Building and Permitting

MONROE COUNTY BUILDING DEPARTMENT 

Online Permitting System

The Building Department's online permitting system, Oracle's Fusion Cloud Public Sector Community Development Permitting system, facilitates processing permit applications from submission to closure using an online web-based application replacing the prior paper-dependent process.

Monroe County Specialty Licenses (Certificates of Competency holders):

Chapter 2023-271, Laws of Florida became effective on July 1, 2023 relating to preemption of local occupational licensing (HB 1383). To protect and service certain specialty license holders and those requiring their services, the BOCC amended Monroe County Code Chapter 6-240. The amended Code section will provide that in order to provide a reasonable transition period for those license holders affected by the enactment of chapter 2023-271, Laws of Florida, specialty contractor licenses that were active as of June 30, 2021 shall continue to be valid, and will not expire, until June 30, 2024.

Should you have any questions related to this matter please contact us by email at contractor-license@monroecounty-fl.gov .

Permit Applications and Review

The Building Department intakes and issues permits for all types of development, including plan reviews by planning, environmental, structural, plumbing, mechanical, electric, floodplain, and fire. 

Permit Applications

Services are provided between 8:30 am and 3 pm at each permitting office. 

Plans examiners, inspectors, planners, and biologists are now available for meetings with customers at our offices. Please keep in mind that many personnel travel between offices, perform inspections, and have other scheduled meetings. Therefore we are highly encouraging you to make an appointment. We will do our best to meet without an appointment however unscheduled meetings cannot be guaranteed.

Inspections

Please refer to the Inspections page for specific directions for scheduling inspections.

For the safety of you and our inspectors:

  • Inspectors will call the contact phone number associated with the permit prior to their arrival.  
  • Have plans ready and open to pertinent pages for all inspections to occur at the site.  
  • Forms and affidavits will NOT be accepted in the field.  
  • For items such as AC change-outs, size of the breaker in the panel, a photo may be requested by the inspector.

Certificate of Occupancy (CO)

Staff will contact permit holders who are ready to receive a CO via email.

Additional Information on Permitting

Outside Agencies Approvals

Prior to commencing construction, the contractor, owner, or builder must first apply to obtain a permit. Obtaining a permit may require the interaction and approval of several agencies outside of the Building Department; with small exceptions, each of these agencies charges fees for their review procedures. The Building Department works to coordinate the involvement of other agencies in the permitting process to obtain a building permit in the most expedient manner while maintaining the county’s high level of quality. This service is not a substitute for a customer’s responsibility to interact with all participating agencies.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Building Department is to protect public health and safety, property, and the environment by providing an efficient, effective, and considerate permitting and code administration system, in accordance with the Monroe County Code and Florida statutes consistent with and furthering the Monroe County Comprehensive Plan.