InstaBids

How do I check a fence contractor in Florida myself?

Start by asking which fence task the bidder proposes, then use the optional records that actually exist for it: a Broward or Palm Beach county contractor search, a DBPR entry if the bidder names a state licence, and the DFS workers' compensation coverage and exemption records.

Source: Broward County contractor licence search, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Palm Beach County contractor regulations, read 14 October 2026.
Source: DBPR Online Services search, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Florida DFS Proof of Coverage search, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Florida DFS workers' compensation exemptions, read 14 October 2026.

Researched by the InstaBids editorial team. Last checked: 14 October 2026

A new wooden fence post set in fresh concrete with level rails.

Key facts

Which public records can I look up for a fence contractor?

Check up to three optional sources for a fence contractor: the Broward or Palm Beach county contractor search, the DBPR state search when the bidder names a state licence number, and the DFS workers' compensation records for the employer named on your written scope. Keep the search date with each result.

Source: Broward County contractor licence search, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Palm Beach County contractor regulations, read 14 October 2026.
Source: DBPR Online Services search, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Florida DFS Proof of Coverage search, read 14 October 2026.

DBPR describes its search, read 14 October 2026, this way: “The DBPR Online Services website provides information about applicants and licensed individuals for those professions and businesses that are regulated by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.”

Source: DBPR Online Services search, read 14 October 2026.

Ask the bidder which of these records it holds before you search. A crew whose written scope is posts, panels and a manual gate may have no state entry at all, so an empty DBPR result sends you to the job-scope wording in the next section rather than telling you anything about the company.

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How do I read the state licence record?

Ask which fence task the bidder proposes before reading any state record. Posts, panels and a manual gate form a different written scope from a powered gate opener or a masonry wall, and the official wording quoted below addresses job scope and paid electrical work in separate passages.

Source: The 2026 Florida Statutes, section 489.117, read 14 October 2026.
Source: DBPR Unlicensed Activity: what requires a license, read 14 October 2026.

Section 489.117(4)(a)1. of the 2026 Florida Statutes, read 14 October 2026, states: “A person whose job scope does not substantially correspond to either the job scope of one of the contractor categories defined in s. 489.105(3)(a)-(o), or the job scope of one of the certified specialty contractor categories established by board rule, is not required to register with the board.”

Source: The 2026 Florida Statutes, section 489.117, read 14 October 2026.

Section 489.117(4)(a)3. of the same statute, read the same day, states: “A local government may continue to offer a license for veneer, including aluminum or vinyl gutters, siding, soffit, or fascia; rooftop painting, coating, and cleaning above three stories in height; or fence installation and erection if the local government imposed such a licensing requirement before January 1, 2021.”

Source: The 2026 Florida Statutes, section 489.117, read 14 October 2026.

If your request includes wiring a powered gate opener, DBPR's unlicensed activity page, read 14 October 2026, states: “If you pay someone to perform even the simplest of electrical work, such as connecting two wires, you must hire a licensee.” Ask whether the fence bidder or a separate electrical business would do that part, and get the answer on the line item.

Source: DBPR Unlicensed Activity: what requires a license, read 14 October 2026.

When a bidder does name a state record, for example because the same company also takes on wider building work, DBPR's business information page explains what you need: “you will need to know their license number, the contractor’s name or the name of the business entity.”

Source: DBPR construction industry business information, read 14 October 2026.

Read the status wording on any record you open. DBPR's construction FAQ, read 14 October 2026, answers its current-active question: “Your contractor’s license is current and you may practice within your scope of work.” Keep each result next to the fence task it concerns, so a record for one company is never read as an answer about another.

Source: DBPR construction industry FAQs, read 14 October 2026.

Does the county also keep a record?

Possibly, depending on where the job is and what that local government kept in place. Check the Broward or Palm Beach county contractor search for the business named on your written scope, and ask the bidder whether it holds a county card; a county record and any permit for your fence are separate questions.

Source: Broward County contractor licence search, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Palm Beach County contractor regulations, read 14 October 2026.
Source: The 2026 Florida Statutes, section 489.117, read 14 October 2026.

The county's certification FAQ answers what a Certificate of Competency is: “This is the term used for a Palm Beach County issued contractor's license.”

Source: Palm Beach County contractors certification FAQ, read 14 October 2026.

Broward's contractor licence search tells you to “Select one of the three search methods to find the Contractor Licenses”, and one of those methods uses a field labelled “CC Number:”.

Source: Broward County contractor licence search, read 14 October 2026.

Ask the bidder which county issued any card it shows you, and keep that county's search result with the written scope for the fence line it concerns.

How can I check workers' compensation coverage?

Check the employer named for your fence crew in the DFS Proof of Coverage search if you want this optional lookup. Keep the search date with your written scope, because DFS describes the database as selected information reported by the insurance carrier.

Source: Florida DFS Proof of Coverage search, read 14 October 2026.

The DFS Proof of Coverage page, read 14 October 2026, states: “The information contained herein is a representative reflection of selected information reported by the insurance carrier and maintained by the Department of Financial Services, Division of Workers' Compensation.”

Source: Florida DFS Proof of Coverage search, read 14 October 2026.

Ask who employs the people digging post holes and setting posts, and who employs anyone brought in for a welded gate or a gate opener. A fence job can involve more than one business, and each answer points to a different employer name to search.

DFS's exemption page answers a different question: “Upon issuance of an exemption, the officer or member is not considered an employee of the business and may not recover workers' compensation benefits. Exemptions are issued to officers of a corporation and members of limited liability companies - not to the business.” If an owner offers an exemption, keep the person's name with the result and do not treat it as a list of the crew.

Source: Florida DFS workers' compensation exemptions, read 14 October 2026.

What should I ask for in writing about insurance?

Ask the fence business, if you want one, for a certificate of insurance that names you as certificate holder at the address on your written scope. The request is optional; send any question about what the document means to the issuer rather than reading coverage into it yourself.

Palm Beach County's contractor regulations page, read 14 October 2026, advises homeowners: “Ask to see their County or State license and Liability and Workers Compensation insurance.”

Source: Palm Beach County contractor regulations, read 14 October 2026.

Match each document to a line item. A fence company that subcontracts a custom gate to a welding shop, or a gate opener to an electrical business, should tell you which business does which task, so the document you hold names the company on that line.

If the job grows from replacing panels on existing posts to a new line with new posts, ask for an updated written scope before collecting more documents. Keep the earlier version beside it, so you can see whether the company, the fence line or the handoff between businesses changed.

How do I describe the fence job before checking anyone?

Describe the fence line, its height and material, every gate and how it opens, and whether removal and disposal of the old fence are included. Add photographs of each corner and gate position, so every bidder answers the same written scope.

Mark where you want the line to run and ask each bidder who confirms the property corners and who arranges for underground utility lines to be located before anyone digs. Ask whether your homeowners' association or community needs to approve the design, and keep its answer with the request.

Decide these three choices before you compare anyone:

  1. New posts set in the ground, or new panels hung on posts that stay.
  2. A manual gate only, or a powered gate opener that adds wiring.
  3. Old fence removed and hauled away by the bidder, or left for you to handle.

What should my request include?

Describe the fence task in a written scope with photographs of the full line, each gate position and any old fence to remove. List posts, panels, gates and disposal as separate items, then ask each bidder to list anything its response excludes.

Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection.

Source: How InstaBids works, read 14 October 2026.

What should I do before I sign?

Check your fence agreement for each line item, a start date, a finish date and the payment schedule. Ask who removes the old fence, who handles disposal and who applies for any permit the job needs, and match the business name on the agreement to the records you looked up.

Source: FTC home improvement guidance, read 14 October 2026.

The FTC's home improvement guidance, read 14 October 2026, states: “Get multiple estimates. A written estimate should include a description of the work to be done, materials, completion date, and the price.”

Source: FTC home improvement guidance, read 14 October 2026.

Ask for a change order in writing if the post spacing, gate hardware or line position moves after layout, and decide on the revised scope before the crew continues. Keep the final written scope, the photographs and your dated lookups together with the signed agreement.

Next: How InstaBids works, Florida hiring checklist.

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Source: How InstaBids works, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Pilot FAQ, read 14 October 2026.

Sources for the facts on this page

Sources checked: 14 October 2026.

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