Miami-Dade Permitting

Miami-Dade permitting starts with the property location.

Before submitting anything, find out which government agency has jurisdiction over the property.

Miami-Dade County directly handles building permits for properties in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.

The County says its building permit application process applies to properties with folio numbers that begin with 30.

Properties inside an incorporated municipality usually have their main building permits issued by that city's Building Department.

That means a property in the City of Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, North Miami Beach, Aventura or another municipality may use a different permitting system.

The first step is simple:

Confirm the jurisdiction before starting the permit application.

Miami-Dade County — How to Apply for a Permit

Miami-Dade permitting is the process used to apply for permits, submit plans, complete plan review, respond to corrections, pay required fees, receive the permit and complete required inspections.

Depending on the project, the process can involve several County departments.

A commercial project may involve:

• Building
• Zoning
• Electrical
• Plumbing
• Mechanical
• Roofing
• Fire Rescue
• Environmental Resources Management
• Water and Sewer
• Public Works
• Impact Fees

The exact reviews depend on the project, location and scope of work.

Miami-Dade County requires permits for many types of construction and alteration work.

Examples include:

• new construction
• additions
• renovations
• remodeling
• demolition
• fences
• sheds
• pools
• roofing
• window and door replacement
• electrical work
• plumbing work
• mechanical work
• changes to building occupancy
• certain zoning improvements

Some minor work may qualify for an exemption.

Always check the current County requirements for the actual project before beginning work.

View Miami-Dade Permit Information

Many Miami-Dade permit applications can be submitted online.

Miami-Dade uses its Plan Status and Application Submittal Portal for applications and documents that require plan review.

Open the Miami-Dade Permit Submission Portal

The portal can be used for items such as:

• new permit applications
• new plans
• permit corrections
• revisions
• shop drawings
• permit extensions
• expired permit reissuance
• change of contractor requests

The exact application and documents depend on the permit.

Miami-Dade also requires current versions of its official forms. Outdated application forms may be rejected.

View Miami-Dade Permit Forms and Checklists

There is no single document list for every permit.

Requirements depend on the work being performed.

A permit package may include:

• permit application
• construction plans
• site plan
• survey
• product approvals
• calculations
• contractor information
• owner information
• supporting forms
• affidavits
• agency approvals
• digitally signed and sealed plans

Projects that require professional plans may need electronic documents signed and sealed by the appropriate licensed architect or engineer.

Submitting the correct documents at the beginning can help avoid preventable corrections later.

Miami-Dade uses several online systems.

This can be confusing because different tools perform different jobs.

Permit Application and Plan Status

Use the Plan Status and Application Submittal Portal for many new applications, plans, reworks and revisions.

Miami-Dade Plan Status and Application Portal

Permit Records and Status

Miami-Dade's Building Permit Selection Menu provides several permit-related searches.

Miami-Dade Building Permit Selection Menu

Depending on the permit, you can use County tools to review:

• permit history
• permit application history
• project status
• outstanding requirements
• inspection history
• inspection holds
• open permits
• permits connected to a property

E-Permitting

Miami-Dade also provides an E-Permitting system for contractors for certain permits that do not require plan review.

The correct system depends on the permit.

View Miami-Dade Building Online Services

After an application and required documents are accepted, Miami-Dade assigns a process number.

Required upfront fees must be paid before plan review begins.

During plan review, the submitted documents are reviewed for compliance with applicable requirements.

Several departments may review a project at the same time.

Depending on the project, those reviews can include:

• building
• structural
• electrical
• plumbing
• mechanical
• zoning
• environmental
• Fire
• Public Works
• Water and Sewer

Miami-Dade currently states that initial plan review can take between 24 hours and 10 business days, depending on the permit type and project complexity.

That does not mean every permit will be issued within that period.

Corrections, outside agency requirements and additional review cycles can add more time.

Read Miami-Dade Plan Review Information

A permit application does not always pass every review the first time.

A reviewer may issue comments or corrections.

The project team then needs to determine:

1. What the reviewer is asking for.
2. Which contractor or design professional needs to respond.
3. Which plans or documents need to change.
4. What needs to be resubmitted.
5. Which review department needs to approve the correction.

Miami-Dade refers to corrected submissions as reworks.

The County states that rework review can also take between 24 hours and 10 business days after corrections are submitted, depending on the permit and complexity.

Several departments can issue comments on the same project.

That is why correction tracking becomes important on commercial permitting projects.

A project inside a city may still require Miami-Dade County review.

Miami-Dade calls this a County Municipal Approval.

These reviews can involve:

• Water and Sewer
• Impact Fees
• Environmental Resources Management
• Miami-Dade Fire Rescue
• Florida Department of Health requirements

Miami-Dade says the County Municipal Approval process creates a process number beginning with M.

This is separate from the main municipal building permit.

For example, a project's primary permit may be with the City of Miami while certain County reviews still need to be completed.

Miami-Dade County Municipal Approval Information

Commercial permitting can involve more departments and more coordination than a simple permit application.

Projects may include:

• restaurant buildouts
• retail buildouts
• office renovations
• tenant improvements
• commercial kitchens
• franchise locations
• changes of use
• commercial renovations
• new commercial construction

A commercial permit can involve a main building permit plus separate trade permits and County reviews.

For example, one project may require coordination between:

• building
• electrical
• plumbing
• mechanical
• Fire
• zoning
• environmental review

Each part can have its own status, comments and requirements.

Environmental review can be part of Miami-Dade permitting.

Miami-Dade's Environmental Plan Review section reviews certain building permits and other applications for environmental requirements.

Commercial demolition and renovation projects may also require asbestos review.

Other environmental reviews can involve matters such as:

• sewer capacity
• industrial uses
• storage tanks
• environmental permits
• asbestos
• environmental compliance

The exact DERM requirements depend on the property and project.

Permit issuance is not the end of the permitting process.

After the permit is issued:

1. The permitted work begins.
2. Required inspections are requested.
3. Inspectors review work at the required stages.
4. Failed inspections must be corrected.
5. Required reinspections are completed.
6. Final inspections are completed.
7. Remaining permit requirements are addressed.
8. The permit moves toward completion.

Different trade permits may have separate inspection requirements.

The permit card can help identify the inspections connected to the permit.

Miami-Dade provides online tools for requesting and tracking inspections.

To request an inspection, you generally need:

• the permit number
• the correct three-digit inspection code

Inspection history can also be reviewed online.

If you want to see whether an inspection is on today's inspector route, use our separate guide:

Miami-Dade Inspection Routes: How to Track, Request and Check Building Inspections

That page covers inspection routes in detail without turning this permitting page into an inspection-only article.

Permit status should be checked using the system connected to the permit or process number.

Depending on the permit, you may need to review:

• plan review status
• department approvals
• reviewer comments
• outstanding requirements
• corrections
• inspection history
• inspection holds
• related permits

One status screen may not tell the entire story.

This is especially important on commercial projects with several permit numbers or review departments.

Permit problems often come from several small issues rather than one large problem.

Common examples include:

• wrong jurisdiction
• incomplete application
• missing documents
• incorrect application type
• outdated forms
• missing signatures
• plans submitted incorrectly
• plan review comments
• corrections that have not been resubmitted
• outstanding County reviews
• Fire review
• environmental review
• inspection holds
• failed inspections
• missing inspections
• expired permits
• related permits that are still open

Good permit tracking helps identify what is holding the project up and what needs attention next.

Miami-Dade County has multiple incorporated municipalities.

Each municipality has its own building official and permitting process.

That means Miami-Dade County permitting and City of Miami permitting are different topics.

The same is true for Miami Beach, Coral Gables, North Miami Beach, Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach and other municipalities.

We will cover those permitting systems separately because their portals, departments and procedures can differ.

For this page, the focus is Miami-Dade County permitting and County reviews connected to projects in Miami-Dade.

Clear Property Records provides commercial permit management and permit expediting for projects in South Florida.

For Miami-Dade permitting, support can include:

• jurisdiction research
• permit due diligence
• permit application coordination
• permit filing
• document organization
• plan review tracking
• permit status tracking
• correction routing
• resubmission coordination
• County review coordination
• inspection coordination
• Permit Closure

Clear Property Records helps organize the permitting process so the project team can see what has been submitted, what is still under review and what needs attention next.

Miami-Dade County and the applicable review agencies control permit review, inspections and approvals.

View Commercial Permit Management Services

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