How to Choose a Contractor in Florida

Choosing the contractor matters more than almost any material or design decision you'll make. Florida gives homeowners more official tools than many states to check a contractor: a statewide license database, a workers' compensation lookup and mandatory contract notices. This guide shows how to use them.

First, decide what kind of contractor you need

• General, building or residential contractor. For remodels involving several trades or structural work, such as kitchens, bathrooms, additions and wall removal. They manage the project and subcontract licensed trades.
• Specialty or trade contractor. For single-trade jobs: roofing, plumbing, electrical, air conditioning, pools, or screen enclosures and aluminum structures.
• Unlicensed trades. Painting, flooring, tile, cabinets and similar work don't require a state license, and local governments generally can't require one either.

Our guide to hiring a general contractor or individual trades explains the license types and the trade-offs.

Licensing: what Florida requires

Florida licenses construction contractors through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). The Construction Industry Licensing Board licenses general, building, residential, roofing, plumbing, air conditioning, pool and specialty contractors; the Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board licenses electrical contractors.

• Certified licenses are statewide.
• Registered licenses are tied to the local jurisdictions where the contractor passed a local competency exam.

Look up every contractor at MyFloridaLicense.com, and check:

1. The license is current and active.
2. The license type covers your project. A roofing job needs a roofing license (or a contractor who subcontracts to one).
3. The business name on the contract matches the license or the business the license qualifies.
4. Any disciplinary history or complaints.

Our guide to checking a contractor before hiring walks through each step. In Melbourne and the rest of Brevard County, our guide to hiring a contractor in Melbourne adds the county's contractor registration check and Palm Bay's city registration.

The handyman exemption

Florida law exempts work of a "casual, minor, or inconsequential nature" where the total price for labor, materials and everything else is under $2,500. It doesn't let unlicensed people do work that requires a licensed trade, it doesn't apply to work that's part of a larger project, and splitting a job into smaller invoices to stay under the limit isn't allowed. It also doesn't apply to anyone who advertises as a contractor, and the state licensing agency treats work that needs a building permit as outside the exemption.

Insurance and workers' compensation

Florida requires licensed contractors to carry public liability and property damage insurance, with minimums set by rule. In the construction industry, any business with one or more employees must have workers' compensation, and corporate officers can only be exempt under specific conditions.

Ask for a certificate of insurance issued by the contractor's insurance agent or insurer, naming you as certificate holder, and check workers' compensation coverage or exemptions on the state's proof of coverage database. See contractor insurance in Florida.

Experience, references and reviews

• Ask for two or three recent jobs similar to yours, and call the homeowners.
• Read reviews over time, not just the star rating, and look at how the contractor responds to problems.
• Check how long the business has operated under its current name, and search for previous names.
• For storm repairs, be especially careful with companies that just arrived from out of state. See storm repair scams in Florida.

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Written quotes

Ask each contractor for a written, itemized quote for the same scope: materials and products, labor, permits, disposal, schedule and exclusions. When one quote is far lower than the others, the reason is usually in what's missing; see why contractor quotes differ.

Get it in a written contract

Florida law requires specific notices in residential construction contracts:

• Construction lien law notice. Direct contracts over $2,500 for one- to four-unit homes must include the statutory lien law notice in 12-point, capitalized, bold type, on the front page or a separate page signed and dated by the owner.
• Homeowners' Construction Recovery Fund notice. Residential contracts over $2,500 must include the statutory notice about the fund.

Beyond those, a good contract spells out the scope, price, payment schedule, start and completion dates, change order process, warranties, cleanup and who obtains permits. Use our renovation contract checklist.

Permits and the Notice of Commencement

Agree in writing who obtains permits. Usually it's the licensed contractor. For jobs over $5,000, a Notice of Commencement must be recorded before the first inspection. Be wary of any contractor who suggests skipping permits or asks you to pull an owner-builder permit for work they'll be doing.

Deposits and payments

Florida doesn't cap deposits, but section 489.126 protects you: a contractor who receives more than 10% of the contract price up front 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 time or there's just cause. Pay as work is completed, keep records of every payment and collect lien releases. See contractor deposits in Florida and Florida's construction lien law.

Red flags

• No license, or a license that doesn't match the work or the company
• Pressure to sign today, especially door-to-door after a storm
• A large payment before any work or materials, with no clear reason
• No written contract, or a contract without the required Florida notices
• Suggestions to skip permits or to put the permit in your name
• Offers to waive your insurance deductible or "handle" your claim

Questions to ask before you hire

1. What's your license number, and who is the qualifier on the license?
2. Who will supervise the job day to day, and who are your subcontractors?
3. Can I see your liability insurance certificate and workers' compensation coverage?
4. Who pulls the permits and records the Notice of Commencement?
5. What's your payment schedule, and how do you handle lien releases?
6. How do you price changes and hidden damage?
7. What warranty do you give on workmanship?

A note about how we can help

If you'd like help finding a contractor, you can tell us about your project and we may be able to connect you with an affiliated or participating contractor serving your area. Whoever you hire, use the checks on this page before you sign; read our referral disclosure to understand how referrals work.