Florida Owner-Builder Permit: The Licensing Exemption Explained

Fla. Stat. 489.103(7)(a)1 exempts owners of property acting as their own contractor, and providing direct, onsite supervision themselves of all work not performed by licensed contractors, from Part I licensing — for a one-family or two-family residence or a farm outbuilding, or a commercial building costing no more than $75,000, built for the owner’s own use and not offered for sale or lease.

What the statute exempts

“(7)(a) Owners of property when acting as their own contractor and providing direct, onsite supervision themselves of all work not performed by licensed contractors: 1. When building or improving farm outbuildings or one-family or two-family residences on such property for the occupancy or use of such owners and not offered for sale or lease, or building or improving commercial buildings, at a cost not to exceed $75,000, on such property for the occupancy or use of such owners and not offered for sale or lease. In an action brought under this part, proof of the sale or lease, or offering for sale or lease, of any such structure by the owner-builder within 1 year after completion of same creates a presumption that the construction was undertaken for purposes of sale or lease.” (Fla. Stat. 489.103(7)(a)1)

Quoted from Fla. Stat. 489.103(7).

Section 489.103 opens “This part does not apply to:”, so the exemption reaches Part I of chapter 489 only, and it exempts the owner from licensure rather than from the permit itself. Fla. Stat. 489.103(7)(b) adds that the subsection “does not exempt any person who is employed by or has a contract with such owner and who acts in the capacity of a contractor,” and that “owners of property” includes the owner of a mobile home situated on a leased lot.

The 1-year rule is a presumption, not a waiting period

Proof of the sale or lease of the structure by the owner-builder within 1 year after completion creates, in the words of 489.103(7)(a)1, “a presumption that the construction was undertaken for purposes of sale or lease.” That presumption is applied in an action brought under Part I: it governs what an owner-builder must show once the question is raised, rather than fixing a date after which a sale becomes permitted. Disclosure item 4 below carries the same rule, together with the statute’s one exception — completing the requirements of a permit that the listed contractor substantially completed.

Supervision, the owner’s signature, and enforcement

Fla. Stat. 489.103(7)(b) provides that the owner “may not delegate the owner’s responsibility to directly supervise all work to any other person unless that person is registered or certified under this part and the work being performed is within the scope of that person’s license.” Under 489.103(7)(c) an owner must personally appear and sign the building permit application and satisfy local permitting agency requirements, if any. Where the subsection is violated, that paragraph directs the local permitting agency to withhold final approval, revoke the permit, or pursue any action or remedy for unlicensed activity.

The disclosure statement Florida requires before the permit issues

Fla. Stat. 489.103(7)(c) prescribes a 12-item disclosure statement the local permitting agency gives an owner-builder to sign before the permit issues. Items 4 through 8 and the closing warning are reproduced below; the full 12-item text is in the statute. The version the building department issues governs — this copy is for reading, not for signing.

4. I understand that I may build or improve a one-family or two-family residence or a farm outbuilding. I may also build or improve a commercial building if the costs do not exceed $75,000. The building or residence must be for my own use or occupancy. It may not be built or substantially improved for sale or lease, unless I am completing the requirements of a building permit where the contractor listed on the permit substantially completed the project. If a building or residence that I have built or substantially improved myself is sold or leased within 1 year after the construction is complete, the law will presume that I built or substantially improved it for sale or lease, which violates the exemption.

5. I understand that, as the owner-builder, I must provide direct, onsite supervision of the construction.

6. I understand that I may not hire an unlicensed person to act as my contractor or to supervise persons working on my building or residence. It is my responsibility to ensure that the persons whom I employ have the licenses required by law and by county or municipal ordinance.

Item 7 addresses one practice in particular — an unlicensed person arranging for the property owner to pull the permit — and records the owner’s acknowledgment of the injury liability and insurance limits that follow from it.

7. I understand that it is a frequent practice of unlicensed persons to have the property owner obtain an owner-builder permit that erroneously implies that the property owner is providing his or her own labor and materials. I, as an owner-builder, may be held liable and subjected to serious financial risk for any injuries sustained by an unlicensed person or his or her employees while working on my property. My homeowner’s insurance may not provide coverage for those injuries. I am willfully acting as an owner-builder and am aware of the limits of my insurance coverage for injuries to workers on my property.

Item 8 turns on employment rather than on supervision alone: an unlicensed person working on the property is the owner’s employee, which brings federal withholding, FICA and workers’ compensation obligations with it.

8. I understand that I may not delegate the responsibility for supervising work to a licensed contractor who is not licensed to perform the work being done. Any person working on my building who is not licensed must work under my direct supervision and must be employed by me, which means that I must comply with laws requiring the withholding of federal income tax and social security contributions under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) and must provide workers’ compensation for the employee. I understand that my failure to follow these laws may subject me to serious financial risk.

The statement closes with a general warning addressed to the property owner rather than a numbered item to initial, and its final sentence leaves verification of a hired contractor’s licensure and workers’ compensation coverage with the owner — see how to check a contractor’s license before hiring.

Licensed contractors are regulated by laws designed to protect the public. If you contract with a person who does not have a license, the Construction Industry Licensing Board and Department of Business and Professional Regulation may be unable to assist you with any financial loss that you sustain as a result of a complaint. Your only remedy against an unlicensed contractor may be in civil court. It is also important for you to understand that, if an unlicensed contractor or employee of an individual or firm is injured while working on your property, you may be held liable for damages. If you obtain an owner-builder permit and wish to hire a licensed contractor, you will be responsible for verifying whether the contractor is properly licensed and the status of the contractor’s workers’ compensation coverage.

Quoted from Fla. Stat. 489.103(7)(c). Items 7 and 8 are the state’s warning to owners, reproduced for reading — this page makes no assertion of its own about an owner’s liability or insurance coverage. Whether the exemption is available for a particular project is decided by the local permitting agency.

Wiring is Part II, under 489.503(6)

Section 489.103 sits in chapter 489, Part I. Electrical and alarm-system contracting sits in Part II, under the Electrical Contractors’ Licensing Board, and Part II carries its own owner provision on its own terms: Fla. Stat. 489.503(6) reaches an owner who applies for the permit and supervises and does the work on a single-family or duplex residence for the owner’s own use and occupancy and not intended for sale, and it carries its own disclosure statement. The 489.103(7) owner-builder exemption does not reach electrical wiring.

The three narrow branches in 489.103(7)(a)2–4

Subparagraphs 489.103(7)(a)2–4 add three further branches, each on its own conditions rather than as a general route: emergency repair of shake or shingle roofing on one-, two- or three-family residences under a state of emergency declared by the Governor; solar-panel work in a county participating in a United States Department of Energy “SunShot Initiative: Rooftop Solar Challenge” grant program, where a licensed electrical contractor must still perform the electrical interconnection; and completing a permit where the listed contractor substantially completed the project, with local agency approval.

Where the exemption ends

The limits in Fla. Stat. 489.103(7) are conditions: a project outside the one-family, two-family, farm-outbuilding and $75,000-commercial branches, or one built or substantially improved for sale or lease, falls outside the exemption. The separate threshold in 489.103(9) — the $2,500 minor-work exemption — turns on the size of the job rather than on who owns the property. What a state license takes is set out under what qualifying for a state contractor license involves, and the consequences chapter 489 attaches are at what unlicensed contracting exposes a homeowner to. For how the classes fit together, see Florida’s contractor licensing structure.

Common questions

What does Florida law require of an owner who pulls the permit?

Fla. Stat. 489.103(7) reaches owners acting as their own contractor who provide direct, onsite supervision themselves of all work not performed by licensed contractors, within the limits the subsection sets — the one-family, two-family and farm-outbuilding branch, the $75,000 commercial cap, the not-for-sale-or-lease condition and the 1-year presumption.

What does the owner-builder disclosure say about hiring unlicensed workers?

Item 6 states that the owner “may not hire an unlicensed person to act as my contractor or to supervise persons working on my building or residence,” and item 8 that an unlicensed person working on the property “must work under my direct supervision and must be employed by me.”

Does the owner-builder exemption cover electrical wiring?

No. Section 489.103 opens “This part does not apply to:”, so 489.103(7) is scoped to chapter 489, Part I. Electrical and alarm contracting sits in Part II under the Electrical Contractors’ Licensing Board, which carries its own separate owner provision, on its own terms and with its own disclosure statement, in Fla. Stat. 489.503(6).

This page summarizes Florida law and is general information, not legal advice. Whether a particular project qualifies for the owner-builder exemption is for the local permitting agency to decide.