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FloridaTrades: Pay, Licensing, Apprenticeships and Lien Law

Florida licenses general contractors and the electrical, plumbing, HVAC and roofing trades at the state level.

What do the trades pay in Florida?

Median hourly pay, May 20251. Pick a trade for training, pay and the license.

Electrician

Wiring, panels and fixtures

$27.52/hrFlorida median

Plumber

Water, drain and gas lines

$25.44/hrFlorida median

HVAC tech

Heating, cooling and ductwork

$27.24/hrFlorida median

Roofer

New roofs and repairs

$22.88/hrFlorida median

General contractor

Runs the job and the crews

$36.44/hrFlorida median, construction supervisors

Is there work in Florida?

Construction jobs in Florida, September 2026: 657,000, up 0.5% from a year earlier.

BLS Current Employment Statistics, Sep 2026

New homes permitted in Florida, September 2026: 14,649, up 9.7% from a year earlier.

Census Building Permits Survey, Sep 2026
Active contractor licenses in the Florida state file: 97,885.DBPR construction license extract, Oct 28, 2026
Licensing

Who licenses contractors in Florida?

Florida licenses general contractors and the electrical, plumbing, HVAC and roofing trades at the state level.2

Florida contractor license requirements

License examRenewalBond and insurance

License lookup

Check a Florida contractor

Enter the license number. We read it from the state board's own file.

Florida license lookup: what a record shows

Getting paid · Florida

Miss a date, lose the lien

45 daysafter you first furnished: send the Notice to Owner.3
  • Record the claim of lien: 90 days after final furnishing4
  • Sue to enforce: 1 year after the claim of lien is recorded5

Work out your dates Every Florida lien rule

Training

Training near you

Apprentices are hired first and paid while they learn on the job and in class. Trade school comes first and charges tuition.

Apprenticeships in Florida

Trade schools in Florida

Near you

Where to train and find work near you

Union locals take apprenticeship applications and send members out to union contractors. Open-shop chapters run apprenticeship classes for the people their member contractors hire.

IBEW union locals

3 more IBEW locals

Electrical training centers (JATCs)

2 more centers
  • Florida East Coast Electrical JATC4620 Summit Blvd, West Palm Beach(561) 968-4400
  • Central Florida Electrical JATC2738 N. Forsyth Road, Winter Park(407) 678-3733

IEC chapters (open shop)

Electrician apprenticeships in Florida

UA union locals

3 more UA locals

Training

UA apprenticeships run through a joint committee of the local and union contractors. Call the local for the next application date.

PHCC chapters

2 more chapters
  • Pinellas PHCCPO Box 3572, St Petersburg(727) 642-9000
  • Space Coast PHCC551 N Washington Ave, Titusville
Plumber apprenticeships in Florida

SMART union locals

Sheet metal training centers

PHCC chapters (heating, cooling, plumbing)

2 more chapters
  • Pinellas PHCCPO Box 3572, St Petersburg(727) 642-9000
  • Space Coast PHCC551 N Washington Ave, Titusville

ACCA member contractors near you

Pipefitters and HVAC service techs also apprentice through the UA: UA locals in Florida.

HVAC Technician apprenticeships in Florida

Carpenters union locals

  • Carpenters Local 702Jacksonville
  • Carpenters Local 1000Tampa
  • Carpenters Local 1809Fort Lauderdale
  • Carpenters Local 1820Winter Garden
  • Carpenters Local 1905Orlando

Training

Union carpentry apprenticeships run through the regional council's training centers. Carpenters regional council finder

Home builder associations

18 more chapters
General Contractor apprenticeships in Florida

Roofers union locals

No Roofers local has its office in Florida. Search the Roofers union website.

Training

Roofers locals run their apprenticeship through a joint committee with union contractors.

Contractor associations

The national trade group for roofing contractors is the National Roofing Contractors Association.

Roofer apprenticeships in Florida

Trade schools: where to apply

All 70 trade schools in Florida

Sources

  1. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Florida, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)
  2. Construction Industry Licensing Board (DBPR CILB) (www2.myfloridalicense.com)
  3. Florida lien law: Fla. Stat. 713.06(2)(a) (leg.state.fl.us)
  4. Florida lien law: 713.08(5), 713.08(4)(c) (leg.state.fl.us)
  5. Florida lien law: 713.22(1)-(2) (leg.state.fl.us)
  6. U.S. Department of Labor, apprenticeship.gov registered apprenticeship partners (apprenticeship.gov)
  7. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (field of study and institution data) (collegescorecard.ed.gov)
  8. BLS Current Employment Statistics, Sep 2026 (bls.gov)
  9. Census Building Permits Survey, Sep 2026 (census.gov)
  10. FEMA disaster declarations, Oct 27, 2026 (fema.gov)
  11. DBPR construction license extract (Construction Industry Licensing Board (DBPR)) (www2.myfloridalicense.com, Oct 28, 2026)
  12. Electrical Contractors Licensing Board (DBPR ECLB) (www2.myfloridalicense.com)