Florida contractor CE provider LMS: meeting CILB distance rules
The 489.115 hours, the Rule 61G4-18.004 and Form CILB 28 distance learning criteria, the 30-day DBPR reporting rule and the new stucco hour, mapped to an LMS you run.
A Florida contractor CE provider building online courses has to satisfy the CILB distance learning criteria: verified identity, hours that match time spent, instructor contact within 24 hours, comprehension checks at intervals and start and end attestations. LMS Advisor is our top pick for delivery: minimum lesson time, scored checks, a proctored final with ID photo capture and completion exports for your own DBPR reporting.
This page is for CILB-registered continuing education providers and applicants in Florida: contractor schools, builders' associations and HBA, ABC and AGC chapters, roofing and pool trade associations, manufacturers that offer CE, and training companies adding the new stucco hour. It sets out the statute and rules, what Form CILB 28 asks of a distance learning course, how reporting to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) works, and how to build it in an LMS. LMS Advisor is our platform. It is not an approved provider and does not report to DBPR, so you keep the approvals and the filing. We have built, fixed and migrated LMS platforms for years. For the wider trade picture, see our construction LMS guide. Treat this as a planning aid, not legal advice, and confirm details with DBPR.
What are the Florida contractor CE rules providers design for?
Two layers apply. The statute, Florida Statutes 489.115, sets the hours and tells the Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB) to set approval criteria. The Board's rules in Chapter 61G4-18 of the Florida Administrative Code fill in the detail. Rules below are as of September 2026.
14 hours per renewal, in hours of at least 50 minutes
489.115(4)(b) requires each certificateholder or registrant to complete "at least 14 classroom hours of at least 50 minutes each of continuing education courses" per renewal. The statute also says the Board "shall by rule establish criteria for the approval of continuing education courses and providers". Build every course hour to at least 50 minutes of real content.
The required one-hour topics
Rule 61G4-18.001 (last amended effective June 26, 2023) requires "at least 14 classroom or interactive distance learning hours" from a Board-approved provider, with at least one hour each on:
- an advanced module approved by the Florida Building Commission
- workplace safety
- business practices
- workers' compensation
- laws and rules regulating the construction industry
- wind mitigation, pool electrical or cementitious cladding and stucco, for the license categories the rule names
Check the current rule text for which categories owe wind mitigation and pool electrical, and label each course in a package by the topic it meets.
Renewal dates and first-renewal relief
The DBPR construction industry FAQ says certified contractors renew on "August 31 of every even-numbered year" and registered contractors on "August 31 of every odd-numbered year." A license issued less than 12 months before the August 31 renewal date owes no CE, and the FAQ sets a reduced requirement for some other first renewals, so check it before you market a package to new licensees. Expect a rush every summer.
The new cementitious cladding and stucco hour
DBPR's construction industry hot topics page says general, building, residential and specialty structure contractors must complete "one hour of continuing education related to Cementitious Cladding, Stucco, Plastering and Lath" inside the 14 hours. Enforcement starts with registered licenses expiring August 31, 2027 and certified licenses expiring August 31, 2028. Providers must apply and get Board approval for the course before credit is granted.
Why the 2024 CE exemption law does not apply to contractors
CS/HB 497 (2024) created a continuing education exemption for some professions, but the House final bill analysis says it "does not apply to ... contractors regulated under ch. 489, F.S." Contractors still owe the full requirement.
What does CILB ask of an online course before approval?
Distance learning criteria sit in Rule 61G4-18.004 and in Form DBPR CILB 28, the Continuing Education Course Approval Application (effective March 2026). The form asks you to describe, for each online course, how you meet each item below. The Board decides whether your answer is good enough, not your software.
Verifying student identity
You must state "the means by which the course provider will verify student identification." A login alone is thin. A proctored final with an ID photo and webcam snapshots gives you evidence if a completion is challenged.
Showing hours match time spent
The form asks how you will show "that stated course hours are consistent with the actual hours spent by each student." In practice that means a timer per lesson, no skipping ahead and a report of time and progress per learner.
Instructor access and interactivity within 24 hours
You must show how "qualified instructor(s) will be available to answer questions," and the course must demonstrate "interactivity between the student and course provider within a maximum of 24 hours." Name the instructor, publish the contact route and staff it, weekends included if you sell weekend access. Check the current Chapter 61G4-18 rules for who counts as a qualified instructor before you name one on the application. We could not open the CILB instructor and provider rule for this page, as of September 2026.
Comprehension checks at regular intervals
The course must show it "measures learning and addresses comprehension of content at regular intervals." One final quiz does not meet that. Place scored checks inside each hour.
Start and end attestations
61G4-18.004 requires a student statement "at the beginning and end of the course" that he or she personally completed each module. Build both as screens the learner cannot skip, and confirm in a demo how each acknowledgment is recorded so you can produce it later.
Course numbers, approval length and fees
An approved course gets a course number, which learners expect to see on materials and certificates. Check 61G4-18.004 for exactly where it must appear. Course approvals last "three (3) years from date of issue," so put renewal dates in your calendar. CILB 28 also asks for supporting material, including a certificate of completion template, and carries an application fee. Read the current form for the attachments and fee, as of September 2026.
How does each CILB 28 criterion map to LMS Advisor?
Here is how the distance learning items split between the platform and your team, using only features we have verified.
| CILB 28 or 61G4-18.004 item | What LMS Advisor does | What the provider still does |
|---|---|---|
| Verify student identity | Proctored final in the Test Center with ID photo capture, webcam snapshots, AI face monitoring and device lock | Describe the method on CILB 28 and review flagged attempts |
| Hours match time spent | Lesson minimum time, sequential progression, learner progress reports | Set timers so each hour is at least 50 minutes of content |
| Monitor enrollment, participation, completion | Course and learner analytics with CSV, Excel or PDF export | Keep the reports with the course file |
| Instructor available, contact within 24 hours | Discussion forum and live sessions on Zoom or Google Meet, alongside your own instructor email | Staff the instructor inbox and forum daily |
| Comprehension at regular intervals | Scored knowledge checks in interactive modules and timestamped questions in interactive video | Write the questions and place them in each hour |
| Start and end statements | Required blocks for both statements, and the exam's honesty pledge adds a check at the final | Word the statements to match the rule and confirm in a demo how acknowledgments are recorded |
| Certificate of completion | Certificate designer, automatic issue, public verification page | Confirm every required field prints (see below) |
Lesson minimum time and sequential progression
Set a lesson minimum time on every lesson and turn on sequential progression, so the course cannot be finished faster than its stated hours.
Interactive modules, video questions and required blocks
The block-based builder in course authoring gives you scored knowledge checks, drag-and-drop items and blocks marked required. Put the start-of-course attestation in a required block. Interactive video adds timestamped questions and rewind-on-wrong, which suits demonstration content.
Proctored final with ID photo and honesty pledge
The native proctoring in the Test Center adds ID photo capture, webcam and screen snapshots, fullscreen lockdown, tab-switch logging, single-session and device lock, virtual-machine detection and an evidence trail. The Test Center also includes an honesty pledge. Whether its wording can carry your full end-of-course statement is a demo check. If not, put that statement in a required block in the last lesson. Proctoring covers the exam, not lesson viewing, so the lesson timers carry the hours evidence.
Want to walk a CILB 28 checklist against a sample 14-hour package? Book a demo and we will show timed lessons, interval checks, a proctored final and the completion export.
How do providers report completions to DBPR?
You do, not your LMS. The platform's job is to give you clean data fast.
30 calendar days, and the window near renewal
Florida Statutes 455.2178 says completion information "must be submitted to the department electronically no later than 30 calendar days" after the course. It also sets a shorter window of 10 business days for completions close to the renewal deadline. DBPR's FAQ summarizes this for construction as 30 calendar days "or prior to the licensee's renewal date, whichever occurs sooner." In July and August, report daily. The statute allows fines of up to $500 per violation and suspension or revocation of provider approval.
One flag: 455.2178 is the DBPR-wide provider statute. We could not open the CILB provider rule (61G4-18.005) to see whether it restates the reporting and retention duties for construction providers. DBPR's own construction FAQ states the same 30-day rule, so the risk is low, but as of September 2026 confirm your reporting and record duties with DBPR.
What the certificate and your export need
Check CILB 28 and the current rules for the fields your certificate of completion must show. Plan for at least the licensee's name and license number, the course title and approval number, the completion date and hours, and your provider name and number, since contractors are warned that certificates without license or course numbers are weak proof. Your reporting export needs the same data. LMS Advisor's certificate designer issues certificates automatically with a public verification page, and completions export to CSV or Excel from reporting and analytics or go out through the certificate-issued webhook. Confirm in a demo that a license number field captured on the learner profile and your course and provider numbers print on the certificate and appear in the export. We have not confirmed that for this page, and it decides whether the certificate is useful proof.
Keeping records four years
455.2178 says providers "shall retain all records relating to a licensee's completion of continuing education courses for at least 4 years after completion of a course." Check LMS Advisor's data retention settings so nothing that proves a completion is purged before then, confirm in a demo which records those settings cover, and keep your own exports as a backup. Our table of training records retention requirements compares this with other US rules.
Selling seats and running live webinars
WooCommerce checkout with token SSO
LMS Advisor has no native checkout, coupons or bundles. Contractors buy through your WooCommerce store, and the LMS Advisor plugin with token SSO enrolls them, so the storefront and the course feel like one site.
Live hours on Zoom or Google Meet
The virtual classroom schedules sessions on Zoom or Google Meet, and attendance can be recorded manually or by QR check-in for in-person days. Whether a live webinar counts as classroom or distance learning for CILB purposes is a question to settle on your course application, not something to assume.
Company accounts for contractors buying for staff
A general contractor that holds several licenses, or a pool company with qualifiers across branches, can be set up as an organization with a manager view of its people's progress. That is the model we use for training providers selling to businesses.
Building the stucco course before 2027
Registered contractors need the hour for licenses expiring August 31, 2027, so a course approved in early 2027 still leaves a selling season. Start now.
Drafting with AI and review by a qualified instructor
LMS Advisor's AI tools can draft sections, lessons and quiz questions from your outline, using Anthropic or OpenAI as your admin chooses. Drafts are never published automatically. Your qualified instructor rewrites and checks every claim about lath, cladding and repair methods, and the Board still has to approve the course.
Recording demonstrations of lath and cladding repair
Upload site footage to the Media Library, or use the Recording Studio for camera, screen and whiteboard clips. Add timestamped questions so the video counts toward your interval checks.
Which platforms do Florida CE providers compare?
Facts below are from each vendor's public pages as of September 2026. TradesmanCE and 1 Exam Prep are approved providers, included because they are what your learners compare you with.
| Option | Type | Hours and time evidence | Identity verification | Selling | DBPR reporting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LMS Advisor (our platform, top pick) | LMS and exam platform, cloud or self-hosted | Lesson minimum time, sequential progression, analytics | Proctored final with ID photo, face monitoring, honesty pledge | WooCommerce plugin | Export or webhook, provider files |
| Arlo | Training management for providers | Attendance and certificate capture | Not stated on the page we opened | Native payments and invoices | Reports export to CSV, Excel, Power BI |
| LearnDash | WordPress LMS plugin | Not stated on the page we opened | Not stated | Stripe and PayPal integrations | Not stated |
| TradesmanCE | Approved Florida provider | Self-paced online package | Not stated | Own storefront | Not stated on the page we opened |
| 1 Exam Prep | Approved Florida provider | 14-hour package | Not stated | Own storefront | States reporting within 5 business days |
LMS Advisor: best overall for providers building CILB distance learning
It covers timing, interval checks, proctored identity checks, certificates and exports in one system, in our cloud or on your own server. It does not file with DBPR, hold approvals or sell without WooCommerce.
Arlo: best for classroom-heavy providers that want native payments
Arlo says it can "automatically capture registrations, attendance, and certificates," "accept credit card, invoice, and bank transfer payments" and trigger certificates "based on attendance, successful completion, or even post-course survey submission," with reports to "CSV, Excel, or Power BI."
LearnDash: best for providers already on WordPress
LearnDash, now served from Liquid Web, offers "quizzes with 8 question types," a "certificate builder" and "payment integrations (Stripe, PayPal)." Plan how you would meet the identity and 24-hour items.
TradesmanCE and 1 Exam Prep: the learner's benchmark
TradesmanCE publishes its DBPR provider ID and CILB provider number, says "all of our courses can be completed At Your Pace Online," and says its stucco hour is "expected to be included in the 2027 package." 1 Exam Prep says certificates are instantly downloadable once a course is fully completed and lists hours "reported to DBPR within 5 business days," and warns contractors that certificates without license or course numbers are weak proof.
Setup checklist for a Florida CE provider
- Confirm your provider registration route with DBPR (check the current forms on MyFloridaLicense) and plan CILB 28 applications, remembering course approvals last three years.
- Map each course to a required topic, and to the stucco hour where it applies.
- Set lesson minimum times so each hour is at least 50 minutes.
- Add a start-of-course attestation as a required block.
- Place scored knowledge checks inside every hour.
- Build a proctored final with ID photo capture and an honesty pledge, and place the end-of-course statement where the learner cannot skip it.
- Publish instructor contact routes that answer within 24 hours.
- Confirm in a demo how you will capture each learner's license number, and test that the certificate and export carry it with the course number and completion date.
- Export completions and file with DBPR well inside 30 days, daily near August 31.
- Set retention to keep records at least four years.
A workable plan: in the first 30 days, build one course against the CILB 28 items and test the certificate fields. By day 60, file the course application and set up WooCommerce. By day 90, run a pilot cohort and time your export-to-filing step before the summer rush.
Limits to plan around
- No DBPR filing. LMS Advisor does not submit completions, hold provider or course approval numbers or keep a CE credit ledger. You stay responsible for approval and reporting.
- Certificate fields need a demo check. Capturing each learner's license number and printing it with course and provider numbers must be confirmed before you rely on it.
- Proctoring covers the final exam only. It does not watch lesson viewing.
- No native checkout. Sales, coupons and bundles run through WooCommerce.
- No Florida course content. You write or license the material and get it approved.
- Approval is the Board's call. Whether a course design meets 61G4-18.004 is decided when CILB reviews it, not by the software.
If you only need registration, invoicing and classroom attendance, Arlo may suit you better. If you run many state rule sets, compare our Texas plumbing CE provider guide to see how another board handles reporting.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best LMS for a Florida contractor CE provider?
LMS Advisor is our pick for providers building CILB distance learning. It gives you minimum lesson time, interval checks, a proctored final with ID photo capture, certificates and completion exports, while you keep Board approval and report to DBPR.
Does Florida accept online continuing education for contractors?
Yes. Rule 61G4-18.001 counts "interactive distance learning hours," and DBPR's FAQ confirms some approved providers teach online. Each online course needs its own Board approval.
How fast must a provider report completions to DBPR?
Within 30 calendar days of completion, or sooner near the renewal deadline under 455.2178. DBPR's construction FAQ says 30 days or before the licensee's renewal date, whichever comes first.
What does CILB require to verify a student's identity online?
Form CILB 28 asks you to describe "the means by which the course provider will verify student identification," without prescribing one. A proctored final with ID photo capture and webcam snapshots is one method you can describe, and the Board decides whether it is enough.
Who needs the new stucco continuing education hour and when?
General, building, residential and specialty structure contractors. Enforcement starts with registered licenses expiring August 31, 2027 and certified licenses expiring August 31, 2028.
Can LMS Advisor report hours to DBPR automatically?
No. It issues certificates, fires a certificate-issued webhook and exports completions to CSV or Excel, and your staff submits them to DBPR within the deadline.
How long must Florida CE providers keep course records?
At least four years after a course is completed, under 455.2178. Set your LMS retention and your own backups to match.
Planning your 2027 package? Request a demo and bring a draft CILB 28 application.
