Florida to Massachusetts: residential contractor license reciprocity

1. 1Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Massachusetts Restricted Construction Supervisor examination, administered by PSI: 60 questions, 180 minutes, 70% to pass (a cutscore of 42), open book, taken at a PSI center in Auburn, Charlestown, Fall River, Lawrence or West Springfield or at any PSI center elsewhere in the United States. Results are given immediately and there is no limit on retakes. PSI takes up to two weeks to review an examination application, and the approved application stays on file for two years..
2. 2Application fee. Pay the application fee ($23). Non-refundable examination application fee paid to PSI when the registration form and the experience documentation are filed..
3. 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($65). Non-refundable examination fee paid to PSI when the examination is scheduled. An appointment can be moved without losing the fee if the notice reaches PSI two days before the test date..
4. 4License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($150). Initial Restricted Construction Supervisor license fee, mailed with the passing score report to the Division of Occupational Licensure within one year of passing the examination (801 CMR 4.02(39)(b)). The first license runs three years; renewals are $150 less, at $100 for a two-year term, and a renewal filed more than one year but less than two years after expiry carries a $100 late fee. A license more than two years past expiry cannot be renewed and the examination must be taken again..
5. 5Other. Documentation of the three years of experience filed with the examination application: W-2, IRS Schedule C or 1099 forms covering the equivalent of three years of full-time work, or, instead of tax records, a letter of attestation from an engineer, architect, employer, military supervisor or licensed contractor. Where education is used for part of the experience, a copy of the diploma or degree is filed as well..
6. 6License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($150). Home Improvement Contractor registration fee, required of anyone who solicits, bids on or performs work on an existing owner-occupied Massachusetts home of one to four units. The registration is filed and paid online through the MA Contractor Hub; paper applications and paper certified checks are returned. The registration renews every two years for $100, and each supplemental card for an officer, partner or employee costs $10..
7. 7Other. Mandatory payment into the Residential Contractor's Guaranty Fund, made with the Home Improvement Contractor registration application and set by headcount on the date of application: $100 for fewer than four employees, $200 for four to ten, $300 for eleven to thirty and $500 for more than thirty (201 CMR 14.19). The amount shown is the smallest band. It is normally paid once rather than at every renewal, it is refunded if the registration is denied, and it funds payments of up to $25,000 to homeowners holding unpaid judgments against a registered contractor. ($100).
8. 8Background check. Complete a background check. Criminal record check on the Home Improvement Contractor registration: before approving an application or renewal the director refers the applicant to the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services, which reports back only a conviction for gross fraud or cheat at common law (M.G.L. c. 142A, § 9(e)). The construction supervisor license has no separate background check, but the Board may require an applicant to disclose any conviction or civil finding made by a court or by a licensing board in another jurisdiction..
9. 9Business license. Obtain a business license. A corporation or LLC formed outside Massachusetts must complete the foreign corporation registration with the Secretary of the Commonwealth before it can obtain a Home Improvement Contractor registration; state law requires the certificate of registration to be filed within ten days after the company starts to transact business in Massachusetts. A contractor trading under a business name also files a business certificate with the clerk of the city or town where the business is based and uploads a copy. A corporation or partnership registering as an HIC must designate one individual as responsible for its work, and that person and the company are jointly and severally liable for the fees and for compliance..
10. 10Continuing education. Complete continuing education. Renewal condition rather than an entry requirement: a Restricted construction supervisor completes 10 hours of Board-approved continuing education in each two-year renewal cycle, made up of four hours of code review and at least one hour each of workplace safety, business practices and workers' compensation, energy and, in the first renewal cycle only, lead safe practices, with the balance as approved electives. No more than six of the hours may be taken online; the rest must be classroom based. Courses should be finished at least 60 days before the license expires, and a certificate used for one renewal cannot be used again..
11. 11Insurance. Carry the required insurance (if applicable). Neither the Construction Supervisor License nor the Home Improvement Contractor registration requires a surety bond, a financial statement or proof of general liability insurance. Massachusetts protects homeowners through the Guaranty Fund and the written-contract rules of M.G.L. c. 142A instead. Workers' compensation obligations still apply to the business independently of these credentials, and owners and lenders commonly require liability coverage by contract..
12. 12Other. Contract rules that apply once registered: every residential contracting agreement over $1,000 must be in writing and carry the contractor's registration number, and any deposit taken before work begins is capped at the greater of one third of the contract price or the actual cost of special-order materials (M.G.L. c. 142A, § 2). Working without a registration is a prohibited act under M.G.L. c. 142A, § 17..

Published fees on this path total $388, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.