A subtle difference in wording is a huge difference in meaning

Question: Could you please explain the difference between a registered contractor and a certified contractor?

Answer: Section 489.105(8), F.S., states that a certified contractor is any contractor who possesses a certificate of competency issued by the Department and allowed to contract in any jurisdiction, usually a county, within the State of Florida without being required to fulfill the competency requirements of any specific local jurisdiction.

Under section 489.105(10), a registered contractor is any contractor who has registered with the Department pursuant to fulfilling competency requirements in a specific jurisdiction, thus may only contract in that jurisdiction. The issue is a problem when registered contractors attempt to contract in jurisdictions for which no competency requirements were fulfilled. The descriptions seem very similar, but are very different. A certified contractor receives a certificate of competency from the Department, while a registered contractor has fulfilled competency requirements of specific jurisdictions and then registers with the Department as having fulfilled those requirements. The registered contractor has not been certified by the Department, so his or her contracted work must be limited to jurisdiction where competency requirements have been met.
Click to read the statute.

Thanks for asking,

Fred R. Gray