Hiring checklist.

Most contractor problems in Florida — the kind that show up later as lawsuits, mechanics’ liens, or unfinished work — can be prevented at one specific moment: before you sign the contract. Once your signature is on a piece of paper and money has changed hands, your options narrow dramatically. Before that point, you have every advantage.

This is a checklist for that moment. It’s twelve items, organized into three sections, and most homeowners can work through all of them in about thirty minutes. None of it requires legal training. Most of it is just asking the right questions and confirming the answers.

Section one: The license check

This is the part people skip, and it’s the most important part. Florida law makes unlicensed contracting a third-degree felony when the work involved is over $5,000, and you do not want to find out at the end of a project that you’ve paid someone who can’t legally do the work.

1. Get the license number and license type from the contractor in writing. Not verbally. The contract or proposal you receive should have both. If the contractor is reluctant to put this in writing, that’s a signal.
2. Verify the license is active at myfloridalicense.com or here on this site. “Active” means the status shows Current — not Delinquent, Null and Void, or anything else. An expired or delinquent license means the contractor cannot legally pull permits or perform the work.
3. Match the license type to the work you need. A certified general contractor (CGC) can do most construction work. A certified residential contractor (CRC) is limited to one- and two-family homes. A roofing license (CCC) doesn’t cover electrical work. An electrical license doesn’t cover plumbing. The license type defines what the contractor is legally allowed to do.
4. Check the qualifying agent. If you’re hiring a contracting business, that business is operating under the personal license of an individual called the “qualifying agent” or “qualifier.” Look at who that person is. If the qualifying agent recently changed — say, in the last six months — ask why. Sometimes this is innocent (the original qualifier retired). Sometimes it’s a sign of trouble (the business is being passed around between license holders, which can be a fraud pattern).

Section two: The financial check

This section is about making sure the contractor can actually do the work without leaving you holding the bag for someone else’s costs.

1. Ask for proof of general liability insurance. The contractor’s certificate of insurance should name them or their business and show coverage that’s actually in force right now. Don’t accept a screenshot of an old document. Ask the contractor’s insurance broker to send proof of coverage directly to you — it takes one phone call.
2. Ask for proof of workers’ compensation insurance, OR a valid workers’ comp exemption. If the contractor has employees, they’re legally required to carry workers’ comp. If they’re a sole proprietor with no employees, they may legally hold an exemption. Either way, you want to see proof. If they don’t have coverage AND don’t have an exemption, and someone gets hurt on your property, you may be personally liable.
3. Check for any disciplinary history. The State of Florida publishes contractor disciplinary actions on the DBPR website. A pattern of complaints, fines, or license suspensions is a major warning. A single old issue from years ago that was resolved is usually not.
4. Ask about the payment schedule. Florida law allows contractors to ask for a deposit of up to 10% of the contract price before any work begins. Anyone asking for substantially more than that as a deposit — especially anyone asking for the full amount up front — is operating in a way you should be cautious about.

Section three: The contract check

This is the part that turns into a lawsuit if it goes wrong. Take your time here.

1. Get everything in writing. Every promise, every change order, every modification to the original scope. Verbal agreements with contractors don’t survive disputes.
2. Make sure permits are addressed. The contract should specify who is responsible for pulling required permits — usually the contractor, since they need to be licensed to do so. If the project requires permits and the contractor wants you to pull them yourself, ask why. Sometimes it’s because they’re not properly licensed to pull them.
3. Read the lien waiver language. Florida law gives contractors and subcontractors the right to file a lien against your property if they don’t get paid. This includes subcontractors that the general contractor hired — even if you’ve paid the general in full, an unpaid subcontractor can put a lien on your house. Make sure your contract includes lien waivers tied to each payment milestone, and ask for waivers from subcontractors as work progresses.
4. Define what “done” means. The contract should specify what completion looks like — what triggers the final payment, what the punch list process is, who decides when work is acceptable. Without this, the last 10% of any project can turn into a dispute.

The summary

If you do nothing else, do these three things: verify the license is active and matches the work, get proof of insurance directly from the insurance company, and require a written contract with clear payment milestones. These three steps prevent the majority of serious contractor problems.

The other nine items on the list reduce risk further. They’re worth doing on any project over $10,000. On a major renovation, they’re worth doing twice.

Our step-by-step guide to verifying a license covers section one in more detail.