Florida General Contractor License Application: Documents & Checklist

The Florida general contractor application is the DBPR CILB 5-A certified-contractor form, filed with the Construction Industry Licensing Board. A complete file carries verified experience, a passing exam result, proof of financial responsibility, insurance, fingerprinting, and the application fee — $245 or $145 depending on the biennial filing window. An incomplete file draws a request for more information instead of a decision.

The 5-A is one form in a numbered CILB series, and the wrong number is a common filing error — the qualifying-agent, change-of-status and endorsement routes each use their own. See which CILB form applies to you before you file.

What the application requires

1. Experience verification — an employment history matching one of the CILB 5-A Part A qualifying methods (four years as a worker or foreman with at least one year as a foreman, a construction-related degree combined with a year of applicable experience, or the licensure-history upgrade route), plus the two conditions Rule 61G4-15.001(2)(a) and (2)(b) add for the General class: four or more of Part B’s six experience areas, and one year on structures of at least four stories. Which areas the history has to cover, and what the form accepts as evidence of each, are set out under proving Certified General experience.
2. Examination — proof of a passing result on the state general contractor examination. The Division I examination has three parts, Business and Finance, Contract Administration and Project Management, and each part is registered, priced and passed separately.
3. Financial responsibility — a FICO-derived credit score of 660 or higher, or a certificate of completion for the 14-hour Board-approved course. Fla. Admin. Code 61G4-15.006 sets those two routes and no other; the rule mentions no surety bond, and it is written for “an applicant” without differentiating by class.
4. Insurance — general liability and property-damage coverage at the limits set by Board rule for the category applied for, plus workers’ compensation where there are employees or a filed exemption where there are none.
5. Fingerprinting — a background check through the DBPR-designated vendor. Fla. Stat. 489.111(2) makes eligibility for licensure by examination turn on being 18 years of age and “of good moral character”, and 489.111(3) bounds what a criminal record may be used for.
6. Fees — the application fee for the filing window in which the form is received, payable to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Use the interactive checklist above to track each item; your progress is saved in your browser only.

The application fee and its biennial window

The CILB 5-A prices initial certification by the calendar window in which the application lands rather than by the applicant, which is the one place where the filing date itself changes the number:

The application fee and its biennial window

Filing window	Initial certification fee
“between May 1st of an EVEN year through August 31st of an ODD year”	$245
“between September 1st of an ODD year through April 30th of an EVEN year”	$145

Both figures are quoted from the fee block of the official CILB 5-A, which also directs applicants to “Make check payable to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.” The exam-vendor fees are separate from this one and are not prorated; the full outlay, including the exam and the financial-responsibility route, is itemized on what the license costs step by step.

What the file is checked against

Two things in the file are verified against records outside it. The employment history is traced back to a licensee: Part B asks for the “Name of qualifying contractor for employer” and the “License number of qualifying contractor” for every position claimed, which is why an employer who no longer exists or will not respond is the most common cause of a stalled file. And the totals are arithmetic — Part B ends by totalling worker and foreman time, and the form states that “The total time should equal or exceed the number of years of experience required for the qualification method selected in Part A.”

Everything else is a document that either exists at the right limits on the day of filing or does not: the score report or course certificate, the certificates of insurance, and the exam result.

Forming a business entity

Many contractors file under an LLC. Certification itself is issued to the individual who qualifies, so the entity is not what becomes licensed — under Fla. Stat. 489.119 a business organization contracts only by employing a licensed qualifying agent for your business, the individual whose license the company relies on to do the work. Setting the entity up before filing keeps the names on the file consistent.

Insurance for your application

Proof of coverage is part of the file rather than something arranged after issuance, and the dollar minimums are fixed by Board rule and differ by category — they are set out on Florida contractor insurance requirements. Line up a quote early, because the certificate has to show the right limits on the day the application goes in.

Common questions

What documents does the Florida contractor license application require?

The CILB 5-A requires an employment history evidencing the qualification method claimed, proof of a passing state examination result, either a FICO-derived credit score of 660 or higher or a 14-hour Board-approved course certificate, certificates of insurance at the limits set for the category, a completed fingerprint background check, and the application fee for the current filing window.

How much is the Florida general contractor application fee?

The CILB 5-A sets initial certification at $245 for an application filed between May 1st of an even year and August 31st of an odd year, and $145 between September 1st of an odd year and April 30th of an even year. Exam-vendor fees are charged separately and are not prorated.

Related pages

Work the full sequence on the step-by-step path to a Florida GC license, and for the overview see the Florida general contractor license guide. Once your license is issued, you can confirm it’s listed as active in the state database.

This page summarizes DBPR procedure and is general information, not legal advice. Verify the current CILB 5-A requirements and fees with the Florida DBPR before filing.