• Please note that the Florida Business exam as well as the Alarm System Contractor I exam is required to be passed to obtain your contractor’s license. The Business (CBT) exam required by Electrical contractors is NOT the same Business exam required by the other contractor trades.
• Pre-approval from the Electrical Contractors Licensing Board is required to sit for this exam.
• Certification of Insurance coverage limits for Electrical are $300,000 per occurrence (including completed operations and products), $500,000 property damage (including completed operations and products), $100,000 per person, or $800,000 combined single limit. Worker’s Compensation Insurance is also required.
• All contractors must be at least 18 years of age and be of good moral character.
• Beginning November 1, 2007, all applicants for initial licensure or changed of status will be required to have a criminal background check performed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Federal Bureau of Investigation. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT YOUR FINGERPRINTS HAVE BEEN SCANNED BY THE DEPARTMENT’S VENDOR, PROMISSOR/PEARSON VUE, PRIOR TO SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION.
• Applicants must submit a personal financial statement, signed in the presence of a notary unless prepared by a CPA, prepared within 12 months of filing the application and must show a total net worth. All applicants must also submit a credit report, from a recognized credit bureau, dated within 12 months of filing the application and must include the following statement: “PUBLIC RECORDS HAVE BEEN SEARCHED AT THE COUNTY, STATE, AND FEDERAL LEVELS”.
• Companies applying for a license must show a line of credit or obtain a bond in the amount of $25,000.

  Experience Required:

• Must be licensed as an electrical professional engineer for 3 years within the last 12 years OR
   
• Must have 3 years of management experience in the trade within the last 6 years immediately preceding the filing of the application OR
   
• Must have 4 years of experience as a foreman, supervisor, or contractor in the trade within the last 8 years immediately preceding the filing of the application OR
   
• Must have 6 years of comprehensive training, technical education, or broad experience associated with an electrical or an alarm system installation or servicing endeavor within the last 12 years immediately preceding the filing of the application OR
   
• Must have at least 6 years of technical experience in alarm system work with the Armed Forces or a governmental entity within the last 12 years immediately preceding the filing of the application OR
   
• Must have a combination of these qualifications totaling 6 years of experience

*The required experience must include at least 40% of work that is in fire alarm systems.*

The Alarm System Contractor I means an alarm system contractor whose business includes all types of alarms systems for all purposes.

To apply, contact State of Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation 1-850-487-1395.

• The application fee is $150.
• The license fee is $255.
• You must pay a fee of $56.25 to Promissor/Pearson VUE for the processing of your electronic fingerprints.
• Exam applications must be submitted at least 90 days before the next exam date in order to test on that date.

Licenses renew on August 31 of every even numbered year.

Florida has a reciprocal agreement for the Alarm System Contractor I with Georgia Low Voltage Unlimited (LV-U).

As of this time Florida requires 14 hours of board approved continuing education each biennium prior to the renewal period for both certified and registered contractors.

At least 7 hours must deal with technical subjects, at least 1 hour must be on the subject of worker’s compensation, at least 1 hour on workplace safety, at least 1 hour must cover the subject of business practices, and at least 1 hour of Florida Building Code advanced module course.

Multiple license holders are required to complete continuing education requirements only 1 time each biennium. All alarm system contractors and all electrical contractors who do alarm wiring and installations must take a 2 hour false alarm prevention course as a part of their continuing education.

Continuing education must be completed prior to the license expiration of August 31 of every even year. The courses must be completed during the 2 year period and extra continuing education hours cannot be carried over.

A license holder can earn up to 3 hours per renewal cycle for attending a meeting at which disciplinary cases are considered, as long as he/she attends the entire disciplinary portion of the meeting and as long as he/she is not the subject of the disciplinary proceedings. The license holder must fax a letter, at least 7 days prior to the meeting, requesting to attend the meeting for CE credit, then the board will respond with the date, time, and location of the meeting.

Effective November 15, 2008 examination fees are being restructured . When applying to schedule for the examination with Professional Testing Inc. (PTI) , the following fee structure will apply:

All parts of the examination:
Pay $135.00 examination development fee payable to PTI, $80.00 examination administration fee payable to DBPR, but mailed to PTI. An $80.00 examination administration fee payable to Pearson Vue (formerly Promissor), the CBT (Computer Based Testing) contracted vendor, is due at the time of scheduling.

• A score of at least 75% is required to pass each of the exams.
   
• The exams are open book and timed. There are 100 questions with a 5 hour time limit for the Alarm System Contractor I exam. There are 50 questions with a 2.5 hour time limit for the Business exam.
   
• Exams are held 3 times per year in March, July, and November.
   
• Effective November 3, 2006 the Board revised rule 61G4-16.009 Florida Administrative Code. The revised rule provides that a candidate who has failed to achieve a passing score on 1 or more of the required exams has up to 2 years from the date of the 1st attempt to achieve a passing score on all required parts. If a passing score is not achieved within the 2 year period, all past test scores shall be considered invalid and the candidate will be required to retake all portions of the exam. Each candidate will only be allowed 6 attempts to pass each part of the exam during the 2 year period.
   
• Applicants must be submitted to the DBPR to be eligible to take the exam. The application deadline is 90 days prior to the exam date. After passing the exam, the application will be processed, at that time candidates will gain final approval to be licensed.
  

  Topics covered on the trade exam are general theory and electrical principles, plan and specification reading and interpretation, wiring and protection, wiring methods and materials, special occupancies and situations, life safety and Americans with Disabilities Act, limited energy/low voltage, OSHA, safety, procedures for testing and use of tools and equipment, central station facilities and signaling, premises protective signaling systems, initiating devices, and burglar alarms.

• Applicants have 3 chances to pass the Alarm System Contractor I exam during a 1 year period. If the applicant fails either or both sections of the exam he/she must reapply to the board before sitting for the exam again. If the applicant fails either or both sections of the exam 3 times in a row he/she must complete 7 hours of continuing education in that subject matter and submit a new application before testing again. There is a 21 day waiting period between retakes for the Business (CBT) exam.

  Topics covered on the business exam are maintaining cash flow, estimating and bidding a job, interpretation of contracts and agreements, purchasing control, contract scheduling, obtaining insurance and bonding, complying with contracting laws and rules, personnel management, complying with payroll and salary tax laws, interpretation of financial statements and reports, and management accounting.

• To schedule your Alarm System Contractor I exam you must contact the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation at 1-850-488-5952. To schedule the Florida Electrical Business exam (CBT) you must contact Promissor/Pearson Vue at 1-888-204-6230.
   
• Approximately 8 weeks after your Alarm System Contractor I examination you will receive your official grade notice. Grade results can not be given out over the phone.
   
• Official photo-bearing score reports on the Business (CBT) exam are available on-site from the vendor immediately following the exam.

The references listed in the Right-Hand column are permitted to be taken into the examination. These references may be tabbed (with permanent index tabs) and highlighted. They are available for purchase from our online contractor’s bookstore or by calling our office at 1-800-992-1910.

*There are additional downloadable documents for the Alarm System Contractor I exam.*

Florida Statutes 455, 2007.

Both UL references listed on the booklist are available free of charge as a downloadable pdf. to exam eligible candidates. Information is available on how to request these once you are approved to test.

American Contractors does not currently offer a preparation course for the Florida Alarm System Contractor I license exam. Please contact us for additional information, 1-800-992-1910.