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Florida Statute 489.537 - Full Text and Legal Analysis
Florida Statute 489.537 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
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The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XXXII
REGULATION OF PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS
Chapter 489
CONTRACTING
View Entire Chapter
489.537 Application of this part.
(1) This part applies to any contractor performing work for the state or any county or municipality.
(2)(a) The scope of electrical contracting shall apply to private and public property and shall include any excavation, paving, and other related work incidental thereto and shall include the work of all specialty electrical contractors. However, such electrical contractor shall subcontract the work of any other craft for which an examination for a certificate of competency or registration or a license is required, unless such contractor is certified or registered or holds a license for the respective trade category as required by the appropriate local authority.
(b) A registered electrical contractor may bid on electrical contracts which include alarm systems contracting as a part of the contract, provided that the individual shall subcontract such alarm systems contracting, except raceway systems, to a properly certified or registered alarm system contractor. Registered electrical contractors may install raceways for alarm systems. However, if the registered electrical contractor is properly certified or registered as an alarm system contractor, the individual is not required to subcontract out the alarm system contracting.
(3) Nothing in this act limits the power of a municipality or county:
(a) To regulate the quality and character of work performed by contractors through a system of permits, fees, and inspections which is designed to secure compliance with, and aid in the implementation of, state and local building laws or to enforce other local laws for the protection of the public health and safety. However, a certified alarm system contractor or certified electrical contractor is not subject to any additional certification or licensure requirements that are not required by this part.
(b) To collect fees for business tax receipts and inspections for engaging in contracting or examination fees from persons who are registered with the local boards pursuant to local examination requirements.
(c) To adopt any system of permits requiring submission to and approval by the municipality or county of plans and specifications for work to be performed by contractors before commencement of the work.
(d) To require one bond for each electrical contractor in an amount not to exceed $5,000, which bond shall be conditioned only upon compliance with the Florida Building Code adopted pursuant to s. 553.73. Any such bond must be equally available to all electrical contractors without regard to the period of time an electrical contractor has been certified or registered and without regard to any financial responsibility requirements. Any such bonds shall be payable to the Governor and filed in each county or municipality in which a building permit is requested. Bond reciprocity shall be granted statewide. All such bonds shall be included in meeting any financial responsibility requirements imposed by any statute or rule.
(e)1. To refuse to issue permits or issue permits with specific conditions to a contractor who has committed multiple violations, when he or she has been disciplined for each of them by the board and when each disciplinary action has involved revocation or suspension of a license, imposition of an administrative fine of at least $1,000, or probation.
2. To issue permits with specific conditions to a contractor who, within the previous 12 months, has had final action taken against him or her, by the department or by a local board or agency which licenses contractors and has reported the action pursuant to paragraph (5)(c), for engaging in the business or acting in the capacity of a contractor without a license.
(f) To require that one electrical journeyman, who is a graduate of the Institute of Applied Technology in Construction Excellence or licensed pursuant to s. 489.5335, be present on an industrial or commercial new construction site with a facility of 50,000 gross square feet or more when electrical work in excess of 77 volts is being performed in order to supervise or perform such work, except as provided in s. 489.503.
(4) Any official authorized to issue building or other related permits shall ascertain that the applicant contractor is certified or registered and duly qualified according to any local requirements in the area where the construction is to take place before issuing the permit. The evidence shall consist only of the exhibition to him or her of current evidence of proper certification or registration and local qualification.
(5)(a) Municipalities or counties may continue to provide examinations for their territorial area, provided that no examination is given the holder of a certificate.
(b) To engage in contracting in the territorial area, an applicant shall also be registered with the board.
(c) Each local board or agency which licenses contractors shall transmit monthly to the board a report of any disciplinary action taken against contractors and any administrative or disciplinary action taken against unlicensed persons for engaging in the business or acting in the capacity of a contractor, including any cease and desist order issued pursuant to s. 489.516(2)(b).
(6) The right to create local boards in the future by any municipality or county is preserved.
(7) The scope of work of a certified unlimited electrical contractor includes the work of a certified alarm system contractor as provided in this part.
(8) Persons licensed under this part are subject to ss. 205.0535(1) and 205.065, as applicable.
(9) A registered electrical contractor, an alarm system contractor II certificateholder, and a registered alarm system contractor II shall be allowed to install residential smoke detectors or residential heat detectors.
History.ss. 11, 17, ch. 79-272; s. 374, ch. 81-259; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; s. 2, ch. 87-152; ss. 10, 14, ch. 87-254; ss. 19, 21, 23, ch. 88-149; s. 8, ch. 91-119; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 284, ch. 94-119; s. 500, ch. 97-103; s. 31, ch. 98-287; s. 47, ch. 98-419; s. 26, ch. 99-254; s. 127, ch. 2000-141; s. 23, ch. 2000-332; s. 45, ch. 2000-372; ss. 20, 35, ch. 2001-186; s. 4, ch. 2001-372; s. 6, ch. 2005-147; s. 45, ch. 2009-195.

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Amendments to 489.537


Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 489.537

Total Results: 2  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Ago (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1991).

Published | Florida Attorney General Reports

...connote a mandatory requirement. 5 Further, s. 489.531 , F.S., prohibits any person from practicing contracting unless he or she is certified or registered and provides that a violation of the statute constitutes a first degree misdemeanor. Finally, s. 489.537 (4), F.S., provides that: Any official authorized to issue building or other related permits shall ascertain that the applicant contractor is certified or registered and duly qualified according to any local requirements in the area where the construction is to take place before issuing the permit....
...The evidence shall consist only of the exhibition to him of current evidence of proper certification or registration and local qualification. The Legislature has recognized the authority of local governments to implement local programs to serve the same purposes as the state legislation. Section 489.537 , F.S., provides, in part that: (5)(a) Municipalities or counties may continue to provide examinations 6 for their territorial area, provided that no examination is given the holder of a certificate....
...If the services offered require licensure or agent qualification, the offering, negotiation for a bid, or attempted sale of these services requires the corresponding licensure." 5 See , Drury v. Harding, 461 So.2d 104 (Fla. 1984) and Holloway v. State, 342 So.2d 966 (Fla. 1977). 6 And see , s. 489.537 (3)(b), F.S., which authorized local governments to "collect fees for ....
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D Electrician Technical Servs., Inc. v. Gregory Tony, as Sheriff of Broward Cnty., Florida (Fla. 4th DCA 2024).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal

...erates, transmits, transforms, or utilizes electrical energy in any form, . . . all in compliance with applicable plans, specifications, codes, laws, and regulations. § 489.505(12), Fla. Stat. (2019) (emphasis supplied). Further, section 489.537(2)(a) states that “[t]he scope of electrical contracting” shall include “any excavation, paving, and other related work incidental thereto and shall include the work of all specialty electrical contractors.” § 489.537(2)(a), Fla....
...perform excavation work incidental to installing electrical conduit and does not need a construction contracting license under part I (such as, for 5 example, an underground utility and excavation contractor license) to perform that work. Section 489.537(2)(a), Florida Statutes (2019), contains an important exception: However, such electrical contractor shall subcontract the work of any other craft for which an examination for a certificate of competency or registration or a license is required, unless such contractor is certified or registered or holds a license for the respective trade category as required by the appropriate local authority. § 489.537(2)(a), Fla....
...work to a licensed Underground Utility and Excavation Contractor because D Electrician did not hold that type of license.” This argument fails for two reasons. First, excavation is not “any other craft” as it was specifically mentioned in section 489.537(2)(a) as within an electrical contractor’s scope of work....
...See § 489.105(3)(n), Fla. Stat. (2019). If the conduit system involves an energized electrical system, then section 489.505(12) requires the contractor to have an electrical contracting license. And to allow the electrical contractor to install the electrical conduit, section 489.537(2)(a) permits the contractor to perform excavation and other related work incidental to the installation. Based on that statutory analysis, D Electrician possessed the license necessary for the Project—an electrical contractor...

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