How building permits work in Florida
These rules apply across Florida. Each local guide above covers what is specific to that city or county: its building department and contacts, permit types, fees and inspections.
When a permit is required, and permit life
Under the Florida Building Code (§105.1), a permit is required before you construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of most structures and systems. New for 2026: Florida HB 803 (effective July 1, 2026) created additional building-permit exemptions for certain single-family residential work - notably F.S. 553.79(1)(g), which can exempt qualifying work valued under $7,500 when it involves no electrical, plumbing, mechanical, gas, or structural work, the property is not partly or wholly in a flood hazard area as defined by the Florida Building Code, and the owner or the owner’s contractor sends the building department a written exemption request with the contract or other proof of the work and its value. Ask the permit counter whether your scope qualifies before assuming a permit is needed.
HB 803 made two more changes from 1 July 2026. A permit for a single-family home stays valid for at least 1 year after it is issued, or until the next edition of the Florida Building Code takes effect if that is later, and the local government can extend it (F.S. 553.79(1)(c)). For other work the Florida Building Code rule still applies: a permit lapses if work does not start within 180 days or stops for 180 days, and each approved inspection keeps it active. And for work under $15,000 on an existing single-family home, the building department must act on a complete application within 5 business days (F.S. 553.792).
Florida law also requires building departments to accept completed applications electronically and to take inspection requests electronically (F.S. 553.79(1)(b) and (d)); owner-builders must still appear in person to sign (F.S. 489.103(7)). The Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023) has been in force since 31 December 2023; the Florida Building Commission has proposed the 9th Edition (2026) to take effect on 31 December 2026.
On most jobs over $2,500 the owner must record a Notice of Commencement before work starts, and the building department needs a copy before the first inspection when the contract is over $5,000 (repair or replacement of an existing heating or air-conditioning system: $15,000 or more) (F.S. 713.13 and 713.135). Every permit also carries Florida’s two building-code surcharges, 1.5% and 1% of the permit fee, with a $2 minimum each (F.S. 468.631 and 553.721).
Solar permits
Solar is permitted as its own record type in many Florida jurisdictions rather than rolled into a general building permit, and residential and commercial photovoltaic are usually separate records with different document sets. Solar thermal — water and pool heating — is often a third, distinct record.
A photovoltaic submittal is reviewed on two tracks at once: structural (roof load path, attachment spacing, uplift) and electrical (conductor sizing, rapid shutdown, point of interconnection). A single-line diagram and a signed and sealed structural attachment detail are the two attachments most often missing on a first submittal.
Under Fla. Stat. §163.04, a homeowners’ association cannot ban solar panels on a home, but it can decide where on the roof they go (facing south, or within 45 degrees east or west of due south) as long as that does not reduce their performance. HOA review is separate from the building permit.
Utility interconnection runs parallel to the building permit, not inside it: the utility gives Permission to Operate after the permit passes final inspection.
Roofing permits and product approval
A roof covering replacement almost always needs a permit in Florida. The exception is a small single-family job under $7,500 that qualifies for the written-request exemption under F.S. 553.79(1)(g). Repairs below the local threshold may not need one either, but the threshold is scope-specific, and confirming it with the building department before tear-off is cheaper than an after-the-fact permit.
Every roof product must carry a current Florida Product Approval or Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance rated for the wind speed at the project address. A product approval number that has lapsed or is rated below the site wind speed is the single most common reroof rejection.
Reroof inspections are sequenced: the roof-deck nailing (sheathing) is inspected before the underlayment goes on, then the dry-in, then the final. Some departments accept a roofer’s affidavit for the re-nailing (Florida Building Code 110.3). Covering the deck before its nailing is approved can mean tearing it back open.
On a site-built house, Florida law makes a roof replacement include a secondary water barrier and upgraded roof-deck nailing. In the wind-borne debris region, homes valued at $300,000 or more may also need roof-to-wall connections, capped at about 15% of the reroof cost (F.S. 553.844). These add scope and documents, and they are triggered by the replacement itself.
After a state of emergency is declared for a natural disaster, Fla. Stat. §553.7922 requires the local governments it affects to fast-track permits that need no technical review — roof repairs, reroofs, electrical repairs, service changes, or replacing one window or door — and lets them waive the fees.