How do I find a contractor to build a pergola in Florida?

Reviewed 2026-08-26 · Built Roster LLC, Florida · Sources

The three routes, and what each one costs you

Most homeowners end up using two of the three. The referral gives you a benchmark; the second and third quotes tell you whether the benchmark was a good one.

What kind of licence does a pergola need?

Florida Statute § 489.113 is the general rule: a person may not engage in contracting in Florida unless certified (state-wide) or registered (locally). § 489.105 is where the categories are defined — Division I general, building and residential contractors, and the Division II specialty trades.

Can I permit it myself as the owner?

Sometimes. Florida Statute § 489.103 exempts owners who improve their own property and do the work themselves or supervise it directly, subject to conditions written into the statute — conditions about occupancy, about not building for sale or lease, and about signing a disclosure statement acknowledging that you are assuming the responsibilities a licensed contractor would otherwise carry. The disclosure exists because the exemption transfers real liability to you.

Read the section itself before relying on it, and confirm with your building department how they administer it. The exemption is narrower than the internet summaries of it, and it does not exempt the structure from the code, from inspections, or from needing sealed structural documents where those are required.

What a quote has to contain before two quotes can be compared

The single most common reason a homeowner gets “three wildly different quotes” is that they were quoting three different structures. Before you compare numbers, make every quote state the same eleven things:

1. Overall plan dimensions and clear height.
2. Whether it is freestanding or attached to the house. This changes the structure, the engineering and often the price bracket.
3. Material and species/alloy — pressure-treated pine, cedar, structural aluminum, steel.
4. Post size and count, beam size, rafter size and spacing.
5. What the posts land on: new footings, existing slab, pavers, deck framing.
6. The connection and anchorage hardware, by product, not by the word “brackets”.
7. Finish: stain, paint, powder coat, or nothing.
8. Who produces the structural documents, and whether that cost is in the number. Who seals them.
9. Who applies for the permit and who pays the fees.
10. Who is responsible for meeting inspections on site.
11. Debris removal and restoration of whatever the work damages.

Any line that is missing from one quote and present in another is a line somebody is going to argue about later, usually after the concrete is poured.

Two things Florida law requires to be in the contract

These are not optional and their absence is a real signal about who you are dealing with.

• The Construction Industries Recovery Fund notice. F.S. § 489.1425 requires a contractor entering a contract for improvements to residential real property to give the owner written notice of the recovery fund, in the contract or at the time the permit application is made.
• The construction lien law warning. F.S. § 713.015 requires a direct contract greater than $2,500 between an owner and a contractor for improving residential real property to contain the lien-law notice set out in that section, in conspicuous type.

Neither one protects you by itself. Both tell you whether the contractor is used to working inside the system that the rest of this page assumes.

Why this page does not tell you what a pergola costs

Because nobody can, honestly, without your dimensions. Price on a Florida pergola moves with span, material, whether it attaches to the house, what the posts land on, the design wind speed at your address, and how far a truck can get from the back yard. Two of those — attachment and wind speed — can change the structure itself, not just the finish. Wind speed is set by where you live, and in Miami-Dade and Broward it is set high.

What you can do is make the quotes comparable and make the dimensions real. That converts “what does a pergola cost” into “what do these three contractors charge for this exact structure”, which is a question with an answer.

What happens after you pick a contractor

Homeowners are rarely told this sequence in advance, and it is where the waiting comes from. The details vary by jurisdiction; the order rarely does.

1. The scope gets locked. Final dimensions, material, attachment condition, footing type. Every later step inherits whatever is wrong here.
2. The structural design is produced. Either a product approval covers your exact product and installation, or a Florida PE designs the structure, runs the calculations and seals a drawing set. The two routes, in the departments’ own words.
3. The permit application goes in. In most cases the licensed contractor submits it; your jurisdiction decides who may. Fees are computed locally.
4. Plan review. A plans examiner reads the set and either approves it or returns comments. Comments on accessory structures land most often on connections, anchorage and the condition at the existing slab.
5. Construction and inspections. Typically at least a footing/anchorage inspection before anything is covered, and a final. Your department publishes its own list.
6. Close-out. The permit is finalled. An open permit follows the property, not the contractor, and surfaces later when you sell.

Built Roster’s part is steps 1 and 2 and the handoff between them: the project is described once, the contractor prices real dimensions, and the engineer receives something already drawn instead of a photo of a sketch. Steps 3 to 6 belong to the licensed professionals and to your building department. We do not file permits and we do not process them.