1.3 Eligibility, Experience Paths & Financial Responsibility

Eligibility is a statute-and-form problem, not an exam-score problem

Quick Answer: F.S. 489.111 requires age 18, good moral character, and one listed experience/education method. CILB 6-G (July 2024, Class A qualifying a business; Class B uses the matching 6-H/5-H set) is how you prove it. 61G4-15.006 (effective 5/5/2024) is the credit-report and 660 FICO-derived rule. 61G4-15.003 is $100,000 public liability / $25,000 property damage with State of Florida, DBPR, CILB as certificate holder. Passing PTI/Pearson VUE does not skip those gates.

DBPR's examination checklist is blunt: passing the examination allows you to apply for certified licensure; a passing grade alone does not qualify you. People do sit the exams while they finish a foreman year — that is a personal timing choice, not a waiver. Confirm current application forms (5-G individual, 6-G qualifying a business, and the Class B H-series counterparts) on MyFloridaLicense; 61-35.010 incorporates those forms.

Experience methods on CILB 6-G (July 2024)

Check one box. The form states that a construction-related degree means a baccalaureate from an accredited four-year college in engineering, architecture, or building construction, and that one year of experience equals 2,000 hours. Class A applicants should be able to show one year on systems in excess of 25 tons of cooling and 500,000 BTU heating — that is the capacity that Class B cannot contract, and 6-G's employment-history checkboxes ask for it.

Those six boxes track F.S. 489.111(2)(c). The statute also states junior/community-college courses count as accredited college-level courses, and it spells out HVAC upgrades in 489.111(2)(c)5: active certified Class C → Class B after 3 years in classification and the Class B exam; Class C → Class A after 4 years and the Class A exam; Class B → Class A after 1 year and the Class A exam. Method 6 on 6-G is the Class A upgrade line (B ≥1 year or C ≥4 years). Do not invent a “90-day Class B upgrade.”

A foreman on this form is not a courtesy title on a business card. The statute describes a foreman as in charge of a group of workers and usually responsible to a superintendent or contractor. A lead technician who directed helpers, assigned tasks, and was the job-site decision maker can document that year; a helper who never ran a crew cannot relabel three helper years as foreman time. List employer name and address, dates, phone, employer's license number, a contact, and the work (air-conditioning equipment, heating, refrigeration, sheet metal ductwork, and — for Class A — systems over 25 tons / 500,000 BTU).

Financial responsibility and financial stability (61G4-15.006, effective 5/5/2024)

The rule splits two grounds for refusal.

Financial responsibility: you must provide a current consumer credit report (as defined in 61G4-12.011) that does not disclose any unsatisfied judgments or liens against you. There must also be no unsatisfied judgments or liens against the business entity you previously qualified as primary qualifier or that you have applied to qualify. Satisfied items that still print on the report need proof of satisfaction, and bankruptcies need discharge proof, as the 6-G instructions describe.

Financial stability: proof of a credit score, FICO derived, of 660 or higher. Applicants who cannot provide 660 or higher meet stability by completing a 14-hour financial responsibility course approved by the Board.

Both responsibility and stability can be met with one clean current credit report that has a FICO-derived 660 or higher and no unsatisfied judgments or liens (again including the business entity). A 680 score with an open $8,000 materialman's judgment is not a pass — the judgment kills responsibility even though 680 clears the stability number. A 640 score with a clean report still needs the 14-hour course for stability. The old “660 bond” alternative is not the current (5/5/2024) rule; do not study a letter-of-credit workaround as if it still substitutes for the course.

Insurance (61G4-15.003) and workers' compensation

As a prerequisite to initial issuance, renewal of an active certificate, or a status change, the applicant attests to public liability and property damage insurance in the Board's amounts, maintained for the life of an active certificate. For Air Conditioning contractors the table is $100,000 public liability and $25,000 property damage. That is the same floor as mechanical, roofing, plumbing, and most other Division II trades. It is not the General/Building contractor floor of $300,000 / $50,000.

The certificate holder on the Certificate of Insurance must be the State of Florida, Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the Construction Industry Licensing Board. The COI must show the issuing date, agent, exact business-organization name (and d/b/a), insurer, policy number, effective date, expiration date, and those aggregate amounts. Naming only a municipality, or only “DBPR” without CILB, is how a file stalls.

Workers' compensation follows Chapter 440, Florida Statutes, or a valid exemption. Construction employers with employees generally must carry coverage; officer exemptions are a Division of Workers' Compensation process, not a CILB waiver of job-site reality. Commercial contracts often demand $1 million liability — that is a contract minimum, not the license minimum. The exam tests the Board numbers.

After the exams, the license application still needs electronic fingerprints (FDLE/FBI), the experience affidavits, and the insurance/credit package. Certified licenses renew August 31 of even-numbered years with 14 hours of Board-approved continuing education per biennium (at least one hour each of workplace safety, workers' compensation, business practices, advanced-module building code, and laws and rules) under F.S. 489.115 and 61G4-18.001 — you will study that block later; do not skip CE planning once the certificate issues.

Florida scenario: Miami-Dade lead installer, 640 FICO, four documented years

Andre has been a mechanic in Miami-Dade for three years and a foreman for one year directing two helpers on changeouts and light commercial splits. He wants certified Class B first. Method 5 on CILB 6-G fits: four years as worker or foreman with at least one year as foreman, and 2,000 hours per year. His credit report shows a FICO-derived 640 and no unsatisfied judgments or liens. 61G4-15.006(1) responsibility is met. 61G4-15.006(2) stability is not: 640 is below 660, so he must complete the Board-approved 14-hour financial responsibility course. He cannot “bond around” the score under the 5/5/2024 rule. He also needs a COI with $100,000 / $25,000 and State of Florida, DBPR, CILB as holder — not a homeowner policy and not a COI that names only the City of Miami. If he later upgrades to Class A, Method 6 requires an active Class B for at least one year plus the Class A trade exam, and the Class A employment checkboxes will look for one year on systems over 25 tons / 500,000 BTU.

Traps: (1) Counting helper years as foreman years. (2) Treating 659 as “close enough” to 660 — it is not; take the 14-hour course. (3) Ignoring an unsatisfied lien because the FICO number is high. (4) Using GC insurance limits or omitting CILB from the certificate holder. (5) Assuming the Pearson VUE printout is the license.