No. In Florida you get to choose, and the building department does not get a vote.
This is the most common question contractors ask about private providers, and the answer is short. You are not required to use the local building department's inspector. Florida Statute 553.791 has permitted an alternative since 2002, and the 2026 amendments in HB 803 strengthened it considerably.
The choice belongs to the fee owner of the building or structure. A contractor can make the election on the owner's behalf with the owner's explicit written authorization, and a copy of that authorization goes to the local building official. You can elect a private provider for plan review, for the required inspections, or for both.
One thing worth knowing: if you use a private provider for plan review, the building official has discretion, under duly adopted agency policy, to require that you also use a private provider for the inspections. That is the only direction the discretion runs. Nothing lets the department push you back onto its own queue.
At any time. The statute previously carried preconditions on when an owner could elect a private provider, and HB 803 removed them. If construction has already commenced and the work is a single-trade inspection on a single-family or two-family dwelling, you notify the building official by 2 p.m. local time two business days before the next scheduled inspection.
The Notice to Building Official. It goes in at permit application, or by 2 p.m. two business days before the first scheduled inspection, on a form adopted by the Florida Building Commission. The local enforcement agency may not alter that form.
The notice states the services the private provider will perform, identifies the provider with license or certification number and contact details, and carries an acknowledgment signed by the owner or the owner's contractor. If the listed provider or the scope changes, you update the notice within one business day of the change, or two business days before the next scheduled inspection.
Separately, private providers and private provider firms must register with each local enforcement agency where they work, before contracting to provide services there. The agency is required to maintain that registration system, must allow electronic registration and updates, and may not charge a fee for either.
Less than most contractors assume, and less than it could do before July 2026.
The building official may not review plans, construction drawings, or related documents that a private provider has determined comply with applicable codes, except to the extent necessary to check local ordinances, floodplain management regulations, site review requirements, and administrative or life-safety review unrelated to building code compliance. For other forms and documents, the review is limited to whether they are complete.
On the inspection side, the official may only inspect construction a private provider has found compliant if the official has knowledge that the required inspections were not performed, and must give the private provider written notice of the facts supporting that knowledge before inspecting.
The department retains real authority in specific places. It can issue a stop-work order where a site condition is an immediate threat to public safety and welfare. It can deny a permit or certificate where construction or plans do not comply, subject to a dispute process that starts with a meeting within two business days. And it can audit private providers, subject to published procedures, a cap of four audits per provider per year, and at least five business days' notice.
Less than the municipal path, which is the part that surprises people. The local jurisdiction must reduce the permit fee when a private provider performs the plan review or inspections, and it may not charge for plan review or inspections a private provider is performing. It may not charge punitive administrative fees for the election. A reasonable administrative fee based on actual incurred cost is still permitted.
On commercial projects the reduction has a floor. At least 25 percent of the portion of the fee attributable to plan review or inspection services when a private provider handles part of that scope, and at least 50 percent when a private provider handles all of it. An agency that fails to apply at least those percentages forfeits the ability to collect any fees for that project.
You have a choice on every permitted job in Florida. Most contractors do not exercise it, not because the department requires otherwise, but because nobody ever told them the option existed.
No. Under Florida Statute 553.791 the fee owner, or the owner's contractor with the owner's explicit written authorization, may choose to use a licensed private provider for plan review, for the required building inspections, or for both. The local building department cannot refuse the election and cannot adopt local rules more stringent than the statute.
Yes. The statute allows the election at any time. For single-trade work on a single-family or two-family dwelling after construction has commenced, you notify the building official by 2 p.m. two business days before the next scheduled inspection.
No. The statute expressly prohibits a local government, local enforcement agency, building official, or building code enforcement personnel from prohibiting or discouraging the use of a private provider or private provider firm.
This article describes Florida Statute 553.791 and related provisions as amended by HB 803 (Chapter 2026-63), effective July 1, 2026. It is general information, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with your jurisdiction for your specific project.
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