Roof Replacement — Florida license requirements
01 The project
The starting point is the work itself — Roof Replacement in Florida. The job determines which trades are involved, and the trades determine which license classifications may be required.
| Component | Trade |
|---|---|
| Roof cover system | Roofing |
02 Jurisdiction
This project is evaluated for Florida — a state credential (certificate or registration) issued by DBPR through the Construction Industry Licensing Board under F.S. Chapter 489 Part I, plus the LOCAL layers: registered contractors are bound to the jurisdictions where they met local licensing (§489.105(10)), and building permits are issued locally (§489.131(3)(a)). Florida jurisdiction page.
County and city licensing, registration processes and permit fees were not verified for any Florida locality — LOCAL_AUTHORITY_REQUIRED. State requirements are not the complete story for any locality.
03 Trade → license
Relations below are recorded per state — only this jurisdiction's classifications are shown.
Trades involved: Roofing.
- May require (e) — Roofing Contractor confirmed S-FL-113 rule FL-ROOFINGF.S. §489.113(3): a contractor shall subcontract roofing work unless holding a state certificate or registration in the respective trade category — so a roof replacement must be performed by (or subcontracted to) a roofing-credentialed contractor, subject to the exceptions in §489.113(3)(b)-(g). Rule FL-ROOFING outcomes 'roofing-credential-held' / 'subcontract-roofing'. Advertising as a roofing contractor requires the credential regardless (§489.113(3)(g), REQ-FL-ROOF-ADS-001).
04 Scope
What the official sources say about the work involved — typed assertions, never a boolean "covers". Interpretations are marked as such.
No scope assertions are seeded for this project's classifications yet.
05 Requirements
| Requirement | Kind | Statement | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subcontract rule for 7 trade categories unless credentialed in that category F.S. §489.113(3), (3)(b)-(c) | contract rule | A contractor shall subcontract all electrical, mechanical, plumbing, roofing, sheet metal, swimming pool, and air-conditioning work, unless such contractor holds a state certificate or registration in the respective trade category (F.S. §489.113(3)). Exceptions include: a general, building, or residential contractor need not subcontract the installation, or repair made under warranty, of wood shingles, wood shakes, or asphalt or fiberglass shingle roofing materials on a new building of his or her own construction (§489.113(3)(b)); a general contractor need not subcontract structural swimming pool work (§489.113(3)(c)). | S-FL-113Source S-FL-113 — Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine)Florida Statutes §489.113 — Qualifications for practice; restrictions — F.S. §489.113(3), (3)(b)-(c) Retrieved 2026-10-01 · last verified 2026-10-01 Read verbatim 2026-10-01 (HTTP 200). (1) statewide certification requires the board-approved examination (degree shortcut: business & finance portion only); (2) must be certified or registered + supervised-subcontractor proviso; (3) subcontract rule for electrical/mechanical/plumbing/roofing/sheet metal/swimming pool/air-conditioning with exceptions (b)-(g); (4) certified contractor exhibits the certificate locally and pays the permit fee like others; (6)(a) specialty categories are VOLUNTARY statewide unless a statute mandates them; (7) oral examination petition. |
| No advertising as a roofing contractor without the roofing credential F.S. §489.113(3)(g) | advertising | No general, building, or residential contractor certified after 1973 shall act as, hold himself or herself out to be, or advertise himself or herself to be a roofing contractor unless he or she is certified or registered as a roofing contractor (F.S. §489.113(3)(g)). | S-FL-113Source S-FL-113 — Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine)Florida Statutes §489.113 — Qualifications for practice; restrictions — F.S. §489.113(3)(g) Retrieved 2026-10-01 · last verified 2026-10-01 Read verbatim 2026-10-01 (HTTP 200). (1) statewide certification requires the board-approved examination (degree shortcut: business & finance portion only); (2) must be certified or registered + supervised-subcontractor proviso; (3) subcontract rule for electrical/mechanical/plumbing/roofing/sheet metal/swimming pool/air-conditioning with exceptions (b)-(g); (4) certified contractor exhibits the certificate locally and pays the permit fee like others; (6)(a) specialty categories are VOLUNTARY statewide unless a statute mandates them; (7) oral examination petition. |
| Permit issuer must verify state credential; permit systems themselves are local F.S. §489.131(5); §489.131(3)(a),(d) | permit | Any official authorized to issue building or other related permits shall, before issuing a permit, ascertain that the applicant contractor is certified or is registered in the area where the construction is to take place (F.S. §489.131(5)). The permit system itself — systems of permits, fees and inspections, and plan submission and approval — is a power expressly preserved to counties and municipalities (F.S. §489.131(3)(a), (d)), so permit specifics are determined by each local authority, not by the state. | S-FL-131Source S-FL-131 — Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine)Florida Statutes §489.131 — Applicability (local powers, permits, inspections) — F.S. §489.131(5); §489.131(3)(a),(d) Retrieved 2026-10-01 · last verified 2026-10-01 Read verbatim 2026-10-01 (HTTP 200). (3)(a)/(d) counties and municipalities keep systems of permits, fees and inspections and plan approval; (3)(e) local bond capped at $5,000 (Florida Building Code compliance, payable to the Florida Homeowners' Construction Recovery Fund); (3)(f) no local professional license/fee for certificateholders within statewide scope; (5) the permit issuer must ascertain certification/registration before issuing a permit; (6)(a) no local examination for certificateholders. |
| Unlicensed contracting: contract unenforceable, no lien or bond claim F.S. §489.128(1)-(2) | contract rule | Contracts entered into on or after October 1, 1990 by an unlicensed contractor are unenforceable in law or in equity by the unlicensed contractor (F.S. §489.128(1)), and no lien or bond claim shall exist in favor of the unlicensed contractor for any labor, services, or materials provided under the contract (F.S. §489.128(2)); if a state license is not required for the scope of work to be performed under the contract, the person performing that work is not considered unlicensed (F.S. §489.128(1)(a)). | S-FL-128Source S-FL-128 — Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine)Florida Statutes §489.128 — Contracts entered into by unlicensed contractors unenforceable — F.S. §489.128(1)-(2) Retrieved 2026-10-01 · last verified 2026-10-01 Read verbatim 2026-10-01 (HTTP 200). (1) contracts on/after 1990-10-01 by an unlicensed contractor are unenforceable by that contractor; (1)(a) if a state license is not required for the scope, the person is not considered unlicensed; (2) no lien or bond claim in favor of the unlicensed contractor. |
06 Rule: FL-ROOFING
Roof replacement in Florida: §489.113(3) requires roofing work to be subcontracted unless the contractor holds a state certificate or registration in the roofing category — missing credential facts yield NOT_DETERMINED.
| Outcome | Conclusion | Caveats |
|---|---|---|
| roofing-credential-held | roofing_may_be_performed_by_holder |
|
| subcontract-roofing | roofing_must_be_subcontracted |
|
Rule confidence: confirmed. Missing inputs produce NOT_DETERMINED — never a forced answer. Sources: S-FL-113S-FL-105
07 Advertising rule
A general, building or residential contractor certified after 1973 may not act as, hold out as, or advertise as a roofing contractor without the roofing credential (F.S. §489.113(3)(g)) — independent of who performs the work. S-FL-113
08 Local permit layer
The permit issuer must ascertain that the applicant is certified or registered in that area before issuing the permit (F.S. §489.131(5)); permit systems and their fees remain local (§489.131(3)(a), (d)). S-FL-131
Unenforceability guard: a contract entered by an unlicensed contractor is unenforceable and carries no lien or bond claim (F.S. §489.128) — verify status on the official lookup before relying on any outcome here. S-FL-128
Source S-FL-131 — Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine)
Florida Statutes §489.131 — Applicability (local powers, permits, inspections) — F.S. §489.131(5); §489.131(3)(a),(d)
Retrieved 2026-10-01 · last verified 2026-10-01
Read verbatim 2026-10-01 (HTTP 200). (3)(a)/(d) counties and municipalities keep systems of permits, fees and inspections and plan approval; (3)(e) local bond capped at $5,000 (Florida Building Code compliance, payable to the Florida Homeowners' Construction Recovery Fund); (3)(f) no local professional license/fee for certificateholders within statewide scope; (5) the permit issuer must ascertain certification/registration before issuing a permit; (6)(a) no local examination for certificateholders.