Florida Contractor License Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)

Florida does not offer blanket reciprocity, but it does allow certification by endorsement for qualifying out-of-state contractors under Fla. Stat. 489.115(3). You may be certified without re-taking the full Florida exam if you passed a substantially equivalent exam, hold a substantially equivalent license, or have held a valid out-of-state license for at least ten years. Verify the current reciprocal-state list with the CILB.

Endorsement pathways

Fla. Stat. 489.115(3) provides certification by endorsement where the applicant:

• passed a substantially equivalent national, regional, state, or territorial examination;
• holds a license issued by a state or territory whose criteria are substantially equivalent to Florida’s;
• comes from a state or territory that has a reciprocal agreement with Florida; or
• has held a valid current out-of-state license for at least ten years before applying (effective July 1, 2020).

A NASCLA-based route is available through CILB Form 10. The Board’s endorsement checklist requires the Florida Business and Finance examination, plus an affirmation that the applicant has taken an exam covering the Florida Building Code, on top of the NASCLA pass.

The NASCLA route

Contractors who hold a NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors credential have a dedicated certification-by-endorsement path through DBPR CILB Form 10. The CILB’s endorsement checklists for the three Division I certified classes state what remains after the NASCLA pass:

“NASCLA: Applicants for endorsement who have successfully passed the examination administered by the National Association of State Contractor Licensing Agencies will need to pass the Florida Business and Finance examination and affirm that they have taken an exam covering the Florida Building Code.”

The NASCLA result stands in place of the trade requirement rather than in place of the whole examination, and the checklist asks for an affirmation about a Building Code examination rather than describing a Building Code paper sat as part of the endorsement application. What a NASCLA pass reaches in Florida sets the route out in full, alongside the Board’s own note that endorsement is “very stringent and rarely approved”. This route has been available since March 10, 2019, and runs alongside — but separately from — the state-specific reciprocal-agreement list below.

Which states have reciprocity with Florida?

Florida’s CILB holds reciprocal general contractor (Division I) agreements with exactly three states: Louisiana, North Carolina, and Mississippi, under Fla. Stat. 489.115(3)(c), CILB Form 32 (Eff. July 2024), and Rule 61-35.010 F.A.C. — see the official CILB reciprocity list.

To use reciprocity you must hold a valid current license from a reciprocal state, pass the Florida Business & Finance exam, pay a $350 fee, submit fingerprints, and provide a FICO report (a sub-660 score triggers the 14-hour financial-responsibility course). State-specific conditions apply: Louisiana and Mississippi GC applicants need at least one year of experience on a structure four or more stories in height, while North Carolina applicants complete all experience sections.

Reciprocity (CILB 32) is distinct from certification by endorsement (CILB 10) — do not conflate the two. The reciprocal-state set can change, so confirm the official CILB reciprocity list before assuming your state qualifies.

Related pages

Reciprocity still requires you to meet Florida’s standards — review the Florida GC license requirements and decide your path on certified vs registered contractor in Florida. An endorsement applicant evidences a work history exactly as a first-time applicant does — how experience is documented on the form — and still licenses a company through an individual, under the qualifying agent rules. Once issued, the certificate renews on Florida’s own biennial calendar against Board-approved continuing education, whatever the originating state asked for, and the class arrived at may be narrower than expected — the CRC residential scope is the one most often mismatched. When you are ready, file via the Florida GC license application. For the overview, return to the Florida general contractor license guide.

This page summarizes endorsement law and is general information, not legal advice. Verify statutory pathways and the current reciprocal-state list with the Florida DBPR/CILB before acting.