Miami-Dade County Building Permits: How the RER Building Division Process Works
- Endless Life Design
- 59 minutes ago
- 3 min read
In Miami-Dade County, the first question on any project is who issues the permit, because the county and its thirty-four municipalities run separate building departments. Knowing the jurisdiction, the portal, and the county approvals that must clear before issuance is what keeps a Miami-Dade project on schedule. Endless Life Design manages that process end to end across the county.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Who Issues Your Permit (County vs. Municipality)
The EPS Portal and E-Permitting
Plan Review and DERM Approval
Inspections, Certificate of Occupancy, and Certificate of Use
Private Providers and Owner-Builders
Building Recertification and Milestone Inspections
County and Municipality Inspection Comments for Permit Approval
Related Resources
Why Choose Endless Life Design
WHO ISSUES YOUR PERMIT (COUNTY VS. MUNICIPALITY)
The Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER), Building Division, issues permits for unincorporated Miami-Dade — properties whose folio number begins with 30 — from the Permitting and Inspection Center at 11805 SW 26th Street. All thirty-four incorporated municipalities issue their own building permits, though projects inside a city often still require certain county approvals before the city permit issues.
THE EPS PORTAL AND E-PERMITTING
New applications, plans, corrections, revisions, and extensions for unincorporated projects are submitted through the county's EPS Portal, and plans must be digitally signed and sealed by the design professional. Stand-alone trade permits that do not require plan review can be obtained the same day through the E-Permitting system.
PLAN REVIEW AND DERM APPROVAL
Applications are reviewed against the Florida Building Code, the Miami-Dade County Code, and any applicable municipal requirements. Initial plan review generally takes between 24 hours and 10 business days, with corrections, known as reworks, on a similar cycle. Under Chapter 24 of the County Code, many project types — new construction, additions, commercial remodels and demolition, commercial re-roofs, tanks, seawalls, and drainage wells — require DERM environmental plan-review approval before the building permit is issued.
INSPECTIONS, CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY, AND CERTIFICATE OF USE
Required inspections are scheduled as the work progresses. Once the final building inspection is approved, the project receives a Certificate of Occupancy or Certificate of Completion; a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy is available by appointment for partial occupancy. A separate Certificate of Use governs how a space may be occupied or operated.
PRIVATE PROVIDERS AND OWNER-BUILDERS
Florida law allows the use of a private provider for plan review and inspections under Section 553.791, F.S., and Miami-Dade adopted standardized private-provider forms effective August 5, 2024. Owners performing their own work may apply as owner-builders by affidavit, and all contractors must be properly licensed and registered with the county.
BUILDING RECERTIFICATION AND MILESTONE INSPECTIONS
Miami-Dade has long required periodic structural and electrical recertification of older buildings. Separately, Florida's statewide milestone inspection law, Section 553.899, F.S., requires condominium and cooperative buildings three stories or higher to complete a Phase 1 milestone inspection at 30 years of age — or 25 years if within three miles of the coast — and every 10 years thereafter.
COUNTY AND MUNICIPALITY INSPECTION COMMENTS FOR PERMIT APPROVAL
Common comments include:
Application filed with the county for a project inside an incorporated municipality, or vice versa.
Plans not digitally signed and sealed for the EPS Portal.
DERM environmental approval not obtained before the building permit.
Certificate of Use not secured before occupying or operating the space.
Recertification or milestone inspection past due on an older building.
RELATED RESOURCES
WHY CHOOSE ENDLESS LIFE DESIGN
Endless Life Design is a licensed Florida general contractor serving Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties across construction, engineering, architecture, interior design, and 3D rendering. We manage permitting, plan review, and inspections with each building department as one accountable process, so your project moves from application to certificate of occupancy without avoidable delay.
Endless Life Design — Licensed Florida General Contractor. Visit endlesslifedesign.com, call (305) 680-3283, or email endlesslifedesign@endlesslifedesign.com.
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