What insurance should a general contractor carry in Florida?

At minimum: general liability insurance and workers' compensation coverage. Ask for certificates of insurance issued directly to you by the insurer — not a PDF from the contractor — so you know the policy is active.

How can I check a contractor's real track record?

Look at their permit history — permits are public record and show what a contractor actually built, where, and whether violations were filed. Sites like BuildZoom aggregate this data. A contractor with dozens of closed permits and zero violations has a verifiable record, not just testimonials.

What are red flags when hiring a contractor in South Florida?

Large cash deposits before any work, pressure to skip permits, asking you to pull an owner-builder permit for their work, no written contract, no verifiable license number, and prices dramatically below every other bid — which usually signals scope that will reappear as change orders.

How to Choose a General Contractor in South Florida (2026 Checklist)

Q: How do I verify a contractor's license in Florida?

Search the license number on myfloridalicense.com (Florida DBPR). A Certified General Contractor license starts with CGC. Check that the license is current, active, and held by the company you're actually contracting with — not a 'partner' or 'affiliate'.

South Florida has thousands of contractors — and the difference between a great one and a costly mistake is almost entirely checkable before you sign. Here are the seven checks we'd run on any contractor, including ourselves.

The 60-second version: Verify the license on myfloridalicense.com → demand insurance certificates from the insurer → pull their public permit history → get a written, itemized contract → never pay large cash deposits → confirm who actually manages your job → trust bids that explain, not bids that undercut.

1 Verify the license — don't just ask for it

Every legitimate general contractor in Florida has a license you can verify in two minutes at myfloridalicense.com (Florida DBPR). A Certified General Contractor license starts with CGC. Confirm it's active, current, and registered to the exact company on your contract. Ours is CGC1525512 — we'd rather you check than take our word for it.

2 Demand insurance certificates from the insurer

General liability and workers' compensation, minimum. Ask the contractor's insurance agent to email the certificate directly to you — a PDF forwarded by the contractor can be outdated or edited. If a worker gets hurt on your property and the contractor has no workers' comp, that risk can land on you.

3 Pull the permit history — it's public and it doesn't lie

Permits show what a contractor actually built: how many projects, what size, which cities, and whether violations were filed. Aggregators like BuildZoom compile this record. Reviews can be curated; permit history can't. (Ours: 31 permits filed since 2021, over $13M in construction value, zero violations.)

4 Get a written, itemized contract

Scope, materials, allowances, payment schedule tied to milestones, change-order process, and timeline. "We'll figure it out as we go" is how $60,000 projects become $90,000 projects. An itemized contract also makes bids comparable — you can see exactly what one contractor includes that another quietly excluded.

5 Watch the deposit structure

Progress payments tied to completed milestones are normal. Large upfront cash deposits are not. Florida's construction landscape has a long history of deposit-and-disappear schemes — a professional with real supplier relationships doesn't need half your budget before day one.

6 Know who actually runs your project

Ask: who is my point of contact? How often will I get updates? Who is on site daily? In a family-run operation you typically talk to the owner; in a volume shop you may get a rotating project manager juggling a dozen jobs. Neither is automatically wrong — but you should know which one you're buying.

7 Be suspicious of the lowest bid

When one bid comes in far below the rest, the missing money is hiding somewhere: excluded scope, thinner materials, unlicensed subs, or change orders waiting to happen. The right comparison isn't price alone — it's price against a fully itemized scope.

Interview us with this exact checklist

License CGC1525512 · Insured · 31 permitted projects, $13M+ built since 2021, zero violations. Family-run — you talk to the owner.

Call (954) 773-6846

Red flags that end the conversation

"We can skip the permit to save you money."
"Just pull an owner-builder permit yourself." (That transfers their liability to you.)
No verifiable license number on the website, truck, or contract.
Cash-only, large deposit, no written contract.
Pressure to sign today for a "special price."

Frequently asked questions

How do I verify a contractor's license in Florida?

Search the license number at myfloridalicense.com. Confirm it's active and matches the company on your contract. CGC = Certified General Contractor.

What insurance should they carry?

General liability plus workers' compensation — with certificates sent to you directly by the insurer.

How do I check their real track record?

Public permit history (aggregated on BuildZoom and county portals): project count, construction value, and violations on record.

What's the biggest red flag?

Any suggestion to skip permits or to have you pull an owner-builder permit for their work. Both shift risk from them to you.

About JN Builders

JN Builders LLC is a family-run, Florida-licensed general contractor (CGC1525512) based in Palm Beach County, serving Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Wellington, and surrounding communities. Explore our custom home construction, kitchen remodeling, and 2026 kitchen cost guide.