Building code plan review performed by a licensed private provider under Florida Statute 553.791, instead of waiting in the building department queue. The jurisdiction then reviews your forms and documents for completeness only, on a 10 business day statutory clock.
Private provider plan review moves the review itself off the building department's queue. A licensed private provider reviews your plans against the Florida Building Code and issues the affidavit required by F.S. 553.791(7).
What the local building official does after that is narrower than most contractors expect. Since July 1, 2026 the official reviews the submitted forms and documents for completeness only, and is barred by F.S. 553.791(8)(a) from re-reviewing plans the private provider found compliant, apart from local ordinances, floodplain rules, site review, and administrative or life safety matters unrelated to code compliance.
| Stage | Deadline | If the jurisdiction misses it |
|---|---|---|
| Permit application review | 10 business days, or 5 for a single-trade plans review on a one or two family dwelling | Permit deemed approved as a matter of law; issued next business day. F.S. 553.791(8)(b) |
| First revision | Remainder of the tolled period plus 5 business days | Same deemed approval. F.S. 553.791(8)(c) |
| Later revisions | 5 business days each | Same deemed approval. F.S. 553.791(8)(d)–(e) |
| Certificate of occupancy | 10 business days, or 2 for one and two family dwellings | Automatically granted and deemed issued next business day. F.S. 553.791(16) |
Before July 1, 2026, the first line of that table read 20 business days, and the review was for code compliance rather than completeness. Chapter 2026-63, Laws of Florida halved the clock and narrowed the review. Anything you read that still says 20 days predates the current statute.
Inspektr performs building code plan review within the disciplines our certifications cover, as F.S. 553.791(3) requires. Plan review runs on the same project record as permit submission and inspections, so a correction found at review does not require re-explaining the project to a different vendor later.
Two limits worth stating plainly. Fire prevention and firesafety code review under chapter 633 is outside the private provider framework entirely, by the definition in F.S. 553.791(1)(a). And under F.S. 553.791(3), no private provider may review or inspect a building designed or constructed by that provider's own firm.
Threshold buildings are not excluded from private provider use, but they carry an additive requirement: under F.S. 553.79(5)(a) the enforcing agency must require a special inspector for structural inspections under a plan prepared by the engineer or architect of record.
Private provider plan review is building code plan review performed by a licensed private provider instead of by the local building department, under Florida Statute 553.791. The fee owner or the owner's contractor elects it, the private provider reviews the plans against the Florida Building Code and issues an affidavit, and the local building official reviews the submitted forms and documents for completeness only.
Under F.S. 553.791(8)(b), the local building official must give written notice of any incomplete forms or documents within 10 business days of receiving the permit application and the private provider's affidavit, or within 5 business days for a single-trade plans review on a single-family or two-family dwelling. If no notice is given in that window, the permit is deemed approved as a matter of law and must be issued on the next business day.
Only in limited respects. F.S. 553.791(8)(a) bars the local building official from reviewing plans a private provider has found compliant, except to the extent necessary to determine compliance with local ordinances, floodplain management regulations, site review requirements, and other administrative or life safety review unrelated to building code compliance.
No. F.S. 553.791(1)(a) defines applicable codes as the Florida Building Code and local technical amendments to it, and expressly excludes the minimum fire prevention and firesafety codes adopted under chapter 633. Fire plan review remains with the authority having jurisdiction over those codes.
Possibly. Under F.S. 553.791(2)(a), if you use a private provider for plan review, the local building official may, at his or her discretion and under duly adopted agency policies, require that you also use a private provider for the required building inspections. In practice most contractors elect both, because the value is in the two running on one record.