{"id":6936,"date":"2026-03-10T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allianceconstructionfl.com\/?p=6936"},"modified":"2026-03-10T08:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:00:00","slug":"licensed-contractor-lee-county-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allianceconstructionfl.com\/staging\/licensed-contractor-lee-county-florida\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose a Licensed Contractor in Lee County, Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Why Contractor Licensing Matters in Lee County<\/h2>\n<p>Hiring an unlicensed contractor in Lee County is one of the most expensive mistakes a homeowner can make. Unlicensed work can result in fines, failed inspections, insurance claim denials, and having to tear out and redo completed work. Florida takes contractor licensing seriously, and as a homeowner, verifying credentials before signing a contract protects both your investment and your safety.<\/p>\n<h2>Types of Contractor Licenses in Florida<\/h2>\n<p>Florida issues several types of <a href=\"\/general-contracting\/\">contractor licenses<\/a> through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Certified General Contractor (CGC):<\/strong> Can build or renovate any type of structure statewide.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Certified Building Contractor (CBC):<\/strong> Can build or renovate commercial buildings up to three stories and residential buildings of any size, statewide.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Registered Contractor:<\/strong> Licensed at the county level rather than the state level. Valid only in the county where registered.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Specialty Contractors:<\/strong> Licensed for specific trades like roofing, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, or pool construction.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For whole-home renovations, additions, and major remodeling projects, you want a CGC or CBC license holder. Specialty contractors handle individual trade work under their own licenses.<\/p>\n<h2>How to Verify a Contractor&#8217;s License<\/h2>\n<p>You can verify any Florida contractor license in minutes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Visit <strong>myfloridalicense.com<\/strong> and search by name or license number.<\/li>\n<li>Confirm the license is active and in good standing.<\/li>\n<li>Check for any disciplinary actions, complaints, or violations.<\/li>\n<li>Verify the contractor&#8217;s insurance status, including general liability and workers&#8217; compensation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For Lee County specifically, you can also check the Lee County Contractor Licensing office to confirm local registration and any open permits associated with the contractor.<\/p>\n<h2>Red Flags to Watch For<\/h2>\n<p>Protect yourself by watching for these warning signs:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>No written contract:<\/strong> Florida law requires a written contract for any project over $2,500. Walk away from anyone who wants to work on a handshake.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Asking for more than 10% upfront:<\/strong> Florida Statute 489.126 limits initial deposits to 10% of the contract price or the cost of materials for the first phase, whichever is less.<\/li>\n<li><strong>No permit plan:<\/strong> If a contractor tells you permits are not needed for structural, electrical, or plumbing work, they are either uninformed or cutting corners.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cannot provide a license number:<\/strong> Every licensed contractor should share their license number readily. It should appear on their contract, business card, and website.<\/li>\n<li><strong>No physical address:<\/strong> A legitimate contractor has a verifiable business location and can provide references from recent local projects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Questions to Ask Before Hiring<\/h2>\n<p>When interviewing contractors for your project, ask these questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What is your state license number and type?<\/li>\n<li>Are you insured for general liability and workers&#8217; compensation?<\/li>\n<li>Will you pull all required permits for this project?<\/li>\n<li>Can you provide three references from recent Lee County projects?<\/li>\n<li>What is your estimated timeline, and how do you handle delays?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Review the full list of <a href=\"\/services\/\">services<\/a> a qualified contractor should be able to discuss with you confidently.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alliance Construction<\/strong> is a licensed building contractor (CBC1268590) serving Lee County and all of Southwest Florida. We are fully insured, pull all required permits, and welcome you to verify our credentials. Call <strong>(239) 244-4341<\/strong> to get a free project estimate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why Contractor Licensing Matters in Lee County Hiring an unlicensed contractor in Lee County is one of the most expensive mistakes a homeowner can make. Unlicensed work can result in fines, failed inspections, insurance claim denials, and having to tear out and redo completed work. Florida takes contractor licensing seriously, and as a homeowner, verifying [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":6882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"gmb_102744639719025333495_accounts\/102744639719025333495\/locations\/6732225160399166329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,112],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-construction"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/allianceconstructionfl.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/allianceconstructionfl.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/allianceconstructionfl.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allianceconstructionfl.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allianceconstructionfl.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6936"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/allianceconstructionfl.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6936\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7012,"href":"https:\/\/allianceconstructionfl.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6936\/revisions\/7012"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allianceconstructionfl.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/allianceconstructionfl.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allianceconstructionfl.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allianceconstructionfl.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}