QUALIFYING MORE THAN TWO ENTITIES

Based on a new procedure adopted by the CILB, the DBPR reviewers have been instructed to refer any licensee who is applying to qualify an additional business past the 2^nd to the Board for a formal review.

Presently, the administrative code states “The applicant seeking to qualify an additional business organization must appear before the Board unless the applicant owns at least 50% of the business organization(s) presently qualified and at least 50% of the proposed business organization(s) and the applicant otherwise qualifies for approval.”  This still holds true for an applicant applying to qualify his second business entity. It’s only when applying to qualify a 3^rd (4^th, 5^th, etc…) that the Board is now requiring this review no matter how much you own of each entity.

It’s not uncommon for the Board to adopt new practices in an effort to maintain the integrity of the contractor’s license.  In this case, the goal is to properly weed out any applicant who may be ‘leasing out’ his license instead of properly qualifying an entity with full oversight of work.

As part of a licensee’s responsibility to the Board when he’s issued a license, the contractor is considered personally responsible for all work done under his license.  In addition, he must be either a W-2 employee OR minimum 20% shareholder of EACH entity he is qualifying, and is responsible for ensuring that proper Worker’s Compensation and General Liability insurances are held by each entity.

The Board meets once per month, in a different location for each meeting.  In the review, the Board does have the authority to request documentation beyond what is required within the application itself and make an approval contingent on providing such documentation.  It’s always best to be prepared with as many supporting documents as possible.  Often times, an applicant may choose to retain legal representation for his hearing.

If you have any questions on this, or for an attorney referral, please contact us! At Licenses, Etc., we offer a fast contractor’s license application process for our clients. Contact us about getting your Florida contractor’s license by calling 239-777-1028.