Don’t Work in Florida Without Your Contractor’s License
You may be talented, experienced, and skilled, but if you work in the state of Florida as a contractor without a license, you could be fined and arrested on misdemeanor or felony charges. It is illegal to work as a contractor unlicensed in Florida and many other states. In fact, it is a criminal offense to work in Florida as a contractor without the proper license.
In Florida, there are nine ways you can get in trouble (or get caught) for working without a license. You only need to be caught and found guilty of one of the following to be convicted.
- You falsely say or your company is licensed, when your/it are not.
- You pretend to be a certificate holder or registrant of a license.
- You present someone else’s certificate or registrations.
- You give false or forged evidence to the Contractor Licensing Board of having a license when you don’t.
- You use and work under a certificate or registration that has been suspended or revoked.
- You operate a contracting business after 60 days of termination.
- You perform work that requires a building permit without the getting a building permit.
- You disregard or violate municipal or county ordinances related to uncertified/unregistered licenses.
- You advertise yourself or business as an available registered contractor when you are not.
The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) gives contractors a certificate of competency to contractors who earn it in Florida. A registration in Florida is a registration with the DBPR in accordance with Florida statues.
If found guilty of unlicensed contracting work in Florida, a person is usually charged with a first-degree misdemeanor – penalties of up to one year of probation or prison and a $1,000 fine.
If the unlicensed contractor has been convicted before, he/she could be charged with a third-degree felony. This felony has penalties of up to five years in prison or probation and a $5,000 fine, and court-ordered restitution when the victim claims the work performed was sub-par and caused a loss of some sort due to the contractor being unlicensed.
