New Florida contractor licenses, new company licenses and license applications in October 2026: statewide, then by territory, county and trade.
Preliminary: covers licenses through Oct 28, 2026. These numbers can still change.
| Territory | New licenses | New companies | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Florida | 288 | 232 | 402 |
| Tampa Bay | 130 | 132 | 234 |
| Southwest Florida | 136 | 100 | 193 |
| Central Florida | 100 | 92 | 174 |
| Northeast Florida | 57 | 33 | 84 |
| Panhandle | 33 | 31 | 49 |
Territories are the six groups of counties LicenseDigest sorts Florida into.
| County | Territory | New licenses | New companies | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade | South Florida | 126 | 94 | 163 |
| Broward | South Florida | 75 | 65 | 99 |
| Hillsborough | Tampa Bay | 34 | 44 | 95 |
| Palm Beach | South Florida | 50 | 41 | 82 |
| Lee | Southwest Florida | 51 | 36 | 76 |
| Pinellas | Tampa Bay | 40 | 44 | 60 |
| Orange | Central Florida | 30 | 27 | 67 |
| Sarasota | Southwest Florida | 28 | 18 | 35 |
| Duval | Northeast Florida | 29 | 24 | 26 |
| Pasco | Tampa Bay | 26 | 15 | 32 |
| Manatee | Southwest Florida | 17 | 16 | 35 |
| Collier | Southwest Florida | 21 | 17 | 26 |
| Polk | Tampa Bay | 18 | 11 | 25 |
| Brevard | Central Florida | 18 | 17 | 18 |
| Seminole | Central Florida | 11 | 13 | 24 |
| County | Territory | New licenses | New companies | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alachua | Northeast Florida | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Baker | Northeast Florida | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Bay | Panhandle | 4 | 7 | 9 |
| Bradford | Northeast Florida | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Brevard | Central Florida | 18 | 17 | 18 |
| Broward | South Florida | 75 | 65 | 99 |
| Calhoun | Panhandle | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Charlotte | Southwest Florida | 10 | 4 | 13 |
| Citrus | Tampa Bay | 5 | 6 | 10 |
| Clay | Northeast Florida | 4 | 2 | 12 |
| Collier | Southwest Florida | 21 | 17 | 26 |
| Columbia | Northeast Florida | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| DeSoto | Southwest Florida | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Duval | Northeast Florida | 29 | 24 | 26 |
| Escambia | Panhandle | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| Flagler | Central Florida | 3 | 1 | 10 |
| Gadsden | Panhandle | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Gulf | Panhandle | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Hardee | Southwest Florida | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Hendry | Southwest Florida | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Hernando | Tampa Bay | 6 | 10 | 9 |
| Highlands | Southwest Florida | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Hillsborough | Tampa Bay | 34 | 44 | 95 |
| Holmes | Panhandle | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Indian River | South Florida | 5 | 7 | 8 |
| Jackson | Panhandle | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Jefferson | Panhandle | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Lake | Central Florida | 12 | 13 | 19 |
| Lee | Southwest Florida | 51 | 36 | 76 |
| Leon | Panhandle | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| Levy | Northeast Florida | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Madison | Northeast Florida | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Manatee | Southwest Florida | 17 | 16 | 35 |
| Marion | Central Florida | 6 | 9 | 11 |
| Martin | South Florida | 12 | 9 | 16 |
| Miami-Dade | South Florida | 126 | 94 | 163 |
| Monroe | South Florida | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| Nassau | Northeast Florida | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| Okaloosa | Panhandle | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| Okeechobee | South Florida | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Orange | Central Florida | 30 | 27 | 67 |
| Osceola | Central Florida | 5 | 3 | 9 |
| Palm Beach | South Florida | 50 | 41 | 82 |
| Pasco | Tampa Bay | 26 | 15 | 32 |
| Pinellas | Tampa Bay | 40 | 44 | 60 |
| Polk | Tampa Bay | 18 | 11 | 25 |
| Putnam | Northeast Florida | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Santa Rosa | Panhandle | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Sarasota | Southwest Florida | 28 | 18 | 35 |
| Seminole | Central Florida | 11 | 13 | 24 |
| St. Johns | Northeast Florida | 6 | 0 | 20 |
| St. Lucie | South Florida | 15 | 13 | 20 |
| Sumter | Tampa Bay | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Union | Northeast Florida | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Volusia | Central Florida | 13 | 9 | 16 |
| Wakulla | Panhandle | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Walton | Panhandle | 6 | 5 | 3 |
| Washington | Panhandle | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Trade | New licenses | New companies | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | 251 | 0 | 486 |
| Company license (qualified business) | 0 | 679 | 0 |
| Building | 98 | 0 | 176 |
| Air conditioning | 82 | 0 | 136 |
| Roofing | 113 | 0 | 100 |
| Plumbing | 75 | 0 | 113 |
| Residential | 57 | 0 | 70 |
| Pool and spa | 61 | 0 | 65 |
| Specialty | 57 | 0 | 58 |
| Mechanical | 28 | 0 | 32 |
| Underground utility and excavation | 20 | 0 | 38 |
| Solar | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| Pollutant storage | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Company licenses are not split by trade, so they all sit on the company license row.
These are counts from Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) public licensing records. A new license or new company is counted in the month DBPR dates it. An application has no state date, so it is counted in the month it was first seen in DBPR's applicant file. Each record is counted once, even when it shows up in more than one weekly file. A county is where the contractor's address on file is. Counts run through our Oct 29, 2026 file.
Out-of-state and unknown addresses are counted in the statewide numbers and in the trade table, and left out of the territory and county tables.
These are counts. The names, and for most of them the email address they gave the state, are on the desk that comes with our region and all-of-Florida plans. Our weekly list is Florida contractors whose general liability date on file with the county is coming up. Try a free sample for your area.