Before an electrical subcontractor starts on a South Florida job, a GC should have checked five things: an active Florida electrical contractor license and the qualifier behind it, a certificate of insurance that matches the subcontract, who pulls the electrical permit, who supervises on site, and how submittals, inspections and closeout documents will be delivered. Most problems with electrical subs trace back to one of those five being assumed rather than checked.
National guides cover the general version of this list. This one adds the Florida and tri-county specifics: how to read a Florida license record, which building department you are actually dealing with, and how the utility fits into the schedule. For how KRW works with contractors, see our page for general contractors.
1. Verify the Florida license and the qualifier
Florida licenses electrical contractors at the state level through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), and anyone can check a license in a couple of minutes. Use DBPR's Verify a License search. You can search by name, license number, city or county, or license type.
- Search the business name, then the individual. As DBPR says, each electrical business must be qualified by a properly licensed individual contractor. A business-name search shows which individuals qualify that business. Then search the individual to confirm the license is theirs and current.
- Check the prefix. According to DBPR's electrical contractor FAQ, an EC license is a state-issued electrical contractor license earned through the state exam and valid anywhere in Florida. An ER license is a registered license based on local competency, valid only in the counties or cities where the holder has a local license. Alarm system contractors use separate prefixes (EF and EY).
- Check the status, not just that a record exists. You want a current, active license, and you want the business name on the record to match the entity signing your subcontract.
- Understand what the qualifier signs up for. The same DBPR FAQ says qualifying a business means accepting full responsibility for it, including financial transactions, signing permits and supervising all of its jobs. Ask who the qualifier is and how involved they are on your project.
KRW Electric holds Florida license EC13012832. You can look it up the same way.
2. Insurance paperwork that matches your subcontract
Every GC has its own insurance requirements, usually set by the owner contract and the GC's own carrier. The sub's job is to meet them. The GC's job is to confirm the paperwork actually does.
- Get a certificate of insurance naming your company as certificate holder, with the endorsements your subcontract requires in place, not just described on the certificate.
- Check the policy dates against the project schedule, and put a reminder on your calendar for renewals during long jobs.
- Confirm workers' compensation documentation meets what your agent and the owner contract require.
- Have your own insurance agent or broker review the certificate and endorsements against the contract. That is their job, and they are better at it than a project manager at 6 p.m.
3. Who pulls the electrical permit
The electrical permit should be pulled by the licensed electrical contractor doing the work, under its own license. That puts responsibility for the electrical installation, and for the inspections, on the licensed party. KRW pulls permits under EC13012832.
In South Florida, the harder question is often which building department. Miami-Dade County's building permits are aimed mainly at unincorporated Miami-Dade, and many cities there run their own building departments. In Broward, Broward County's Building Code Division regulates construction in unincorporated Broward and in the cities it contracts with. Every other city has its own department. Each has its own portal, inspection scheduling and corrections process. Our page on commercial electrical permits walks through the tri-county picture.
4. Qualified supervision on site
The license tells you who is responsible on paper. What you need on site is a named person who runs the electrical crew every day, reads the drawings, and can answer an RFI without "let me check with the office."
- Ask for the name of the foreman or superintendent and how often the qualifier or a project manager will be on site.
- Agree on the communication path: who attends OAC and coordination meetings, and who signs off on daily reports.
- Agree on what happens if the named foreman leaves the project.
5. Submittals, RFIs and lead times
On commercial work the long-lead electrical items can drive the schedule: switchgear, panelboards, transformers, lighting packages and lighting controls. Require an electrical submittal log early, with dates tied to the project schedule.
- Submittals for gear, panels, fixtures, devices and controls, reviewed by the engineer of record before release.
- RFIs early on conflicts between the electrical drawings and the architectural, mechanical or kitchen equipment drawings. They are far cheaper before rough-in.
- Design-assist, not design: an electrical sub can help with load planning and constructability, but the drawings and any design changes belong to the engineer of record.
For how this plays out from preconstruction to energization, see commercial new construction electrical.
6. Schedule integration, including the utility
The electrical schedule is not just crew days. It includes the utility, the inspections, and the other trades whose work covers the electrical work.
- Utility coordination: new services and upgrades need the utility's design and construction. FPL's Electric Service Standards say contact with FPL should be made before equipment is bought, and FPL does not energize a service until the local authority has inspected and approved it. See planning a new commercial electric service.
- Temporary power early enough for the other trades.
- Rough-in inspections sequenced before drywall and ceilings close, with time for corrections.
- Hurricane season: exterior gear, rooftop equipment connections and open service work are worth sequencing with the June-to-November weather in mind.
7. Inspection coordination
- Decide who requests inspections, who attends, and how corrections are turned around and re-inspected.
- Coordinate electrical inspections with fire inspections for emergency lighting, alarm power and anything tied to life safety.
- Keep the permit card and approved drawings on site. Inspectors ask for them.
8. Change orders
Most change-order disputes come from work done on a verbal instruction. Require the sub to price changes in writing before the work is done, with the basis stated (lump sum, unit prices or time and material). Record directives in writing when time does not allow pricing first. Agree up front how schedule impacts will be claimed, not just cost.
9. Safety program basics
OSHA's electrical rules for construction sit in 29 CFR 1926 Subpart K, separate from the general industry rules, as OSHA's own summary of its electrical standards explains. At a minimum, ask the sub for:
- A written safety program and how it is trained and enforced on site.
- Lockout/tagout procedures, and a clear policy against working energized unless it is genuinely unavoidable. That is the same principle behind OSHA's electrical work-practice rules.
- How temporary power is installed, protected and inspected.
- Participation in your site orientation and toolbox talks.
10. Closeout documents
Closeout is where a good electrical sub saves the owner real headaches for years. Put the list in the subcontract, not in an email at the end:
- As-built drawings showing actual routing, panel locations and any field changes.
- Typed panel schedules that match the as-builts and the labeled breakers.
- Test results the specifications call for, plus lighting control and emergency lighting functional checks.
- O&M manuals and product data for installed equipment.
- The final inspection record for every electrical permit, so nothing is left open.
Our finish and trim-out page covers the last stretch of the electrical scope before closeout.
Working with KRW
If you are pre-qualifying electrical subs for a project in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach, we are happy to go through this list with you: license, permit responsibility, supervision, schedule and closeout. See how we work on our page for general contractors, then send us the details, or call (305) 359-7312.
Reviewed by Kyle White, KRW Electric Company LLC — licensed electrical contractor EC13012832.
