Drying fans on a wet tile floor in a Florida home with the lower walls cut open

Independent review

Updated 25 September 2026 · 24 sources · not paid by Paul Davis Restoration

Paul Davis Restoration review: how it works in Florida, what it costs, and where jobs go wrong

A fair look at a Jacksonville-based restoration franchise that dries out the house and then offers to rebuild it.

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Call Paul Davis Restoration if

Your insurer referred you to Paul Davis, or you want one firm to dry out and rebuild.
You need a crew today and there is a franchise that covers your county.
The local office shows an active Florida contractor licence and, for mold, an MRSR licence.

Compare first if

The job is mostly rebuild work, where delays are the most common complaint.
The local franchise has an unanswered BBB complaint or few reviews you can check.
The contract says anything about assigning your insurance benefits.

Compare with a licensed local company

Pick your area and see three local water damage restoration companies next to Paul Davis Restoration. None of them pay us to be here.

Your area

Our verdict. Paul Davis is a large, insurance-focused restoration franchise with deep Florida roots: the franchisor is based in Jacksonville and franchises cover Miami, Tampa, Palm Beach and more. Its strength is doing both halves of a loss, emergency drying and the rebuild, under one contract that it bills to your insurer. The weakness is the same franchise model every big brand has: each office is independently owned, it publishes no prices, and the public review averages sit near 2 of 5, with rebuild delays and poor follow-up the most common complaints. Call a local franchise if it shows active Florida licences and a clean BBB file, but get a second written estimate before you sign for the rebuild.

At a glance

355Units worldwide, 292 in the US (2025)

JacksonvilleHome of the franchisor and its training centre

$3,868Angi 2026 national average water damage job

2.0 of 5ConsumerAffairs average, 220 reviews

Where it is strong

More than 300 locations in the US and Canada, with 24/7 emergency service and a promised callback within 30 minutes.
Does mitigation and reconstruction, so one company can take the job from wet floor to finished wall.
Works directly with insurers and bills the carrier, according to its Tampa franchise.
Several Florida franchises we checked hold A+ BBB grades, and the Tampa office lists a Florida mold remediator licence (MRSR).

Where to be careful

Every location is independently owned, so quality depends on the local owner, not the brand.
No published prices anywhere on the brand or franchise pages we read.
An average of 2.0 of 5 across 220 ConsumerAffairs reviews and 1.9 of 5 on Trustpilot (53 reviews), with rebuild delays the most repeated theme.
The franchisor's own BBB file is graded B- for failing to respond to a complaint.

How we reviewed Paul Davis Restoration: research only, nobody here has hired them, 24 public sources. Read the method

We have not hired Paul Davis Restoration, and nobody at BestHonestPro has. This review is research: the brand's corporate and franchise pages, FirstService's 2023 announcement on company-owned offices, Franchise Times unit data, Better Business Bureau files for the franchisor and five Florida franchises, ConsumerAffairs and Trustpilot, published cost guides from Angi and HomeGuide, an EPA enforcement record, and Florida law on assignment of benefits and mold licensing. We read patterns across complaints rather than quoting single angry customers, and we left out anything we could not trace to a source.

We have not called Paul Davis Restoration for a test quote yet. When we do, what we asked and what they said will be added here with the date.

Last checked 25 September 2026. Paul Davis Restoration is not affiliated with BestHonestPro, has not paid us, and did not see this page before it went up. Paul Davis Restoration is a trademark of its owner and is used here only to name the company.

What Paul Davis Restoration is

Paul Davis started in 1966 and its national office and training centre are in Jacksonville. It is owned by FirstService Corporation, a Toronto-based property services company. Franchise Times counted 355 units in its 2025 list (292 in the US, 63 abroad) and system-wide sales of about $1.49 billion. The brand's own site says "more than 300" locations in the US and Canada.

Most offices are franchises. The brand footer says each franchise office is independently owned and operated. FirstService also runs some offices itself: in 2023 it said it had 15 company-owned operations in a network of 330. We found no Florida office named as company-owned.

Services that matter after a leak: water extraction and drying, mold remediation, storm and flood damage, contents pack-out, and reconstruction.

Source: Paul Davis, About and home page; Franchise Times Top 400, 2025; FirstService via GlobeNewswire, 23 Mar 2023.

What Paul Davis charges

Paul Davis does not publish prices. Jobs are quoted after an inspection, and the franchise usually bills your insurer. We found no brand-specific price in any cost guide, so the figures below are national industry averages, useful only as a yardstick for your written estimate.

A water damage job: published national ranges

Angi, typical job

$1,383 to $6,369

HomeGuide, typical job

$2,000 to $6,000

Angi, full range

$450 to $16,000

National average job	$3,868 (Angi, updated Sep 2026)
Per square foot	$3.50 clean water, $5.25 gray water, $7.50 black water (Angi)
Water extraction	$4 to $12 per square foot (HomeGuide, Feb 2026)
Mold remediation	$1,200 to $3,800, average $2,225 (Angi)

Source: Angi, water damage repair cost (updated 11 Sep 2026); HomeGuide, water damage restoration cost (updated 6 Feb 2026).

HomeGuide notes that after-hours emergencies add cost but gives no figure. Paul Davis publishes none either. Ask for the emergency rate and any trip charge on the phone.

Paul Davis, your insurer and the Florida AOB rule

The Tampa franchise says it works with all insurance companies, talks to both you and the carrier through the job, and receives payment from your insurer. Your deductible and anything your policy does not cover are still yours to pay, so ask for that in writing.

The Florida rule to know before you sign. For any residential property policy issued on or after 1 January 2023, Florida law says you may not assign your post-loss insurance benefits to a contractor. If your policy is older and still allows it, an emergency-services assignment is capped at the greater of $3,000 or 1% of your dwelling coverage, and you can cancel it within 14 days. Read the work authorization for any wording that assigns benefits or lets the company deal with your insurer in your place.

Source: Paul Davis Restoration of Tampa, water damage page; Florida Statutes 627.7152; Florida Senate bill summary, SB 2-A (2022).

More on claims in our Florida insurance guide and storm water or flood.

Paul Davis in Florida

Florida presence is strong. The franchisor is in Jacksonville, and we found franchises covering North Florida (Jacksonville), Tampa, Manatee County, Volusia County, Palm Beach County, Broward County, Miami Beach, Coral Gables and North Central Florida. The brand's Florida page names Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, St. Petersburg and Hialeah.

Licences we saw on BBB files: the East and West Tampa franchise lists building contractor licences (CBC) and a mold remediator licence (MRSR275). The Broward franchise lists residential and general contractor licences. The Palm Beach franchise lists a mold assessor licence (MRSA). Check any office on the free DBPR licence search before work starts.

Source: Paul Davis, Florida page and franchise sites (Miami Beach, The Gables, North Central Florida); BBB profiles for Paul Davis franchises in North Florida, Tampa, Manatee, Volusia, Broward and Palm Beach. Checked 25 Sep 2026.

The complaint record, read fairly

The franchisor, Paul Davis Restoration, Inc. in Jacksonville, is graded B- by the BBB because it did not respond to one complaint, filed in January 2024 over a fire-damage contents job. The Florida franchises we checked mostly score well.

BBB, franchisor (Jacksonville)	B-, not accredited, 1 complaint in 3 years (unanswered)
BBB, East and West Tampa	A+, accredited since 2001
BBB, Broward County	A+, not accredited, 4 complaints in 3 years, all answered
BBB, Palm Beach County	A+, not accredited
BBB, North Florida	Not rated (file under review)
ConsumerAffairs average	2.0 of 5 (220 reviews, 69% one star)
Trustpilot average	1.9 of 5 (53 reviews, 81% one star)

Source: BBB profiles for Paul Davis Restoration, Inc. and four Florida franchises; ConsumerAffairs; Trustpilot. Checked 25 Sep 2026.

Review sites draw unhappy customers more than happy ones, so treat the averages as a pattern, not a verdict. The repeated complaints are rebuild work that runs months late, slow replies, disputed bills and repairs that needed redoing. The repeated praise is fast emergency response and individual project managers who communicated well. The pattern points at the reconstruction phase more than the drying.

Official actions we found: one, against a single franchise, none against the brand.

2016
The US EPA settles with a Nicholasville, Kentucky Paul Davis franchise over lead-safe renovation paperwork (not handing over the lead hazard pamphlet and not keeping records) on a pre-1978 home. Civil penalty $5,138.

Source: US EPA, Paul Davis Restoration information sheet (2016).

Who it suits, and who should compare

A good fit: an insured loss where you want one company to dry the house and rebuild it, especially if your insurer refers you and the local franchise has an active licence and a clean BBB file.

Get a second estimate: any large rebuild, any disputed claim, and any office with an unanswered complaint. Ask an independent IICRC-certified restorer for a written estimate too. If there is mold, Florida requires a licensed mold assessor and a licensed remediator, and the same company may not do both on your house within 12 months. See mold after a leak.

Source: Florida DBPR, mold-related services FAQ.

What to ask before you say yes

Ask these on the phone, in this order, and ask the same questions of whoever you compare them with. The spread in the answers tells you more than the spread in the prices.

Is this office a Paul Davis franchise or company-owned, and what is the legal name on the contract?
What is your Florida contractor licence number? (Check it free on the DBPR licence search.)
If there is mold, what is your MRSR remediator licence number, and who is doing the independent assessment?
Does anything in this contract assign my insurance benefits? My policy was issued on (date).
Can I see the line-item estimate before work goes past emergency drying, and what do I owe if my insurer pays less?
Will I get daily moisture readings, drying logs and photos, and who is my single contact for the rebuild?
What is the written schedule for reconstruction, and what happens if it slips?

Local alternatives in Florida

We list local water damage restoration companies for eight Florida metros, each checked against the state licence register where a number was available. Get one written estimate from them alongside the Paul Davis franchise's and compare them line by line.

No company pays to be listed on those pages or to rank higher. Each listing links to its own licence check and sources.

Right of reply

Paul Davis Restoration, or the owner of any Paul Davis Restoration location, can correct a fact on this page. Email [email protected] with the fact and a source. We check it and publish the correction here with its date.

Where this comes from

Every figure above is published by the organisation named beside it. Nothing on this page is our own estimate, and where sources disagree we show both.

Show all 24 sources