Hiring a roofer in Orlando: the DBPR license, the roof permit, and what 9,800 roofing permits show

Orlando roofing in numbers

Filing peaks in March (index 125, where 100 is an average month) and is lowest in September (85). 35.3% of Orlando roofing firms filed a single permit in three years, so a roofer at your door after a storm may have no Orlando record to read. Prices by job size are on the Orlando roofing cost page.

Which license an Orlando roofer needs

Florida licenses roofers, not the City. DBPR's construction FAQ lists the categories that "require registration or certification": general, building, residential, sheet metal, roofing, air-conditioning, mechanical and others (DBPR FAQ, read 23 October 2026). On top of that, "Contractors getting permits for work in the City of Orlando must be registered with the Permitting Services Division"; a state-registered (not certified) contractor also posts a surety bond of at least $5,000 (Register a Contractor, read 23 October 2026).

The five-minute check: ask for the license number, search it on DBPR Verify a Licensee, and check the status is current, the type is roofing (or general, building or residential), and the name matches your quote. More in the Orlando contractor license lookup.

The permit rule for an Orlando reroof

The City's roof permit page asks "Do you need to replace or repair the roof on your home? You need to get a building permit". It adds that "the city has reinstated the dry-in/in-progress inspection (inspection code 125) for all residential and commercial re-roof projects", and requires an inspection affidavit at final "to verify the roof decking nail down and secondary water barrier" (read 23 October 2026). Ask the roofer when inspection 125 is booked: it happens before the shingles or tile go on.

If you do the work yourself, the State requires an Owner/Builder Declaration, signed in person at the City's permitting office; a roofer who asks you to sign one for its job is moving the responsibility to you. Check the permit with the City's Permit Lookup tool, linked from Get a Permit. Other cities: do I need a permit for roof replacement.

Red flags in the Orlando record

• No active DBPR match. 2 roofing firms on Orlando permits matched a DBPR record that is no longer active, and 2.1% matched none. Search the qualifier's own name before concluding anything.
• One permit and gone. 373 firms (35.3%) filed exactly one Orlando roofing permit in three years. After a storm, ask for three Orlando addresses you can look up.
• A firm that stopped filing. 75 roofing firms with 5 or more permits filed none in the last 12 months.
• A permit running well past 27 days. That is the usual time to final.
• "Sign as owner-builder." That form is for owners doing their own work.

The busiest Orlando roofers in the last 12 months

Ranked by Orlando roofing permits in the last 12 months of the window. Volume, not quality; some busy firms mostly file repairs, which pulls their usual value down.

The compare list shows each firm's DBPR status, days to final and usual filed value next to its volume.

See every Orlando roofer by speed to final and DBPR license →

What the Orlando record does not tell you

Almost every Orlando permit is eventually closed, so we show speed to final instead of a finished share. License status is a name match to DBPR's files; unmatched is not unlicensed, and City registration is not in our data. Insurance and wind-mitigation details never appear on a permit. Our file is the City of Orlando only, not Orange County. The national checklist is in hiring a roofer, and state rules in how to check a contractor's license in Florida.