Find out whether or not a company or an individual in Florida has a legal business license.
It's important to verify a company's or an individual's Florida state business license before you use such services. If you use the services of an unlicensed contractor, he will not notify the state authorities who need to come out and inspect his work. You may be liable for fines, and you may even need to have the work redone if it is inspected and determined not to be up to code. It's also important to verify the licenses of people whose services you use, such as day care providers and alternative health care providers, to ensure that they're qualified professionals.
Instructions
If You Can View the License
1. Request to see the license that you're attempting to verify. Copy down the name, license number, and city or county in Florida in which the business is licensed.
2. Access the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation website, using the first link in Resources.
3. Type in the license number from the Florida Business License. This is the most direct method of verifying the validity of the license, and you do not need to enter any additional information. If the license is legitimate, it will be registered by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and it will be listed on its website.
If You Do Not Have The License Number
4. Ask the person whose Florida license you're attempting to verify to spell his name and the name of his business.
5. Enter the name of the proprietor or the business onto the website of the Florida State Department of Business and Professional Regulation: Search by Name, using the link in Resources. Make sure the name is spelled correctly.
6. Provide as many of the "Alternate Search Parameters" as you know, if there is more than one business associated with the name you have entered. Alternate search parameters include such information as license category, license type, and city where business is conducted. Entering the additional information will narrow down your search, since businesses often operate under very similar names, and proprietors can also have the same name.
7. Type in the license category, license type, and the name of the Florida city or county in which the person or business is licensed if you do not know the name of the business.
