How to Get a Contractor License in Monroe County

Monroe County covers the Florida Keys. The Building Department works from three offices along the Overseas Highway, keeps a public list of active registered contractors, and enforces its own certificate of competency rules with civil penalties.

Certified or registered: the state side

Florida has two kinds of construction license. A certified contractor (license number starting with "C") passed the state exam and may contract anywhere in Florida. A registered contractor (number starting with "R") holds a local certificate of competency and may contract only in the jurisdictions where that local license is held (F.S. 489.105, F.S. 489.117). Every Division I and Division II certified license issued by the Construction Industry Licensing Board requires passing the state Business and Finance exam. Electrical and alarm licenses come from a separate board and use their own exam.

Monroe County licensing rules

Monroe County requires every contractor to hold a Certificate of Competency (contractor's license) in their trade, plus liability and workers' compensation insurance (county complaint page). The county does not have a handyman license. Its code, Section 6-270(f), sets civil penalties: $1,500 or $2,000 for contracting without a certificate of competency, $500 for not carrying required insurance, and $1,500 for an owner who aids unlicensed activity.

Local certificates of competency

The Building Department's contractor page posts the county scope of work for each license (Monroe County Code Sec. 6-198), the application checklist, an affidavit of trade experience, reciprocity requirements and letter-of-reciprocity requests. The COC application is for a certificate by examination under MCC Sec. 6-237 and was revised after HB 1383. Contractor registrations are filed online in the county's permitting system.

The active contractor list

The county publishes a list of registered contractors whose business tax, state or county license, liability and workers' comp dates are all current. If any date expires, you drop to inactive, so keep insurance renewals flowing to the county.

Three building offices

The Building Department intakes and issues permits and coordinates reviews by planning, environmental, structural, trade, floodplain and fire reviewers. Many projects also need approval from outside agencies, which the department helps coordinate. Key West, Marathon, Islamorada, Key Colony Beach and Layton are incorporated cities; for work inside them, check with the city.

Business tax receipt

The Monroe County Tax Collector issues local business tax receipts for anyone providing goods or services. One useful exception: state certified contractors whose business is located outside Monroe County and who pay business tax in another Florida county do not need a Monroe County business tax receipt, but they must still register with the Monroe County Building Department.

State license guides

Monroe County FAQ

I am state certified and based in Miami-Dade. Do I need a Monroe BTR? Per the Tax Collector, no, if you pay business tax in another Florida county. You still must register with the Building Department.

Can a handyman do small jobs without a license in the Keys? Monroe County says it does not have a handyman license; regulated work needs a certificate of competency.

What happens if my insurance lapses? You fall off the active contractor list, and the county code sets a $500 civil penalty for not carrying required insurance.

Next step

Keys work is coastal, permit-heavy and often outside your home county, which is where a state certified license helps. It starts with the Business and Finance exam; prepare with our Florida Business & Finance Exam Prep.