Florida Contractor License Search & DBPR Lookup
Checking a sub's DBPR license by hand? TrackMyVendor monitors every Florida contractor license daily and alerts you the moment anything changes — before it becomes a problem on your job site.
Florida contractor license lookup
Enter a license number to instantly check its holder, status, and expiration date.
Why a one-time DBPR check isn't enough
A DBPR license can go from Current, Active to Suspended within days of your manual check — triggered by a qualifying agent departure, a failed renewal, or an enforcement action by the Construction Industry Licensing Board. You'll never know unless someone checks again.
TrackMyVendor checks every tracked license daily and alerts you the moment the status changes. Set up automated alerts free →
Florida contractor license requirements
Before hiring contractors in Florida, you need to verify they maintain proper credentials. Florida contractors are often required to have:
- A valid state-issued license from DBPR (Certified) or a local county license (Registered) — depending on whether they work statewide or in a single jurisdiction
- Active insurance coverage (Certificate of Insurance)
- Tax documentation (such as W-9 forms)
Requirements vary by trade and licensing authority. Florida vendor license tracking helps you stay on top of expiration dates and compliance status across all your contractors. For a full breakdown of which trades require a Florida DBPR license, see our Florida subcontractor license requirements guide. For insurance requirements, see our Florida subcontractor insurance requirements guide.
What DBPR license status codes mean
When you look up a sub's Florida license, DBPR returns one of several status codes. Here is what each means and what action it should trigger before that sub sets foot on your job site.
The license is current and the contractor is authorized to work.
The licensee has met all renewal and continuing education requirements. This is the only status that authorizes licensed construction work in Florida. Note the expiration date — Current, Active today does not mean Current, Active in 90 days. DBPR contractor licenses renew every two years on odd-numbered years.
The license exists but the holder has voluntarily placed it in inactive status.
A Current, Inactive licensee cannot perform, bid on, or contract for licensed construction work in Florida. Contractors go Inactive when between employers, semi-retired, or holding a license in reserve. Do not allow an Inactive contractor to pull permits or perform regulated trade work on your sites — the license number existing is not sufficient authorization.
The renewal deadline has passed and the license is no longer current.
A Delinquent license is not authorized for construction work. Florida allows late renewal within a defined window with a penalty fee, but work performed during that window is still unauthorized. Treat Delinquent the same as Expired: stop work for that trade until the sub provides a DBPR confirmation showing Current, Active status.
DBPR or the Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board has taken enforcement action.
Suspension follows a complaint investigation, court order, or failure to comply with a prior CILB or DBPR order. A Suspended license means the contractor cannot legally perform licensed work in Florida for the duration of the suspension. This is a hard stop: do not allow work to continue, do not accept the sub's assurance that it is "being resolved."
DBPR has permanently cancelled or invalidated the license.
Revocation and Null & Void are the most severe DBPR enforcement outcomes. A revoked or voided licensee cannot legally perform licensed construction work in Florida. Revocation typically results from serious violations, consumer harm, fraud, or failure to comply with prior enforcement orders. Remove this contractor from your approved vendor list immediately and do not reinstate them.
GC liability note: Florida statute §489.128 makes contracts entered into by unlicensed contractors unenforceable — but the exposure doesn't stop there. If a job inspector finds an unlicensed or suspended sub working under your contract, stop-work orders and fines can attach to your project. Florida also has a two-tier licensing system: Certified licensees (DBPR, statewide) and Registered licensees (county-issued, local jurisdiction only). A Registered sub from Miami-Dade cannot legally work in Broward without the right county registration. Verify both the license type and the geographic authorization.
Florida trade license requirements by trade
Florida contractor licenses come from DBPR via the Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB) and the Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board (ECLB). Use this breakdown to confirm which credentials to verify for each sub you hire.
A Certified General Contractor (CGC) can perform any construction work and subcontract all trades statewide. A Certified Building Contractor (CBC) covers residential and commercial work within limits. Both require a qualifying agent — an individual who holds the license personally and is responsible for the company's licensed work. If the qualifying agent leaves or their license lapses, the company loses its ability to pull permits.
Search prefixes: CGC (general), CBC (building)
A Certified Residential Contractor (CRC) is limited to residential construction — one and two-family dwellings and their accessory structures. CRC licensees cannot legally perform commercial construction work. Verify that a sub's license classification matches the project type: a CRC working on a commercial build is out of scope.
Search prefix: CRC
Roofing is a licensed specialty trade in Florida under a Certified Roofing Contractor (CCC) license. Given Florida's hurricane exposure, roofing is one of the most regulated and inspected trades in the state. A roofing contractor who is not Current, Active should not be performing any roofing, re-roofing, or waterproofing work on your sites. Florida also requires roofing contractors to carry specific insurance minimums — verify their COI alongside their DBPR status.
Search prefix: CCC
Air conditioning and refrigeration work requires a Certified Air Conditioning Contractor (CAC) license. Florida's climate makes HVAC one of the most active trades — and one of the most frequently inspected. CAC licensees require a qualifying agent. If your HVAC sub's qualifying agent departs or lets their license lapse, the company loses permit authority even if the company registration looks current in DBPR.
Search prefix: CAC
Plumbing contractors must hold a Certified Plumbing Contractor (CFC) license and have a named qualifying agent on file. Like other licensed trades, if the qualifying agent leaves the company, the company's permit authority is at risk. Always verify both the company's license status and whether the qualifying agent's individual license is current.
Search prefix: CFC
Electrical contractors in Florida are licensed separately through the Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board (ECLB), a division of DBPR. A Certified Electrical Contractor (EC) can work statewide; a Registered Electrical Contractor (ER) is limited to the county that issued the registration. Verify the license type matches the project's location. Additionally, electrical work requires a master electrician as the qualifying agent — verify that individual's status is also Current, Active.
Search prefixes: EC (certified, statewide), ER (registered, county-limited)
Track Florida HVAC, Electrical, Roofing, and Plumbing Licenses Automatically
TrackMyVendor monitors specific DBPR license classes — not just a generic status check. When you see your sub's trade on the list, the alerts are built for exactly what you're hiring.
Monitors the company's Certified Air Conditioning Contractor license and qualifying agent status. If the qualifier departs, you get an alert — Florida's climate makes HVAC one of the most inspected trades.
Alerts at 90 / 60 / 30 / 7 days
Tracks ECLB-issued electrical licenses — statewide Certified (EC) and county-limited Registered (ER). Flags when a county-limited sub works outside their authorized jurisdiction.
Alerts at 90 / 60 / 30 / 7 days
Monitors Certified Roofing Contractor licenses — one of Florida's most regulated trades due to hurricane exposure. Status changes trigger immediate notification.
Alerts at 90 / 60 / 30 / 7 days
Tracks Certified Plumbing Contractor licenses and qualifying agent status. If the qualifier leaves and the company's permit authority lapses, you'll know before your next inspection.
Alerts at 90 / 60 / 30 / 7 days
First 25 subs free — no credit card
How Florida contractor license verification works
TrackMyVendor connects to Florida state licensing databases to help you:
- Look up and verify Florida contractor licenses using official DBPR state data
- Monitor license status and track expiration dates automatically
- Get alerts before a license expires or becomes inactive
Licenses verified through state data are clearly marked as Verified.
What Florida GCs actually track
License verification gets all the attention — but most GCs find their day-to-day compliance headaches come from the other two documents.
| Document | How often it expires | How most GCs track it |
|---|---|---|
| DBPR License | Every 2 years | Manually, or not at all |
| Certificate of Insurance (COI) | Annually or per project | By email, when they remember |
| W-9 | Per vendor | By request, often at year-end |
TrackMyVendor automates alerts for all three — most users set it up in under 10 minutes. Route them to Slack, Teams, Zapier, or Make →
Florida contractor insurance tracking
License verification is just one part of contractor compliance. TrackMyVendor also helps you manage Florida contractor insurance tracking:
Upload Certificates of Insurance (COIs)
Store and track COI documents with expiration dates for each vendor. Upload a PDF and AI COI parsing extracts carrier, limits, and expiration date automatically.
A COI proves the sub had insurance at issue date — it cannot tell you if their license was revoked last week. COI tracking software that verifies both in the same dashboard →
Track insurance expiration dates
Get alerts before insurance coverage lapses
Store W-9 forms securely
Keep tax documentation organized and accessible
Complete vendor compliance view
See licenses, insurance, and documents in one place per vendor — how subcontractor credential tracking works across your full roster.
Florida contractor compliance software features
Our Florida contractor compliance software helps you stay ahead of issues with:
- Email reminders at 90, 60, 30, and 7 days before license or insurance expiration
- Clear compliance scores showing each vendor's status at a glance
- Exportable PDF and Excel compliance reports for boards, audits, or internal reviews
No more spreadsheets or last-minute follow-ups.
Who uses Florida vendor license tracking
Florida vendor license tracking is especially useful for:
If you work with licensed contractors in Florida, TrackMyVendor is built for you.
What to do when a sub's Florida license is expired or suspended
You ran a DBPR lookup and found a problem. Here is the step-by-step response — and why most of these situations were preventable.
Stop that trade's work immediately
Do not let a sub with a Delinquent, Inactive, Suspended, or Revoked license continue performing regulated work. Document the date and time you became aware of the status. If work has already been completed under a lapsed license, note that in your records — this may be relevant if a permit issue surfaces later.
Confirm the status directly with DBPR
Run the lookup yourself at the DBPR public license search — do not rely on a screenshot or verbal assurance from the sub. DBPR's public lookup is the authoritative source. Save or print the results showing the date of your verification and the specific status shown.
Contact the sub and give a clear deadline
For Delinquent licenses, the sub may be in the late-renewal window and can restore Current, Active status within days. Give them a written deadline and require a DBPR confirmation showing Current, Active status before work resumes. For Suspended or Revoked licenses, there is no deadline to give — the sub cannot work until DBPR or CILB reinstates them, if ever.
Find a backup sub if needed
If the sub cannot resolve the issue within your project timeline, you need a replacement who holds a Current, Active license in the correct classification. Verify the replacement's DBPR status before they mobilize — not after. For Certified vs. Registered licenses, also confirm the replacement's geographic authorization covers your project location.
Review your other subs on active projects
One expired license found on one project usually means it is time to check the rest of your roster. Florida's biennial renewal cycle means many licenses expire at the same time — if one sub missed their renewal, others may have too. Do this check now, not the next time an inspector shows up.
Most of these situations are preventable
The common thread in expired-license incidents is the same: no one was watching between onboarding and the inspection. DBPR license status can change mid-project — renewal deadlines pass, enforcement actions are filed, qualifying agents leave. Manual spot-checks miss changes that happen between checks.
TrackMyVendor monitors every Florida sub's license status daily and alerts you the moment anything changes.
Verify a Florida license freeFlorida contractor license lookup FAQ
How does Florida contractor license verification work?
What Florida licensing boards do you cover?
What happens when a Florida contractor license expires?
What is the difference between a Certified and Registered Florida contractor?
What does Current, Inactive mean on a DBPR license?
What should I do if a sub's Florida license is suspended?
Can I track multiple licenses per Florida vendor?
Start Florida contractor license tracking today
Qualifying agent departures, delinquent renewals, CILB enforcement actions — they all change a DBPR license status mid-project. TrackMyVendor catches every change within 24 hours, automatically.
Verify a Florida license freeNo credit card required
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