How to Vet a Florida Contractor: License Checks, Deposits & Red Flags (2026)

Florida has more licensed contractors than almost any other state — and more unlicensed ones too. After a major storm, out-of-state "contractors" flood in by the thousands, most of whom will be back home in Ohio by Thanksgiving. Before you hand anyone a deposit, run them through this checklist. It takes about 10 minutes and it can save you tens of thousands of dollars.

1. Verify the license on the state website — don't trust a screenshot

Every licensed contractor in Florida is listed in the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR) database at myfloridalicense.com. Type in the company name or the license number they gave you. What you want to see:

• Status: "Current, Active" — not "Expired," "Delinquent," "Null & Void," or "Voluntary Inactive."
• License type matches the work — a CBC (Certified Building Contractor) cannot do plumbing. A CFC (Certified Plumbing Contractor) cannot do electrical. If the scope doesn't match, walk away.
• No pending complaints or discipline — the state lists fines, suspensions, and final orders on the same profile.

Which trades actually require a license in Florida? Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, general construction, pool contractors, and pest control all require state-issued certification or county registration. Handyman work up to $500 (labor + materials) does not require a license — which is why you'll see "$499 handyman specials" everywhere. Bigger jobs require a licensed trade.

2. Pull the insurance certificate — and call the insurer

Ask the contractor for a Certificate of Insurance naming you (the homeowner) as the certificate holder. Every legitimate contractor has this ready to send in 60 seconds. The certificate should show:

• General liability — at least $1M per occurrence. For roofing and structural work, $2M is standard.
• Workers' compensation — if the contractor has any employees, W/C is legally required. If they tell you they "work alone" but show up with three crew members, that's a red flag — if one falls off your roof, you may be on the hook.
• Current policy dates — the effective and expiration dates should bracket the date you'll do the work.

If the certificate looks real but something feels off, call the insurance company directly using the number on their official website (not the number on the certificate). Ask them to confirm the policy is active. Fabricated certificates are the #1 trick used by post-storm scammers.

3. Check the county license — on top of the state license

Florida has a two-tier system. The state license gets you legally onto any jobsite in Florida. But most counties — especially Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Orange, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Lee, and Collier — require contractors to also register locally and pay a county business tax receipt. Ask what county they're registered in and search that county's building department online. If you're hiring for a permit-pulled job (roofing replacement, electrical panel, A/C replacement, any structural work), the permit goes in the contractor's name — which means they need local registration to pull it.

4. Read 30 reviews across three platforms — not 5 on one

Google Business Profile reviews are the single best source. A well-established Florida contractor should have at least 50 reviews with a rating of 4.6 or higher. Patterns to watch for:

• Review velocity — a legit 20-year company has reviews spread across years, not 40 reviews all posted in a 2-week window (that's a review-buying spree).
• Owner responses — a good contractor replies to negative reviews professionally. Silence or defensiveness both tell you something.
• Specifics in positive reviews — real reviews name technicians, describe the problem solved, and mention pricing. Fake reviews say "great service, highly recommend!" and nothing else.

Cross-check with Yelp, the BBB, Angi, and — surprisingly useful in Florida — local Facebook neighborhood groups. People post "who has a good roofer in Cape Coral?" in those groups weekly and the same names come up over and over for good and bad reasons.

5. Get three written estimates — and walk away from the outlier

The contractor pricing spread in Florida is wider than most states. For the same roof replacement, quotes can legitimately range from $14,000 to $28,000 depending on crew size, material availability, and scheduling load. Don't take a single estimate. Get three written estimates for any job over $2,000.

Estimate red flags:

• Extremely low outlier — 30%+ below the other two. This is almost always a contractor planning to upcharge mid-job, use lower-grade material, or subcontract to someone unlicensed.
• Vague line items — "labor and materials: $X" with no breakdown. A real estimate breaks out labor, materials, permit fees, disposal, and taxes.
• "Cash discount" — a legitimate contractor will happily send a Zelle invoice or take a check. "Cash only" means no paper trail, no warranty recourse, and almost certainly no permits being pulled.

6. Florida's 10% deposit rule

Under Florida Statute 489.126, a licensed residential contractor who takes a deposit of 10% or more of the contract price — and applies for a building permit within 30 days — must begin work within 90 days. If they don't, that's a crime (a third-degree felony for contracts over $5,000). Translation: never pay more than 10–25% up front. Legitimate contractors structure payments as: 10–25% deposit, 50–60% at midpoint milestone, balance on completion. Any contractor who demands 50%+ before starting work is either cash-strapped or planning to disappear.

7. Always pull the permit — in the contractor's name

For any work that touches structure, plumbing, electrical, or HVAC, a permit is required. The contractor pulls it in their name, not yours. If a contractor says "we can save you the permit fee by skipping it" — that is a million-dollar warning. Unpermitted work can:

• Void your homeowners insurance if damage occurs later
• Kill a future home sale (title inspections flag unpermitted additions)
• Require expensive retrofit inspection when discovered
• Shift all liability to you as the homeowner — the contractor faces no consequence once paid

Permitting adds cost and time, but it's the entire mechanism that protects you from shoddy work. Once the permit is pulled, a county inspector signs off on the work at each phase. Without a permit, you have zero recourse.

8. Get the contract in writing — and include these five clauses

Florida requires written contracts for residential work over $2,500. The contract should include:

1. Scope of work — specific materials, model numbers where applicable, dimensions, colors.
2. Payment schedule — with dollar amounts tied to milestones, not dates.
3. Start date and completion date — with language about weather delays (Florida contracts reasonably excuse 1–3 days per rained-out week during summer).
4. Warranty terms — labor warranty (typically 1–5 years) and manufacturer warranty pass-through on materials.
5. The Florida Construction Lien Law notice — required by statute. If this boilerplate is missing, the contractor is not following basic compliance.

Never sign a contract the same day it's presented to you. Take it home, read it, and — for jobs over $20,000 — have a real estate or construction attorney review it. A $200 attorney review is trivial insurance on a $30,000 roof.

9. Post-storm contractor scams — the Florida special

After every hurricane, Florida experiences a wave of "storm chasers" — out-of-state crews with temporary Florida licenses, door-to-door sales, and high-pressure tactics. The pattern:

• Knock on your door within 48 hours of a storm, often with a clipboard and a reflective vest ("inspecting damage for the insurance company")
• Offer to "waive your deductible" (illegal in Florida — a felony for the contractor under the 2021 AOB reform)
• Ask you to sign an Assignment of Benefits (AOB) to them so they can bill your insurer directly
• Demand a large deposit, do partial work, then disappear before completion

The rule: never sign anything on your doorstep within the first 14 days after a storm. Take the business card, check the license online, get two more quotes from contractors who were operating in Florida before the storm hit, then decide.

10. Use the state's free complaint and enforcement tools

If a contractor takes your money and disappears, doesn't finish the work, or performs defective work, you have three avenues:

• DBPR complaint — file at myfloridalicense.com. The state investigates and can fine, suspend, or revoke the license. This is free.
• Florida Homeowners' Construction Recovery Fund — if the contractor is state-licensed and took your money, you can recover up to $50,000 per claim (up to $25,000 in attorney fees) through this fund. You need a court judgment first.
• Florida Attorney General — for patterns of fraud or post-storm scams, file with the Consumer Protection Division.

The 60-second summary

Before you sign anything: (1) license current on myfloridalicense.com, (2) insurance certificate with you as certificate holder, (3) three written estimates, (4) deposit at 10–25% max, (5) permit pulled in contractor's name, (6) written contract with the five clauses above. A legitimate Florida contractor will check every one of these boxes without flinching. Anyone who resists, rushes, or gets defensive when you ask — that is the answer.

For a full Florida-specific directory of licensed, rated, and reviewed home-service contractors, browse our full category index. Every listing includes the verified Google rating, city, category, and — for licensed trades — we flag any state license issues we find during quarterly refreshes.

Have a question this didn't cover? Get in touch — we're building this guide article by article.