How to “grandfather” your Registered Contractors License in Florida

In 2012, Governor Rick Scott signed a bill to extend the time period during which registered contractors license could receive a statewide, certified Florida contractor’s license through a “grandfathering” process. Here are some of the details from the bill to help you better understand what this process entails:

House Bill 897, which passed during the 2012 legislative session, was approved by Governor Rick Scott on May 4, 2012. This bill will re-open and extend the time period for contractors to request that their registered contractors license be grandfathered to a state wide certified contractor’s license. The time period requesting grandfathering of registered licenses has been extended until November 1, 2015. (FloridaContractor.com)

The application to start this process can be found on our website at www.activatemylicense.com. At Contractors Reporting Services, we will schedule a consultation with you to decide if grandfathering your registration to an active Florida contractor’s license is the best move for your career. If the answer is yes, we can help you through the application process and handle all of the follow up work to make sure that you have registered contractors license and that you have met the requirements for your Florida general contractors license.

Below are the requirements needed to “grandfather” your registration to a Florida general contractor license:

Currently hold a valid state-registered license in one of the contractor categories defined in Section 489.505(2)(a)&(b), (12), (19), Florida Statutes.
Have, for that category, passed a written, proctored examination that the board finds to be substantially similar to the examination required to be licensed as a certified contractor under this part. For purposes of this subsection, a written, proctored examination such as that produced by the National Assessment Institute, Block and Associates, NAI/Block, Experior Assessments, Professional Testing, Inc., or Assessment Systems, Inc., shall be considered to be substantially similar the exam required to be licensed as a certified contractor. The board may not impose or make any requirements regarding the nature or content of these cited examinations.
Have at least 5 years of active state-registered experience as a contractor in that contracting category, at the time of application.
Have not had your contractor’s license revoked at any time, had your contractor’s license suspended within the last 5 years, or been assessed a fine in excess of $500 within the last 5 years.
Be in compliance with the insurance and financial responsibility requirements in Section 489.515(1)(b), Florida Statutes

If you have any questions about how to start the application for your Florida general contractors license , please call our office today.

Contractors Reporting Services
13795 N Nebraska Ave
Tampa, FL 33613
1.800.487.2084

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