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What's new on Safe Home Experts
New: check a Florida contractor license from our pages
Our Florida license report and our Florida handyman rules page now have a box to check a contractor license. Type the license number or a name, and the state's live record opens in a new tab, with a plain-English guide to what each status means. We also redesigned the report to be easier to read, with photos from past Panhandle storms.
Florida license renewal report · Florida handyman and contractor rules
Florida license renewal report: new state data, every county, free downloads
We updated our Florida contractor license renewal report with the state's Oct. 27 license file. It now shows every county, charts, and free data files, and notes 172 licenses that were missing on Oct. 20 and have since renewed. We also added a data reports page and a press page with how to cite our numbers.
Handyman and contractor license rules for 15 states
Each of the 15 states whose handyman rule appears in our Who Should Fix It? tool now has its own page. Each page covers what a handyman may do without a license, which trades need a state license, contract rules, and doing the work yourself. Every rule is quoted from the state's law or licensing agency and was re-checked this month.
Who Should Fix It? tool and state list · Florida · California · Texas · New York
Corrections: handyman rules for 7 states
Re-checking the law for the new state pages, we found lines in our tool that were broader or looser than the law. We corrected Arizona (gas and permit lines), Georgia (owners may do plumbing fixtures, not all plumbing), New Jersey (the tiny-job exception is for electrical work only), New York (New York City plumbing and electrical rules), Tennessee (licensed contractors can do home improvement work too), Texas (trade licenses apply whether or not the worker is paid), and Virginia (the limit is the total value of the job; supervised helpers; gas fitters).
Arizona · Georgia · New Jersey · New York · Tennessee · Texas · Virginia
Florida contractor license renewals, 2026
Our own analysis of the state's public license records from before and after the Aug. 31, 2026 renewal deadline: how many certified licenses renewed, by trade and county, and what it means when you hire.
New monthly Home Recall Check
A plain-language roundup of U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalls for things in and around the home, from Sept. 20 to Oct. 19, 2026. Each one says what can go wrong, how to tell if you have it, and what the company will do.
Clearer cost guides and state rules; honest image labels
Cost guides without a sourced price range are now labeled as planning checklists. The Who Should Fix It? tool now lists the states whose handyman rules we checked, plus a license lookup for every state. Illustrations made with AI now say so in the caption. We also retired our old contractor listing pages.
Who Should Fix It? tool, four guides, and our first case file
A free tool for 53 common home jobs: DIY, handyman, or licensed pro, with where to stop and what to ask. Plus guides on aluminum wiring, Federal Pacific and Zinsco panels, polybutylene pipe, and Florida 4-point inspections, and a case file on four problems found after closing.
Who Should Fix It? · Case file: what the inspection didn't catch · Aluminum wiring · Federal Pacific and Zinsco panels · Polybutylene pipe · Florida 4-point inspection
House Decoder tool
Enter the year a house was built and its state to see the materials and systems common in that era, what to check for safety, insurance, or a sale, and what to ask an inspector.
Four new guides
Gutters and downspouts, sewer backups, repairing or replacing an appliance, and testing a sump pump.
Gutters and downspouts · Sewer backup · Repair or replace an appliance · Test a sump pump
See a mistake on any page? Email [email protected] and we'll fix it and note it here.