The Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board, and Who Handles What

Section 489.107 creates the board within the DBPR and sets its makeup. Members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, for 4-year terms, and no one may serve more than two consecutive terms or more than 11 years. Each contractor member must be certified in the category they represent and have been actively in the business for at least 5 consecutive years before appointment.

• Four general contractors and three building or residential contractors.
• One each from roofing, sheet metal, air-conditioning, mechanical, pool, plumbing, and underground utility and excavation contracting.
• Two consumer members who are not and have never been in the industry, and two building officials of a municipality or county.

The board works in two divisions under s.489.107(4). Division I is made up of the general, building, and residential contractor members plus one consumer member and one building official, and it regulates general, building, and residential contractors. Division II is the seven specialty contractor members plus the other consumer member and building official, and it regulates the specialty trades: roofing, sheet metal, air-conditioning, mechanical, pool, plumbing, underground utility, and the other categories defined in s.489.105(3). Five members make a quorum in each division, and the full board meets together when it decides it needs to.

The same division split shows up throughout the licensing system. When a guide or a form says Division I, it means the GC, building, and residential licenses.

The DBPR's board page describes the job in plain terms: the board meets regularly to consider applications for licensure, review disciplinary cases, and hold informal hearings on licensure and discipline, and it makes rules. Its Board Information page says it meets approximately eleven times a year, for three days each time.

• Rules. Section 489.108 gives the board authority to adopt rules implementing Chapter 489. Those rules sit in Florida Administrative Code Division 61G4: organization (61G4-12), certification and registration (61G4-15), examinations (61G4-16), disciplinary guidelines (61G4-17), continuing education (61G4-18), and the Construction Industries Recovery Fund (61G4-21), among others.
• Applications that need a board decision. The DBPR's construction FAQ says most additional business applications, and many initial licensure and change of status applications, require board review. The DBPR doesn't publish a list of which initial applications go to the board, so if yours is scheduled, the notice is how you find out.
• Discipline. Under s.489.129(1) the board can reprimand, place on probation, suspend, revoke, or deny a license, order restitution to consumers, fine up to $10,000 per violation, require continuing education, and assess investigation costs.

The DBPR's FAQ lays out the timeline. Notice is mailed about 14 days before the meeting where your application will be reviewed. If the board approves it, the license is typically issued within two weeks after that meeting ends. If the board denies it, the department mails a notice of intent to deny, explaining the reasons, within 60 days after the meeting.

Whether you have to show up depends on the application. Qualifying an additional business requires a personal appearance under Rule 61G4-15.0021(3) unless you own at least 20% of the proposed business or show it employs you as a W-2 employee, and any application that would bring you to three or more qualified businesses requires one regardless. Our qualifying agent guide covers those rules. Meeting dates, locations, agendas, and minutes are posted on the DBPR's Board Meeting Information page.

The DBPR is the state agency. Its staff take in license applications (online through DBPR Online Services or on form CILB 5-A), issue and renew licenses, and investigate complaints. Section 455.225 has the department investigate a legally sufficient complaint, and a probable cause panel of the board decides whether it goes forward. If it does, the department files and prosecutes the formal complaint, and the board issues the final order. Renewals also run through the DBPR, every two years; our renewal guide has the deadlines and CE rules.

Professional Testing, Inc. (PTI) is the DBPR's exam contractor. Its site, floridaexam.com, says PTI is under contract with the DBPR to develop and score the examinations, and that it does not grant licenses or decide eligibility. You register directly with PTI, with no DBPR approval first, and the state then sends Pearson VUE an authorization to schedule you. PTI's registration packet says to call Pearson VUE if your confirmation hasn't arrived after 7 to 10 business days. Pearson VUE runs the testing centers: you book each part there and sit it on a computer.

PTI charges $135 per registration, and Pearson VUE charges a seat fee per part: $80 for Business & Finance or a trade exam, $40 each for Contract Administration and Project Management. A retake is a new PTI registration plus the seat fee for that part. The exam registration guide walks through the full order, including both four-year clocks.

Your county or city is a separate authority. Its building department issues permits and inspects the work, and a certified contractor still pulls local permits and pays local business tax where the job is. Some counties and cities also run their own competency boards that issue local certificates of competency. A contractor who holds one can register it with the state under s.489.117(1)(a), without the state exam, but may then contract only in the jurisdictions whose requirements he or she has met. Our guide to certified vs. registered contractors covers that trade-off.

Workers' compensation exemptions are filed with a third agency, the Division of Workers' Compensation at the Florida Department of Financial Services. Under s.440.05 a construction industry exemption costs $50 and is valid for 2 years, and the division's page limits it to corporate officers or LLC members who own at least 10% of the business, with no more than three exempt officers per company. The DBPR's FAQ says you can apply for your license and attest that you'll get the exemption within 30 days of being licensed.

Use the list below before you pick up the phone. The state's main contact for construction licensing is the DBPR Customer Contact Center, 850-487-1395.

• Registering for the exam, or re-registering for a retake: Professional Testing, at floridaexam.com or 407-264-0562.
• Booking, rescheduling, or canceling an exam appointment: Pearson VUE, through its Florida DBPR Construction page or 888-204-6230.
• License application status, renewals, and address changes: your DBPR Online Services account at myfloridalicense.com.
• Checking whether a contractor is licensed: the Licensee Search on myfloridalicense.com, by name, license number, city or county, or license type.
• A complaint against a licensed contractor: the DBPR's online complaint form or 850-487-1395. The DBPR says it cannot represent you in civil matters to recover money paid, and contract disputes may need a private attorney.
• Unlicensed contracting: the DBPR's unlicensed activity line, 1-866-532-1440.
• Permits, inspections, and local licenses: your county or city building department.
• Workers' comp exemptions: the Division of Workers' Compensation at myfloridacfo.com.
• Board meeting dates, agendas, and minutes: the CILB's Board Meeting Information page on myfloridalicense.com.

For most candidates the board is the last stop, if you meet it at all. The first stop is passing three open-book exams, and every failed part costs another registration and another seat. Take the free readiness quiz first: it takes about eight minutes, is scored against the official exam outlines, and shows which part needs the most work before you register with PTI.