You run the jobs, the crews and the customers. What you don't have is a Florida contractor's license behind the company. A licensed general, building or residential contractor can qualify your company and take real responsibility for its work. Here is which license you need, what the qualifier is responsible for, what it costs, and what to watch for.
General information about Florida law, not legal advice. Speak to a Florida construction attorney before entering any qualifying arrangement.
Yes. A Florida construction company can operate legally under a licensed contractor who serves as its qualifying agent. Which license depends on what you build: a general contractor's license has no limit on the type of work, a building contractor's covers commercial and residential buildings, and a residential contractor's covers one to three family homes.
Even a general contractor has to hand electrical, plumbing, roofing, mechanical, sheet metal, pool and air conditioning work to a contractor licensed in that trade, unless they hold that license too (Statute 489.113).
This is the part owners worry about most, so here it is plainly, from Statute 489.1195.
Agreed between you and the contractor. It depends on how many jobs you run, how organized your company is, and how much supervision you need. We don't publish a range, because the number only means something once both sides know the work.
The state's own filing fees, paid to the state licensing department directly.
Nothing to apply or to be on the platform. You only pay once we've found you a qualifier who has said yes, and if the introduction doesn't happen, you can have it back.
This is the risk most companies don't hear about until it costs them. If a company signs a job without a qualifier licensed for that kind of work, Florida says the company cannot enforce that contract (Statute 489.128).
Under Statute 489.119, the company has 60 days from the day the qualifier leaves to bring on a new one, and it cannot take on new contracts until it does.
Licensed general, building and residential contractors have already applied to QualiFind as qualifiers. Every qualifier's license is checked against the state's records, and you're matched by trade, area and the way you work.
Start your applicationIt depends on what you build. Homes only, up to three families: residential. Commercial and residential buildings: building. Anything else, or no limits: general. Tell us your work and we'll match the license to it.
The primary qualifier is responsible for the company's finances unless the state approves a financially responsible officer, who then takes over the financial side.
A certified license covers the whole state, so yes, as long as real supervision is realistic at that distance. A registered license only covers the area that issued it.
Plan in weeks, not days. You need to find the right person, both sides need to do real checking, the terms have to be agreed, and the qualifier has to be filed with the state.
Yes. A real qualifying arrangement is the legal bridge. You run and build the company now, under a real qualifier, and work toward your own license on a realistic timeline.