Under the CILB's current specialty-contractor rule, an irrigation contractor is a contractor whose contracting business consists of the execution of contracts requiring the experience, financial means, knowledge, and skill to install, maintain, repair, alter, extend, manage, monitor, audit, or design irrigation systems — the sprinkler and controller systems used to water landscaping, turf, and agricultural areas.

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. Note that Florida's Plumbing Contractor license also carries authority over irrigation piping as part of its broader scope, so some irrigation work can be performed under either license depending on how the project is structured.

Florida Statute 489.111 lays out the education-and-experience combinations the CILB uses to evaluate certified contractor applicants, including specialty categories like Irrigation. 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, the CILB also looks for your documented experience to have actually been earned in irrigation system work. We help you organize and present that experience correctly.

Your application needs to reflect hands-on experience across the core elements of irrigation system 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 Irrigation Specialty Contractors, must carry general liability insurance before the DBPR will issue a license.

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.