King Contractor School
    From handyman to licensed business

    From Handyman to Licensed General Contractor in Florida

    Florida law caps handyman work at $1,000 per job and forbids permits, electrical, plumbing or structural work. Get licensed and you 10x your pricing ceiling overnight.

    This course is currently taught in Portuguese. English and Spanish versions are in development; no launch date has been announced.

    I want to become a GCVersão em Português

    Today

    Sub of the sub, day labor, cash

    Path

    King Training course, taught in Portuguese

    With the license

    Licensed General Contractor

    The $1,000 ceiling is the handyman trap

    Florida Statute 489 limits unlicensed handymen to jobs under $1,000, combined labor and materials. Above that, you need a Contractor license. That ceiling is exactly what keeps handymen poor while licensed GCs sign $50K kitchens.

    Your handyman experience IS qualifying experience

    Repairs, installs, demos, drywall patches, flooring, cabinetry, exterior work, DBPR counts these toward the 4 years needed for the General/Building/Residential Contractor exam.

    From handyman to GC: the math

    • 4 years documented (your existing customer base + 1099s + photos)
    • $2,500–4,000 total investment (course + DBPR + insurance)
    • One signed kitchen ($25K) repays everything
    • Yearly earnings as GC: $80K–250K

    Your jobsite experience is already worth gold

    King Training is a course taught in Portuguese that takes you from the DBPR application to Pearson VUE approval, even if you've never set foot in a college classroom.

    See the price

    Frequently asked questions

    What's the legal limit for handyman work in Florida?›

    $1,000 per job (labor + materials combined), and no permits, no electrical, no plumbing, no structural. Anything bigger requires a Contractor license.

    Does handyman experience count for the GC exam?›

    Yes, the variety of trades you've touched is actually an advantage. Document with customer invoices, 1099s, photos and inspections.

    How long until I'm licensed?›

    5–7 months total: ~90 days studying, 30 days DBPR application, then exam scheduling and license issuance.

    Can I keep handyman work after getting licensed?›

    Yes, you'll just charge dramatically more for the same work because you can now bundle larger scopes and pull permits.