The following items are common among all permits issued by the Building Inspection Division. If a process differs for an individual permit type, it will be noted on the individual permit's information section.
Online Data Application Requirements
When you're ready to apply for a permit, the City's online Customer Permit Portal will ask you for three key categories of information, including project information, project people, and project details. They are discussed below. First, for project information, you'll need to know the project name, address, and parcel identification number. Second, for project people, please note that the individual listed as the applicant will be the main contact for the project and will be responsible for paying fees and providing documents. For project people, you'll need to know who is the applicant, the owner, and the contact person or agent. For each of those persons, you'll need to have their name, address, phone number, and email address. Third, for project details, you'll be asked to enter pertinent data relating to the type of permit being applied for and scope of the project.
Review Process
Once the Online Permit Application has been accepted, an invoice will be emailed to the applicant for the payment of the application and plan review fees. Following payment, the applicant will be invited to upload supporting documentation and plans into ePlan Review. Plans are reviewed for compliance with the Florida Building Code and any other applicable State and local regulations, if plans are not in compliance, the review will be denied and an "Applicant Resubmit Assignment Notice" will be sent to the applicant. The applicant responds to the comments by uploading the corrected supporting documentation and plans into ePlan Review. This cycle will continue until all the documentation and plans are approved as required by the Florida Building Code and any other applicable State and local regulations.
Resubmittal Process
If a project is rejected and returned to the applicant after plan review, a comment response letter will be generated by the lead plan reviewer and transmitted to the applicant. The comment response letter contains an active list of open comments that need to be resolved. On occasion, the lead reviewer may also create marked plan sets, visually depicting areas of concern on individual plan sheets. The letter and marked plan set (if applicable) will be viewable on the Customer Permit Portal.
The applicant must download the comment response letter as a Word document (and enable editing) to respond to the open comments, using the far-right column for all responses. Upon adequate response and correction of documents as requested, the applicant must upload the revised plans and comment response letter using the Customer Permit Portal upload page. Each uploaded plan and document filename MUST be exactly as previously named prior to upload so the document versions correctly. Please use this link for more information regarding document upload and file naming instructions on properly versioning resubmittal documents. Upon all documents being uploaded and versioned correctly, the applicant must select the “Submit for Review” hyper-link on the upload page to submit the project back to the lead plan reviewer to begin the next review cycle. The review process will continue until all reviewer comments have been responded to and the project is approvable for permit issuance.
Approval Process
The applicant will be notified when the permit application is approved and an invoice will be emailed to the applicant for the payment of the remaining permit fees. Once the permit fees have been paid in full the approved plans and permit placard will be uploaded into ePlan Review in a .pdf file for the applicant to download, print and place on the job site.
Revision Process
When there are changes to the approved plans of an issued building permit, the applicant should complete and email the Revision to Building Permit Application form to the email address located on the bottom of the form. The Plan Review staff will review the submitted request form and the Applicant will be invited to upload the revised documentations, if plans are not in compliance, the review will be denied and an "Applicant Resubmit Assignment Notice" will be sent to the applicant. The applicant responds to the comments by uploading the corrected supporting documentation and plans into ePlan Review. This cycle will continue until all the documentation and plans are approved as required by the Florida Building Code and any other applicable State and local regulations.
Trade Permits
Separate sub-trade permits may be required, depending on the permit type and the type of work being completed. Sub-trade permits consist of Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical, Gas, Roofing, Fire Alarm, Fire Sprinkler and Hood Suppression. Please select your respective permit type below to find out if sub-trade permits may be required.
Inspection Process
Inspections are scheduled by calling 850-891-1800 using the Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS). Inspections are scheduled in the system as an a.m. or p.m. inspection, with the a.m. inspection meaning from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. and p.m. meaning from 1 p.m - 3 p.m. OR all day from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. Inspections for a Mechanical, Gas or Fire permit are scheduled using the Customer Permit Portal.
Project Completion
No building shall be used or occupied until a Certificate of Occupancy has been issued. A Certificate of Completion may be obtained (where a Certificate of Occupancy is not required) as proof that a structure or system is complete, per the approved drawings. These certificates are only issued when the project has received all the final inspections and has met all the provisions of the Florida Building Code and other laws that are enforced by the department.