Check a seawall contractor
on the Treasure Coast.

The essentials before you start

• Match the license to the work ↗

  Check the named contractor and the scope through the official records.

• Verify with the insurance issuer ↗

  Ask about the coverages that apply to the people and work on your project.

• Match every name on the paperwork ↗

  The proposal, permit, insurance and payment details should identify the party you hire.

Match the license to the work

Florida’s construction board defines a certified marine specialty contractor as qualified to build and repair docks, seawalls, bulkheads, boat lifts, revetments and other marine structures, including pile driving. It also defines narrower seawall, bulkhead, dock and pile-driving specialty categories. Look the business and its qualifier up on DBPR’s license search (850-487-1395).

Local certificates are changing. Stuart stopped accepting county certificates of competency on July 1, 2025 and requires state registration or certification. St. Lucie County still offers a county certificate of competency, and Martin County runs an online licensed-contractor search through its Licensing Division (772-288-5482).

Fla. Admin. Code R. 61G4-15.100 - Certified Specialty Contractors · Licensing Portal - License Search · Building Division · Contractor Applications and Forms · Contractor Licensing and Verification

Verify insurance with the issuer

Ask for certificates of general liability and workers’ compensation, and call the insurer to confirm them. Work on or next to navigable water can fall under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act; Fort Pierce’s marine permit application makes the applicant acknowledge that coverage.

Marine Permit Application - Current FBC · How to Protect Yourself: Contractors

If you plan to be your own contractor

Florida lets owners act as their own contractor on a one- or two-family home they occupy, if they directly supervise the work and personally sign the permit application. Port St. Lucie requires owner-builder permits to be applied for in person. A sale within a year of completion creates a presumption the work was done for sale.

489.103 Exemptions (2025 Florida Statutes) · Building Online Services

Review a project like yours

Ask for addresses of recent jobs on similar water: a tidal North Fork canal, an open-lagoon lot or a freshwater lake bank. Look up their permits on the city or county portal and check that final inspections were passed.

Building Online Services

Check the engineer separately

Seawall plans are signed and sealed by a Florida professional engineer. Florida engineers are not licensed by discipline, so ask about marine and seawall experience and look the engineer up on FBPE’s directory (850-521-0500).

Engineering Directory · Building Department Checklist for Miscellaneous Permits

Match the paperwork to the party you hire

Florida’s Attorney General advises checking the license for the proposed work, verifying insurance independently and reading the written agreement. Make sure the contract, permit application and Notice of Commencement all name the same contractor and describe the same work.

How to Protect Yourself: Contractors