The most useful hour before you sign with a pool builder is the one you spend checking them. Knowing how to check if a pool contractor is licensed in Florida takes ten minutes on a state website, and the county permit records that back it up are public too. We are A&E Pools in Fort Myers, our license is CPC1459515, and we expect to be checked. Here is what we would look at from your side of the table.
A pool license and a general contractor license are not the same thing
Florida licenses pool contractors at the state level, not city by city. The class you want starts with CPC, the certified pool and spa contractor license. A general contractor license is a different exam with a different scope.
It matters because a concrete pool is an engineered shell sitting in sandy Southwest Florida soil with a high water table under it. Steel schedule, shell thickness, bond beam and the hydrostatic relief valve all get inspected.
Step 1: how to check if a pool contractor is licensed in Florida
Go to the Florida DBPR site (myfloridalicense.com), the state licensing department, and use Verify a License. Search by license number or business name, then read four things:
- Status. You want current and active, not delinquent or expired.
- The qualifying agent. The licensed human the company operates under. Confirm that person is tied to the company on your contract.
- The class. Confirm it is a pool and spa class, residential or certified.
- Complaint and discipline history. The state publishes it. Read it instead of assuming.
A license number is not private. It belongs on the truck, the estimate, the contract and the permit application. Ours is on our about us page. If a builder will not put theirs in writing, that is your answer.
Step 2: make the insurance certificate come straight from the agent
Ask the builder’s insurance agency to email you a certificate of insurance (the one page summary of a policy) with your name and job address on it. Two coverages matter: general liability, which covers damage to your property, and workers compensation, which covers an injury on your lot. A PDF forwarded by the builder proves nothing about today. One from the agency does.
Step 3: look up the permits actually pulled under that license
This is the check most homeowners skip, and it separates a real record from a photo gallery. Lee County keeps searchable public permit records through its Building and Permitting Services citizen portal. Ask the builder for three addresses they finished in the last year, then look each one up and read the permit history under it: what was filed, when, and whether it reached final inspection.
One local catch: Lee County only issues permits for unincorporated areas. Cape Coral runs its own building division, the City of Fort Myers runs its own, and the Village of Estero and the Town of Fort Myers Beach each run theirs. Collier, Charlotte and Sarasota counties keep separate records and their own timelines. Search the jurisdiction each house sits in.
A builder filing in Cape Coral every week knows that plan reviewer’s habits. One who files there twice a year is learning on your job.
Step 4: the contractor pulls the permit, never you
If a builder asks you to pull the permit as an owner builder, walk. That form makes you responsible for supervision, code compliance and anyone hurt on the job.
In Lee County, pool permit review typically runs two to six weeks, then inspections come after excavation, after steel and shell, after plumbing and electrical rough in, and at final. The sequence is on our permits and planning page.
Step 5: read the reviews about the build, not the sales visit
Anyone can be charming for one kitchen table appointment. Look for reviews describing the middle of the job: how the crew left the site, what happened when a delivery ran late, how the punch list got closed. Our Google profile shows 4.8 stars from 49 reviews, 46 of them five star, and more customer reviews sit on the site.
What the contract has to spell out before a deposit
- Scope in plain numbers. Dimensions and depths, shell specification, deck square footage, equipment by manufacturer and model, not “premium package.”
- The engineered plan set, signed and sealed, and confirmation it is the set going to the building department.
- Allowances for tile, coping and interior finish as dollar figures, with what happens if you pick above or below them.
- The safety barrier. Florida Statute 515 requires a barrier before your pool passes final, so the contract should say who supplies it.
- The extras: screen enclosure, electrical hookup, gas line, irrigation repair, sod and cleanup.
- Warranty terms in writing. Whoever you hire, ask them to put down what is covered, for how long, and who honors it, then read it before you sign rather than after.
On deposits, Florida law is on your side. Under Section 489.126, a contractor who takes more than 10 percent up front on residential work must apply for permits within 30 days and start work within 90 days of them being issued.
Draw schedules tied to real milestones
Payments should attach to work you can walk outside and look at, not dates on a calendar: excavation, steel and shell, rough in once it passes inspection, deck, then interior finish and startup, with a real balance held to final.
Change orders you should expect on a Southwest Florida lot
Honest builders raise these before the dig. Ask how each is priced, per yard, per hour or per day, so a surprise comes with a number:
- Rock or hard caprock in the excavation, which slows the dig and can change the equipment.
- Dewatering when the water table is high, common near canals and at the end of a wet season.
- Spoil haul off when there is nowhere on the lot to spread the dirt.
- Limited access. Canal lots in Cape Coral and tight infill lots in Fort Myers often cannot take a full size excavator to the backyard, so material moves by smaller machine or over the top.
Florida lien law, in plain English
Once work starts, notice to owner letters arrive from suppliers and subcontractors. That is not a complaint about you. It means they supplied labor or material to your property and could file a lien if unpaid. Your protection: a lien release with every draw, and a final release before the last check.
Red flags that should stop the conversation
- A large cash deposit, or a check made out to a person, not the company.
- No engineered plans, or plans that appear only after the deposit.
- Pressure to sign today because the price expires tonight.
- No local address you can drive to. Ours is 13720 Jetport Commerce Pkwy #13 in Fort Myers.
- Reluctance to give a license number, send insurance, or name the department they file with.
The questions to ask on the site visit
Bring these. What is your license number and who is the qualifier? Which building department gets this permit, and what is review running there now? How many pools do you have under construction this month? Who runs my job day to day? What are the allowances, and what warranty terms will you put in writing?
What we hand over when asked: license CPC1459515, memberships with the Florida Swimming Pool Association, the BBB and National Pool Partners, our Pentair partnership, and addresses of recent work in Lee, Collier, Charlotte and Sarasota counties you can drive by. We have built here since 2017, more than 500 pools.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check a Florida pool contractor’s license?
Search the license number or business name on the DBPR site at myfloridalicense.com under Verify a License. Confirm the status is current and active, the class starts with CPC, and the qualifying agent is tied to the company on your contract. Then read the complaint history.
How much deposit is normal for a pool in Florida?
No single legal number exists, but Section 489.126 sets an obligation: a contractor taking more than 10 percent up front on residential work must apply for permits within 30 days and start work within 90 days of them being issued, unless you agree in writing to more time.
Can I pull the pool permit myself to save money?
You can, and you should not. An owner builder permit makes you responsible for supervision, code compliance and the people working on your property, and it removes the paper trail tying the job to a licensed contractor.
Talk to a builder who expects to be checked
Run every check above on us. Then book a free consultation and 3D design on our new pool construction page or call (239) 888-6617, Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 7 PM. You get a license number, a plan set and a real scope before anyone asks for a deposit.
