How to check a contractor in Polk County

The six checks, in order

All six are run by the State of Florida, Polk County or the City of Lakeland. Each was opened and read on Oct 7, 2026; the wording below follows the agency’s own. Where a site refuses a prefilled link, the link opens its form and you paste.

1. 1. The state license

   Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR)

   • DBPR — search by license number Paste the number into “License Number” and press Search, then open the name in the results. The form does not take a prefilled link.
   • DBPR — search by name Type the business under “Organization/Establishment Name”, or the person’s last and first name, and press Search. The form does not take a prefilled link.

   What it tells you

   Whether a license of that number or name exists, its type and rank, its status (“Current, Active”, for example), the date it was issued, the date it expires, and the name, DBA name and main address on file.

   What it cannot tell you

   That the person in front of you is the license holder. DBPR lists only the professions it regulates, so a county or city registration, or a trade the state does not license, will not be here.

   Read on the agency’s site Oct 7, 2026.

2. 2. Public complaints and discipline on that license

   Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR)

   • DBPR — open the license, then “View License Complaint” Search by license number, open the name in the results, scroll to the foot of the license page and choose “View License Complaint”.
   • DBPR — open the license, then “View License Complaint” Search by name, open the license in the results, scroll to the foot of its page and choose “View License Complaint”.

   What it tells you

   The public complaints on the license, each with its class, status, disposition and any discipline. It sits on the license’s own page, behind “View License Complaint”.

   What it cannot tell you

   That there are none. Under s. 455.225(10), Florida Statutes, a complaint and its investigation are confidential until ten days after probable cause is found, and DBPR’s page says its list “may not reflect all public complaints”. No source can tell you a contractor has none.

   Read on the agency’s site Oct 7, 2026.

3. 3. Workers’ compensation: proof of coverage

   Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Workers’ Compensation

   • Division of Workers’ Compensation — proof of coverage database Choose “Employer Name”, type at least three characters of the business name and press Search. The site refuses prefilled links.

   What it tells you

   Workers’ compensation policy filings that insurers have reported to the Division, public since May 2002: certificates of insurance, notices of reinstatement, endorsements and cancellations. The search runs by employer name (three characters or more), federal employer ID or policy number.

   What it cannot tell you

   Coverage that comes through an employee-leasing company, which the Division says may not show because of reporting lag, or whether the people on your job are on the policy at all. A policy on file is not proof it is in force today.

   Read on the agency’s site Oct 7, 2026.

4. 4. Workers’ compensation: exemptions

   Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Workers’ Compensation

   • Division of Workers’ Compensation — exemption search Type the business under “Employer Name” (or the person’s last and first name), leave “Construction/Non-Construction” on All, and press Search. The site refuses prefilled links.

   What it tells you

   Certificates of Election to be Exempt, which an officer of a corporation or a member of an LLC files to exclude themselves from workers’ compensation: current and past, with effective and expiry dates, the employer and the scope of business. Searched by the person’s name, the employer’s name or its federal employer ID.

   What it cannot tell you

   Anything about employees. An exemption covers only the officer named on it; a contractor who holds one and brings a crew still needs a policy for the crew, which is the database above.

   Read on the agency’s site Oct 7, 2026.

5. 5. The business behind the name

   Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations (Sunbiz)

   • Sunbiz — search by entity name The name is already in the search. Open the entity, then compare its people and address with your contract.

   What it tells you

   Whether a corporation or LLC of that name is registered in Florida, its document number and status (Active or inactive), and, on the entity’s own page, its filing information and the people and addresses it lists.

   What it cannot tell you

   Whether it is licensed or insured. A Sunbiz registration is not a contractor license, and “Active” says nothing about either. A sole proprietor, or a trade name, may be under the fictitious-name search instead. Sunbiz searches by business name, not license number.

   Read on the agency’s site Oct 7, 2026.

6. 6. Permits pulled under that contractor

   Polk County Building Division and City of Lakeland Building Inspection

   • Polk County Access Portal (Accela) — building records Set the drop-down to “Search by Licensed Professional Information”, enter the state license number or the name of the business, and press Search.
   • City of Lakeland iMS — search permits as a guest Opens iMS as a guest. Choose “Search Permits”, set the first field to “Contractor Name”, type the name and search.

   What it tells you

   Permits filed in unincorporated Polk County, where the county portal searches by state license number or business name, and inside the City of Lakeland, where iMS, as a guest, searches by contractor name. Including whether a permit exists for your own job.

   What it cannot tell you

   Permits in the other cities, which run their own portals (Winter Haven, Bartow, Haines City, Lake Wales and the rest), or anything about the quality of the work. A permit history is a list of jobs, not a rating.

   Read on the agency’s site Oct 7, 2026.

The steps, in order

For a homeowner or a business about to hire. Each step points at the agency page it comes from.

1. Get the license number first. the City of Lakeland’s advice page notes that Florida requires contractors to put the number on their advertising, so it belongs on the card, the truck or the estimate, and that a business tax receipt is not a license.
2. Look the number up at DBPR (check 1). Match the name on the license to the business on your estimate, and read the status: DBPR’s glossary explains delinquent, suspended, revoked and probation.
3. Open the complaint view on that license (check 2), and read it knowing what cannot appear there.
4. Check workers’ compensation (checks 3 and 4): a policy in the proof-of-coverage database, or an exemption. With an exemption, ask who covers the crew. The City’s page warns that if you pull an owner-builder permit for someone else’s work, an injury on your property can become your liability.
5. Check the business on Sunbiz (check 5), using the exact name on the contract.
6. Check the permit history (check 6), and ask who will pull the permit for your job. Where a permit is required, the City’s advice is to hold the final payment until the final inspection passes.
7. Get more than one written estimate and read the whole contract before signing. The City’s page lists what to look for, including the three-day right to cancel.

What is not online

• Complaints still under investigation. Section 455.225(10) keeps them confidential until probable cause is found, so an empty complaint page is not proof of a clean record.
• General liability insurance. None of the six sources shows a contractor’s liability policy. The certificate comes from the contractor, and the insurer named on it can confirm it.
• County and city registrations. The county portal carries its own “Contractor Licensing” records for trades the state leaves to local boards; the DBPR search does not list them. The Polk County Building Division answers for those.
• Court records. Judgments, liens and lawsuits sit with the Clerk of Court, not in any of the six.
• Who is at your door. The record names the license holder; it cannot tell you that the person quoting your job is that holder. DBPR’s advice, repeated on the City’s page, is to ask to see the license.