New Hampshire to Florida: general contractor license reciprocity
New Hampshire does not issue a statewide general contractor license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Florida's standard path for out-of-state applicants.
Your origin state does not issue a statewide license at this level, so there is no license to transfer. The destination's standard out-of-state path is shown; expect to meet it in full.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Certification by endorsement, including the NASCLA Accredited Examination route
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
Florida accepts the NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors in place of its own trade knowledge parts. The Board's reciprocity notice states that the NASCLA General Contractors Exam from 2009 forward 'is substantially similar to all Florida Division 1 license trade knowledge exams', and Form DBPR CILB 10 tells NASCLA applicants to apply under Option A, where the official score report and the Examination Evaluation Questionnaire are not required; the NASCLA transcript is released to the Board instead. NASCLA applicants must still pass the Florida Business and Finance examination, attest to having passed an examination covering the Florida Building Code, and complete the experience section of the application. An applicant without the NASCLA credential uses the same $350 form under Option A with another examination the Board finds substantially equivalent (a comparison the form calls 'very stringent and rarely approved'), Option B for a license whose issuance criteria were substantially equivalent, or Option C for the same or a similar license held at least 10 years and active now or within the last 2 years, which adds a board-approved 2-hour Florida Building Code course. Applicants who are not approved for a waiver register with Professional Testing and sit the three Division 1 parts through Pearson VUE.
The trade parts are waived on the NASCLA route, on an accepted equivalence under Option A or B, and under the 10-year provision in Option C; applicants outside those routes sit the Florida Contract Administration and Project Management examinations. The Business and Finance exam is never waived. The Board does not publish a processing time for endorsement applications; the Customer Contact Center is 850-487-1395.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- You must have passed a licensing exam in New Hampshire that the destination considers comparable.The NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors (NASCLA General Contractors Exam, 2009 forward) is the route the Board names: applicants select Option A on Form DBPR CILB 10, skip the score report and Examination Evaluation Questionnaire, and have the NASCLA transcript released to the Board. The same option is open to any other national, regional, state or territorial licensing examination the Board finds substantially equivalent, evidenced by an official score report and an Examination Evaluation Questionnaire completed by the origin exam provider.
- Your New Hampshire license must be active and in good standing.
- You must have held your New Hampshire license for at least 10 years.Option C only: the same or a similar contracting license held for at least 10 years before the date of application, currently active or active within the last 2 years
- Experience under s. 489.111(2): four years as a worker or foreman with at least one year as a foreman, or a four-year construction-related degree plus one year, or the published college-credit combinationsCertified General Contractor applicants must additionally show experience in four or more of the listed experience areas and at least one year of experience on the construction of structures four stories or higher, under Rule 61G4-15.001(2). Experience earned in another state counts and is documented with a full employment and project history.
What you'll do to get licensed in Florida
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($350). Form DBPR CILB 10 certification by endorsement application fee.
- 2Law / code exam. Pass a law, rules, or code exam. Florida Business and Finance examination through Pearson VUE; it is not waived on any endorsement option, including the NASCLA route.
- 3Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam (if applicable). Florida Division 1 Contract Administration and Project Management examinations, required only for applicants who do not qualify through the NASCLA examination, an accepted equivalence or the 10-year provision.
- 4Other. Examination covering the Florida Building Code: NASCLA applicants attest on the application to having passed one, and applicants using the 10-year endorsement option provide proof of a board-approved 2-hour Florida Building Code course including wind mitigation techniques.
- 5Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($135). Professional Testing, Inc. registration fee, charged each time a registration is made for any exam part.
- 6Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($80). Pearson VUE administration fee for the Business and Finance computer-based test (Contract Administration and Project Management are $40 each).
- 7License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($200). Initial certification fee under Rule 61G4-12.009, reduced to $100 if the application is submitted in the second year of the biennium; biennial renewal is also $200.
- 8Business license. Obtain a business license ($50) (if applicable). Application or renewal fee for each business organization the certificate holder qualifies, filed on Form CILB 6-A.
- 9Background check. Complete a background check. Electronic fingerprints for the criminal history check required by s. 489.115, F.S..
- 10Financial responsibility. Show financial responsibility. A credit report from a nationally recognized agency showing a FICO-derived score and a public records statement checked at local, state and federal levels, with no unsatisfied judgments or liens; a score below 660 must be offset with a Board-approved 14-hour financial responsibility course. A business credit report is required as well when qualifying a business. The Board publishes no minimum net worth or working capital figure: Rule 61G4-15.006 sets none, and s. 489.115(5)(b) only caps what the Board could require at $20,000 for Division I. Ask the Customer Contact Center at 850-487-1395 before assuming a dollar threshold applies..
- 11Insurance. Carry the required insurance. Public liability insurance of $300,000 and property damage insurance of $50,000 for General and Building Contractors, plus workers' compensation coverage or a filed exemption.
- 12Continuing education. Complete continuing education (if applicable). 14 hours of continuing education each renewal cycle, with mandatory hours in workplace safety, workers' compensation, business practices, building code and laws and rules. Certified licenses expire August 31 of every even-numbered year..
Published fees on this path total $765, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
What you'll need to buy or arrange
Exam preparation
Most boards contract PSI, Prov, or ICC for exams. Check which code edition the exam is written to before buying a prep course.
- Law / code exam
- Trade exam · if applicable
- Exam fee · $135
- Exam fee · $80
Continuing education
Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.
- Other
- Continuing education · if applicable
Business registration
If you plan to contract in your own name, budget for a business license or entity registration on top of the trade license.
- Business license · $50 · if applicable
Liability insurance
Some states require proof of general liability or workers' compensation coverage at licensing time.
- Insurance
How Florida licenses general contractors
Florida general contractor · “Certified General Contractor (CG)”
State license plus local requirements
Issued by Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board (Department of Business and Professional Regulation)
Florida's unlimited tier is the Certified General Contractor (occupation code CG), issued by the Construction Industry Licensing Board within DBPR. Section 489.105(3)(a), F.S. describes it as a contractor 'whose services are unlimited as to the type of work which he or she may do', subject only to the trade-license carve-outs in s. 489.113. Between residential and general sits the Certified Building Contractor (CB), limited to commercial buildings and residential buildings of not more than three stories, plus remodeling of any size building where the work does not affect structural members; General, Building and Residential together make up the Board's Division I. As at every level, a certified contractor holds a department certificate of competency good in any Florida jurisdiction, while a registered contractor (RG) has satisfied a county or city competency board and may contract only in those jurisdictions. The license is held by the individual who qualifies on experience and examination; qualifying a business organization is a separate application, so a contractor moving to Florida is licensed personally first. The practical difference between the General and Building classes for an arriving applicant is the four-story rule: a Certified General Contractor must document at least one year of experience on the construction of structures at least four stories in height.
How local licensing works in Florida
Why this level is Hybrid. Sections 489.105(8) and (10), F.S. create two tracks that both run through DBPR: state certification, valid statewide, and state registration of contractors who met a local jurisdiction's competency requirements, valid only in those jurisdictions. That is why the Board's application list pairs CG with RG, CB with RB and CR with RR. An arriving contractor who obtains the certified license never needs a local competency card, though local building departments still issue permits and may require registration of the state license.
Miami-Dade County. The Construction Trades Qualifying Board licenses Building and Building Specialties contractors, among other trades, under Chapter 10 of the county code. It reciprocates only with Broward and Palm Beach counties in specific trade categories (75 percent on journeyman exams, 70 percent on other reciprocal category exams) and offers state-certified contractors a voluntary registration that speeds permitting in unincorporated Miami-Dade by pre-verifying license status and insurance.
Broward County. The Building Code Division's Central Examining Boards issue Certificates of Competency; the applications, the examining board calendar and the list of mandatory and voluntary certifications are published in the county's contractor packet (954-765-4400 x9876).
Out-of-state applicants. The county programs reviewed publish no rule recognizing an out-of-state contractor license. The state routes, Form CILB 32 for reciprocity and Form CILB 10 for endorsement, are the ones that produce a statewide license.
Why New Hampshire has nothing to transfer
New Hampshire general contractor
No individual license at this level
New Hampshire has no general, commercial, building or unlimited contractor license at any level of government. There is no contractor board, no classification system, no qualifying party, no trade or business-and-law examination, no net worth or financial statement test and no reciprocity list, so an out-of-state general contractor's license transfers nothing here - and equally, nothing is demanded in its place. New Hampshire is not one of the agencies that accept the NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors, because it holds no contractor examination for that exam to stand in for. The occupations title of the Revised Statutes, RSA Title XXX, creates licenses for engineers, land surveyors, foresters, electricians and plumbers, and the statutory roster of licensing boards in RSA 310:2 adds architects, landscape architects, home inspectors, septic system evaluators, natural scientists, professional geologists, manufactured housing installers under the Installation Standards Board, and the Mechanical Licensing Board that licenses gas fitters; no chapter and no board covers building contractors. A commercial builder moving to New Hampshire works directly with the local building department that issues permits and inspects the work, and makes sure the electrical, plumbing, gas fitting, septic, well, asbestos and lead abatement scope is performed by people who hold the matching state licenses. Where a job is work on a residence, the notice and opportunity-to-repair rules of RSA 359-G apply to that contract above $5,000 even though the builder is unlicensed; commercial buildings are outside that chapter, and disputes over them fall back on the contract and the Consumer Protection Act.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Florida general contractor exam if I'm licensed in New Hampshire?
- The trade exam is waived, but Florida requires a law or code exam.
- How long do I need to have held my New Hampshire license?
- At least 10 years before applying.
- What does it cost to get a Florida general contractor license from New Hampshire?
- Published fees on this path total $765, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my New Hampshire work hours count in Florida?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Florida's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Florida to New Hampshire?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Florida to New Hampshire, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Broward County Building Code Division - Get a License (Central Examining Boards) · Broward County Building Code Division · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- DBPR Construction Industry - Frequently Asked Questions · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation · Faq · verified September 17, 2026
- DBPR - Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB) home page · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- CILB Reciprocity list (states with reciprocal licensing agreements) · Fla. Stat. § 489.115(3)(c) · Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board · Agreement Document · verified September 17, 2026
- Form DBPR CILB 10 - Application for Certification by Endorsement (Eff. June 2024) · Fla. Stat. § 489.115(3); Rule 61-35.010, F.A.C. · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation · Form · verified September 17, 2026
- Form DBPR CILB 32 - Application for Certification by Reciprocity (Eff. July 2024) · Fla. Stat. § 489.115(3)(c); Rule 61-35.010, F.A.C. · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation · Form · verified September 17, 2026
- DBPR Bureau of Education & Testing - Florida State Construction Examination Registration Instructions and Application 2026 (Professional Testing, Inc.) · Rule 61G4-16, F.A.C. · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation / Professional Testing, Inc. · Form · verified September 17, 2026
- Miami-Dade County - Contractors & Building Trades (Construction Trades Qualifying Board) · Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Rule 61G4-12.009, F.A.C. - Fees · Rule 61G4-12.009, F.A.C. · Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
- Rule 61G4-15.006, F.A.C. - Financial Responsibility and Financial Stability, Grounds for Denial · Rule 61G4-15.006, F.A.C. · Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
- Florida Statutes s. 489.105 - Definitions (Part I, Construction Contracting) · Fla. Stat. § 489.105(3)(a)-(c), (8), (10) · Florida Legislature · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- Florida Statutes s. 489.111 - Licensure by examination · Fla. Stat. § 489.111(2) · Florida Legislature · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- Florida Statutes s. 489.115 - Certification and registration; endorsement; reciprocity · Fla. Stat. § 489.115(3), (5) · Florida Legislature · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors · National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies · Other · verified September 17, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.