The State of Florida has specific requirements for licensure as a Division I or Division II Contractor. These requirements are based upon the number of years of field experience in the category for which you want to be licensed. Without any educational credits, you would need to show a minimum of 4 years of field experience, with at least one year in a Foreman or supervisory role. There are no minimum educational requirements, but you can offset up to 3 years of this requirement with college credits and/or military service.
Here are the requirements directly from Florida Statute 489.111: Licensure by examination.
- Any person who desires to be certified shall apply to the department in writing.
- A person shall be eligible for licensure by examination if the person:
- Is 18 years of age;
- Is of good moral character; and
- Meets eligibility requirements according to one of the following criteria:
- Has received a baccalaureate degree from an accredited 4-year college in the appropriate field of engineering, architecture, or building construction and has 1 year of proven experience in the category in which the person seeks to qualify. For the purpose of this part, a minimum of 2,000 person-hours shall be used in determining full-time equivalency. An applicant who is exempt from passing an examination under s. 489.113(1) is eligible for a license under this section.
- Has a total of at least 4 years of active experience as a worker who has learned the trade by serving an apprenticeship as a skilled worker who is able to command the rate of a mechanic in the particular trade or as a foreman who is in charge of a group of workers and usually is responsible to a superintendent or a contractor or his or her equivalent; provided, however, that at least 1 year of active experience shall be as a foreman.
- Has a combination of not less than 1 year of experience as a foreman and not less than 3 years of credits for any accredited college-level courses; has a combination of not less than 1 year of experience as a skilled worker, 1 year of experience as a foreman, and not less than 2 years of credits for any accredited college-level courses; or has a combination of not less than 2 years of experience as a skilled worker, 1 year of experience as a foreman, and not less than 1 year of credits for any accredited college-level courses. All junior college or community college-level courses shall be considered accredited college-level courses.
The State of Florida does not require applicants to have met these requirements before actually passing the required state exams. However, you must meet all these requirements before applying for your license. You have 4 years from successful completion of the exam process to obtain the minimum experience required and apply for the Certified Contractor’s license.
The educational and experience requirements for licensure as a Certified Florida Contractor can be confusing. If you have any questions about the process or would like information on which license may be right for you, please reach out to Gold Coast School of Construction at www.GoldCoastSchools.com or call 1-800-732-9140 or send us an email at Contractor@GoldCoastSchools.com. We have helped thousands of students from across the county obtain licensure in the State of Florida, and we look forward to helping you.
** Chris Clausing is the Program Director for Gold Coast School of Construction and Curriculum and Program Innovation for Colibri Group’s Construction Education Ecosystem. Chris is a Certified General Contractor (CGC1515171) in the State of Florida with over 20 years’ experience in the Construction and Inspection industries. Chris also sits as a Consensus Committee Member for the IECC helping shape the energy codes of the future. If you have any questions, please reach out to Chris directly at cclausing@goldcoastschools.com.