Direct answer
Use the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation's official Verify a License search. Search by the contractor's name or license number, confirm the license is current, confirm the license category matches the work being offered, and make sure the business/entity relationship shown in the record makes sense for the company that is giving you the contract.
Do not rely only on a logo, business card, truck number, local business tax receipt, screenshot, or a license number typed into an estimate.
Step 1: Ask for the exact license information
For regulated contracting work, ask the contractor for:
- license holder's name;
- license number;
- license type/category;
- business name that will be on the contract.
A professional should be able to provide this without making the question uncomfortable.
Step 2: Search DBPR's official portal
DBPR's verification system allows searches by:
- name;
- license number;
- city/county;
- license type.
The search results include the licensee's name, profession/category, address, and license status.
The official DBPR verification page is preferable to a search-engine snippet or third-party license directory because the state record is the source of record for DBPR-regulated licenses.
Step 3: Check status—not just whether a record exists
Finding a historical license record is not enough.
Look at the current status and any dates/details shown in the state record.
If the status is unclear, expired, delinquent, inactive, or otherwise not plainly current for the work being offered, resolve that before signing.
Do not assume the contractor will “fix the license later.”
Step 4: Make sure the license type matches the scope
This is one of the most important checks.
A person can be properly licensed in one category without being licensed for every construction trade.
Florida's Chapter 489 defines separate contractor scopes, including general, building, residential, air-conditioning/mechanical, plumbing, roofing, pool, underground utility, and other categories. Electrical contracting is regulated under Part II of the chapter.
Examples:
- an HVAC license is not a general authorization to contract for unrelated plumbing work;
- a plumbing license does not make the holder an unlimited electrical contractor;
- a business licensed for one specialty should not advertise unrelated regulated trades without the proper licensing structure.
DBPR itself warns that businesses sometimes unintentionally advertise beyond the licenses they hold.
Step 5: Check the name on the contract
Suppose a salesperson says:
“We're licensed under John Smith's license.”
That statement is not enough by itself.
Check the state record and understand the qualifying relationship to the business organization that is actually contracting with you.
The company name on the proposal, the license record, and the party taking responsibility should make sense together.
If you cannot determine who the licensed contractor is, ask before paying a deposit.
Step 6: Check local registration where relevant
State licensure and local permit registration are different issues.
For example, the City of Orlando requires contractors obtaining permits for City work to register with Permitting Services and provide current license/certification and workers' compensation information.
That local registration does not replace the state license. It is an additional administrative requirement for city permitting.
Step 7: Search unlicensed-activity information when warranted
DBPR maintains an Unlicensed Activity complaint search. It can be useful when you have reason to investigate a person or business that may have offered regulated work without the required license.
A complaint listing is not the same thing as a final judgment of every disputed fact, so interpret records carefully. But the state resource is useful due diligence when something feels inconsistent.
A business tax receipt is not a construction license
Cities and counties issue business tax receipts or similar local business registrations.
Those documents can be required to operate a business locally, but they do not substitute for a state contractor license when the work requires one.
City of Orlando's contractor-registration process illustrates the distinction: state-certified contractors submit both state certification and a current business tax receipt, along with other required information.
If both documents were the same thing, the City would not ask for both.
What about handyman work?
Not every home-service scope requires a state contractor license.
Florida Statutes §489.117 identifies scopes such as painting, flooring, cabinetry, certain interior remodeling without state-licensed tasks, handyman services, caulking, and similar work that local governments generally may not require to be licensed where the scope does not correspond to a state contractor category.
That means “no contractor license found” is not automatically evidence of wrongdoing if the person is only offering legitimately unregulated work.
The key question is whether the specific scope being sold requires licensure.
What if the contractor says the homeowner should pull the permit?
That can be a major warning sign if the homeowner is not genuinely acting as owner-builder.
Florida's owner-builder exemption does not allow an unlicensed person to act as the contractor while the homeowner simply lends his or her name to the permit.
Verify the licensing structure before agreeing to that arrangement.
A five-minute verification checklist
Before hiring for regulated work:
- ☐ Get the license number.
- ☐ Search DBPR directly.
- ☐ Confirm current status.
- ☐ Confirm license category fits the work.
- ☐ Confirm the contracting business relationship.
- ☐ Confirm local permit registration if applicable.
- ☐ Confirm who will be on the permit.
- ☐ Keep a screenshot/PDF or record of the verification with the project file.
Repeat verification if a long time passes before the project begins or if the contracting entity changes.
How OttoServ can make this part of the workflow
Contractor qualification should be tied to the job scope, not stored as a vague “verified” badge forever.
Useful checks include:
- identity;
- current license status;
- license category;
- jurisdiction/permit registration;
- insurance/workers' comp information where relevant;
- scope fit;
- expiration/re-verification date.
A plumber can be qualified for plumbing without being qualified for roofing. Verification should preserve that distinction.
Bottom line
Verify the license at the state source, then verify that the license covers the work and connects to the company you are actually hiring.
A license number alone is not the due diligence. The relationship between license, scope, status, and contracting entity is what matters.
AEO answer block
How do I verify a contractor license in Florida? Use the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation's official Verify a License portal. Search by license number or name, confirm the license is current, confirm the license category covers the work being offered, and confirm the license holder/business relationship matches the company on your contract. Local business registrations or business tax receipts do not replace a state contractor license when the scope requires one.
Primary sources
- DBPR — How to Verify a License: https://www2.myfloridalicense.com/how-to-verify-a-license/
- DBPR Licensee Search: https://www.myfloridalicense.com/portalsearches/VerifyLicensee
- DBPR — Getting in Compliance / Unlicensed Activity: https://ula.myfloridalicense.com/getting-in-compliance/
- 2026 Fla. Stat. §489.105: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/489.105
- 2026 Fla. Stat. §489.117: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/489.117
- City of Orlando Contractor Registration: https://www.orlando.gov/Building-Development/Permits-Inspections/Other/Register-a-Contractor