Daytona Beach Glass · Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Shores & Holly Hill, FL
The licensing rule here is not what almost anyone assumes.
Call (386) 256-6448This surprises almost everyone. Florida used to have a Certified Glass and Glazing Contractor licence; the 2012 legislature removed that category from the mandatory state licence types. The result is that replacing a pane of glass or hanging a mirror does not require a state contractor certification at all. Anyone can do it.
What still does require a licence is the structural half of the trade: installing windows and doors, storefront framing, and structurally anchored opening protection. That work needs a Division I contractor or an appropriate specialty licence — and your city or county may require a local licence on top of the state one.
The practical consequence is a line most homeowners never think to draw. A glass shop that is entirely legitimate for re-glazing a broken sash may not be licensed to pull the permit for a window replacement, which is a different job with a wind-load requirement attached. Ask which one you are buying. If the answer is a replacement, ask for the licence number and check it yourself at the state licence search.
Start by working out which job you are buying, because that decides which rules apply. Re-glazing a broken pane into an existing frame is one thing. Replacing the window or door as a unit is another — it is a permitted alteration with a wind-load requirement, and it needs someone licensed to do it.
If it is a replacement, ask for the licence number and check it yourself at the state licence search rather than accepting a photograph of a card. Ask separately about insurance — general liability, and workers' compensation if anyone other than the owner will be on your property — and ask for the certificate to come from the insurer rather than from the contractor.
Then ask about the permit. A contractor who tells you a window replacement needs no permit is either wrong or planning to skip it, and an unpermitted alteration is a problem that surfaces years later when you sell.
A firm price quoted over the phone from a verbal description, before anyone has measured the opening. A large deposit demanded up front for a job that has not been scheduled. Pressure to decide today because a price expires tonight. Any claim that a product will make a home hurricane-proof, storm-proof, or unbreakable. A refusal to put the licence number, the permit responsibility, or the warranty in writing.
And one specific to storm season: after a named storm, this area attracts crews from out of state who work fast, take deposits, and are gone before the inspection. The licence check takes two minutes and is never more worth doing than in the fortnight after a hurricane.
For non-structural glass and mirror work, Florida does not require a state contractor certification — that category was removed from the mandatory licence types in 2012. Local licensing may still apply, so it is worth asking. Replacing the window or door as a unit is a different matter and does require a licensed contractor.
Florida allows owners of owner-occupied property to act as their own contractor for work on that property, with conditions — the owner has to appear and sign the permit application personally. Volusia County publishes the requirements. Whether you should is a separate question, particularly for anything structural or above ground level.
Three is the usual advice and it holds here, with one caveat: make sure all three are quoting the same job. A cheap quote that re-glazes and an expensive quote that replaces the whole unit are not competing — they are answering different questions.
It does not, but there are practical reasons it helps in this market: familiarity with the county wind mapping and the local permit process, and a physical address that still exists when a warranty claim comes up two years later.
Current as of August 2026. This page is general information about Florida contractor licensing as it applies to glass, glazing and window work. It is not a code interpretation, a permit determination, or advice about a specific property. Building codes are amended, wind maps are redrawn, and the rules that apply turn on your exact address and the age of the structure.
Before you commit to any glass or opening work, confirm the requirements with the building department that has jurisdiction over your address, and confirm any contractor's licence directly with the state. Links to both are on this page.