Under the CILB's current specialty-contractor rule, a marine contractor is a contractor whose work covers the construction, repair, alteration, extension, and excavation for fixed docks, floating docks, boathouses, mooring devices, mooring fields, seawalls, bulkheads, piers, wharfs, boatlifts, boat ramps, revetments, cofferdams, wave attenuators, dune crossovers, and other related marine structures and activities — including pile driving, framing, concrete, and masonry work tied to those structures.

This is a Certified license issued by the DBPR's Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB), meaning it's valid across the entire state rather than being limited to a single city or county. The CILB's rule also recognizes narrower marine sub-scopes — seawall work, bulkhead work, dock work, and pile driving — for contractors who want to limit their certification to just one piece of marine construction rather than the full trade.

Florida Statute 489.111 lays out the education-and-experience combinations the CILB uses to evaluate certified contractor applicants, including specialty categories like Marine Contractor. You'll generally need to document one of the following:

• A 4-year construction-related degree from an accredited college, plus 1 year of on-the-job experience.
• 1 year of experience as a foreman, plus not less than 3 years of credit from accredited college-level courses.
• 1 year as a worker, 1 year of experience as a foreman, plus 2 years of credit from accredited college-level courses.
• 2 years as a worker, 1 year as a foreman, plus 1 year of credit from accredited college-level courses.
• 4 years as a worker or foreman, of which at least 1 year must have been as a foreman.

Because this is a narrower specialty category rather than an unlimited-scope license, the CILB also reviews whether your documented experience was actually earned in marine construction work. We help you organize and present that experience correctly.

Your application needs to reflect hands-on experience across the core elements of marine construction work, including:

Review Every Application Type & Purchase Initial Issuance

See every Florida contractor license application type side by side, and purchase the Initial Issuance application service directly, on our Florida Contractor License Information page.

Every Certified contractor, including Marine Contractors, must carry general liability insurance before the DBPR will issue a license. Given the over-water work, pile driving, and dredge-and-fill exposure involved in marine construction, your policy should actually be written for this trade.

We work closely with our sister company, Artisan Insurance Inc., to provide these insurance needs. Both businesses are family owned and operated, so your license paperwork and your insurance move together instead of stalling on each other.

Certified licenses renew every two years, due by August 31 of even-numbered years. Renewal requires 14 hours of continuing education, covering topics like workplace safety, workers' compensation, business practices, and laws and rules.

Whether you are applying for a new license, changing from one business to another, or wanting to qualify an additional business, we are here to help — including sorting out how the recent reorganization of this specialty category affects your paperwork.