Protecting your payment rights starts with getting properly licensed

Obtaining proper construction licensing is serious business in South Florida. A list of the trades that require licensing can be found at the State of Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation website.

Under Florida Statute §489.128 (1)(c), a contractor is considered unlicensed “only if the contractor was unlicensed on the effective date of the original contract for the work, if stated therein, or, if not stated, the date the last party to the contract executed it, if stated therein. If the contract does not establish such a date, the contractor shall be considered unlicensed only if the contractor was unlicensed on the first date upon which the contractor provided labor, services, or materials under the contract.”

You do not want to be an unlicensed contractor in the State of Florida. The list of consequences is long and harsh:

  1. Unlicensed contractors and subcontractors may not enforce their contracts. The result is that the unlicensed contractor has no way to enforce their right to payment for work performed
  2. An unlicensed contractor or subcontractor has no construction lien rights. Florida Statute §489.128(1) provides that “As a matter of public policy, contracts entered into on or after October 1, 1990, by an unlicensed contractor shall be unenforceable in law or in equity by the unlicensed contractor.”
  3. It is a crime to engage in unlicensed contracting. The first offense is a misdemeanor. The second offense is a felony.

Keep in mind, that even if you have a license to do a specific type of work, if you do work that EXCEEDS what you are legally licensed to do, you are contracting without a license and are subject to the penalties written above.

Unlicensed contracting is serious. At Wyman Legal Solutions, we do not condone unlicensed contracting, and as an experienced construction law firm, we do not represent those who knowingly violate these licensing laws. However, if you need help applying for a license or have been wrongfully accused of contracting without a license, contact the construction law attorneys at Wyman Legal Solutions today.