The headline says work under $7,500 no longer needs a permit. The exclusions are where the real answer lives, and they cover most of what a trade contractor actually does.
This provision got more coverage than anything else in HB 803, and it is the one most often described inaccurately. The exemption is real. It is also narrower than the headline number suggests.
A local government that issues building permits must exempt an owner of a single-family dwelling, or the owner's contractor, from the requirement to obtain a building permit to perform any work valued at less than $7,500 on the owner's property. Effective July 1, 2026.
Two exclusions, and between them they remove most trade work:
Read those together and what remains is largely non-structural, non-trade improvement: cosmetic renovation, painting, cabinetry, flooring, drywall finishing, and similar work outside flood hazard areas.
If you install HVAC, do electrical, run plumbing or gas, or touch anything structural, the exemption does not reach your work regardless of value. And in a coastal state where flood hazard areas cover a great deal of residential property, the second exclusion removes more than it first appears to.
The statute is explicit: a construction project may not be divided into more than one project for the purpose of evading the requirement. Breaking a $12,000 scope into two $6,000 contracts is not a strategy, it is the thing the sentence was written to prevent.
The exemption still requires a filing. The owner or the owner's contractor must submit a written request for exemption to the local enforcement agency, with a copy of the contract or other documentation demonstrating the nature and value of the work.
The local government has no legal duty to the owner, the contractor, or their successors for work performed under the exemption. Skipping the permit also means skipping the inspection, and with it the record that the work met code. On a resale or an insurance claim, that absence is the contractor's problem as often as the owner's.
Temporary residential hurricane and flood protection walls or barriers are exempt from permitting where they are nonhabitable and non-load bearing, installed on a single-family or two-family dwelling or townhouse, built to mitigate storm surge or floodwater, installed by a contractor licensed under part I of chapter 489, and compliant with local zoning, drainage, easement, and setback requirements. The flood hazard area exclusion applies here too, and a written request for exemption is required.
Separately, where a retaining wall spans more than one lot or parcel, the local government must issue a single permit for the project as a whole rather than requiring a permit for each lot.
For a general remodeler doing cosmetic work outside flood zones, this removes real friction. For single-trade contractors, the practical answer is that your work is still permitted, still inspected, and still subject to the same timelines, which is why the private provider provisions in the same bill matter more to you than the headline did.
Only some of it. A local government that issues building permits must exempt an owner of a single-family dwelling, or the owner's contractor, from obtaining a permit for work valued at less than $7,500 on the owner's property. The exemption does not apply to electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, or gas work, and does not apply to property partially or entirely in a flood hazard area.
No. The statute states that a construction project may not be divided into more than one project for the purpose of evading the requirement.
Yes. The owner or the owner's contractor must submit a written request for exemption to the local enforcement agency, with a copy of the contract or other documentation showing the nature and value of the work.
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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