Required Construction Permits Across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties 2026: A Florida Building Code Reference Guide

   Index

1. Introduction

2. The Florida Building Code Framework

3. Miami-Dade County Permit Requirements

4. Broward County Permit Requirements

5. Palm Beach County Permit Requirements

6. Sub-permits and Specialty Trades

7. Application Documents and Notice of Commencement

8. Inspections and Certificate of Occupancy

9. Common Causes of Permit Denials and Project Delays

10. Endless Life Design Permit Services

   Introduction

Every construction project undertaken in South Florida, regardless of scope, location, or property type, is subject to permit requirements established by the Florida Building Code and administered by local building departments. Property owners, developers, and design professionals planning work across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties operate within a regulatory framework that prioritizes life safety, structural integrity, hurricane resilience, and code compliance above all other considerations. Construction performed without the required permits exposes property owners to financial penalties, demolition orders, insurance complications, title defects, and personal liability for any damage or injury that occurs on the unpermitted work.

This reference guide consolidates the construction permit requirements applicable across the three-county South Florida region as of 2026, drawing on the Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) and the local administrative procedures of Miami-Dade County Regulatory and Economic Resources, Broward County's Building Code Services Division, and Palm Beach County's Planning, Zoning, and Building Department. The information is organized for property owners, designers, contractors, and other stakeholders responsible for verifying that a planned project carries the correct permits before commencement.

The Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) remains the current statewide standard until December 31, 2026, when the 9th Edition (2026) takes effect. All permit applications submitted before that transition date are governed by the 8th Edition. Where local administrative procedures supersede or supplement the state code, this guide identifies the controlling county or municipal authority. Property owners and design professionals operating in Boca Raton, Miami, Coral Gables, Aventura, Pinecrest, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Weston, Delray Beach, Palm Beach, Wellington, Jupiter, and surrounding municipalities should review the applicable section for the county of jurisdiction before initiating any construction activity.

   The Florida Building Code Framework

Section 105 of the Florida Building Code establishes the permit requirements that apply throughout the state. Under FBC Section 105.1, any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure must first obtain a permit from the local building official. The code further requires permits for the installation, alteration, replacement, or repair of any electrical, gas, mechanical, or plumbing system that is regulated by the code.

The code recognizes a narrow set of exemptions, including minor repairs such as replacing broken window glass, fence work below specified heights, certain painting and finishing tasks, and like-for-like cabinet replacement that does not affect plumbing or electrical systems. The exemptions are interpreted narrowly by local building officials and do not extend to structural work, electrical alterations, plumbing modifications, mechanical equipment changes, or any work in a high-velocity hurricane zone that involves the building envelope.

South Florida is uniquely affected by two regulatory designations that influence permit requirements at every level. The first is the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, which encompasses all of Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Construction within the HVHZ is governed by stricter wind-load, impact-protection, roofing, and structural connection standards under the HVHZ-specific provisions of the code. The second designation is the Wind-Borne Debris Region, which covers Palm Beach County and the remainder of coastal Florida. The Wind-Borne Debris Region imposes opening protection and design pressure requirements that, while less prescriptive than HVHZ standards, still require Florida Product Approval or Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance documentation for all envelope components including windows, doors, roofing systems, and shutters.

The practical consequence is that no construction project in South Florida proceeds without sealed plans, product approvals, and a permit issued under the supervision of a licensed contractor or, where statutorily permitted, an owner-builder operating under the limitations of the owner-builder exemption.

   Miami-Dade County Permit Requirements

The Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, Building Division, administers permits within unincorporated Miami-Dade County and provides backup permitting services for several smaller municipalities. The county uses the Electronic Plans Submittal Portal as its primary intake system. All plans, application forms, energy calculations, structural calculations, product approvals, and survey documents are uploaded through the portal in PDF format, signed and sealed by the Florida-licensed design professional of record.

Miami-Dade County applies a permit fee structure based on the construction value of the work, with a minimum permit fee, a per-square-foot calculation for new construction, and additional charges for plan review, recordation, and code enforcement contribution. The fee schedule includes a 0.5 percent Building Code Compliance Fund contribution and a 1 percent state surcharge applied to the calculated permit fee. Sub-permits for electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and roofing work carry separate fees and require separate contractor licenses for each trade.

Beyond the county-level Building Division, Miami-Dade is home to thirty-four incorporated municipalities, each operating its own building department with independent permit intake, plan review, inspection, and Certificate of Occupancy procedures. The municipalities of Coral Gables, Miami Beach, Pinecrest, Aventura, Bal Harbour, Key Biscayne, Sunny Isles Beach, Doral, Homestead, Hialeah, and others each maintain their own permit portals, fee schedules, and submittal requirements. A property owner who confirms permit requirements with the county Building Division when the project is actually located within an incorporated municipality has consulted the wrong jurisdiction. The first step in any Miami-Dade permit pathway is verifying the correct local building department based on the project's specific address.

Two additional Miami-Dade specific requirements warrant explicit attention. The first is the jurisdiction of the Division of Environmental Resources Management, known as DERM, which reviews permits for environmental compliance, septic system work, well permitting, wetland impact, tree removal in canopy areas, and any work within a designated environmentally sensitive area. DERM review can add weeks to a permit timeline and should be factored into project schedules from the outset. The second requirement is the 40-Year Building Recertification Program, codified in Chapter 8 of the Miami-Dade County Code, which mandates structural and electrical recertification of buildings at 40 years of age and every 10 years thereafter, with accelerated reinspection cycles for buildings within three miles of the coast. The program was strengthened following the Surfside collapse and is administered by RER through a structured inspection, report, and remediation permit process.

Permit applications for water submeter installations in multi-family buildings carry an amendment to the standard plumbing permit pathway and must include the Notice of Acceptance documentation for the submeter equipment and a coordinated review with the water utility serving the property.

   Broward County Permit Requirements

Broward County's Building Code Services Division administers the Broward County Amendments to the Florida Building Code and provides central plan review services for several municipalities, while thirty-one incorporated cities within the county operate their own building departments. The primary intake system for Broward County and many of its municipalities is ePermits OneStop, a unified online portal that accepts permit applications, plan submittals, fee payments, and inspection scheduling for the cities that participate in the program.

Broward County, like Miami-Dade, is entirely within the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. All construction within the county must comply with HVHZ wind-load and impact-protection requirements, and all envelope components must carry Florida Product Approval or Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance approval valid for HVHZ application. The Broward County Amendments include additional provisions related to coastal construction, sea-level adaptation, flood-resistant design in V-Zones and AE-Zones, and elevation certificate requirements for substantially improved or substantially damaged structures within Special Flood Hazard Areas.

The 180-Day Rule is a critical administrative provision in Broward County. Permit applications that remain inactive for 180 days, defined as no contractor or applicant response to plan review comments, no fee payment, and no inspection scheduled, are administratively closed. Reactivating a closed permit application requires a new submittal, a new fee, and a new plan review under whatever code edition is currently in effect at the time of resubmittal. Project owners and design professionals must respond promptly to plan review comments to avoid administrative closure and the financial consequences of resubmission.

Broward County strictly enforces the after-the-fact permit fee schedule, which doubles the standard permit fee for work that commenced before a permit was issued. The doubled fee is in addition to potential code enforcement liens, stop-work orders, and, in cases of repeat or egregious violations, criminal penalties against the property owner or the unlicensed contractor performing the work.

Cities including Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, Davie, Plantation, Sunrise, Weston, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, and Deerfield Beach each operate independent building departments with their own intake portals, fee schedules, and inspection workflows. A project located within an incorporated Broward municipality must be permitted through that municipality, not through the Broward County Building Code Services Division.

   Palm Beach County Permit Requirements

The Palm Beach County Planning, Zoning, and Building Department administers permits within unincorporated Palm Beach County. The department uses the ePZB online portal for permit intake, plan submittal, inspection scheduling, and Certificate of Occupancy issuance.

Palm Beach County is located within the Wind-Borne Debris Region but is not designated as part of the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. Construction within Palm Beach County must comply with the Florida Building Code wind-load and opening-protection requirements applicable to the Wind-Borne Debris Region, including ASCE 7 design wind speeds, impact-rated glazing or shutter systems on all openings, and product approval documentation for envelope components. The HVHZ-specific testing standards required in Miami-Dade and Broward are not mandatory in Palm Beach County, although many envelope manufacturers maintain both HVHZ and Wind-Borne Debris Region approvals for product line consistency.

Palm Beach County categorizes permits into seven types based on scope, complexity, and review pathway: Type 1 for residential additions and alterations, Type 2 for new residential construction, Type 3 for commercial alterations, Type 4 for new commercial construction, Type 5 for specialty trade and sub-permits, Type 6 for demolition and accessory structures, and Type 7 for fast-track and express permits where eligible. Each type carries its own submittal checklist, fee schedule, and average review time. Property owners should confirm the applicable permit type during pre-application consultation to avoid submittal corrections that delay issuance.

The county threshold for Notice of Commencement filing is set at five thousand dollars. Any improvement to real property with a contract value of five thousand dollars or more requires the property owner to record a Notice of Commencement with the Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller before the first inspection. Failure to record the Notice of Commencement is a frequent cause of inspection failures and final Certificate of Occupancy delays in Palm Beach County.

Permit fees in Palm Beach County range from approximately one hundred dollars for minor work to several thousand dollars for substantial new construction, with the precise fee determined by construction valuation, square footage, and the applicable Type designation. Incorporated municipalities including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Wellington, Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, the Town of Palm Beach, Lake Worth Beach, Greenacres, and Royal Palm Beach each maintain independent building departments with their own portals, fee schedules, and procedural requirements.

   Sub-permits and Specialty Trades

A master building permit covers the structural, architectural, and life-safety aspects of a construction project but does not authorize the performance of specialty trade work. Each trade discipline requires its own sub-permit, issued to a contractor licensed in that specific trade and submitted with trade-specific documentation.

The electrical sub-permit authorizes the installation, alteration, or repair of electrical wiring, service equipment, panels, branch circuits, lighting, and low-voltage systems. The application is submitted by a licensed electrical contractor and accompanied by electrical plans, load calculations, and panel schedules where required by the scope of work.

The plumbing sub-permit authorizes the installation, alteration, or repair of water supply, sanitary drainage, vent, and fuel gas piping systems. The application is submitted by a licensed plumbing contractor and accompanied by plumbing plans, fixture schedules, and isometric drawings for substantial work.

The mechanical sub-permit authorizes the installation, alteration, or replacement of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, and exhaust systems. The application is submitted by a licensed mechanical contractor and accompanied by mechanical plans, equipment schedules, ductwork layouts, and Manual J and Manual D calculations for residential air conditioning work in compliance with the Florida Energy Conservation Code.

The roofing sub-permit authorizes the installation, replacement, or repair of roof coverings, underlayment, flashing, and accessory components. Within the HVHZ, the roofing sub-permit must reference Notice of Acceptance documentation for each component of the roof assembly. The application is submitted by a licensed roofing contractor.

Additional sub-permits include the demolition permit for any structure or portion of a structure being removed, the fence permit for fence installation above the height threshold set by local zoning, the pool permit for swimming pool construction including the barrier and safety equipment required by Florida law, the screen enclosure and shutter permits for hurricane protection systems, the driveway and paving permit for impervious surface modifications, and the irrigation and landscape permits where municipal regulations require them.

Each sub-permit is reviewed by the building department's trade reviewer in the relevant discipline, scheduled for separate inspections at appropriate stages of the project, and closed independently of the master permit. A project cannot receive final inspection approval or a Certificate of Occupancy until every sub-permit has been finalized.

   Application Documents and Notice of Commencement

A complete permit application in South Florida includes the application form executed by the property owner or authorized agent, sealed and signed plans prepared by a Florida-licensed architect or engineer where required, a recent boundary and topographic survey, energy compliance calculations under the Florida Energy Conservation Code, structural calculations, soil reports for new foundations, product approval documentation for envelope components, contractor licensing documentation, workers compensation and general liability insurance certificates, and the appropriate sub-permit applications for electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and other trade work.

The Notice of Commencement, required by Florida Statute 713.13, must be recorded with the county Clerk and Comptroller before the first inspection on any improvement with a contract value above the statutory threshold, which is five thousand dollars in most jurisdictions, with separate thresholds for certain improvement types. The Notice of Commencement identifies the property owner, the contractor, the lender if any, the surety if any, and the property by legal description, and serves as the foundation document for Florida's construction lien law. A property owner who fails to record a Notice of Commencement, or who records one incorrectly, may be required to pay twice for the same work if a sub-contractor or supplier serves a valid claim of lien for unpaid amounts that the general contractor failed to disburse.

Contractor licensing documentation must verify a current and active license issued by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, with the correct classification for the work being performed. General contractors operate under Certified General Contractor, Certified Residential Contractor, or Certified Building Contractor classifications, each with defined scope and project value limits. Specialty trade contractors operate under their respective specialty licenses. Permit applications submitted without verified licensing or with an expired license are rejected at intake.

The owner-builder exemption under Florida Statute 489.103 permits a property owner to act as their own contractor on a single-family residence or duplex that is intended for their personal residence or rental, subject to strict limitations on resale within one year of completion, restrictions on the use of unlicensed labor, and the assumption of full liability for compliance with the Florida Building Code, workers compensation requirements, and applicable insurance obligations. Owner-builder permits are scrutinized closely by local building departments and require the property owner to appear in person to execute the application affidavit.

   Inspections and Certificate of Occupancy

Permitted construction is subject to a scheduled sequence of inspections, with each inspection corresponding to a specific stage of the work that must be observed and approved before construction proceeds to the next stage. The principal inspection sequence for a new residential structure includes the foundation and footing inspection prior to concrete placement, the underground plumbing inspection prior to slab pour, the slab inspection prior to concrete placement, the framing and structural connection inspection following framing completion, the rough electrical, rough plumbing, and rough mechanical inspections at the point at which all in-wall work is exposed and accessible, the insulation inspection prior to drywall installation, the drywall inspection prior to taping, the final roofing inspection, and the final building inspection at project completion.

Each inspection is scheduled through the relevant permit portal, performed by a code inspector on the scheduled date, and results in either an approval or a correction notice identifying deficiencies that must be remediated before reinspection. Failed inspections carry a reinspection fee in most jurisdictions and may trigger additional plan review if the deficiency reveals a discrepancy with the permitted plans.

The Certificate of Occupancy is the document issued by the building official upon successful completion of all final inspections, indicating that the structure is in compliance with the Florida Building Code and is approved for occupancy and use. No occupancy or use of a newly constructed or substantially altered structure is permitted before the Certificate of Occupancy is issued. In limited circumstances a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy may be issued where minor items remain outstanding, subject to a bond or escrow and a defined completion date.

   Common Causes of Permit Denials and Project Delays

Permit applications are denied or returned for correction for a defined set of recurring reasons that property owners and design professionals should anticipate and address before submittal. The most frequent are incomplete documentation, including missing product approval references, missing energy calculations, or missing survey information; plans that do not conform to the Florida Building Code edition currently in effect; inadequate structural detail for the wind load conditions applicable to the project location; expired or incorrect contractor licensing on the application; zoning conflicts including setback violations, lot coverage exceedance, or use restrictions not addressed in the proposed work; missing Notice of Commencement on a project above the statutory threshold; and unresolved code enforcement violations on the property that must be cleared before any new permit is issued.

Plan review correction cycles add weeks to permit timelines and, in jurisdictions like Broward County, can result in administrative closure if the response is delayed beyond the 180-day window. Property owners who engage experienced design professionals and licensed contractors with established working relationships with local building departments routinely obtain permits on shorter timelines than those who attempt to navigate the process without informed guidance.

   Endless Life Design Permit Services

Endless Life Design is a licensed general contractor operating across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, with integrated capabilities in architecture, engineering, interior design, and three-dimensional rendering. We hold the licenses, product approval relationships, and submission protocols required to keep projects moving through the permit process without unnecessary delay.

PREPARING NEW ENGINEERING STRUCTURE BLUEPRINT PLANS

PREPARING SEALED ARCHITECTURAL PLANS FOR PERMIT SUBMITTAL

COORDINATING SUB-PERMIT APPLICATIONS WITH LICENSED TRADE CONTRACTORS

MANAGING PLAN REVIEW CORRECTION CYCLES WITH LOCAL BUILDING DEPARTMENTS

ADMINISTERING NOTICE OF COMMENCEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION LIEN COMPLIANCE

SCHEDULING AND ACCOMPANYING INSPECTIONS THROUGH FINAL CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY

For property owners planning construction in Boca Raton, Miami, Coral Gables, Aventura, Pinecrest, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Weston, Delray Beach, Palm Beach, Wellington, Jupiter, Pompano Beach, or anywhere across the South Florida region, contact Endless Life Design for a professional consultation and a permit services proposal.

Endless Life Design | Licensed General Contractor and Permit Services | Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach County | (305) 680-3283 | endlesslifedesign@endlesslifedesign.com