How to Get Licensed for Electrical Contracting in Florida

Published on November 10, 2026 by Staff Writer

Three construction professionals wearing hard hats and red-and-blue safety uniforms inspect exposed electrical wiring against an unfinished brick wall, using a tablet and notepad to review the installation during a building site assessment.

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) issues the state’s electrical contractor license. The Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board (ECLB) reviews license applications and regulates electrical contractors. The requirements you need to meet depend on whether you apply for certification or registration.

Florida Licensing Requirements

Before you apply for an electrical contractor license, decide whether you need statewide authorization or plan to work only in specific cities or counties.

License Types

Florida offers two main license types: Certified Licenses and Registered Licenses.

Certified Electrical Contractor

Certified licenses allow you to work as a contractor anywhere in Florida. To qualify by examination, you must pass the business and finance section and the technical and safety section of the computer-based exam before submitting your initial license application. Pearson VUE administers the state certification exam.

To prepare for the technical and safety section, review Florida’s electrical codes and practices.

Registered Electrical Contractor

Registered licenses allow you to perform only the work covered by your registration and only in the cities or counties listed on it. A certificate of competency is the local credential you use to show that you qualify to register in a city or county.

Experience Requirements

You can meet the experience requirements for certification through any of the following routes. The time windows are measured back from the date you file your application.

At least three years of proven management experience in the trade within the past six years. Equivalent education can cover up to half of the requirement.
At least four years within the past eight years as a supervisor or contractor in the trade, or as a supervisor of electrical or alarm system work in the U.S. Armed Forces.
At least six years within the past 12 years of comprehensive training, technical education, or supervisory experience with an electrical or alarm system contracting business. Technical experience, education, or training in electrical or alarm system work with the U.S. Armed Forces or a government agency can also qualify under this route.
At least three years within the past 12 years as a licensed professional engineer qualified to practice electrical engineering.
A combination of the first three routes totaling six years of experience.

For unlimited electrical certification, at least 40% of the work experience you submit must involve three-phase electrical services. See the ECLB’s experience requirements.

Pro-Tip: Experience as an electrician or supervising electrician for a facility doesn’t count toward the trade routes. That experience needs to come from working for an electrical contractor. Gather your W-2s or signed employment verification forms, and list five jobs for each year of experience you claim. Focus those jobs on three-phase work.

Financial and Administrative Requirements

For certification, you must provide a personal credit report. If you’re qualifying a business, also provide a business credit report and a financial statement showing at least $10,000 in net worth for unlimited electrical or alarm contracting, or $5,000 for specialty contracting. See Florida Administrative Code Rule 61G6-5.004.

DBPR lists a $263.25 exam application fee, a $123.75 computer-based exam fee that you pay to the testing vendor after approval, and a $296 initial fee for an active certified license. Credit reports can cost extra. Fees can change, so check the ECLB fee schedule before applying.

Continuing Education

If you hold an active certified or registered license as an electrical contractor, you generally need 11 hours of board-approved continuing education every two years. The standard requirement for alarm and specialty contractors is seven hours. Complete your required hours before the license expiration date of Aug. 31 in even-numbered years.

Continuing education requirements differ for your first renewal. If you received your license less than 12 months before that renewal, you generally owe zero hours. If you received it at least 12 months before your first renewal, you generally owe five hours as an electrical contractor or four hours as an alarm or specialty contractor.

Local Registration and Jurisdiction Limits

Florida generally gives the state authority over occupational licensing. Local licensing programs operating under a temporary exception for requirements in place before Jan. 1, 2021, could continue through June 30, 2025. That exception ended July 1, 2025. Local licensing authorized by state law can continue under section 163.211, Florida Statutes, as amended by Chapter 2024-212.

DBPR still issues registrations tied to local certificates of competency. To obtain a registered electrical contractor license, submit the initial registration application, a copy of your current local certificate of competency, and proof that you passed the appropriate exam. If your jurisdiction issues the local credential without an exam, the state requires a score of at least 75% on a substantially equivalent exam and at least three years of technical experience in the trade. See section 489.513, Florida Statutes.

Journeyman and Master Electrician Credentials

If you’re pursuing a Journeyman or Master Electrician credential, contact the local building department or licensing authority where you plan to work. Ask about eligibility, testing, and reciprocity with neighboring areas. Florida has no statewide license for journeymen, but counties and municipalities must recognize an electrical journeyman license issued by another Florida county or municipality. If you hold a master electrician credential, ask the local licensing office whether it recognizes your credential.

Criminal History and Good Moral Character

Criminal background information is part of the application for a certified electrical contractor license. You must disclose your criminal history so the ECLB can determine whether it relates to electrical contracting. Florida’s good moral character standard looks at your history of acting honestly, treating others fairly, respecting their rights, and following the law. See section 489.511(3), Florida Statutes.

Factor	Details
Look-back period	For a crime more than five years before the ECLB receives your application, the board may consider a conviction or other adjudication as grounds for denial only if the crime is listed in sections 775.21(4)(a)1. or 776.08, Florida Statutes, and relates to electrical contracting.
Application disclosure	Disclose your criminal history and past professional discipline. Report bankruptcy, liens, and judgments as requested on the application.
Evaluation criteria	The ECLB considers whether your criminal history relates to electrical contracting or to the statutory good moral character requirement.
Good moral character	The ECLB can find you ineligible on this ground only if the character issue has a substantial connection to a certified contractor’s duties and clear and convincing evidence supports the finding.

Before you submit your application for an electrical contractor license, review the disclosure instructions in the ECLB 1 application and the review rules in section 455.213(3), Florida Statutes.