Unlicensed Contractor in Florida: Penalties and Consequences

Contracting in Florida without the license the work requires runs on two separate tracks. One is public enforcement: the criminal classifications in Fla. Stat. 489.127(2), plus administrative and civil penalties under 489.13 and 455.228. The other is private, and often costlier — under 489.128 the contract is unenforceable by the unlicensed contractor, and no lien or bond claim exists in that contractor’s favor.

This page describes what Florida statutes say about unlicensed contracting. It is not legal advice, it is not a defense guide, and it does not describe how any statute applies to a particular job, contract, or charge. If you are facing an enforcement action or a dispute, that is a question for a lawyer.

What counts as unlicensed contracting

Fla. Stat. 489.127(1) carries the prohibitions. The two most often at issue are (f), which reaches engaging in the business or acting in the capacity of a contractor — or advertising oneself or a business organization as available to do so — without being duly registered or certified, and (h), quoted here in full:

Commence or perform work for which a building permit is required pursuant to part IV of chapter 553 without such building permit being in effect.

The closing text of the same subsection settles two definitional questions: a person or business “operating on an inactive or suspended certificate or registration … is considered unlicensed,” and “A business tax receipt issued under the authority of chapter 205 is not a license for purposes of this part.”

A local license is a separate thing from the state license a scope requires. Fla. Stat. 489.13(1) provides:

Any person performing an activity requiring licensure under this part as a construction contractor is guilty of unlicensed contracting if he or she does not hold a valid active certificate or registration authorizing him or her to perform such activity, regardless of whether he or she holds a local construction contractor license or local certificate of competency. Persons working outside the geographical scope of their registration are guilty of unlicensed activity for purposes of this part.

That second sentence reaches license holders too — see certified and registered license tiers. Scopes outside every state contractor category are a separate question, covered under work that needs no state license.

Criminal penalties

The classifications below are the statute’s own words. What penalty follows in a given case is set by ss. 775.082 and 775.083 and decided by a court on the facts; nothing here predicts an outcome.

Each classification below is addressed to “Any unlicensed person” — the subsection (1) prohibitions and the subsection (2) classifications are written to different groups.

• 489.127(2)(a): “Any unlicensed person who violates any of the provisions of subsection (1) commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.”
• 489.127(2)(b): “Any unlicensed person who commits a violation of subsection (1) after having been previously found guilty of such violation commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.”
• 489.127(2)(c): “Any unlicensed person who commits a violation of subsection (1) during the existence of a state of emergency declared by executive order of the Governor commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.”

Sections 775.082 and 775.083 set the penalties for each of those classifications; this page does not restate them.

Under 489.13(2), for a first offense a person who “holds a state or local construction license” and is found guilty of unlicensed contracting “shall be issued a notice of noncompliance pursuant to s. 489.131(7).”

Administrative and civil penalties

Three separate monetary routes sit in these two statutes, and they are easy to add together by mistake. These are alternative routes available to the department or a court, not a cumulative total.

Route (alternative, not cumulative)	Figure	Statute
Administrative fine, unlicensed contracting	up to $10,000	489.13(3)
Administrative penalty, unlicensed practice	“not to exceed $5,000 per incident“	455.228(1)
Civil penalty via circuit court	$500 to $5,000 “for each offense”	455.228(2)
Citation; each further day is a separate violation	—	455.228(3)

489.13(3) reads: “Notwithstanding s. 455.228, the department may impose an administrative fine of up to $10,000 on any unlicensed person guilty of unlicensed contracting.” It permits the department to waive up to one-half of the fine if the person complies with certification or registration within 1 year after imposition of the fine; it does not require it.

455.228’s cease-and-desist language is narrower than usually reported: the department “may issue and deliver a notice to cease and desist to any person who aids and abets the unlicensed practice of a profession by employing such unlicensed person.” 455.228(1) authorizes a cease-and-desist notice, not a criminal charge, and only where a person aids and abets by employing the unlicensed person. Under 455.228(3), “Each day that the unlicensed practice continues after issuance of a citation constitutes a separate violation.”

Licensure and discipline sit with a board — see the board that enforces this.

Can an unlicensed contractor enforce the contract or a lien?

Fla. Stat. 489.128(1) provides:

As a matter of public policy, contracts entered into on or after October 1, 1990, by an unlicensed contractor shall be unenforceable in law or in equity by the unlicensed contractor.

What the statute disables is enforcement by the unlicensed contractor; 489.128(3) preserves the other parties’ rights and any surety’s obligations.

489.128(1)(c) fixes when status is measured: “a contractor shall be considered unlicensed only if the contractor was unlicensed on the effective date of the original contract for the work, if stated therein, or … the date the last party to the contract executed it.” And 489.128(1)(a) closes by providing that, for purposes of that section only, a person whose scope of work under the contract requires no state license is not considered unlicensed — quoted in full, with the over-reading it invites, under scopes outside the state contractor categories.

Liens run the same way — 489.128(2):

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, if a contract is rendered unenforceable under this section, no lien or bond claim shall exist in favor of the unlicensed contractor for any labor, services, or materials provided under the contract or any amendment thereto.

What a homeowner risks by hiring one

489.13(4)(c) closes the statutory recovery fund where the contractor was unlicensed:

Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to permit recovery from the Construction Industries Recovery Fund if the contractor is unlicensed.

489.141(1)(c) says it from the other direction, conditioning a claim on “The violation was committed by a licensee.”

Permitting is the other exposure. 489.13(5) provides:

A local building department shall not issue a building permit to any contractor, or to any person representing himself or herself as a contractor, who does not hold a valid active certificate or registration in the appropriate category. Possession of a local certificate of competency or local construction license is not sufficient to lawfully obtain a building permit as a construction contractor if the activity in question requires licensure under this part.

Its final sentence:

Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting a local building department from issuing a building permit to a locally licensed or certified contractor for an activity that does not require licensure under this part.

The record can be checked before money changes hands — verify a contractor license first.

How a prior finding affects a later license application

Eligibility for licensure by examination includes, at 489.111(2)(b), that the applicant “Is of good moral character.” Refusal on that ground is bounded: under 489.111(3)(a) the board may refuse to certify an applicant for failing it “only if”:

1. There is a substantial connection between the lack of good moral character of the applicant and the professional responsibilities of a certified contractor; and 2. The finding … is supported by clear and convincing evidence.

489.111(3)(b) adds procedural rights — written findings, the evidence relied on, rehearing and appeal. Discipline under 489.129(1) is a different statute reaching a different group: it runs “against any certificateholder or registrant,” meaning existing license holders, not first-time applicants. Nothing here predicts how the board would treat a particular history. The eligibility rules are set out under how to become licensed instead.

Reporting it

The Florida DBPR’s Unlicensed Activity program takes reports on its hotline, 1-866-532-1440, and through the DBPR report-unlicensed-activity page. The license lookup page covers checking the record first. A DBPR complaint is a regulatory process, separate from any civil claim; reporting does not recover money.

Common questions

What does Florida law say about enforcing a contract with an unlicensed contractor?

Fla. Stat. 489.128(1) provides that contracts entered into on or after October 1, 1990, by an unlicensed contractor “shall be unenforceable in law or in equity by the unlicensed contractor” — the disability runs against that contractor, and the statute does not describe the contract as void. The section above covers the two limits that travel with it, 489.128(3) and 489.128(1)(c). How either applies to a particular contract is a question for a lawyer.

Can an unlicensed contractor file a lien in Florida?

489.128(2) addresses this directly, in the terms quoted above: where a contract is rendered unenforceable under that section, no lien or bond claim exists in favor of the unlicensed contractor.

For how licensure, scope classes and enforcement fit together, see how Florida licenses contractors.

This page describes Florida’s statutory framework for unlicensed contracting and is general information, not legal advice — verify any provision against the official statute.

Last verified: 2026-07-27