Miami Dade County licenses contractors itself, through its Construction Trades Qualifying Board, alongside the state. A state certified license lets you work there without a county exam or certificate. A state registered license does not, and for trades like fence, drywall and painting the county certificate is the only license that exists. Which one you hold decides everything.
Most of Florida has one layer of contractor licensing. Miami Dade has two, and it has had them since before the state system existed, which is why the county code still talks about occupational licenses and the county still runs its own exams. People arrive with a fresh state license and are told at the permit counter that they need something else, or arrive with a county certificate and are told it means nothing in Fort Lauderdale. Both stories are true, and both are avoidable.
Does Miami Dade really run its own contractor licensing?
It does. Chapter 10 of the Miami Dade County Code requires anyone who works at a trade, engages in business or contracts for work as a contractor in the county to hold a certificate of competency in the right classification, and a local license where one is required. The certificates are issued by the Construction Trades Qualifying Board, usually shortened to CTQB, and administered by the Contractor Licensing Section of the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, which everyone calls RER.
The county’s contractor licensing page lists six license types under the board: Building, Building Specialties, Electrical, Maintenance, Mechanical and Plumbing. Within those sit dozens of classifications, each with its own scope of work, its own experience requirement and, for most, its own exam. It even has its own vocabulary: certificate of competency where the state says license, journeyman and master where the state has no such split.
The county code also says that holders of county certificates must be registered with the state under section 489.115 or 489.513 of the Florida Statutes. So the two layers are not alternatives. A county certificate leads to a state registration, and a state certification skips the county exam. Which direction you travel depends on the license you start with.
Do I need a Miami Dade certificate if I hold a state certified license?
No, and this is where the popular version of the story is wrong. Section 489.113(4)(a) of the Florida Statutes says that a certificate holder who wants to contract anywhere in the state is required only to show the local building official or tax collector evidence of a current certificate, and to pay the same occupational license and permit fees as everyone else. No local exam, no local certificate of competency.
Miami Dade agrees, in writing. Its voluntary registration form for state certified contractors states that although no ordinance or statute mandates registration with the local jurisdiction, RER offers a voluntary process that makes it easier for state contractors working in unincorporated Miami Dade to obtain permits. The form says, in capital letters, that no fee is required for registration. It asks for a copy of the qualifying agent’s driver’s license, a copy of the state certified license or temporary authorization letter, and a certificate of insurance for general liability and workers’ compensation, or the exemption, made out to RER at 11805 SW 26 Street, Room 207, Miami 33175.
Why bother with a voluntary form? Because once you are in the county system the permit clerk verifies your license and insurance on screen instead of asking for the paperwork on every permit. Voluntary in law, close to compulsory in practice. The one paid item is the local business tax receipt, which the form still calls an occupational license. Hold one in another Florida county and you are exempt from buying Miami Dade’s.
What if my license is state registered rather than certified?
Then the county certificate is not optional, it is the foundation. Section 489.117 of the Florida Statutes says a registered contractor may work only in the counties, municipalities or districts where he or she has complied with all local licensing requirements, and only for the type of work covered by the registration. To be registered in the first place you file evidence of having passed the local exam and licensing requirements for the area you want. In Miami Dade that means a CTQB certificate of competency, obtained by the county’s own exam, then a state registration built on it.
This trap catches people from both directions. A Broward registered contractor cannot simply cross the county line, because the registration is tied to Broward’s local license. And a Miami Dade certificate holder who has not filed the state registration is not lawfully contracting either; the county says the result is a restriction of permitting privileges. If you want a license that travels, the certified route through the state exams is the one that does, and we cover it in the full Florida license requirements checklist.
| Your license | Miami Dade certificate needed? | What the county wants to see | Where you can work |
|---|---|---|---|
| State certified (passed the state exams) | No. Registration with RER is voluntary and free | State license, driver’s license, insurance certificate, local business tax receipt | Anywhere in Florida, subject to each local permit office |
| State registered (built on a local license elsewhere) | Yes, through the county’s own exam and application | CTQB certificate, then a state registration under 489.117 | Only where your local licenses are held |
| Miami Dade certificate holder, no state paperwork yet | Already held | State registration under 489.115 or 489.513, or permits are restricted | Miami Dade, plus any jurisdiction that accepts the certificate |
| Working in a trade the state does not license | Yes. The county certificate is the only license | Experience proof, exam where required, insurance, $315 application fee | Miami Dade County |
Which trades does Miami Dade license that the state does not?
Quite a few, and this is the part that surprises contractors moving down from elsewhere in Florida. The county’s building specialty licenses page lists more than twenty specialty categories. Some overlap with state categories, roofing and swimming pool among them, so a state certified roofer is covered. Others have no state equivalent that we could find: fence, drywall, lathing and plastering, screen enclosure, storm shutter, painting and waterproofing, and door contractors among them. A pass on the county exam is 70 percent, and experience requirements run from one to five years by category.
Painting is the clearest example. In most of Florida a painter needs no contractor license of any kind, which is why it appears in our piece on what you can legally do without a license. In Miami Dade, painting and waterproofing is a licensed specialty. It happens to be one of the categories that does not require an exam, but it does require an application, proof of experience, insurance and, the page says, 16 hours of continuing education before the certificate is issued.
What does a Miami Dade certificate cost and what does it take to get one?
The figures below are the ones stated on the county’s own licensing pages on the day of writing. They are application fees. The renewal fee appears on no official page we could reach, so it is not stated here.
| Item | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Journeyman application and exam | $240 | County contractor licensing page |
| Master personal certificate | $315 | County contractor licensing page |
| Master business certificate | $315 in addition to the personal certificate | County contractor licensing page |
| Building specialty application | $315, due when the application is submitted | County building specialty page |
| Voluntary registration, state certified contractor | No fee | County registration form |
| Journeyman experience | Three years in the trade, or equivalent education for up to half | County contractor licensing page |
| Journeyman pass mark | 75 percent | County contractor licensing page |
| Master and specialty pass mark | 70 percent | County licensing pages |
| Continuing education per renewal | 16 hours | County renewal page |
The master route needs two years as a journeyman plus two years of prior field experience, or six years of specialised training, or registration as a professional engineer. A personal certificate comes first; only then can you qualify a business, for which the county wants a credit report. Insurance proof is due after board approval, not with the application.
The county’s renewal page says a notice arrives two months before expiry, that each holder needs 16 hours of continuing education, and that business license holders must present current liability and workers’ compensation certificates. One genuinely nice touch: a qualifying agent aged 65 or over who has held the certificate for 20 years with no violations renews at no cost and skips the continuing education. County documents found in search put the expiry of all certificates at 30 September, which we could not confirm on the renewal page itself.
What do the cities inside Miami Dade ask for on top?
The county certificate or state license gets you past RER, which handles permits in unincorporated Miami Dade. The cities run their own permit counters and their own contractor registration desks, and each has a list. South Miami, to take one published example, asks a state certified contractor for the state license and the county local business tax receipt, asks a county certified contractor for the certificate of competency and the same tax receipt, and asks everyone for a certificate of general liability insurance naming the city as certificate holder, with workers’ compensation on it or a state exemption certificate alongside.
Homestead publishes a registration form of its own, adding a Miami Dade municipal contractor’s tax receipt to the list. Expect a version of this in every city you pull a permit in. None of it is an exam and none of it is expensive, but it is a morning of paperwork per city, better done before the client is standing on the driveway asking when the work starts.
If your ambitions include the trades the county licenses under the state categories, how to get a Florida general contractor license and the electrical contractor license both explain the state exams involved, and the Florida roofing license covers the trade Miami Dade weather makes busiest.
What could not be verified for this article?
The two layer structure, the free and voluntary status of state certified registration, the fees, pass marks and experience requirements were read from Miami Dade’s own pages and forms, and the statutory position from sections 489.113 and 489.117 on the Legislature’s own site. Those parts are solid.
Three things are not. The renewal fee in dollars appears on no official page we could reach. The insurance minimums for county certificate holders are reported by prep company sites as $300,000 bodily injury and $50,000 property damage, unconfirmed against any county page, so treat them as a rumour with a good chance of being right. And the 30 September expiry came from county documents surfaced in search rather than a page read in full.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a Miami Dade license if I have a Florida state contractor license?
If the state license is certified, no. Under section 489.113(4)(a) you need only show the local building official evidence of your current certificate and pay the ordinary local business tax and permit fees. Miami Dade offers a free voluntary registration with RER to speed up permits. If the state license is registered rather than certified, you need the county certificate of competency first.
What is a Miami Dade certificate of competency?
It is the county’s own contractor license, issued by the Construction Trades Qualifying Board under Chapter 10 of the county code. It comes in personal and business forms, is limited to the scope of the classification it names, and for most classifications requires the county’s own exam. Holders must also register with the state under section 489.115 or 489.513.
How much does Miami Dade contractor registration cost?
Voluntary registration of a state certified contractor is free, according to the county’s own form. County certificates carry application fees of $240 for a journeyman exam and application, $315 for a master personal certificate, a further $315 for a business certificate, and $315 for a building specialty application. The renewal fee is not published on the pages we could reach.
Which trades need a Miami Dade license but no Florida state license?
Fence, drywall, lathing and plastering, screen enclosure, metal awning and storm shutter, painting and waterproofing, door, and garage and industrial door contracting all appear on the county’s building specialty list and have no state equivalent that we could find. Some, such as painting, need no exam but still need an application, experience, insurance and 16 hours of continuing education before issue.
Can I use a Broward or Palm Beach certificate in Miami Dade?
Possibly. The county page describes a reciprocity route from Broward and Palm Beach in specific trades, with a 75 percent pass required at journeyman level and 70 percent in the other reciprocal categories. The trades are not listed on the page, so call the Contractor Licensing Section on 786-315-2880 to check yours before relying on it.
Do the cities inside Miami Dade require anything extra?
Yes, paperwork rather than exams. South Miami, for example, asks state certified contractors for the state license and the county local business tax receipt, asks county certified contractors for the certificate of competency and the same receipt, and asks everyone for a liability insurance certificate naming the city, with workers’ compensation or a state exemption. Expect a similar list at every city permit counter.
Rules and fees change without notice. This page was verified on the date shown and is rechecked regularly. If you hit something different, tell us in the comments.
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