Quick answer: Florida's three certified building licenses stack by scope. The Residential Contractor (CRC) builds one, two, and three family homes up to two habitable stories. The Building Contractor (CBC) builds commercial and residential buildings up to three stories. The General Contractor (CGC) has no height or size limit. All three take the same Business and Finance exam; the trade exams get longer as the scope gets bigger. Pick the license that covers the work you plan to contract within three years, not just the work you do today.
The three licenses, in plain English
CRC: Certified Residential Contractor
The CRC covers construction, remodeling, and repair of one, two, and three family residences up to two habitable stories, plus accessory structures. If your business is houses (building, flipping, remodeling), the CRC puts your name on the permit. What it will not do: commercial buildings, and anything taller than two habitable stories.
CBC: Certified Building Contractor
The CBC covers commercial and residential buildings up to three stories, and remodeling or improvement of larger buildings when the work does not alter structural members. Townhome developments, strip centers, restaurants, low-rise offices, and every house the CRC can build: all inside CBC scope. This is the sweet spot license for most contractors whose work lives below four stories.
CGC: Certified General Contractor
The CGC is Florida's unlimited license. Any building, any height, any contract size, anywhere in the state. Trade work such as electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and roofing still belongs to those licensed trades and gets subcontracted, but no project is out of reach on scope. If high-rise, large commercial, or big development work is anywhere in your plan, this is the ceiling-free option.
How the exams compare
All three licenses require three open book, multiple choice exams with a 70 percent passing score, computer-based at Pearson VUE centers, registered through Professional Testing, Inc.:
- Business and Finance: identical for all three. 120 scored questions, 6.5 hours.
- Contract Administration and Project Management: 60 scored questions each (4.5 hours) for GC, 50 each for building, 45 each for residential.
State exam fees are the same $295 regardless of which you choose ($135 registration plus $160 across the three exams), and the DBPR application fee ($145 or $245 depending on the licensure cycle) does not change either. You are not saving meaningful money by going smaller. You are choosing scope.
How to choose
Choose by the contracts you want to sign in the next three years, not the ones you signed last year. The exams cost the same, the application costs the same, and the four year experience requirement is the same. The real cost of underbuying scope shows up later: a CRC who lands a commercial opportunity has to decline it or run a second licensing cycle to take it.
Three honest rules of thumb: if you cannot name a commercial job you would take, the CRC covers you. If your pipeline is low-rise commercial and residential, the CBC is the most license for the least exam. If you intend to build a company whose ceiling you cannot predict, take the CGC now and never revisit this question.
One more path worth knowing: if multi-state work is in your future, Florida accepts the NASCLA Accredited Examination in place of the GC trade exams. Pass it once and participating states accept the transcript. You still take Florida's Business and Finance exam.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Florida Residential Contractor (CRC) build commercial buildings?
No. The CRC covers one, two, and three family residences up to two habitable stories plus accessory structures. Commercial work requires a Building Contractor (CBC) or General Contractor (CGC) license.
Can a Building Contractor (CBC) build above three stories?
No. New construction under a CBC is limited to buildings up to three stories. A CBC can take remodeling and improvement work on larger buildings when the job does not alter structural members. Above that, you need the CGC.
Do all three licenses take the same Business and Finance exam?
Yes. The Business and Finance exam is the same 120 question, 6.5 hour open book exam for CGC, CBC, and CRC. What changes is the length of the two trade exams: 60 questions each for GC, 50 for building, 45 for residential.
Is the CGC exam harder than the CBC or CRC exam?
The format is identical: open book, multiple choice, 70 percent to pass. The GC trade exams are longer (60 scored questions per part versus 50 and 45) and the scope of material is broader, since the license itself is unlimited.
Can I upgrade from CRC to CBC or CGC later?
Yes. Contractors upgrade as their work grows, and we handle upgrade applications regularly. Starting smaller is a legitimate strategy; just price in a second round of trade exams when you move up.
Decided, or still torn?
Either way we hand you the path: tabbed and highlighted book sets for GC, building, and residential, shipped in 48 hours, with prep courses, exam registration, and your DBPR application done with you. Torn between two licenses? That is a five minute phone call: (954) 598-1472.
ContractorExamHQ is an independent, private company and is not affiliated with the DBPR, CILB, ECLB, Professional Testing, Inc., Pearson VUE, or any state agency. Exam details are current as of August 2026 and can change; confirm with the DBPR before relying on them.