Where to look
The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) runs a public licence search at myfloridalicense.com. You can search by name, by licence number, or by business name. It is free and it is the primary source - not a review site, not the contractor's own website, not a badge in an email signature.
What you are looking for
Roofing in Florida is a licensed trade under Chapter 489 of the Florida Statutes. The licence you want to see is a Certified Roofing Contractor, whose number begins CCC. "Certified" means state-wide; a "Registered" roofing contractor (RC prefix) is limited to the local jurisdictions that registered them.
You may also see a Certified General Contractor (CGC) or Building Contractor (CBC). Under Florida law a general contractor's licence covers roofing as part of a larger project, but a company doing only roofing is usually a CCC. If someone offers you a roof and shows you a different licence, ask them to explain the scope.
What the record shows
- Status. Current/Active is what you want. Anything else - null and void, delinquent, suspended - is a stop.
- Expiry date. Licences renew on a cycle; check it is in the future.
- The qualifier. Every licensed company has a named individual who qualifies it. That person is responsible for the work. Check the name matches the company you are dealing with.
- Complaints and discipline. The record shows disciplinary history. A long history is a fact worth knowing.
What it does not tell you
A clean licence means the state has no active case against them and they have met the minimum requirements. It says nothing about how good the work is, how they handle warranty calls, or whether they will be in business in five years. It is a floor, not a recommendation.
The other two checks
Insurance. Ask for a certificate of insurance showing general liability and workers' compensation, and ask that it be sent to you directly from the insurer or agent. A roofer whose crew is not covered for workers' compensation is a roofer whose crew's injury on your roof can become your problem.
The number on the paperwork. Florida requires the licence number on the contractor's advertising and contracts. If the proposal in front of you has no CCC number on it, that is a question before it is a signature.
For the record: KLR Roofing is CCC 1328862. Look it up. That is the point.
Roof Sentry members get every proposal we write with the licence number on it - and a report that stands on its own if you want a second opinion.
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