Florida Window, Door and Glass Contractor Licensing

Florida has two specialty categories for the people who put openings into buildings: window and door installation, and glass and glazing. They sound alike but are written very differently. One is built around hurricane protection and retrofit work, the other around glass, storefronts and curtain walls, and each has its own examination.

This guide sets them side by side, covers the garage door category next to them, and explains how a company gets one of these credentials. Everything below was checked against rule text and board documents on October 8, 2026.

At a glance

• Both live in one rule. Window and door installation is item (j) and glass and glazing is item (s) of rule 61G4-15.100, effective May 5, 2024 and amended August 28, 2024.
• Glass and glazing was not repealed. Its old stand alone rule, 61G4-15.018, was repealed in 2024 and the category moved into the consolidated list.
• They are voluntary. F.S. 489.113(6) says board established specialty categories do not create a mandatory license requirement.
• Different exams. The window and door specialty exam is 50 questions over 2.5 hours. The glass and glazing exam is 80 questions over 5 hours. Both need a 70% score (DBPR candidate booklet, effective July 2024).
• Insurance floor. A specialty contractor carries $100,000 in public liability and $25,000 in property damage unless the rule says otherwise (rule 61G4-15.003).

Window and door installation: item (j)

The rule certifies a window and door installation specialty contractor to install, replace, adjust, repair and service exterior windows and doors, hurricane protection devices, shutters and related hardware. The work must follow accepted engineering data or manufacturer specifications, and the rule applies a "when not prohibited by law" qualifier, so a task the law reserves to another license is not covered.

The structural limit is the part to read twice. The work may not produce structural changes, with one stated exception: replacing window bucks in retrofit work. A company that replaces a unit in an existing opening is inside the category. A company that enlarges an opening or alters framing is outside it.

Glass and glazing: item (s)

Glass and glazing is the broader scope for glass work. The category covers installing and attaching windows and glass in residential and commercial buildings, fixed or movable, with no height restriction. It adds swinging or sliding glass doors set into existing walls, floors, columns or other structural members, and glass holding mullions or horizontal bars.

The list goes further than windows. It includes structurally anchored impact resistant opening protection that attaches to existing structural members, cutting and installing glass and mirrors, prefabricated glass, metal or plastic curtain walls, storefront frames and panels, caulking incidental to that work, shower and tub enclosures, and metal fascias. Because the category is limited to what is listed, anything outside the list needs another credential or a subcontractor who holds one.

Side by side

The practical test is the building type. A residential replacement company that works on openings in houses sits naturally in item (j). A commercial glazing company that sets storefronts and curtain wall belongs in item (s).

Garage doors are a separate item

Garage door installation is item (k), not a part of either category above. It certifies a contractor to fabricate, assemble, erect, install, adjust, alter, repair and service all types of garage doors, with related hardware and operating devices. Electrical work is tightly limited: low voltage wiring for safety features and cord and cap connections are allowed, and all other electrical work tied to the installation, such as rewiring or installing receptacles, lights and switches, must go to a licensed electrical contractor. Our Florida electrician license guide covers that side of the line.

What "voluntary" really means

The statute defines a specialty contractor as one whose scope of work is limited to a phase of construction set by a board category, and F.S. 489.113(6) states that these categories are voluntary and do not create a mandatory licensing requirement. In plain terms, the state does not make you hold item (j) or item (s) to do the work in every setting.

That does not mean no credential matters. Counties and cities set their own contractor registration and permit rules, and a general, building or residential contractor works under a different license entirely. Before you bid, check the local rule where the job sits. Our guide to Florida certified specialty contractor categories walks through the whole 21 item list and the categories that were not repealed.

Insurance and fees

Rule 61G4-15.003 requires a signed affidavit that the applicant has obtained and will maintain public liability and property damage insurance. For specialty contractors, unless the rule specifies otherwise, the amounts are $100,000 in public liability and $25,000 in property damage.

The consolidated specialty rule says certification procedures and fees follow the same statutes as other contractor certifications, sections 489.109, 489.111, 489.113, 489.114, 489.115 and 489.116. The board's general fee schedule is rule 61G4-12.009, which sets a renewal of $200 for an active license and $50 for an inactive one, and $50 for a business organization application and for its renewal.

Confirm the exact application and examination fees for a specialty category on the current DBPR application, because the board prints them there. Fees are set by the board or testing vendor and can change. Verify the current amount with the provider before you pay.

The qualifier rule

A certified specialty credential is held by a person, and a company uses it. Under F.S. 489.119, a business organization may operate in a category only if its qualifying agent is certified or registered in that category. The qualifying agent files an affidavit that it holds final approval authority over all construction work the business performs.

If the qualifying agent is the only certified or registered contractor affiliated with the business and leaves, the company has 60 days to employ another one. A glazing shop with good crews and no credentialed person on payroll has a qualifier problem, not a skills problem.

Our explainer on what a qualifying agent is covers the role, and our Florida qualifying agent guide covers the state rules. We place qualifiers as full time W-2 employees of the company that needs one, never on any other arrangement. To start, go to hire a qualifying agent.

Step by step

1. Match your work to the item. Residential openings and retrofit point to (j), commercial glass and curtain wall point to (s), and garage doors point to (k).
2. Read the full scope in rule 61G4-15.100 and mark anything you do that falls outside it.
3. Check the local rules in the county or city where you work.
4. Follow the contractor certification process in the statutes the rule names, including the financial responsibility review in F.S. 489.115.
5. Sit the examination for your item, 50 questions for window and door or 80 for glass and glazing.
6. Bind the specialty contractor coverage and sign the insurance affidavit.
7. Qualify the business organization under F.S. 489.119.

Questions window, door and glass contractors ask

Is a window installer license required in Florida? Not as a statewide rule for the specialty categories. The statute calls them voluntary. Local rules and the type of work still decide what credential a job needs.

Is glass and glazing still a Florida specialty category? Yes. Rule 61G4-15.018 was repealed effective May 5, 2024, and the category now appears as item (s) of rule 61G4-15.100.

Can a window and door contractor change the size of an opening? The rule bars structural changes apart from replacing window bucks in retrofit work, so framing alterations belong to another license.

How much does it cost to get certified? The renewal and business fees are in the rule above. What varies is insurance pricing, the financial responsibility review, exam time and whether your company needs a qualifier. For help scoping your own situation, see consultation packages.

Related reading

For the broader Florida picture, see our Florida contractor license guide, the state by state index and the guide to Florida roofing contractor licensing.

Marshall Schofield and Jeremiah Jaskulski founded The Licensing Company to solve the problem this article ends on: a company with the work, the crews and the capital, and no licensed individual able to qualify it. Every qualifier we place is a full time W-2 employee of the company that needs one.