How much does a Florida GC license cost?

If you pass every part the first time, the state’s fixed fees for a Florida Certified General Contractor license come to $540: $295 in exam fees and DBPR’s $245 license application fee. Everything else, including books, prep, fingerprints, a credit report and insurance, depends on your choices and your vendors. All in, most people spend somewhere around $2,000 to $5,000 by the time they’re licensed.

Here’s every cost, line by line, in the order you’ll pay them. (For the full process these costs map to, see our step-by-step guide on how to become a GC in Florida.)

The line-by-line breakdown

PTI exam registration: $135

Professional Testing, Inc. (PTI) runs the exam program for DBPR. You apply for the exam directly with PTI on the CILB 1 exam application. There’s no separate DBPR approval step before the exam. The $135 registration fee is paid each time you apply, for a first attempt or a retake.

Pearson VUE exam fees: $160 for all three parts

You pay Pearson VUE when you schedule each exam:

• Business and Finance: $80
• Contract Administration: $40
• Project Management: $40

Exam fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

Total first-attempt exam fees: $295

That’s the $135 PTI registration plus $160 in Pearson VUE fees to sit each part once.

Reference books: $499 for our Business and Finance set

The exam is open-book, but only with the books on DBPR’s reference list for each part, in the editions DBPR names. Business and Finance has six references: Florida Statutes Chapter 455, the Builder’s Guide to Accounting, the Contractors Manual, and AIA A201, A401 and A701. The Contractors Manual reprints Chapter 455, so you don’t buy it separately.

We sell the correct-edition Business and Finance set for $499, and the tab and highlight guide separately. Contract Administration and Project Management use a longer list, including the Florida Building Code volumes. Prices depend on where you buy and whether you buy used, so check the editions against DBPR’s list before you buy. Here’s which books you need for each part.

Exam prep: depends on what you choose

This is the biggest variable, and the one that matters most. You can study on your own with the books, use practice exams, or take a course. Our timed practice exam is free right now. Our Business and Finance course is $197, with the math worked step by step, timed practice and book-tabbing guidance. It’s being built now; the waitlist gets the founding price.

DBPR license application: $245

Once you’ve passed, you apply to DBPR for the license itself: form CILB 5-A as an individual, or CILB 6-A if you’re qualifying a business. DBPR’s fee for the certified contractor application is currently $245. DBPR shows it dropping to $145 for applications submitted after August 31, 2027. This is where DBPR checks your experience, credit and background.

Fingerprints: set by the vendor

Right after you submit the license application, you get fingerprinted through a Livescan provider registered with FDLE. The provider charges you directly, and prices vary. DBPR’s own in-person service at its Tallahassee headquarters is $36.

Credit report: varies

DBPR requires a personal credit report with a FICO score from a board-approved credit reporting agency. The price depends on the agency.

Insurance: varies

Before DBPR issues your license, you attest to general liability and property damage coverage. Within 30 days of issuance, you need workers’ compensation coverage or an exemption. Premiums depend on your business and coverage, and this is an ongoing cost of running the business, not a one-time licensing fee.

The total picture

Whether that’s worth it depends on what the license earns you. We ran that math in is a GC license worth it?

The cost nobody budgets for: retakes

If you fail a part, you only retake that part, but you pay again:

• $135 PTI registration
• the Pearson VUE fee for that part: $80 for Business and Finance, $40 for Contract Administration or Project Management

That’s $215 to retake Business and Finance, or $175 to retake Contract Administration or Project Management alone. There’s no limit on attempts, but every part has to be passed within four years of your first attempt. Add the study time, and a retake is the most expensive line nobody plans for. If you’re deciding how much prep you need, start with how hard the exam is.

Where to save (and where not to)

Save on books. Buy used when you can, but verify editions against the current DBPR reference list. A book that’s one edition off is useless on exam day.

Don’t skip exam prep. At $175 to $215 per retake in fees alone, plus the time, prep is the most cost-effective line item in the process. Our guide on how to pass the Florida GC exam lays out what that prep looks like.

Tab and highlight your books. A properly organized set of reference books saves you minutes per question during the exam. Minutes you don’t have. We have a free guide on how to do this.

Grab the free study kit. The exam cheat sheet and licensing roadmap are built around the actual exam structure. Enter your email and they’re yours.