Local Contractor Licenses Affected by Florida House Bill 735
Local licenses are those issued by county governments. House Bill 735 prohibits Florida counties from issuing their own contractor licenses for trades which are not regulated at the state level. Local governments can continue to regulate and issue their current licenses until 2023.
The trades currently regulated by the state can still be regulated by local governments as well as journeyman and master categories for electrical, plumbing and mechanical trades. The trades currently regulated by the state are:
- Building Construction
- Burglar Alarm Systems
- Burglar and Fire Alarm Systems II
- Air Conditioning Class A
- Air Conditioning Class B
- Commercial Swimming Pools and Spas
- Decking for Swimming Pools and Spas
- Demolition
- Electrical Sign
- Electrical Utility Line
- Excavation for Swimming Pools and Spas
- Finishes for Swimming Pools and Spas
- Fire Protection I
- Fire Protection II
- Fire Protection III
- Fire Protection IV
- Fire Protection V
- Gas Line
- General Construction
- Glass and Glazing
- Gypsum Drywall
- Industrial Facilities
- Irrigation
- Layout Specialty for Swimming Pools and Spas
- Lighting Maintenance
- Low Voltage - Limited Energy
- Marine
- Mechanical
- Piping for Swimming Pools and Spas
- Plumbing
- Pollutant Storage
- Residential Construction
- Residential Electrical
- Residential Swimming Pools and Spas
- Roofing
- Service of Swimming Pools and Spas
- Sheet Metal
- Specialty Structures
- Specialty Tower Construction
- Solar
- Structural Work on Swimming Pools and Spas
- Trim for Swimming Pools and Spas
- Two Way Radio Communications System
- Underground Utilities
- Unlimited Electrical
Examples of some of the trades that will not be regulated by some local governments after the 2023 deadline are the following:
- Cabinetry
- Canvas awning
- Caulking
- Decorative stone
- Driveway installation
- Flooring
- Granite
- Handyman services
- Interior remodeling
- Marble
- Ornamental iron installation
- Painting
- Plastering
- Stuccoing
- Tennis court installation
- Terrazzo
- Tile
In the meantime, from now until July of 2023, different counties are responding to this law in different ways. Some counties have stopped requiring and issuing licenses while some are continuing to regulate their contractors as usual.
In the following pages you can see how your county is dealing with this new licensing law:
- Brevard County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Broward County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Charlotte County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Citrus County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Collier County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Duval County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Escambia County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Flagler County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Hernando County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Hillsborough County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Lake County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Lee County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Martin County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Miami Dade County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Monroe County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Nassau County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Okaloosa County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Orange County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Osceola County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Palm Beach County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Pasco County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Pinellas County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Polk County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Putnam County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Sarasota County’s Response to House Bill 735
- St. Johns County’s Response to House Bill 735
- St. Lucie County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Sumter County’s Response to House Bill 735
- Volusia County’s Response to House Bill 735