General Contractor Requirements - Florida

Listed below are the current state requirements for a(n) General Contractor in the state of Florida.

Completion Requirements
14 CEH biennially

Of the 14 CEH, at least:
1 hour must be in workplace safety
1 hour must be in business practice
1 hour must be in worker’s compensation.
1 hour must be on an Advanced Module of the FL Building Code.

All coursework must be approved by the board.

Renewal Dates
Renewal for certified contractors occurs August 31 even years.

Renewal for registered contractors occurs August 31 odd years.

Statute:
Chapter 61G-18

Special Designations or Stipulations:
A person who holds more than one certificate or registration issued by the board is required to complete the continuing education requirements only once during each biennial certification renewal period and only once during each biennial registration period.

Any person who obtains a certificate or a registration more than 12 months prior to the end of a biennial period is required to complete 7 hours of approved continuing education as a condition of the first renewal of the certificate or registration.

A person is not required to complete any of the continuing education requirements while his or her license is in an inactive status. However, registrants and certificate holders who change licensure status from inactive to active must show proof of completion of fourteen (14) hours of continuing education for each inactive biennium (including one hour of a workplace safety class, a business standards class, and a worker’s compensation class for each license renewal cycle). Additional paper work may be required. Contact the board directly for details.

IMPORTANT NOTE: To ensure compliance with the board rules, You must BE ACTIVE in the online course for at least 50 minutes for each credit hour the course is worth (for example, if the course is worth 2 credit hours, you must spend 100 minutes of active participation in the course). After you spend this time in the course and you pass the test, you may download your certificate of completion.

Audit Potential:
100%

Allowed Carry-Over Hours:
None

Applicable Course of Study:
Of the required 14 hours of continuing education, up to 4 hours of credit may be earned by attending a meeting of the board wherein disciplinary cases are considered. At least seven days advance notice of the intent to attend the disciplinary case session must be given to the board, and the licensee must check in with board staff prior to the beginning of the disciplinary proceedings. A maximum of 4 hours will be allowed during a renewal cycle. Credit hours shall be awarded on an hour for hour basis up to a maximum of 4 hours.

Any course approved for the continuing education requirements for persons certified under Chapter 468, Part XII, F.S., which meet the criteria for course content approved by this board, shall be accepted for continuing education for renewal under this rule, for person who are certified under Part XII or who are certified or registered under this part.

The board shall grant a maximum of four (4) hours of continuing education credit, on an hour for hour basis, to any licensee who participates as member of any technical advisory committee to the Florida Building Code Commission within the Department of Community Affairs.

Credit may be earned for assisting in exam development. Notwithstanding any of the foregoing provisions, the board shall grant continuing education credits to any licensee who participates in exam development with the approval of the board upon submission of documentation of such participation by the Department or a testing provider under contract with the Department. One (1) continuing education credit hour shall be given for every fifty (50) minute clock hour of participation in exam development. Exam development specifically includes all exam question development activities and workshops on task analyses.

Any course approved for the continuing education requirements for persons certified under Chapter 489, Parts I and II, F.S., shall be accepted for continuing education for renewal under this rule.

Proof of Compliance:
Chapter 455, Florida Statutes, now requires the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to monitor all continuing education activities of licensees. Therefore, providers will now be required to submit student rosters electronically to the department. This initiative ensures 100% compliance through monitoring. If proof of required continuing education is not submitted prior to renewal of the license, the licensee will be denied renewal.

Non-Compliance Penalties:
Falsifying or fraudulently representing completion of required continuing education courses in order to renew a certificate or registration, or failing or refusing to provide proof of completion of such courses, shall be a violation of s. 489.129(1)(a), F.S., punishable by penalties up to and including revocation of the certificate or registration.

Licensees audited for compliance with continuing education requirements and found to be deficient shall be required to complete the deficient hours and an additional 14 hours of continuing education including one hour of workplace safety and workers’ compensation. These 14 hours are in addition to the continuing education requirements for the current licensure cycle.

Disallowed Credits:
Credit hours may not be earned for attendance of a meeting of the board when the licensee attends a disciplinary session as a party to a disciplinary act.

Exceptions or exemptions:
A person is not required to complete any continuing education requirements for the year in which a certificate or a registration is initially issued.

Any person who obtains a certificate or a registration more than 12 months prior to the end of a biennial period is required to complete seven hours of approved continuing education as a condition of the first renewal of the certificate or registration.

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