Which license each job needs in Miami
| Work | Who licenses it | Where to check | Miami firms matched to an active DBPR license |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roofing | DBPR roofing contractor (certified or registered) | DBPR Verify a Licensee | 97.4% of 908 |
| A/C, heating | DBPR air-conditioning or mechanical contractor | DBPR | 97.0% of 846 |
| Plumbing, water heaters | DBPR plumbing contractor | DBPR | 92.5% of 1,002 |
| Electrical | DBPR Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board: EC (statewide) or ER (local) | DBPR | 91.3% of 1,029 |
| Pools and spas | DBPR swimming pool/spa contractor | DBPR | 96.7% of 299 |
| Remodels, additions, new homes | DBPR general, building or residential contractor | DBPR | 90.9% (remodel), 97.4% (new homes) |
| Solar | DBPR solar contractor | DBPR | 87.8% of 74 |
| Windows, fences, other specialties | Miami-Dade certificate of competency, or a voluntary state specialty license | BCCO Contractor Search | 93.0% (windows), 89.2% (fence) |
The state list comes from DBPR's construction FAQ: general, building, residential, sheet metal, roofing, air-conditioning, mechanical, swimming pool/spa, plumbing, underground utility and excavation, and solar contractors need state registration or certification; cabinets, countertops, paint, wallpaper, carpet, tile and window treatments do not (DBPR, read 22 October 2026). The county side is large: Miami-Dade's Contractor Licensing Section covers electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and building and building specialty work, "110 license types" in all (Miami-Dade brochure).
Certified or registered? DBPR's record says which. Certified means the contractor passed the state exam and may "work throughout the state"; registered means a local license, valid only in that county or city and places that accept it (DBPR FAQ). For electricians, DBPR's board defines an EC as a certified electrical contractor and an ER as a registered one who may contract "only in the cities and/or counties for which his or her registration is issued". A registered contractor from another county may not be licensed for Miami work.
How to run the lookup in five minutes
- Get the license number from the quote, and the name of the qualifier (the licensed person the business works under).
- Search DBPR: Verify a Licensee, search by license number or by name. Check the status is current and the license type fits the job (a roofing job under a pool license is wrong).
- Search the county: on BCCO Contractor Search, run the Contractor Information Search by license number or company name, then the Contractor Complaint Search on the same name. The county says you can confirm whether a contractor "is licensed, insured, or has outstanding complaints", or call 786-315-2880.
- Read the permit record: open the firm on our Miami roofing, windows or remodel list to see its City of Miami permits, the share that reached final and how fast.
How to search City of Miami permit records
The City of Miami runs its own building department. Its permit history lives in the iBuild portal, which needs an account; search by process number, permit number, address or 13-digit folio number, then open Inspections to see each inspection result (City of Miami, read 22 October 2026). Questions go to the Building Department on (305) 416-1100.
iBuild shows one permit at a time. Our pages turn the same records around: every permit a firm pulled in the City of Miami since October 2023, with its final-inspection share and usual days to final, on the compare pages, the Miami permit statistics page and the Miami ZIP code pages. Our Miami data is the City of Miami only: permits from Miami Beach, other municipalities and unincorporated Miami-Dade are not in it.
What 40,918 City of Miami permits show
| Trade | Permits | Firms | Reached final | Usual days to final | Usual filed value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbing | 7,927 | 1,002 | 90.8% | 127 | $4,900 |
| Roofing | 6,585 | 908 | 97.5% | 38 | $16,250 |
| Electrical | 6,214 | 1,029 | 86.6% | 184 | $6,000 |
| HVAC | 5,161 | 846 | 95.6% | 73 | $6,792 |
| Windows and doors | 4,921 | 1,096 | 98.5% | 55 | $14,246 |
| Remodel | 3,752 | 1,475 | 92.8% | 182 | $15,000 |
| Fence | 1,340 | 620 | 85.2% | 86 | $6,000 |
| Pools | 978 | 299 | 73.3% | 312 | $35,000 |
| New homes | 760 | 311 | 53.6% | 648 | $648,376 |
"Reached final" is the share of permits a year or more old with a final inspection. Two things stand out. Miami's licensed trades close their permits: among the 75 roofing firms with 10 or more permits, even the 10th-percentile firm reached final on 92.7%. And the license match is high everywhere; the misses cluster in trades the state does not license, such as fences (10.8% of fence firms unmatched) and solar (12.2%).
See every Miami roofer by final inspections and license →
Red flags in Miami
- A registered (R) license from another county. It is valid only where it was issued.
- No match on DBPR for a state-licensed trade. In our file 9.1% of remodel firms had no DBPR match; some permit under a trade name, so search the qualifier's own name before you conclude anything.
- Open complaints on the county search, or a firm that has gone quiet: 49 roofing firms with 5 or more permits pulled none in the last 12 months.
- "Pull it as owner-builder." Miami-Dade's owner-builder permit page is for owners doing their own work; an owner-builder permit leaves you, not the contractor, responsible.
What this lookup does not tell you
We match Miami firms to DBPR's construction and electrical contractor files by name and license; we do not match Miami-Dade certificates of competency, so a county-only specialty contractor shows as unmatched, not unlicensed. Permit expediters and owner-builders are left out of our rankings. A license says the firm may do the work, not how its last job went. The statewide rules, penalties and the unlicensed-activity hotline are in How to check a contractor's license in Florida.
How we know this
Permits are City of Miami building permits, 2023-10 to 2026-09, grouped into the trades above. "Reached final" uses permits a year or more old; the percentile figures use firms with 10 or more permits. License status is matched against Florida DBPR construction and electrical contractor license files. Licensing rules are quoted from DBPR, Miami-Dade County and City of Miami pages, read 22 October 2026.
Numbers come from City of Miami building permits (since 2014), data through October 17, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- What is the difference between a certified and a registered Florida contractor?
A certified contractor passed the state exam and, per DBPR, may work throughout Florida. A registered contractor holds a local license and registered it with the state, which limits work to that county or city and any locales that accept it. Both show up on DBPR's Verify a Licensee search.
- Which Miami jobs need a state license?
DBPR lists general, building, residential, sheet metal, roofing, air-conditioning, mechanical, swimming pool/spa, plumbing, underground utility and solar contractors as needing state registration or certification. Electrical contractors are licensed by DBPR's Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board.
- What does a Miami-Dade certificate of competency cover?
Local trades. Miami-Dade's Contractor Licensing Section runs four categories (electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and building and building specialty) with 110 license types. Search them on the county's BCCO Contractor Search, which also shows complaints.
- How do I search permits in the City of Miami?
In the City's iBuild portal, after creating an account, by process number, permit number, address or 13-digit folio number; the Permit Inquiry page shows inspections and certificates. Or open a firm on our Miami pages to see all its City of Miami permits together.
- What happens to unlicensed contractors in Miami-Dade?
The county's brochure says it is against the law to work in the construction trades without a license; unlicensed contractors face misdemeanor or felony charges depending on severity, plus civil citations of up to $5,000.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
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- Verify a Licensee — Florida DBPR Online Services (2026-10-22)
- Construction Industry FAQs — Florida DBPR (2026-10-22)
- Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board — Florida DBPR (2026-10-22)
- BCCO Contractor Inquiry and Complaint Search — Miami-Dade County (2026-10-22)
- County licensed contractor brochure — Miami-Dade County (2026-10-22)
- View Permit History / Permit Search — City of Miami (2026-10-22)
- Owner-Builder Permits — Miami-Dade County (2026-10-22)