Contractor licensing · FL

Contractor licensing in Florida

The agencies that license the work, set the workers compensation trigger and register the business, with a link to each one.

Checked 2026-07-28

An Arkansas contractor taking work in Florida deals with the same four questions everywhere: who licenses the trade, when a licence is actually required, when workers compensation kicks in, and where the business registers. Below is Florida's answer to each, with the agency's own link.

Licensing

Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Construction Industry Licensing Board

Contracting is state-licensed under F.S. Chapter 489: certified licenses are valid statewide, registered licenses only in local jurisdictions. Handyman work is exempt only when casual, minor, or inconsequential and total construction cost is under $2,500.

https://www2.myfloridalicense.com/construction-industry/

Workers compensation

Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Workers' Compensation

Construction employers with one or more employees, including corporate-officer or LLC-member owners, must carry coverage; non-construction employers at four or more; agriculture at six regular or twelve seasonal workers.

https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/wc/employer/coverage-requirements

Business registration

Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations (Sunbiz)

https://dos.fl.gov/sunbiz/

Tax registration

Florida Department of Revenue

https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/registration

New hire reporting

Most states require newly hired employees to be reported within a short window of their start date.

https://servicesforemployers.floridarevenue.com/web/Public/Login.aspx

Still to confirm. LLC e-filing lives at dos.fl.gov/sunbiz/start-business/efile/fl-llc/ per the fetched Sunbiz page. New-hire site root timed out; the login page fetched successfully.
These are pointers to each state's own agencies, checked on the date shown, not legal advice and not a substitute for asking the board directly. Rules change and thresholds move. The agency link is always the authority.

Delaware · All fifty states · Georgia

Starting or running the business itself is covered in the contractor business guide. Arkansas licence records for Benton and Washington counties are in the contractor directory.

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