By Adrian Middleton, Sword & Shield, PLLC · Updated Friday, October 9, 2026
The referral is mandatory
Section 440.107(14), Florida Statutes: if the Department finds that an employer who is certified or registered under part I or part II of Chapter 489 and who is required to secure the payment of workers' compensation has failed to do so, the Department shall immediately notify the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. There is no discretion. The notification goes to DBPR's Division of Regulation and becomes a complaint against the license.
What DBPR does with it
A DBPR investigator opens a file, sends the licensee a letter, and asks for a response. The matter proceeds under Chapter 455 and Chapter 489 and the rules of the Construction Industry Licensing Board or Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board. Failing to secure workers' compensation as required by Chapter 440 is a disciplinary ground under section 489.129(1), and the Board's disciplinary guidelines in Rule 61G4-17.001 set a penalty range for it. Outcomes range from a fine and costs to probation, suspension, or revocation for repeat or aggravated cases.
Everything you say to the DBPR investigator is evidence in that case and can be shared with the Division of Workers' Compensation. Everything in the stop-work order file, including the records you produced and the penalty worksheet, is evidence in the licensing case.
The qualifier's exposure
The license belongs to the qualifying agent, not the company. A primary qualifier is responsible for the company's compliance under section 489.1195, which means the referral names the individual contractor even when the company is the uninsured employer. A qualifier who was not involved in payroll is still answering for it.
Why experience matters here
Before practicing law, Adrian served on the DBPR unlicensed activity task force and worked alongside multiple state agencies on construction enforcement. He now defends contractors before DBPR and the Construction Industry Licensing Board as a core part of the Sword & Shield practice: investigator responses, probable cause panels, administrative complaints, settlement stipulations, formal hearings at DOAH, and probation compliance. See DBPR license defense at swordandshield.com.
Running both cases together
- The records decision in the stop-work order case is made with the licensing case in mind.
- Coverage, payment and the penalty resolution are documented to serve as mitigation before the Board.
- The DBPR response is drafted so that it does not contradict anything in the Chapter 440 file.
- If a Chapter 120 petition is filed on the penalty, the licensing case is managed so that the Board does not act on numbers that are still being contested.
Hold a CGC, CBC, CRC, EC or registered license? Both cases need one strategy.
(850) 766-6825License defenseQuestions
I already paid the penalty. Why is DBPR still writing to me?+
Because the referral under section 440.107(14) is made when the failure to secure coverage is found, not when the penalty is paid. Paying it promptly is good mitigation before the Board, but the licensing case runs on its own track.
Can my license be suspended immediately?+
An emergency suspension requires a finding of immediate serious danger and is uncommon in a coverage-only case. The usual path is a complaint, an investigation, a probable cause panel, and then an administrative complaint, with a right to a hearing at each stage.
Does an unlicensed contractor get referred?+
Section 440.107(14) covers certified and registered contractors. An unlicensed contractor found on a job site faces a different and worse problem: unlicensed contracting under section 489.127, which DBPR and local authorities pursue separately and which can be criminal.