How to Hire a Reliable Renovation Contractor in Melbourne, Florida

To hire a reliable renovation contractor in Melbourne, check the state license at MyFloridaLicense.com and the contractor's Brevard County record, get insurance proof from the agent or insurer, and confirm the contractor will pull the permit from the office that covers your address. Then put the scope in a written contract, record the Notice of Commencement if the job is over $5,000, and keep payments in step with the work.

This guide covers the local layer: which office issues your permit, Brevard County's licensing and handyman rules, Palm Bay's contractor registration, and what changes in storm season. For the statewide basics, start with how to choose a contractor in Florida and how to check a contractor's license.

Start with your address: who issues the permit

Which office issues your permit decides which records your contractor needs to be in, so settle it before you collect bids. Brevard County Planning and Development issues building permits only for unincorporated areas, which include communities such as Viera, Suntree and Merritt Island. Inside city or town limits, the city or town handles permits. A Melbourne mailing address doesn't tell you which applies, so check the property's jurisdiction or ask.

Our Brevard County building permit guide covers each office's process and which projects need permits.

Check two records: the state license and Brevard's

Start with the state license on MyFloridaLicense.com or in DBPR's free mobile app; our license-check guide explains each field on the record. One point matters more locally: a registered license, unlike a certified one, is valid only where it's registered, so make sure it covers Brevard. Then check the county.

How Brevard County fits in

Brevard runs its own contractor licensing office. State-certified contractors register with it "for permitting purposes only," which is what lets them file on BASS. Some trades can instead hold a county certified license, meant for contractors in a specific trade who limit their work to Brevard. The county's licensed trades page lists which trades need a state certificate of competency, a county certified license or both, from electrical, plumbing, mechanical and roofing to pools, solar, irrigation and fencing. Check county licenses with the county, not the state.

The county also describes a Licensed Contractor Search that lists a contractor only with a current, active license, current general liability insurance, and workers' compensation insurance or an exemption on file. If a license number returns nothing, the county says the contractor either isn't registered with Brevard or has a deficiency on the record, so get it sorted out before anyone applies for your permit. We couldn't open the search tool ourselves to confirm its current web address, so reach it from the county's licensed trades page or ask Contractor Licensing.

A 2021 state law, HB 735, phased out local licenses for trades the state doesn't license, so county trade lists have been changing. If a contractor and the county's page disagree about whether a trade needs a county certificate, ask Contractor Licensing before you sign.

What a handyman can do in Brevard

Brevard County says there's no handyman license in the county, and a handyman may only do unregulated specialty trades. The county adds that county code and state law require construction work, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and roofing, "including remodeling, renovations & repairs," to be done by a licensed contractor. Its handyman page gives irrigation and exterior door work as examples that need a county certificate of competency, and says some limited fence work needs a permit but no certificate. That page may not reflect every HB 735 change, so treat its examples as a reason to ask the county, not the final word. For which state licenses cover which work, see general contractors vs. individual trades.

Palm Bay: city registration comes first

Palm Bay adds its own step. State-licensed contractors who want to pull permits in the city must register through the city's online portal and upload a copy of the state license or county competency card, general liability and workers' compensation certificates, and a business tax receipt. The city also tells contractors who work in other Brevard cities to check each city's own rules.

Ask any Palm Bay bidder whether they're already registered with the city. If not, registration comes before your permit application, so build it into the start date and the deposit terms described below.

Insurance: the county check isn't your certificate

Brevard's contractor search and Palm Bay's registration both look at insurance, but neither gives you a certificate with current dates and limits for your job. Ask for a certificate of insurance sent by the contractor's agent or insurer, naming you as certificate holder, and check workers' compensation on the state Division of Workers' Compensation's proof-of-coverage search. An officer's exemption covers that officer, not the crew, and each licensed subcontractor should have its own coverage or exemption. See contractor insurance in Florida for what each policy does and doesn't cover.

The contractor pulls the permit, in the right office

Brevard County says professionals may pull permits only for work within their license type, and some permit types require the contractor to name subcontractors. The county's residential renovation permit, the route for interior remodels, asks for a subcontractor authorization for each subcontractor. Ask your general contractor who the electrician, plumber and mechanical contractor will be, and check their licenses too.

Watch for these local permit problems:

• A request that you pull the permit. An owner-builder permit is for owners who do or directly supervise the work themselves. In unincorporated Brevard, owner-builders must apply in person, and a signed disclosure statement must reach the county before the permit is issued, under section 489.103 of the Florida Statutes. A contractor who asks you to do this for work they'll perform is shifting the risk to you. See owner-builder permits.
• "It's under $7,500, so no permit." Since July 1, 2026, owners can ask in writing to skip the building permit for some small single-family jobs under $7,500, but never for electrical, plumbing, mechanical, gas or structural work, or in a flood hazard area. Melbourne takes these requests through EnerGov and says work shouldn't start until it approves the request in writing. We found no Brevard County process. See the $7,500 permit exemption.
• Unpermitted work costs more later. Palm Bay says work started without a permit can be charged up to four times the permit fees.
• Flood zones and the beachfront. If the home is in a flood zone, a large remodel can trigger the FEMA 50% rule. On a beachfront lot seaward of the state's coastal construction control line, construction, with certain exceptions, also needs approval from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Ask each bidder whether they've handled these reviews and whether their schedule allows for them.

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Record the Notice of Commencement before the first inspection

On a direct contract over $5,000, Florida law calls for a recorded Notice of Commencement before the first inspection. Local pages line up with that: the county's fence permit page asks for one above $5,000, and Rockledge requires one, recorded with the Brevard County Clerk of Courts, at $5,000 or more. An old 2020 county checklist still says $2,500; the statute and your building department control.

Settle in the contract who prepares and records the notice. You sign it in front of a notary and keep a copy, and in unincorporated Brevard inspections can't be scheduled until the recorded notice is uploaded to the permit and approved, so a missing one can stall the job. Our Notice of Commencement guide explains how it protects you from paying twice under Florida's lien law, and the Brevard permit guide covers the local permit steps around it.

Keep the deposit in step with local delays

Florida doesn't cap remodeling deposits. Under section 489.126, though, a contractor who takes more than 10% of the contract price as an initial payment must apply for any needed permits within 30 days and start work within 90 days after the permits are issued, unless you agree in writing to a longer period.

The 30-day permit deadline is counted from your payment, not from when the contractor finishes Palm Bay registration or gets HOA approval. If you expect delays like those, either pay 10% or less at signing or agree on the longer timeline in writing. After work starts, pay for completed stages, hold the final payment until the final inspection passes, and collect lien releases. Our guide to contractor deposits covers special-order products and what to do if work never starts.

Put the scope in writing

Local building departments ask for detail, which is a good reason to insist on it in your contract. Rockledge's permit requirements call for "a written and detailed narrative of the scope of work." Melbourne's $7,500 exemption request needs a copy of the signed contract. Brevard's window, door and shutter permit needs Florida Product Approval documents, the manufacturer's installation instructions and a floor plan showing where each product goes.

For a Melbourne-area job, make sure the contract states:

• the products and quantities, with product approval numbers for windows, doors, shutters and roofing
• who applies for the permit, at which office, and whether permit fees are in the price
• which licensed subcontractors will do the electrical, plumbing and mechanical work
• a payment schedule tied to milestones and passed inspections

The renovation contract checklist covers the rest, including the lien law and Recovery Fund notices Florida requires in residential contracts over $2,500.

Comparing quotes from Space Coast contractors

Price gaps between bids usually trace back to scope gaps. Why contractor quotes differ explains the general causes, and should you get three quotes? covers how many to collect. Give every bidder the same written scope, then line up these local points:

1. Permit handling. A quote that assumes no permit, or leaves the permit to you, isn't comparable with one that includes it. For scale, Brevard County's window, door and shutter permit page lists a $25 application processing fee and a building code review fee of $75 for the first $1,000 of job value plus $3.25 for each additional $1,000. Other fees can apply, cities set their own, and schedules change, so check the current one.
2. Hurricane products. Compare product approvals and design pressure ratings, not just brands.
3. Salt exposure on the beachside. On the barrier island, ask each bidder which fasteners, hardware and finishes they plan to use. See salt air corrosion on Space Coast homes.
4. Local steps in the schedule, such as Palm Bay registration, HOA approval or a flood-zone review.

Hiring in hurricane season and after a storm

After a hurricane, out-of-area crews and door-to-door pitches arrive along with the repair demand. The rules that matter most:

• Unlicensed contracting during a declared state of emergency is a third-degree felony in Florida, so the license checks above still apply to urgent repairs.
• Real repairs still need permits. Indian Harbour Beach's post-storm guide, for example, lists roof replacements, structural repairs, electrical service, HVAC work and window and door replacement as needing permits, while temporary tarping and cosmetic repairs don't. Other offices publish their own lists.
• Permits needn't be the holdup. Brevard County says that after a declared emergency it expects to process permits that skip technical review, such as roof repairs or replacing a single window or door, within three business days.
• Storm damage can trigger the 50% rule. In flood zones, Brevard County's post-storm guidance applies the same 50% test to substantial damage, comparing the cost of restoration with the building's pre-damage market value. Inside a city, ask the city's building department how it applies the rule.

Report anyone contracting without a license to DBPR's unlicensed activity program, online, by email or through the DBPR mobile app. Our guide to storm repair scams covers the warning signs, including deductible offers and claim paperwork.

Common mistakes

• Assuming a Melbourne mailing address means City of Melbourne permits. Check the property's jurisdiction first.
• Checking only the state record. A valid state license doesn't show whether the contractor is registered with Brevard County or with Palm Bay.
• Hiring a handyman for licensed work. Wiring, plumbing, roofing and, according to the county, exterior door work aren't handyman jobs in Brevard.
• Letting the contractor put the permit in your name.
• Starting work under the $7,500 exemption before written approval, or before you know how your office handles requests.
• Paying more than 10% at signing when you expect delays, without a written extension.
• Paying the final balance before the final inspection passes.

Next steps

1. Confirm which office issues permits for your address.
2. Write a one-page scope and give it to every bidder.
3. Check each candidate's state license, Brevard County record and, in Palm Bay, city registration.
4. Compare quotes on who pulls the permit, at which office, and what's included.
5. Set the deposit and schedule around local steps, then record the Notice of Commencement if the job is over $5,000.
6. Keep every permit record and payment receipt.

For the wider local picture, including flood zones, septic rules and HOAs, read our guide to remodeling in Melbourne, Palm Bay and the Space Coast and the Brevard County local guide.