-(5) (renewal every two years with 14 hours of CE; affidavit of comp, public liability and property damage insurance at issuance and renewal; exemption within 30 days), § 489.116 (active status required; delinquent and void licenses). 489.114, 489.115, 489.116, read November 8, 2026.
10. Florida Administrative Code Rule 61G4-15.003, Public Liability Insurance, effective 11/15/2007: coverage maintained "for the life of an active certificate or registration"; random audits; certificate contents and holder; $300,000 and $50,000 for general and building contractors, $100,000 and $25,000 for residential and other categories. flrules.org, read November 8, 2026.
11. Florida Statutes § 440.02(11), (18)(b)-(c), (20)(b) (construction employment from one employee; sole proprietors and partners in construction are employees; up to three officers with 10% may elect exemption; LLC members with 10% count as officers), § 440.05 (exemption notice, two-year certificate, $50 fee), § 440.10(1)(b)-(c) (contractor liable for subs' employees; require evidence of comp), § 440.107(7) (stop-work order, $1,000 a day, twice the premium or $1,000). 440.02, 440.05, 440.10, 440.107, read November 8, 2026.
12. Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Workers' Compensation: "Coverage Requirements" ("Construction Industry Employers with one or more employees, including the owner of the business who are corporate officers or Limited Liability Company (LLC) members, must have workers' compensation coverage"), myfloridacfo.com; "Construction Industry" exemptions (corporations and LLCs; 10% ownership; no more than three officers; $50), myfloridacfo.com. Both read November 8, 2026.
13. Florida Statutes § 489.127 (prohibitions; inactive or suspended counts as unlicensed; business tax receipt "is not a license"; misdemeanor, repeat felony, felony during a declared state of emergency; stop-work orders; license lending and permits without a contract; local citations up to $2,500 a day), § 489.128 (contracts by unlicensed contractors unenforceable; no lien or bond claim; scope and qualifying agent tests), § 489.129 (board discipline up to $10,000 per violation; up to $5,000 more on the business or officers; permits "unless otherwise provided by law," as amended by ch. 2026-63; five-year bar after revocation; no renewal until fines are paid), § 489.13 (unlicensed contracting including outside a registration's area; notice of noncompliance for a licensee's first offense; DBPR fine up to $10,000; no permit without a valid state license). 489.127, 489.128, 489.129, 489.13, read November 8, 2026.
14. Florida Statutes § 775.082(3)(e), (4)(a) (third-degree felony up to 5 years; first-degree misdemeanor up to 1 year) and § 775.083(1)(c)-(d) ($5,000 and $1,000). 775.082, 775.083, read November 8, 2026.
15. Florida Statutes § 163.211 (licensing of occupations preempted to the state; pre-2021 local licensing "expires on July 1, 2025"). leg.state.fl.us; HB 735 (2021), bill page ("Effective Date: 7/1/2021", ch. 2021-214), flsenate.gov; Laws of Florida ch. 2024-212 (CS/SB 1142: expiry moved to July 1, 2025; registration path in 489.117(2)(b)), laws.flrules.org. All read November 8, 2026.
16. Florida Senate, 2020 bill summary, CS/HB 1193 (ch. 2020-160): "Increases the maximum contract price from $1,000 to $2,500 for the 'handyman exception'"; effective July 1, 2020. flsenate.gov, read November 8, 2026. The 2018 and 2020 editions of § 489.103(9) on flsenate.gov show $1,000 and $2,500.
17. Florida Statutes § 205.032 (county business tax), § 205.042 (municipal business tax) and § 205.065 (no business tax from another county or city for temporary work once paid where the permanent business location is; attorney's fees). 205.032, 205.042, 205.065, read November 8, 2026.
18. Florida Administrative Code Rule 61G4-18.001, Continuing Education Requirements, effective 6/26/2023: 14 hours; one hour each in an advanced code module, workplace safety, business practices, workers' compensation, laws and rules; wind mitigation and cladding for general, building and residential; pool electrical for pool categories; up to four hours at a disciplinary session; one set of hours for several licenses; no hours in the year of issue, seven if issued more than 12 months before the end of the cycle. flrules.org, read November 8, 2026.
19. Florida Building Code, Building, 8th Edition (2023), Chapter 1: 105.1 (permits required), 105.2 (gas, mechanical and plumbing exemptions only; 105.2.2 ordinary minor repairs with the building official's approval), 105.3 (application inscribed with "the code in effect as of that date"), codes.iccsafe.org; Florida Building Commission home page ("The Effective Date for the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023), is December 31, 2023"), floridabuilding.org; "9th Edition (2026) FBC Code Update Development Tasks," August 2026 ("2026 FBC (9th edition) effective date ... 12/31/2026"; final rule hearing "TBD"), floridabuilding.org. All read November 8, 2026.
20. Florida Statutes § 553.79(1)(g) (2026): building departments "shall exempt an owner of a single-family dwelling or the owner's contractor" from permits for "any work valued at less than $7,500," except in flood hazard areas and for "any electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, or gas work"; no splitting; written request with the contract. Added by Laws of Florida ch. 2026-63 (CS/CS/HB 803), effective July 1, 2026, which also amended § 489.129(1)(o). leg.state.fl.us, laws.flrules.org, read November 8, 2026.
21. Florida Statutes § 489.1295 (2026), Prohibition against nonpayment: pay a subcontractor or supplier "Within 45 days after receiving payment" or by contract, unless there's a bona fide dispute; discipline for knowing or willful violations. Created by Laws of Florida ch. 2026-3 (CS/CS/CS/SB 290), effective July 1, 2026. leg.state.fl.us, laws.flrules.org, read November 8, 2026.
22. EPA, "Renovation, Repair and Painting Program: Firm Certification" (EPA runs the program in every state not listed as authorized; Florida isn't listed), epa.gov; 40 CFR 745.81 (firm certification; renovations directed by certified renovators) and 745.83 (minor repair and maintenance: 6 sq ft inside, 20 outside, never window replacement; same room within 30 days is one job), ecfr.gov; 40 CFR 19.4, Table 1 (15 U.S.C. 2615(a)(1): $49,772), ecfr.gov. All read November 8, 2026.
23. Florida Statutes § 469.003 (asbestos contractor license required for abatement work) and § 469.002 (exemptions: owner-occupants, roofing contractors removing asbestos roofing under a trained supervisor, nonfriable resilient floor covering with 3 days' written notice to DBPR). 469.003, 469.002, read November 8, 2026.
24. Florida Administrative Code Rule 61G4-15.100, Certified Specialty Contractors, effective 8/28/2024 (the specialty categories; the aluminum contractor "shall not perform any work that alters the structural integrity of the building"). flrules.org, read November 8, 2026.
25. Florida Statutes § 489.503 (2026), exemptions from electrical and alarm contracting licensure (none based on job size). leg.state.fl.us, read November 8, 2026.
26. r/GeneralContractor, "License rental" (July 19, 2026), a newly licensed Florida general contractor. reddit.com, quoted as checked for our article on pulling a permit for someone else, November 4, 2026.
27. Miami-Dade County, "Contractors & Building Trades" (licensed by the Construction Trades Qualifying Board; "Miami-Dade County Certificate holders, if required by Chapter 10 of the Miami-Dade County Code and Florida Statute 489, must be registered with the State ... Failure to comply will result in a restriction of your permitting privileges"), miamidade.gov; Palm Beach County Planning, Zoning and Building, Contractors Certification FAQ (county certificates of competency; state license holders must "enroll the state license with our office in order to be able to apply for permits" and re-enroll every two years), pbc.gov. Both read November 8, 2026.
28. Laws of Florida ch. 2025-40 (CS/CS/HB 715), relating to roofing services: amends the roofing contractor definition in § 489.105(3)(e) and § 489.147. laws.flrules.org, read November 8, 2026.
29. Google search results for "florida handyman license," location Florida, pulled through DataForSEO on November 8, 2026: the AI overview's "The $1,000 Threshold."