“I have a signer”

It’s been 2 years since the applications have changed with the Florida DBPR for construction licensees.  I still get folks that call and say, “I have a signer…”  Whoa…Hold on a second.  Let’s talk about how you gained your experience. There are no signers, but that doesn’t mean that a person can just put whatever
Read more
  • Published in All
No Comments

Exam Preparation Classes

What does a potential contractor look for in an exam preparation class? There are many good exam prep schools out there - choosing the right one for you may be difficult with all the choice out there and the fantastic "99% Passing Rates"! Actually, passing the exam is up to you. Florida's State Contractor exams are very much book exams - you take loads of books with you into the examination room and look up the key words of the questions in the appropriate reference book. I have been involved with Exam Preparation classes since 2003; I have literally help thousands of contractors with their exams. Over the years, the key things that make for a successful passing score is dedication, critical thinking, organization, and good old field experience. The purpose of an exam preparation class is to help you understand composition of the exam, understand what each book covers, prepare your books to take into the examination, and practice using the books to look up answers. The plumbing exam is a great example: if a person is a service plumber with only existing residential experience and no exposure to medical gas and does not know isometric drawings, that test taker has a huge learning curve because there are isometric drawings he or she will have to do for the exam as well as a plethora of medical gas questions. For the AC contractor who has no exposure to commercial hood systems, that will be his or her big challenge on the A/C test. Those students have some homework to do to get familiar with those concepts-something that a person cannot pick up overnight in a 2-day class.
Read more
No Comments

Fee Holiday for License Renewals!

The Construction Industry Licensing Board and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation have approved a $100.00 FEE HOLIDAY for the 2014 and 2015 renewal cycles for certified and registered contractors who are renewing their licenses. During the fee holiday, certified and registered contractors renewing an active license will have their fees reduced by $100.00. Certified and registered contractors renewing their inactive licenses will have their $50.00 inactive renewal fee waived in its entirety. All contractors (active or inactive) will still be required to pay the $5.00 unlicensed activity fee and the $4.00 Florida Building Commission fee in order to renew their license.
Read more
No Comments

Expediting Services

As I've been on the phone with Florida Construction License applicants after the April examinations, the word "expediting" seems to get thrown around a lot recently. Several folks who have called seem to think that application processors have a magical "in" up at the DBPR. If they are being told that or if they interpret their conversation as that, I do not know. However, the answer is - No, the DBPR is a government agency that cannot extend preferential treatment to some and not to others. Many years ago back in my Civil days as a CAD/GIS consultant, we sent promotional t-shirts to a government entity and the hammer came down fast on us and the government employees who accepted those hokey t-shirts (which were good scrap shirts for painting...) Because the shirts were freebies, our company couldn't imagine that we doing anything wrong, but we were told we were bad. After that, we were careful to check before we acted so that we didn't not interfere with anyone's career.
Read more
No Comments

Florida Division of Corporations Annual Reports January 2nd

We are at the end of the year and come January 2nd, Florida Corporations and Limited Liability Companies will be required to renew their Annual Reports with the Florida Division of Corporations. Annual Reports are required to be filed before May 1st, 2014 to avoid a $400 penalty. The State of Florida DOC only sends out notification emails that many contractors either disregard as spam, or the emails do not get through to the mail server. Every year, we check your filing as a courtesy; we find that often our clients did not get their renewal or overlooked it. The DOC does not physically mail renewal notices. We do not want to see you have any issues with your Contractor’s license that you worked so hard to obtain! Will this affect my contractor’s license? In most cases, Yes; your active license is tied to your corporation or LLC unless you hold your license as an individual.
Read more
No Comments

Grandfather Your Registered Electrical License!

Governor Scott recently signed House Bill 269, which passed during the 2013 legislative session, allowing registered electrical contractors licenses to be grandfathered to a state wide certified contractor’s license beginning July 1, 2013. All applications for grandfathering must be postmarked no later than November 1, 2015 to be considered for grandfathering. In order to have your registered contractor’s license grandfathered, you must have the following...
Read more
No Comments