Every year, thousands of Florida homeowners hand over deposits to contractors who disappear, do shoddy work that fails inspection, or leave a job half-finished with no recourse. Many of these cases involve unlicensed contractors — people who either never had a Florida license, let it lapse, or are operating in a trade category outside their license scope.
The cost? On average, homeowners who hire unlicensed contractors lose $15,000–$50,000 in Florida. Some lose far more.
Florida has one of the most complex contractor licensing systems in the country. There are two tiers:
State-certified contractors — licensed by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) and can work anywhere in the state. Look for license prefixes like CGC (General Contractor), CBC (Building Contractor), CAC (AC/Mechanical), CCC (Roofing), EC (Electrical), or CFC (Plumbing).
County-registered contractors — licensed only in a specific county. If they show up to work in a neighboring county, they are unlicensed in that jurisdiction even if they hold a county registration elsewhere.
An HVAC contractor licensed only in Hillsborough County who takes a job in Charlotte County is operating illegally in Charlotte County. This matters more than most people realize.
After major storms, unlicensed contractors flood affected areas from out of state. They show up in trucks with magnetic signs, offer cash discounts, and promise fast turnaround. Post-Ian Charlotte County saw hundreds of these cases. Post-Helene and Milton, it happened again.
The pitch is always the same: "I can start tomorrow if you pay half upfront."
What happens next:
Before you sign anything, verify the contractor's license:
If they claim to have a license but won't give you the number, that is your answer.
Pulling a building permit requires a valid license. When a contractor pulls a permit for work on your property, their license number is on the public record. That means:
Unlicensed contractors cannot pull permits. So they either skip the permit entirely or — in fraud cases — pull it under someone else's license number.
If a contractor tells you "I don't pull permits for this kind of work, it's not required" — verify that claim independently. In Florida, almost all structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and roofing work requires a permit.
And document everything: contracts, texts, photos, receipts, permit records.
When you use Permits Automated, we verify Florida DBPR license numbers in real time during the questionnaire. If the license number doesn't match the license type, or if it's expired, we flag it before you generate your permit packet. It won't catch every bad actor — but it catches the most obvious ones before they become your problem.