How to Hire a Roofer in Florida Without Getting Burned

Every hurricane season, Florida gets a wave of two things: roof damage, and people who make a living off roof damage. Some of them are excellent contractors. Some of them will take your deposit and disappear across the county line.

This guide is the checklist we'd hand our own family members. It works whether you hire us or not.

The 2-minute license check most homeowners skip

Florida requires roofing contractors to be licensed by the state, not just "covered," not just "bonded": licensed. Here's the check:

1. Ask for the contractor's license number. Florida roofing licenses start with CCC.
2. Go to myfloridalicense.com, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation's public lookup.
3. Search the number or the business name. You're looking for: the license is current and active, the name matches the company actually quoting you, and there's no discipline history.

If a contractor hesitates on step 1, you already have your answer. (Ours, for the record, is posted on every estimate we send.)

Coverage is the second half: ask for a certificate of coverage for both liability and workers' compensation, sent directly from the contractor's agent. A photocopied PDF from the contractor is not verification. Certificates get forged after storms more often than anyone likes to admit.

Nine red flags, in order of how fast you should walk away

1. They knocked on your door after a storm. Reputable local roofers are buried in calls after a storm. The ones with time to canvass neighborhoods are usually out-of-state "storm chasers" who follow weather systems, subcontract everything, and are gone before the first leak shows up.
2. They want a big deposit in cash. In Florida, a contractor who takes more than 10% and doesn't apply for permits within 30 days can be violating state law (s. 489.126, Florida Statutes). Modest deposits are normal; "half up front, cash only" is not.
3. They offer to "cover your deductible." However it's phrased, this is usually carrier fraud with your name attached to it.
4. No CCC license, or someone else's. Some operators "rent" a license from a distant qualifier. If the license holder has never seen your roof, that's the arrangement you're in.
5. No physical local address. A truck and a phone number is not a company. Where do you go if something goes wrong in year three?
6. Pressure to sign today. Real quotes stay valid for weeks. Urgency is a sales tactic, not a roofing condition.
7. The quote is thousands below everyone else's. The money comes back out somewhere: skipped permits, no tear-off, thinner labor, or change orders mid-job.
8. They won't itemize. A one-line quote ("Roof replacement: $18,000") makes comparison impossible, which is the point of it.
9. They badmouth every competitor by name. Confidence is fine. A pitch built on trashing others usually means the work can't speak for itself.

The seven questions that expose a weak contractor

Ask every bidder the same seven, and write the answers down:

1. "What's your CCC license number?" (Then actually check it: two minutes, see above.)
2. "Who is physically on my roof, your employees or subs?" Neither answer is disqualifying, but they should answer plainly and explain who supervises.
3. "What's included: tear-off, permits, dry-in, drip edge, code upgrades?" Florida Building Code wind requirements change; the quote should say who pays if the inspector requires more.
4. "What are the workmanship AND manufacturer warranties, in years, in writing?" Two different things. The manufacturer covers the shingle; the workmanship warranty covers the installation, and it's only as good as the company standing behind it.
5. "Are you certified by the manufacturer you're quoting?" Certifications gate the best warranty tiers. (This is why we maintain CertainTeed Premier status holding it. It lets us offer warranty coverage uncertified installers can't.)
6. "Who pulls the permit?" The answer must be the contractor, under their license. A contractor who asks you to pull an owner's permit is shifting liability onto you.
7. "When do I pay?" The schedule should track milestones. Never the majority before materials are on your driveway.

What a fair Florida roofing quote actually contains

Line items you should see on every legitimate estimate:

Line item	Why it matters
Tear-off & disposal	The most commonly "forgotten" cost in lowball quotes
Underlayment type	Florida code requires a sealed roof deck approach; the underlayment spec is where quality shows
Material brand, line, and color	"Architectural shingles" is not a spec; "CertainTeed Landmark, Weathered Wood" is
Permit fees	Confirms they're actually pulling one
Flashing & drip edge	Small line, big leak-prevention
Workmanship warranty term	In years, in writing
Payment schedule	Milestone-based

If you'd rather skip three sales meetings just to learn what your roof costs, our online estimator measures your actual roof from satellite imagery and shows you a real price range in about 30 seconds, free, before you ever talk to anyone. Then compare every quote you collect against it.

Local vs. national: the question behind the question

National chains and private-equity roll-ups are buying Florida roofing companies at record pace. Nothing wrong with scale, but ask what happens in year six of your workmanship warranty if the brand that installed your roof has been sold twice since.

The practical test isn't the logo. It's: Is there a physical office within an hour of my house, with the same name on it, that's been there for years? For us that's Clermont (headquarters), Orange City, and Bradenton. Come knock on the door. Someone will answer it.