How to become a Florida Building Contractor

Contracting is a great industry to get into right now. There’s a shortage of workers and a lot of job openings. Natural disasters, unfortunately occurred, but have made new work for contractors to do across many states in the United States. Growth is occurring, so man power is needed. Thinking about a career as a contractor? There’s so many specialties within this field. You should choose the field that interests you, and also you feel you have a good skillset for.

For this article, we wanted to focus on building contractors, and how to get a certified Florida building contractor’s license.

What is a building contractor?  A building contractor “means a contractor whose services are limited to construction of commercial buildings and single-dwelling or multiple-dwelling residential buildings, which do not exceed three stories in height, and accessory use structures in connection therewith or a contractor whose services are limited to remodeling, repair, or improvement of any size building if the services do not affect the structural members of the building.”

What is required to become a certified licensed building contractor? What experience do you need to have?  You have to show 48 months on jobs with at least 12 months as a foreman, or a combination of college and experience totaling at least 48 months with at least 12 of those months as a foreman. You also must show substantial responsibility in at least 4 of the following areas of commercial construction including active and proven experience with:

  • Foundation/Slabs greater than 20,000 sqft
  • Masonry Walls
  • Steel Erection
  • Elevated Slabs
  • Precast Concrete Structures
  • Column Erection
  • Formwork for structural reinforced concrete

. To aquire a Florida contractor’s license, there is a decent amount of paperwork and deadline. If you hire our Florida contractor licensing team, we will make the process simple, fast, and efficient for you. We walk our clients through each step of the process, complete the application information for you, and provide you with exactly what you need to gather the supporting documentation. You barely have to lift a finger!

We will also help you obtain additional licenses, renew licenses, or help you with business licensing. We have got the license process down to a science. We know what the Contractor Licensing Board is looking for, and what needs to be done! We’ve helped thousands of people become licensed contractors. If you want help becoming a licensed building contractor, click here of call us at 239-777-1028.

 

Appyling for a Joint Venture

Are you looking to apply to qualify for a joint venture? We’ve gathered up some information that can help you with this. We will share information from the Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board, who is responsible for all licensing and regulating within the construction industry. This Board regulates both construction contractors and their businesses. On the Board’s website, they share some frequently asked questions with answers on all topics in the contractor community. For this article, we will pull out and share the portion about applying to qualify to a joint venture.

Q: Can you qualify a joint venture with your existing license?

A: No, you would have to apply to qualify the joint venture just like you would any other business.

Q: Can your company form a joint venture with an unlicensed company?

A: Yes. You would have to apply to qualify the joint venture just like you would any other business.

Q: Can the joint venture bid a project prior to you becoming approved as a qualifying agent?

A: Yes, but the joint venture must obtain approval of the Construction Industry Licensing Board’s Executive Director prior to submitting the bid on a construction project. The joint venture must provide the Executive Director a copy of the written joint venture agreement and a statement of authority signed by an officer of each company giving the proposed qualifying agent full authority to conduct the contracting business of the joint venture.

For the full list of the questions and answers, you can visit the Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board’s official website.

Are you looking to get your contracting license in Florida or Georgia? We are here to help. We are a contractor licensing company and we pride ourselves on giving the best service in our industry. We get contractors licensed fast and painlessly. About 95 percent of our Florida contractor licensing packages are approved the first time, and our contractors are usually licensed within 10 days of the submission of the package. If you’re looking for a new business, we help incorporate new businesses and form LLCs within a day or two. To start the contractor license application process, click here or call us at 239-777-1028.

What is the NASCLA Exam?

If you’re a contractor, and want to be licensed in multiple states, we want to give you some on information on how to go about doing this. The NASCLA accredited examination (The National Association of State Contractor Licensing Agencies) hold the Commercial General Building Contractor exam in September 2009. The purpose of this exam is so a contractor does not have to take a trade exam every time he or she applies for a new license through a different state agency. This exam is considered very beneficial to contractors who want to be licensed across several states, because the regular trades exams can be redundant.

For the states that hold the NASCLA exam, it comes in two ways: administered or accepted. For those states that administer this exam, they will use it as their trade exam. Georgia is one of the starts, so if you want to apply for a contractor’s license in Georgia and take the trade exam, you thus have taken the NASCLA Commercial General Building Contractor exam. Because you have taken the NASCLA exam, you are now able to apply for another license in another state that accepts this exam. The state would then have the trade exam waived for you.

With states that accept this NASCLA exam, this means a person has taken the exam either through a proctored session or through a state that administers the NASCLA exam. Remember, the NASCLA exam only waives the trade portion of an exam, you’ll still be required to take the state’s business and law exam.

If you’re looking for more information on the NASCLA exam or you’re looking to take the exam or want to get your Florida contractor’s license, we are here to help. We are a contractor licensing company who is dedicated to getting contractors their licenses fast and easy. We do it all for you! Let us help you today! Contact our office at 239-777-1028 or click  .

Veteran Contractor License Information

On July 1 2016, new provisions went into effect when it comes to a contractor’s license for United States military veterans. When applying for a contractor’s license a veterans’ military service can be used toward the licensure experience requirements. To receive credit for relevant military training and education, the following three points must be met to receive credit.

  1. Up to three years of active duty service in the military can be applied to the contractor license requirements; the type of duty or training does not matter.
  2. At least one additional year of active experience as a foreman in the trade, either civilian or military, is required to fulfill the experience requirement of Chapter 489.111(2)(c) of the regulations.
  3. Credit toward the requirements for licensure for military experience, training, and education received and completed during service in the U.S. Armed Forces, if it all is related to what is required for the licensure.

Looking forward, on October 1, 2017, the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation together with the Construction Industry Licensing Board will prepare and submit the report “Construction and Electrical Contracting Veteran Applicant Statistics;” this will be given to the Governor of Florida, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Inside the report, they will find the number of applicants who identify as a veteran; the number of approved veterans for a contractor’s license; the number of denied veterans and why they were, information regarding how long it took to processing these applications for the veterans; and lastly, recommendation on how the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation can better meet the needs of veterans applying to a contractor’s license.

As a contractor licensing company, we can work with U.S. veterans apply and receive their Florida contractor’s license. We take pride in making the process easy and as stress-free as possible. When you work with us, you just simply provide us with some information and we do the work for you. This can all be done over the phone. To learn more about getting at Florida contractor’s license, click here or call us at 239-777-1028.