Methodology

PublicWarden pulls from two Florida government databases, both publicly available under Florida's Sunshine Law (Chapter 119, F.S.):

Florida DBPR (Department of Business and Professional Regulation) — Bulk license data for all state-licensed construction contractors. Includes license status, license type, original licensure date, expiration date, complaints, and disciplinary actions.

Florida DWC (Division of Workers' Compensation) — Digital Download database of workers' compensation insurance policies. Includes insurer name, policy number, effective and expiration dates, and policy status.

DBPR and DWC are separate databases with no shared identifier. We match contractors across these databases using entity name matching — comparing the licensee name in DBPR records against the employer name in DWC records.

This method is imperfect. A contractor may carry insurance under a different business entity name, or use a DBA that doesn't match their license name. When we cannot match a contractor to insurance records, we display "Not Verified" rather than making assumptions. We never infer coverage status — we only display what we can confirm from the source data.

Every contractor page shows color-coded indicators based on what the source data says:

Green — Record confirmed in good standing. License is active, insurance is current, or no complaints/actions located.

Gray — Not verified. Data is unavailable or could not be matched. Not a negative signal.

Red — Record shows a concern. License suspended/revoked, insurance lapsed/cancelled, or complaints/actions located.

Every verification snapshot is recorded with a SHA-256 cryptographic hash that chains to the previous snapshot. This creates a tamper-evident audit trail — if any historical record is modified, the hash chain breaks, making the alteration detectable.

We cite the source agency on every indicator (e.g., "Active per FL DBPR") so users can independently verify any data point against the original government database.

Data is periodically refreshed from government sources. Each contractor page shows the date of last verification. Between updates, a contractor's real-world status may change before our records reflect it. For time-sensitive decisions, we recommend confirming directly with DBPR or DWC.

PublicWarden does not cover all Florida contractors — we are expanding coverage during initial rollout. Name-based matching between DBPR and DWC is approximate and may miss contractors who operate under different entity names. We do not verify general liability insurance, bonding, or local (county) licenses. PublicWarden is a verification tool, not a recommendation engine — we never score, rank, or endorse contractors.