Key Highlights of the Recent Changes:
New Plan Review Timelines:
The Following Permit Types are Affected:
- Residential permits. This includes single-family residential unit or a single-family residential dwelling, accessory structure, alarm, electrical, irrigation, landscaping, mechanical, plumbing, or roofing.
- Non-residential buildings less than 25,000 square feet.
- Sign permits.
- Multifamily residential not exceeding 50 units.
- Master building permit consistent with Section 553.794 to obtain site-specific building permit.
- Permits reviewed under the proposed timelines will not obtain concurrent review. Learn more.
IMPORTANT: Permits that do not qualify under Section 553.792, F.S. will proceed with the standard plan review process. Link to the statute: 553.792 (1)(a), Florida Statutes.
Responsibilities of Applicants:
IMPORTANT: Once the application is submitted, you cannot make changes to the type of review selected. If you need a new review process, you must create a new permit application.
- Permit applicants are responsible for submitting complete and accurate applications.
- A complete application consists of:
1) Process number assigned.
2) Upfront fees paid.
3) The permit application form and all drawings and supporting documents have been submitted.
4) Any documents required by the local building official to determine that the fee owner has secured all other government approvals required by law.
5) Prescreen approved.
- Pursuant to these new timelines, the Department can no longer accommodate concurrent reviews with outside agencies such as Fire, Flood Plain, Planning, Public Works, Zoning, DERM, Florida Health Department, and others. If the applicant wishes to proceed with fully concurrent building plan reviews in the same manner as before these changes, a waiver must be executed.
- For permit applications which fall under the categories listed above, applicants must provide corrections to rejection comments within 10 business days. Failure to comply shall result in the denial of the permit application and require resubmission including any associated fees.
- The permit applicant may waive these timelines as described below.
About the Use of the Waiver:
The new rules allow applicants to waive the timeline requirements described above. By opting for the waiver, applicants avoid the stringent response deadlines and reduce the risk of their application being rendered null and void. This option provides greater flexibility for applicants who may need additional time to address corrections and, once waived, the permitting process will proceed as normal including concurrent reviews with outside agencies.
If you've already applied for a permit, and would like to waive the timeline requirements of Section 553.792, F.S., please complete this form(PDF, 156KB). Once completed and notarized, ensure you upload it to the documents folder via ProjectDox.
The City of Miami is committed to providing updates and guidance as this legislation is implemented. Please contact the Building Department for any questions or clarifications.
Additional Resources
In 2018, the City of Miami implemented an Electronic Plan Review (ePlan) system to process plans. One of the benefits of this technology is the ability to perform “concurrent reviews” for all required disciplines. In this method, plans in the form of PDF documents are distributed electronically to all applicable plan examiners simultaneously. This avoids the delays inherent in the traditional approach, where the plans were routed from one examiner to another in sequence.
As an accommodation to our customers, and to efficiently administer the process of permit issuance within our own permitting system, the City of Miami has accepted plans that require outside approvals, and distributed them to those respective plan examiners. Customers should be aware that this process may change, depending on their preference in the process.
Recent changes in the Florida Statutes have mandated that enforcement agencies issue building permits faster, specifying shortened timelines for the review and issuance of building permits. These timelines apply only to all disciplines governed by the Florida Building Code, as described in Chapter 553, Florida Statutes--- namely, Building, Structural, Roofing, Electrical, Mechanical and Plumbing. The timelines do not apply to plans requiring approvals from regulatory agencies not governed by the Florida Building Code, nor do they apply to the requirements of local ordinances. These outside reviews include Fire Prevention, Public Works, Zoning, Planning, Miami-Dade County DERM, and Environmental Resources, to name a few.
If you choose to invoke the timelines mandated by the new statutory requirements, your review process will be handled in a sequential manner, with all non-FBC reviews being done first. In this manner, they will be considered prerequisites. If you choose to waive these new timelines, your plans will be reviewed concurrently as before.