Florida Subcontractor License Requirements: What GCs Must Verify Before Hiring
Florida licenses the general contractor and almost every trade beneath it, and it is one of the few states where hiring an unlicensed sub can put the GC's own license in front of the board. This guide covers who needs a license, the certified-versus-registered trap, the qualifier rule, and how to check.
The most common mistake: seeing "active" on a registered license and stopping there. A registered contractor is licensed only in the local jurisdictions where it holds a competency card — a sub registered in Miami-Dade is not licensed for your job in Orlando.
Florida requires a state license for general contractors and most construction trades, issued through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) — the Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB) for general, building, residential, roofing, plumbing, air-conditioning, pool and similar contractors, and the Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board for electrical. A certified license is valid statewide; a registered one only where the contractor holds local competency. Before a sub starts, confirm the license is current and active on DBPR, covers the work and your project's location, and still has a qualifying agent attached.
In this guide
How Florida contractor licensing works
Florida licenses far more of the construction chain than most states. General contractors, building and residential contractors, and the major trades — roofing, plumbing, air conditioning, mechanical, pool, underground utility and more — are licensed by the Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB). Electrical and alarm contractors are licensed by the Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board (ECLB). Both boards sit within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and both appear in DBPR's public license search.
Holding a license also means carrying insurance: the CILB requires licensees to maintain general liability and to have workers' compensation or a valid exemption. That is covered in the Florida subcontractor insurance requirements.
Certified vs. registered — the distinction that catches GCs
Certified
Passed the state exam — valid anywhere in Florida
License numbers begin with a C for construction trades — CGC, CBC, CRC, CCC, CFC, CAC, CPC — or EC for electrical.
Registered
Local competency — valid only where it was earned
Registered with the state on the strength of a county or city competency card, and limited to those jurisdictions. Numbers begin with R — RG, RB, RR and so on — or ER for electrical.
For a registered sub, the question is not only "is it active?" but "is it valid where my job is?" Check the jurisdictions on the DBPR record against the project address.
Which trades require a state license in Florida
The trades GCs subcontract most often, and the license types to look for. The certified prefix is shown; the registered equivalent begins with R.
| Trade | License | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| General / building / residential | CGC · CBC · CRC | Three tiers with different limits on building type and height; residential contractors are limited to one-, two- and three-family homes |
| Electrical | EC (ECLB) | Unlimited electrical; alarm and other specialty electrical work have their own categories |
| Plumbing | CFC | Certified Plumbing Contractor |
| Air conditioning | CAC | Class A, B and C, which differ in the size of equipment the contractor may work on |
| Mechanical | CMC | Covers air conditioning, refrigeration and related mechanical systems |
| Roofing | CCC | A general contractor's license does not authorize roofing work unless the GC holds the roofing license too |
| Pool / spa | CPC | Commercial and residential pool categories; a GC license does not cover pool construction |
| Underground utility & excavation | CUC | Water, sewer, storm drainage and similar underground work |
Some trades — painting, flooring, drywall hanging and similar finish work — are not state-licensed in Florida, though many counties and cities license them locally. Check the jurisdiction's own rules.
What GCs should verify
Florida puts the GC's own license on the line. Under §489.129, the CILB can discipline a licensed contractor who aids, assists or employs an unlicensed person to perform contracting — so these checks protect the GC's license, not only its projects.
The license is Current, Active on DBPR
Look it up on DBPR's own search and confirm the status. Delinquent, inactive, null-and-void or revoked all mean the sub cannot contract.
Certified — or registered where your project is
A certified license works statewide. A registered one is limited to the jurisdictions on its record, so check the project's county and city against it.
The license covers the scope
Roofing needs a roofing license, plumbing a plumbing license, and an air-conditioning class must cover the equipment being installed. Match the license category to the work in your subcontract.
A qualifying agent is still attached
Florida licenses a business through a qualifying agent. When the qualifier leaves, the business has 60 days to designate a new one before the qualifier's status ends. Check that the business record still shows an active qualifier.
How TrackMyVendor automates this
- DBPR construction and electrical licences are re-checked against DBPR’s own records every day, so a licence that goes delinquent or is revoked shows on the sub’s record before the next job.
- Every check is logged with a timestamp — the record of diligence that matters in Florida, where the question after a problem is whether the GC should have known.
- The licence sits beside the sub’s certificates and W-9 on one record, so a current COI never hides a lapsed licence.
Registered licences are shown as DBPR records them; whether the jurisdiction covers a particular project address is still yours to check.
See how Florida license tracking worksWhat unlicensed work costs in Florida
Florida enforces unlicensed contracting harder than most states, and some of the consequences reach the GC directly.
Discipline against the GC's own license
Section 489.129 lets the CILB discipline a licensee who aids, assists, procures or employs an unlicensed person to engage in contracting — from fines up to suspension or revocation.
Administrative fines
Under §489.13, DBPR can fine an unlicensed contractor up to $10,000 per violation.
Criminal charges for the unlicensed contractor
Under §489.127, unlicensed contracting is a first-degree misdemeanor, and a repeat offense — or unlicensed work during a declared state of emergency — is a third-degree felony.
Contracts the sub cannot enforce
Section 489.128 makes a contract entered into by an unlicensed contractor unenforceable by that contractor. It is the sub, not the GC, who loses its remedies — but a sub with no lien rights and no license is rarely one that can stand behind its warranty or its indemnity.
How to look up a Florida contractor license
DBPR's public license search at myfloridalicense.com covers both CILB and ECLB licenses. Search by license number where you have it; the record shows the license type, status, expiration, qualifying agent and, for registered licenses, the jurisdictions.
- Collect the license number at onboarding. The prefix tells you the category and whether it is certified or registered before you even search.
- Confirm Current, Active and, for a registered license, the jurisdiction.
- Check the qualifying agent on the business record.
- Record what you found and when. Florida contractor licenses renew every two years, so note the expiration against your schedule.
How TrackMyVendor automates this
- Subs send their licence number, certificate and W-9 through one upload link — no account, no portal login.
- A licence nearing expiry is on the Monday summary on every plan; on Starter and above the sub is emailed at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days with the link to send the renewal.
- A WC exemption certificate can be filed on the sub’s record next to the licence, with its own expiration date.
Tracking licenses for Florida subs?
Everything above is a check you can run by hand. This is what it looks like when it runs itself.
On the free plan
- Your first 25 subs, no credit card
- Subs upload certificates, licences and W-9s through a one-time link — no account, no app
- Every certificate read automatically: coverage rows, limits and each policy’s own dates
- Contractor licences checked against the state board’s own records
- A Monday summary of everything expired or expiring
Per-deadline alerts at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days, sent to your team and to the sub, start on Starter. Compare plans
Stop checking by hand
Set up your roster today
Add your subs — or import the whole list from a spreadsheet on Starter — send each a one-time upload link, and the certificates, licences and W-9s arrive already read. No demo, no sales call, no implementation project.
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Explore what it does: License verification · AI COI parsing · Expiration alerts · Sub onboarding