Contractors and tradesman working in Miami-Dade County are licensed by the Building Code Compliance Office's Contractor Licensing Section. The Construction Trades Qualifying Board has authority over the types of licenses and scopes of licenses that are issued. There are different requirements for each of these license types:
More than 100 different types of licenses are issued within these seven major license categories (click to see the license types):
- Maintenance
- Electrical
- Mechanical
- Plumbing
- Building
- Building Specialties
Examinations
Examinations for certificates of competency and eligibility are offered at a minimum of 3 times a year. The exams are open book and the required books for each exam category can be found on the licensing requirements for each license.
Exams are offered in English or Spanish and special accommodations can be made for those who have disabilities.
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Licenses
The county issues personal and business licenses.
To obtain a new personal license from the Building Code Compliance Office you must first meet certain experience requirements as well as maintaining a level of financial responsibility. You must submit an application to include proof of experience through letters from employers stating the dates of employment and description of work performed and submittal of W-2 tax documents covering the employment period.
If the category you are attempting to obtain is an exam category, you must sit for the exam and pass with at least a grade of 70% (for all licensing categories other than Journeyman). Journeyman must at least obtain a passing grade of 75% or better to pass. Once you submit your application it will take no longer than 60 days before you are issued a license.
Once you have obtained a personal certificate of eligibility or competence, you are entitled to obtain a business license.
To obtain a business license you must complete an application, either as a sole proprietor, partnership, or a corporation and as a Qualifying Agent for a business you must have a significant interest or financial interest in the entity you qualify as evidenced by the position as an officer or partner or principal stockholder in accordance with Section 10-6 (E) 5 of the Code of Miami Dade County.
State Registration of Miami-Dade County Certificates
Miami-Dade County Certificate holders, if required by Chapter 10 of the Code of Miami-Dade County and Florida Statute 489 must be registered with the State of Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Failure to comply will result in a restriction of your permitting privileges.
A significant number of State Registrations expire as of August 31, 2008. Please ensure that your State Registration is updated and provide the Building Code Compliance Office Contractor Licensing Section with your current and active registration number.
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Journeyman Certificate of Competency
- Requires three years of proven field experience in trade or, education equivalent or a combination of the two, but not more than one-half consisting of education equivalent.
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Requires submittal of an application to include proof of experience through letters from employers stating the dates of employment and description of work performed and submittal of W-2 tax documents covering the employment period.
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Requires successful passing of an examination with a grade of 75% or better. Exam is open book and lists of the books are provided to you at the time you request an application.
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Requires payment of $240
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This license does not entitle you to perform as a contractor; you may only work under the direction of a Master in your respective trade.
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Masters Certificate of Competency
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Requires an applicant to have held for two years a Certificate of Competency as a journeyman issued by the CTQB and have at least two years of prior field experience or at least six years of specialized training or registration as a profession engineer in the discipline concerned.
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Requires submittal of an application to include proof of experience through letters from employers stating the dates of employment and description of work performed and submittal of W-2 tax documents covering the employment period.
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Requires successful passing of an examination with a grade of 70% or better. Exam is open book and lists of the books are provided to you at the time you request an application.
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Requires payment of $315.00
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After completing the requirements to obtain your personal license, you must complete requirements to do business. You will be required to pay an additional $315.00, provide proof of liability insurance and worker’s compensation insurance.
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If you conduct business without meeting the minimum requirements, you will be subject to citations for violating chapter 10 of the Miami-Dade County Code.
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Building and Building Specialty Licenses
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Requires from one to ten years of proven field experience in trade. The number of years experience is dependent on the license being applied for.
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Requires submittal of an application to include proof of experience through letters from employers stating the dates of employment and description of work performed or submittal of W-2 tax documents covering the employment period.
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Requires successful passing of an examination with a grade of 70% or better. Exam is open book and lists of the books are provided to you at the time you request an application.
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Requires payment of $315.00
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After completing the requirements to obtain your personal license, you must complete requirements to do business. You will be required to pay an addition $315.00, provide proof of liability insurance and worker’s compensation insurance.
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If you conduct business with out meeting, the minimum requirements you will be subject to citations for violating chapter 10 of the Miami-Dade County Code.
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Maintenance License
- Requires one year of proven field experience in trade.
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Requires submittal of an application to include proof of experience through letters from employers stating the dates of employment and description of work performed and submittal of W-2 tax documents covering the employment period
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Requires successful passing of an examination with a grade of 70% or better. Exam is open book and lists of the books are provided to you at the time you request an application.
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Requires payment of $240.00
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This license only allows you to work for an owner who has a premise permit.
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Renewals
If you are currently a contractor you must renew your license generally every two years, however sometimes there are exceptions to this rule. Generally, we will send you a renewal notice 2 months before the expiration of your active license.
You will be required to return the notice by mail or you may drop off at our office located at 140 W. Flagler, Suite 1603, Miami, Florida 33130. The notice should be returned with the requested fee in the form of a personal check or money order payable to Miami-Dade Building Code Compliance Office.
In addition to the aforementioned requirements, each licensed holder is required to have 16 hours of continuing education credit hours, which may be required to be verified with the license holder on case-by-case basis.
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Other Services
In addition to the above-mentioned services, we also process Change of Affiliations, for a license holder who wants to be in Volunteer Inactive Status, and issue reciprocal licenses with certain other counties. For a Change of Affiliation, a Business Application, Outgoing Affidavit (Change of Affiliation) and Applicant Financial History form must be completed.
To place a certificate in inactive status, an Outgoing Affidavit (Inactive Status) and Applicant Financial History form must be completed.
Regarding reciprocation, Miami Dade County only reciprocates with Broward County in the Electrical, Mechanical, and Plumbing Categories; and Palm Beach County in the Electrical categories. To reciprocate with Miami Dade County you must complete a Request to Reciprocate form  to obtain a copy of this form.
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Related Forms
Applications and forms are available here as an Adobe Acrobat files (in order to use these pdf files, you must have Acrobat installed on your computer).
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