How to Get a Florida General Contractor License in 2026
Florida general contractor license requirements explained: certified vs. registered, the three exams, experience rules, costs, and a realistic timeline.
Read the guideGetting licensedFlorida Contractor Exam Prep: Format, Rules, and a Study Plan That Works
How the open-book Florida contractor exam really works: reference rules, pacing math, evidence-based study methods, and an 8-week study plan.
Read the guideEvery candidateFlorida Contractor Exam Books and Tabs: What to Bring and How to Prepare It
The reference books that decide your Florida contractor exam score: the core GC book list, a tabbing strategy, and the markup rules to verify first.
Read the guideEvery candidateHow Hard Is the Florida Contractor Exam, Really?
How hard is the Florida contractor exam really? Hours-long open-book parts, a 70% bar, and a ~50% first-try fail estimate. What makes it hard and what doesn't.
Read the guideGetting licensedGeneral Contractor vs. Building Contractor in Florida: Which License Do You Need?
Florida general contractor vs. building contractor: scope differences, the three-story rule, exam differences (they're small), and how to choose.
Read the guideGetting licensedThe Florida HVAC License, Explained: Class A, Class B & the Exams
How to get a Florida HVAC license: Class A vs Class B vs Mechanical, the two exams (trade + Business & Finance), costs, and how to prepare.
Read the guideGetting licensedThe Florida Roofing License, Explained: Exams, Costs & the Wind Code
How to get a Florida roofing license: the two exams (80-question trade + Business & Finance), Florida's wind and HVHZ code stakes, costs, and prep.
Read the guideGetting licensedThe Florida Plumbing License, Explained: Exams, Costs & the 9-Hour Day
How to get a Florida plumbing license: the unique two-session, 110-question trade exam, why specialty piping is 40% of it, costs, and how to prepare.
Read the guideGetting licensedThe Florida Pool Contractor License, Explained: All Three Types & Their Exams
How to get a Florida pool contractor license: the three license types, the two exams each requires, what's on them, costs, and how to prepare.
Read the guideEvery candidateThe Florida Contract Administration Exam, Explained
60 questions, 4.5 hours, open book, and 40% of it is one topic. The Florida Contract Administration exam outline, the AIA documents that decide it, and a prep plan.
Read the guideEvery candidateThe Florida Project Management Exam, Explained
The Florida Project Management exam: 45–60 questions, 4.5 hours, 70% to pass. Why its methods-and-materials area is 63% of the test, and how to prepare.
Read the guideGetting licensedHow Much Does a Florida Contractor License Really Cost?
Every fee for a Florida contractor license, itemized — exams, DBPR, books, prep — with a calculator. A GC license runs $1,500–$3,000; here's where each dollar goes.
Read the guideRetaking the examFailed the Florida Contractor Exam? Here's Your Retake Plan
Failed a Florida contractor exam part? You're in the majority. Here's how to read your score report, what the $215 retake costs, and a 4-week plan.
Read the guideEvery candidateThe Florida Business & Finance Exam: Why It's the Hard One
The Florida Business & Finance exam: 120 questions, 6.5 hours, 70% to pass. Why this shared exam fails so many contractors, and how to study for it.
Read the guideEvery candidateFlorida Contractor Exam Pass Rates & Difficulty: An Honest Look
Florida publishes no official pass rates. What the estimates show for the Business & Finance and GC exams, why about half fail first try, and what separates passers.
Read the guideEvery candidateThe Florida Contractor's Manual: What It Is, Which Exams Use It, and How to Tab It
What the Florida Contractor's Manual is, which exam parts list it, which edition to buy, and how to tab it so lookups take seconds instead of minutes.
Read the guideLicenseReady is an independent exam-preparation service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), the Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB), or Professional Testing, Inc. All practice questions are original content created by LicenseReady — they are not actual examination questions. Exam-structure information comes from publicly available DBPR publications. Third-party product names (AIA, ACCA, and others) are trademarks of their respective owners, used only to identify the referenced works.