Becoming a Miami Dade roofing contractor is not an easy process.
The county has difficult requirements that must be met before a contractor can legally perform services in the county. If a contractor is certified with Miami Dade County as we are, you know they are a quality contractor with a history of excellence and quality performance. If you’re looking for a great roofing contractor, the Miami Dade County test can often help you in your search.
The Difficulty of Becoming a Miami Dade Roofing Contractor
Years of Experience
While we won’t go into the exact details of becoming a Miami Dade roofing contractor, we can give general details of what most Miami Dade roofing contractor hopefuls have to go through to become certified. First, contractors must prove their years of experience in the field to become certified. This can range anywhere from two to six years, depending on the type and level of the certification.
This is a difficult requirement to fill as many contractors start their contracting business and do not exist long enough to even apply for the certification. This is a natural way of “weeding out” and keeping the temporary contractors out of Miami Dade County.
Workforce Requirements
Another requirement that must be fulfilled is providing W-2 forms and letters of employees that work for the contractor. This requirement keeps smaller contractors out of the running as they need to have employees working under them to provide the W-2 forms and employee letters.
Written Exam
Nearly all certifications with Miami Dade County also require an exam be passed, usually requiring between 70-75% correct answers. The exam will often require studying on the part of the contractor as there are some questions and concepts that aren’t extremely common in the industry. This is another way to ensure the contractor in question is dedicated and willing to put in the time and effort to become certified.
Processing Fee
The final common requirement for Miami Dade County certification is a license process fee. This can be anywhere from $200-400. While this is a small fee for most large contractors, especially considering the potential earnings available out of Miami Dade County, it requires the contractor to put some “skin in the game” and disallows contractors who aren’t seriously considering working in Miami Dade County getting the license “just because”.
Conclusion
One of the greatest purposes a Miami Dade roofing contractor certification serves is to verify the legitimacy and validity of a contractor, specifically a roofing contractor in our case. If you are evaluating two contractors for a job, even a job outside of Miami Dade County, and see that one is certified and one is not, this should impact your decision. It doesn’t necessarily need to make your entire decision, but it should have a bearing in your decision because one contractor went through the steps and has proved their legitimacy, while the other has not. A good question for you to ask of the non-certified contractor in this situation is “Why aren’t you Miami Dade County certified?” The way they answer that question can help you make your choice on which contractor to use.