Broward Building Department 2026: Permits, Inspections & Services

Broward County Building Permits, Inspections & Official Services

Does Broward County Handle Your Building Permit?

This is the first question to answer. The county Building Code Division directly serves the Broward Municipal Services District (BMSD), which covers unincorporated areas, and it also performs certain services at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and for jurisdictions that contract with the county.

What Permits and Services Does the Broward Building Department Handle?

Depending on the project and jurisdiction, the Building Code Division deals with structural building work and regulated electrical, plumbing, mechanical, roofing and related construction. Separate zoning, environmental, fire, drainage or development approvals may also be required.

How to Apply for a Broward County Building Permit

For eligible BMSD projects, Broward County uses its ePermits system. The county’s current electronic-permitting guide describes the following workflow.

1. Confirm Broward County is the correct authority.
   Verify that the job site is in the BMSD or another area for which the county is handling the permit.
2. Determine the master permit and trade permits.
   Identify the main project and all affected disciplines—building, roofing, electrical, plumbing, mechanical or other required approvals.
3. Prepare the current permit application and plans.
   Use Broward County’s current Uniform Permit Application and gather the plans, survey/site information and supporting documents required for your scope.
4. Create an ePermits account.
   Open the official ePermits portal, choose Register, enter the required account information, validate the email sent by the system and complete the user profile.
5. Start the application.
   After signing in, choose Submit Application and select BCS Master Permit. Accept the terms, enter the required property, owner, applicant and permit-holder information, and add related parties if applicable.
6. Upload the project documents.
   Upload plans and supporting files for the permit type. Broward’s guide instructs applicants to classify at least one uploaded file as a supplemental document when required by the portal workflow.
7. Watch for the county email.
   If the application is accepted, staff sends the permit/application number and instructions for paying the application or initial plan-review fees. If rejected at intake, the response explains what must be corrected.
8. Complete plan review corrections.
   Monitor the application for reviewer comments. When replacing a rejected document, Broward instructs applicants to upload the corrected version using the same document name as the file it replaces.
9. Pay final permit charges and download approvals.
   The permit is not issued until required fees are paid. After approval, download the approved plans, documents and permit card and keep the required copies available for inspections.

When ePermits may not be available for your application

Broward’s current BMSD electronic-permitting guide lists several situations that require another submission method. These include owner-builder permits, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport permits, certain interlocal-agreement jurisdictions, and applications for which physical plan review is required.

For a physical BMSD submission, the county guide calls for completed permit applications, two sets of plans and applicable supporting documents at the Building Code Division office.

Documents to Prepare Before Applying

The exact package depends on the project, but preparing these items before starting the application can prevent avoidable intake and plan-review delays.

• Current Broward County Uniform Permit Application.
• Property address and parcel/folio information.
• Clear description and valuation of the proposed work.
• Applicable site plan or survey.
• Construction plans defining the work for each affected discipline.
• Structural calculations, product approvals or engineering documents when applicable.
• Contractor/qualifier license information.
• Current general-liability and workers’ compensation coverage where required.
• Development, environmental, zoning, fire or other agency approvals when applicable.
• Recorded Notice of Commencement when required.

Notice of Commencement: important 2026 rule

Broward’s electronic-permitting instructions state that a recorded Notice of Commencement is required for applicable projects with a job value of $5,000 or more, or $15,000 or more for qualifying air-conditioning replacement or repair work. The county instructs applicants to provide the required recorded documentation before the first inspection.

Florida’s current construction-lien law also requires a Notice of Commencement for qualifying improvements and requires applicable recording information to be supplied to the permitting authority before inspections proceed. Use the county’s Notice of Commencement form and follow the current recording requirements for your project.

Broward County Building Permit Fees in 2026

Broward does not charge one flat amount for every permit. The county’s currently published Building Code fee schedule uses minimum fees and, for major disciplines, valuation-based calculations. Plan review, reinspections, surcharges and other services can add to the permit total.

These are selected charges from the Broward County fee schedule currently published by the Building Code Division. Plan review, statutory surcharges, specialty services and project-specific charges can change the final amount. Review the official fee schedule (PDF) before budgeting.

Expired permits and extensions

The published county fee schedule states that an expired permit may generally be renewed within 180 days after expiration by paying one-half of the original permit fee, subject to the minimum charge and applicable conditions. After that 180-day period, a new permit may be required and the project can become subject to newer regulations and full permitting fees.

How to Schedule a Broward Building Inspection

After the permit is issued, Broward provides an online BCS Request Inspection system.

1. Find the permit number. Use the issued permit documents or fee statement.
2. Locate the Phone Access Code. Broward’s permitting guide states that this code appears on the Fee Statement.
3. Open Request Inspection. Enter both the permit number and Phone Access Code.
4. Select the required inspection. Request the inspection that matches the current stage of work.
5. Prepare the job site. Approved plans, documents and the permit card should be available as required. Do not conceal work that still needs inspection.
6. Check the result. If corrections are required, complete them before requesting the next inspection or reinspection.

Common inspection stages

Depending on the permit, inspections can include foundation or footing, slab, framing, roofing, rough electrical, rough plumbing, mechanical, insulation, fire-related work and final inspections. Your issued permit and approved plans—not a generic list—determine which inspections are required.

Broward Building Permit Search, Records & Application Status

You can search Broward building permits without starting a new application. The county’s BCS search supports searches using a property address, folio number or parcel ID.

1. Open the Broward Permit Search by Address.
2. Choose the search method: address, folio number or parcel ID.
3. If using an address, enter the requested street fields. The county portal specifically instructs users not to enter unit or suite information in that address search.
4. Open the matching property record and review available permits and permit activity.

What ePermit statuses mean

Which Building Code Applies in Broward County in 2026?

This distinction matters for applications submitted near the end of 2026. Projects submitted after the new code becomes effective may need to comply with the 9th Edition requirements.

Broward’s Board of Rules and Appeals (BORA) also publishes Broward-specific technical amendments, interpretations, forms and building/fire-code resources. Check applicable county amendments in addition to the statewide code.

Certificate of Occupancy, Completion & Final Approval

Passing an individual inspection does not necessarily close a project. New construction, changes of occupancy and certain other projects require final documentation and a Certificate of Occupancy (CO), Certificate of Completion (CC), Temporary CO or another final approval.

Broward’s current permitting packet states that the applicable CO/CC package should be submitted to Building Permitting before scheduling the final building inspection.

Depending on the project, the final package can require items such as:

• Permit card showing applicable approved final inspections.
• Final survey.
• Soil-treatment documentation.
• Insulation certificate.
• Special or threshold inspector certification.
• Zoning/landscape final approval.
• FEMA final survey and elevation certificate where applicable.
• Fire final approval.
• Residential air-leakage / blower-door documentation.
• Energy Performance Level documentation.
• Applicable water, stormwater, development or environmental releases.

Only the documents relevant to your project are required. Check outstanding agency holds before requesting final building approval.

Other Broward Building Department Services

Contractor licensing and complaints

The Building Code Division regulates county contractor licensing and handles complaints involving applicable county-licensed contractors and unlicensed activity. For assistance, call 954-765-4400. Complaints concerning Florida state-licensed contractors can also fall under the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Elevator safety

Broward County provides regional elevator permitting and enforcement and administers requirements connected with elevator certificates, inspections and alterations. Elevator work uses specialized applications and procedures rather than the ordinary residential building-permit workflow.

Building Safety Inspection Program

Broward’s Building Safety Inspection Program applies periodic structural and electrical safety reviews to qualifying existing buildings. The published fee schedule lists a $350 processing fee for applicable recertification applications and $50 for qualifying extension requests. Building owners should use BORA’s current program requirements rather than assuming an ordinary construction inspection satisfies recertification obligations.

Official Broward Building Resources

Related Florida Building Department Guides

If your project is elsewhere in Florida, permitting procedures and fees can be completely different. These USBuilding.org guides cover other Florida jurisdictions:

• Bradenton Building Department: Permits & Inspections
• Bradford County Building Department: Permits & Inspections
• Boynton Beach Building Department: Permits & Inspections

Broward Building Department FAQs

Information reviewed for 2026. USBuilding.org is an independent informational resource and is not affiliated with Broward County Government. Fees, portals, office procedures, code editions and project requirements can change; the responsible government authority controls property-specific permitting decisions.