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12 permits · verified 2026-09-28

What permits do you need to open a contractor or trade in Broward County?

In short

A contractor or trade in Broward County, FL has 6 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 6 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations charges $125 one-time filing for the articles of organization (llc). 8 of the 12 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-28 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a contractor or trade in Broward County

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Storage Tank Facility Licenseonly if it applies to youBroward County Resilient Environment Department, Environmental Permitting Division (EPD)Broward County Code Ch. 27, Art. X, §27-306 governs this license but does not itself state a dollar figure. Contact the Resilient Environment Department's Environmental Permitting Division for the current fee.confirm the license term with the issuing division2026-09-28
Contractor Certificate of Competency (Broward Central Examining Board)Broward County Central Examining Board of Construction Trades (Building Code Division)The Central Examining Board publishes its own fee schedule for Certificates of Competency rather than fixing dollar amounts in the county code text itself. Licensing-exam-preparation guidance describing that schedule reports a $450 fee for a contractor application or renewal and a $225 fee for a journeyman application, effective after a January 1, 2025 increase. Confirm the current figure directly with the Central Examining Board (Broward County Building Code Division) before relying on either number.renewal cycle length: confirm with Broward County Contractor Licensing2026-09-28
Contractor LicenseFlorida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Construction Industry Licensing BoardCertified: $335 non-refundable application and examination fee. Registered: $100 application fee. Both then pay $200 for the initial license, halved to $100 in the second year of a biennium, and $200 to renew every two years2 years2026-09-03

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

Local permits that apply to every type of business in Broward County

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Certificate of Use (CU)Broward County Planning and Development Management Division (Building Services and Zoning)Varies — formula on the Broward County pageone-time, unless ownership, the occupant or the business name changes, which triggers a new CU2026-09-28
Local Business Tax Receipt (LBTR)Broward County Tax Collector, Local Business Tax SectionVaries — formula on the Broward County pageannual; tax year October 1-September 302026-09-28
Fire-Rescue Operational / Life-Safety InspectionBroward Sheriff's Office (BSO) Fire Rescue, Fire Prevention BureauVaries — formula on the Broward County pageannual life-safety inspection; typically bundled into the Certificate of Use inspection in unincorporated Broward2026-09-28

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

FL registrations that apply to every type of business

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to youFlorida Department of State, Division of Corporations$125 one-time filingno expiry, but an annual report is due every year by 1 May2026-09-03
Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to youFlorida Department of State, Division of Corporations$70 one-time filingno expiry, but an annual report is due every year by 1 May2026-09-03
Annual Report (LLC)only if it applies to youFlorida Department of State, Division of CorporationsVaries — formula on the FL pageannual, due by 1 May2026-09-03
Annual Report (Corporation)only if it applies to youFlorida Department of State, Division of CorporationsVaries — formula on the FL pageannual, due by 1 May2026-09-03
Business Tax Application (Sales and Use Tax)only if it applies to youFlorida Department of RevenueNo fee — no fee to registerno fixed expiry2026-09-03
Local Business Tax ReceiptFlorida Department of State, Division of CorporationsNo feeannual — every receipt expires on 30 September2026-09-03

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

How much does it actually cost to permit a contractor or trade in Broward County?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 12 records listed for a contractor or trade in Broward County, FL, 6 apply to every business of this type and 6 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

8 of the 12 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 1 has no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

Storage Tank Facility License: Broward County Code Ch. 27, Art. X, §27-306 governs this license but does not itself state a dollar figure. Contact the Resilient Environment Department's Environmental Permitting Division for the current fee.

Contractor Certificate of Competency (Broward Central Examining Board): The Central Examining Board publishes its own fee schedule for Certificates of Competency rather than fixing dollar amounts in the county code text itself. Licensing-exam-preparation guidance describing that schedule reports a $450 fee for a contractor application or renewal and a $225 fee for a journeyman application, effective after a January 1, 2025 increase. Confirm the current figure directly with the Central Examining Board (Broward County Building Code Division) before relying on either number.

Contractor License: Certified: $335 non-refundable application and examination fee. Registered: $100 application fee. Both then pay $200 for the initial license, halved to $100 in the second year of a biennium, and $200 to renew every two years

The other 5 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Broward County permits page and the FL state page.

Which offices issue these permits in Broward County?

Permits for a contractor or trade in Broward County, FL come from 8 separate offices: Broward County Planning and Development Management Division (Building Services and Zoning), Broward County Resilient Environment Department, Environmental Permitting Division (EPD), Broward County Tax Collector, Local Business Tax Section, Broward County Central Examining Board of Construction Trades (Building Code Division), Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) Fire Rescue, Fire Prevention Bureau, Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, Florida Department of Revenue, Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Construction Industry Licensing Board. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

What does a contractor or trade need in Broward County that other businesses do not?

2 of the 3 permits particular to a contractor or trade here apply to no other business type we cover in Broward County: Contractor Certificate of Competency (Broward Central Examining Board) and Contractor License.

Contractor Certificate of Competency (Broward Central Examining Board)

Broward runs its own county-level contractor licensing board, the Central Examining Board of Construction Trades, separate from state DBPR/CILB licensing — the same pattern Miami-Dade uses with its Construction Trades Qualifying Board. Anyone performing a regulated construction trade in Broward needs a Broward-issued Certificate of Competency in addition to any state license, and testing runs through Gainesville Independent Testing Services (GITS) or ProV, Inc. The Board registers and licenses individual tradespeople, verifies insurance and handles discipline countywide, reaching incorporated and unincorporated Broward alike. Dollar figures found for this license are moderate-confidence rather than directly read from a Broward-run page: licensing-exam-preparation sources describing the Board's fee schedule report $450 for a contractor application or renewal and $225 for a journeyman application, following a January 1, 2025 fee increase. Contact the Board directly at broward.org/Building/Contractors before paying based on those figures.

Contractor License

The two routes cost the same to keep and differ sharply at entry: certification is $335 for application and examination, registration is $100. What you get differs too — a certified license works anywhere in Florida, while a registered one is valid only where you hold local competency approval, so the cheaper route can cost more in practice if you work across county lines. Qualifying a business organisation is a separate license again at $50, with its own $50 biennial renewal, and it is the piece most often missed. An inactive license renews at $50. Letting a license go null and void costs $100 to reinstate, and a delinquency fee is $25.

Shared with other businesses in Broward County

  • Storage Tank Facility License — Broward County Resilient Environment Department, Environmental Permitting Division (EPD), Broward County Code Ch. 27, Art. X, §27-306 governs this license but does not itself state a dollar figure. Contact the Resilient Environment Department's Environmental Permitting Division for the current fee., confirm the license term with the issuing division. Also required for auto repair shops and restaurants; what it involves is set out on the auto repair shops page.

The other 3 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Broward County, FL; what each one involves is set out on the Broward County permits page. The 6 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across FL and are covered on the FL state page.

How does a contractor or trade compare with other businesses in Broward County?

The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 1 of these permits. A contractor or trade also needs Contractor Certificate of Competency (Broward Central Examining Board) and Contractor License. A auto repair shop needs Hazardous Materials License, Air Quality License (surface coating / paint booth), Motor Vehicle Repair Shop License and Motor Vehicle Body Repair and Paint Shop License, which a contractor or trade does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Broward County, FL, compared with a contractor or trade
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a contractor or tradeOnly a contractor or trade needsOnly it needs
Auto repair shops5124
Restaurants7126
Childcare centres2032
Coffee shops5035
Fitness studios0030
Food trucks4034
Retail stores2032
Salons and barbers2032
Veterinary clinics3033

Sources

Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits shared with other businesses are listed with their explanations on the auto repair shops page. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Broward County permits page and the FL state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Get a License — contractor licensing overviewBroward County Central Examining Board of Construction Trades · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
  2. Central Examining Board of General and Building ContractorsBroward County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
  3. Broward County Code of OrdinancesMunicode / Broward County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
  4. Florida Administrative Code rule 61G4-12.009 — construction industry licensing fees (effective 30 October 2017)Florida Department of State, Administrative Code · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03

Related

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.