Florida Contractor License (DBPR) Requirements
As of a July 2025 law change, Florida now issues one statewide path — the Certified license — through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
- Quick facts
- The 2025 change: Certified vs. Registered
- Steps to get licensed
- The exam
- FAQ
Quick facts
| Regulator | Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) / Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB) |
|---|---|
| License type | Certified (statewide) — the former local “Registered” path was eliminated July 1, 2025 |
| Experience required | 4 years, for both Division I (General/Building/Residential) and Division II (specialty trades) |
| Exam | 3 parts — Business & Finance (120 questions), Contract Administration (80 questions), Project Management (120 questions); 70% passing score on each |
| Exam fee | Not reconfirmed against a primary source this run — see note below; the previously-listed $199-per-part figure could not be reverified and current third-party sources describe a different fee breakdown |
| Other requirements | Proof of insurance, credit check |
| Project threshold | License required for any project valued over $2,500 (Fla. Stat. § 489.103) |
| Processing time | Typically 4–8 weeks after a complete application |
The 2025 change: Certified vs. Registered
Until mid-2025, Florida contractors could choose between a “Registered” license (valid only in the specific county or municipality that issued it) and a “Certified” license (valid statewide). House Bill 735 eliminated the Registered pathway effective July 1, 2025 — every new Florida general contractor now goes through DBPR’s statewide Certified process. If you’re researching an older guide or forum post that mentions “Registered contractor,” treat that information as outdated.
Steps to get licensed
- Confirm your division. Division I covers General, Building, and Residential contractors; Division II covers specialty trades (electrical, plumbing, roofing, etc., each with its own board).
- Document 4 years of experience in the relevant classification.
- Pass all required exam parts — for Division I general contractors, that’s three separate exams at $199 each.
- Submit your DBPR application with proof of insurance and consent to a credit check.
- Wait for processing — budget 4 to 8 weeks for DBPR to issue the license once your application is complete.
The exam
Florida’s general contractor exam is genuinely demanding: three separate parts covering business/finance, contract administration, and project management, each requiring a 70% score, totaling 320 questions and over 16 hours of testing time across all three parts. Most candidates budget real time (and often a paid exam-prep course) specifically for this stage — it’s consistently cited as the hardest part of the Florida process.
Is my old Florida “Registered” contractor license still valid?
Existing Registered licenses issued before the July 2025 change continue under their existing terms in most cases, but new applicants can no longer apply for that local-only pathway — only the statewide Certified license. If you hold a Registered license and want statewide reach, you’d need to separately qualify for Certified status.
Does Florida have reciprocity with other states?
Yes, but with only three states, not a broad list: DBPR/CILB has formal reciprocity agreements with Louisiana, Mississippi, and North Carolina under Florida Statute 489.115(3)(c), covering the General, Building, and Residential contractor classifications. Reciprocity waives the trade-knowledge exam for qualifying applicants (Division I and roofing applicants also need a 2-hour Florida Building Code course). If you hold an active license from a state outside that list for 10+ years, Florida also offers a separate 10-year-endorsement pathway that doesn’t require formal reciprocity — worth asking DBPR about if the three-state list doesn’t apply to you.
What’s the real total cost, not just the exam fee?
Between exam-related fees (a Professional Testing, Inc. development fee, a DBPR administration fee, and per-part Pearson VUE scheduling fees — see the note above on why we’re not listing exact current dollar amounts), application fees, insurance, and — realistically — an exam-prep course most candidates take given the exam’s difficulty, total cost commonly runs $1,500–$5,000+ depending on how much prep support you use.