Checking a Florida roofer before you sign
Florida makes this easier than most states: roofing is a licensed trade here, the license is public, and checking it takes two minutes. The owners who get burned are rarely the ones who asked too many questions.
The two-minute checks
The state license first. Florida roofing contractors carry a state certification or registration, and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation lets anyone look a license up online by name or number. Current, active, and in the name on the quote: that is the whole test, and a serious contractor volunteers the number.
Proof of coverage second. A certificate of insurance should come from the insurer rather than a photocopy, name your property, and be current on the day work starts. None of this offends an established roofer; producing it is Tuesday.
Paper that protects both sides
A written scope that names the products, states the layer assumption, prices decking per sheet, and says what happens to the flashings. A permit pulled by the contractor, not the owner, because the permit trail is also your roof’s future documentation. And a payment schedule that follows the work rather than preceding it.
The conversation-enders are equally simple: pressure to sign today, a request for large money before materials arrive, or reluctance to put the license number on paper. None of those has an innocent version in this trade.
This guide is general information about verifying contractor credentials, not legal advice. Requirements and processes can change; the state’s own website is the authority.