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How do I check an irrigation contractor in Florida myself?

Start by asking whether the irrigation job connects new lines to your drinking-water supply, then use the optional records that apply: a Florida DBPR plumbing record (CF or RF), any irrigation specialty record the bidder names, a Broward or Palm Beach county contractor search, and the DFS workers' compensation coverage and exemption records.

Source: Florida DBPR, what requires a licence (unlicensed activity table), read 14 October 2026.
Source: Florida DBPR, construction industry licence types and forms, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Florida DBPR, licence search, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Broward County, contractor licence lookup form, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Palm Beach County, rules for hiring contractors, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Florida Division of Workers' Compensation, coverage lookup, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Florida Division of Workers' Compensation, officer and member exemptions, read 14 October 2026.

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

A pop-up sprinkler head spraying a fine arc of water over green grass.

Key facts

Which public records can I look up for an irrigation contractor?

Use the DBPR licence search when a sprinkler bidder names a plumbing or irrigation specialty licence, your county's contractor search for a local card, and the DFS workers' compensation database for the business that will employ the crew. Every one of these lookups is optional, and each result is worth dating.

Source: Florida DBPR, licence search, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Florida DBPR, construction industry licence types and forms, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Broward County, contractor licence lookup form, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Palm Beach County, rules for hiring contractors, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Florida Division of Workers' Compensation, coverage lookup, read 14 October 2026.

Ask the bidder which record it holds before you search. DBPR's construction page lists the plumbing category as CF and RF, and separately lists irrigation specialty application forms such as "Certified Irrigation Specialty Contractor as an Individual – Active (CILB 5-AC)", so the two are different records to look for.

Source: Florida DBPR, construction industry licence types and forms, read 14 October 2026.

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How do I read the state licence record?

Ask which irrigation task the bidder proposes before reading the DBPR record. DBPR's unlicensed activity table lists paid irrigation installation that connects lines to potable water under Needs a DBPR License, and work on systems with a backflow preventer already connected under Does not need a DBPR License.

Source: Florida DBPR, what requires a licence (unlicensed activity table), read 14 October 2026.

DBPR's unlicensed activity page, read 14 October 2026, lists under its Needs a DBPR License column: “Perform plumbing work or irrigation installation that requires the contractor to connect lines to potable (drinking) water for compensation.”

Source: Florida DBPR, what requires a licence (unlicensed activity table), read 14 October 2026.

The same row of that table, under its Does not need a DBPR License column, reads: “Install or repair irrigation systems that have a backflow preventer connected to a potable (drinking) water supply regardless of compensation.” Ask the bidder whether your job adds a new connection to the drinking-water line or works only downstream of a backflow preventer that is already there, and get that answer on the line item.

Source: Florida DBPR, what requires a licence (unlicensed activity table), read 14 October 2026.

DBPR's construction page, read 14 October 2026, defines the CF and RF category: "A “plumbing contractor” means a contractor whose contracting business consists of the execution of contracts requiring the experience, financial means, knowledge, and skill to install, maintain, repair, alter, extend, or, when not prohibited by law, design plumbing."

Source: Florida DBPR, construction industry licence types and forms, read 14 October 2026.

The same definition continues: “A plumbing contractor may install, maintain, repair, alter, extend, or design the following without obtaining any additional local regulatory license, certificate, or registration:” One item in the list that follows reads “irrigation systems; or”.

Source: Florida DBPR, construction industry licence types and forms, read 14 October 2026.

For the R side, the same page states: "A “registered contractor” means any contractor who has registered with the department pursuant to fulfilling the competency requirements in the jurisdiction for which the registration is issued. Registered contractors may contract only in such jurisdictions." Compare an RF record's jurisdiction with the address where the sprinklers go.

Source: Florida DBPR, construction industry licence types and forms, read 14 October 2026.

If the bidder holds the irrigation specialty instead, DBPR describes specialty contractors generally: "A “specialty contractor” means a contractor whose scope of work and responsibility is limited to a particular phase of construction and whose scope is limited to a subset of the activities described in the categories established in s. 489.105, F.S." Ask the bidder which irrigation tasks its specialty covers, and do not read it as the same record as CF or RF.

Source: Florida DBPR, construction industry licence types and forms, read 14 October 2026.

Florida's specialty contractor rule, 61G4-15.100 of the Florida Administrative Code (amended 28 August 2024, read 14 October 2026), states in its irrigation paragraph: “An irrigation system includes all: piping; fittings; sprinklers; drip irrigation products; valves; irrigation controllers; control wiring; rain sensors; water pumps, water conservation devices; water harvesting systems; irrigation main lines downstream of a utility potable water meter or utility alternative water supply distribution line and dedicated backflow prevention device; and associated components installed for the delivery and application of water for the purpose of irrigation. Irrigation systems used for agricultural purposes shall not be included within the scope of this rule. An irrigation specialty contractor is precluded from conducting work on water wells or pumps per Florida Plumbing Code and Section 373.323(10), Florida Statutes.” Ask a specialty bidder who makes the connection to your drinking-water line and who installs the backflow preventer.

Source: Florida Administrative Code, rule 61G4-15.100 certified specialty contractors, read 14 October 2026.

Status wording matters as much as the category. Where a record says current and active, DBPR's FAQ gives this meaning: “Your contractor’s license is current and you may practice within your scope of work.”

Source: Florida DBPR, construction status questions, read 14 October 2026.

Where it says delinquent and active, the FAQ reads: “Your contractor’s license was not renewed by the expiration date. The status of your license before the expiration date was active. You may not practice with this license until the status has been updated.”

Source: Florida DBPR, construction status questions, read 14 October 2026.

Bring the licence number, the individual's name or the business name to the search, since DBPR's business information page lists those three as the details you need. Then compare the business on the record with the one on your sprinkler proposal, and note whether the expiration date shown falls after your planned finish date.

Source: Florida DBPR, construction business details, read 14 October 2026.

Does the county also keep a record?

Sometimes. Broward and Palm Beach County each run a contractor search for local cards, so you can search a bidder's name there as well as on DBPR. Ask which county card number a bidder holds, and keep a county record separate from the state plumbing record.

Source: Broward County, contractor licence lookup form, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Palm Beach County, rules for hiring contractors, read 14 October 2026.

Broward's search form has a field labelled CC Number for the county's own card number. Put a DBPR licence number into the DBPR search instead.

Source: Broward County, contractor licence lookup form, read 14 October 2026.
Source: Florida DBPR, licence search, read 14 October 2026.

Palm Beach County's contractor FAQ, read 14 October 2026, defines its Certificate of Competency: “This is the term used for a Palm Beach County issued contractor's license.”

Source: Palm Beach County, Certificate of Competency questions, read 14 October 2026.

How can I check workers' compensation coverage?

Search the DFS Proof of Coverage database, if you choose, for the employer of the people trenching your lawn and setting sprinkler heads. Write the search date on your written scope, because DFS presents the data as selected information that insurance carriers report to it.

Source: Florida Division of Workers' Compensation, coverage lookup, read 14 October 2026.

Three roles on an irrigation job can sit with different employers: the trenching crew, whoever ties the system into the water line at the backflow preventer, and an electrician if a pump or controller circuit needs new wiring. Get each employer's name in writing and search each one separately.

An exemption answers another question entirely. DFS explains that exemptions go to corporate officers and LLC members rather than to the business, and that an exempt officer or member is not considered an employee of the business and may not recover workers' compensation benefits. Store an owner's exemption with that person's name, never as proof about a crew.

Source: Florida Division of Workers' Compensation, officer and member exemptions, read 14 October 2026.

What should I ask for in writing about insurance?

Ask the sprinkler company for a certificate of insurance only if you want one, made out to you at the property address on your written scope. Nothing about this is compulsory, and the issuer, not your own reading, is the right place to take any question about what the certificate covers.

One local tip on this comes from Palm Beach County's contractor regulations page, read 14 October 2026: “Ask to see their County or State license and Liability and Workers Compensation insurance.”

Source: Palm Beach County, rules for hiring contractors, read 14 October 2026.

Pair every certificate with the work it relates to. Lawn trenching, the tie-in at the backflow preventer and pump wiring can each be done by a different business, so a certificate is only useful next to the line item that business performs.

How do I describe the irrigation job before checking anyone?

Describe the water source, the areas each zone should cover, the head and controller types you want, and where the backflow preventer sits now or should go. Add photographs of the meter area, the controller and each lawn or bed, so every bidder answers the same written scope.

Name the water source plainly: your drinking-water supply, a private well, a lake or canal pump, or reclaimed water if your utility supplies it. Ask each bidder who arranges for underground utility lines to be located before trenching, and who restores sod and beds afterwards.

If you want the controller programmed, ask the bidder to write down who sets the watering schedule, and take any question about watering days to your town or water utility.

Three either-or choices shape a sprinkler bid:

  1. A new connection to the drinking-water line, or work on a system whose backflow preventer is already in place.
  2. Repairs to existing zones and heads, or a new layout from scratch.
  3. A new controller and rain sensor included, or the existing ones kept.

What should my request include?

Photograph the water meter, any backflow preventer already fitted, the controller and every zone, then write a scope that splits the drinking-water connection, trenching, heads, controller and sod repair into their own items. Ask bidders to name, in their own responses, whatever they leave out.

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What should I do before I sign?

Compare the sprinkler agreement against your written scope item by item, and look for a start date, a completion date and when each payment falls due. Confirm who makes the drinking-water connection, who installs or tests the backflow preventer and who applies for any permit, then match the business name to your lookups.

The FTC's home improvement guidance, read 14 October 2026, advises: “Even if your state doesn’t require a written agreement, ask for one.” Its list of contract contents includes “an estimated start and completion date”.

Source: Federal Trade Commission, avoiding home improvement problems, read 14 October 2026.

When digging shows that a zone must move, extra heads are needed or the backflow preventer needs replacing, ask for a written change order and agree on it before trenching continues. File the signed agreement with the photographs, every scope version and your dated lookups.

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