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Florida open permit search, county by county
Every county does this differently, and the companies that rank for it want to sell you a lien search. Here is how to check it yourself, and what to do when you find something.
How to search
- Establish the jurisdiction first. A city permit will not appear in the county's system. If the property is inside city limits, search the city. If you are not certain, search both.
- Search by address and by parcel ID. Address formats vary between systems and a permit can be missed by an address search that a parcel search finds.
- Look at status, not just existence. "Issued" without a final inspection, "expired", "inactive" and "pending final" all mean different things and different amounts of work.
- Check every sub-permit. A closed master permit with an open electrical sub-permit underneath it is still an open permit problem.
- Check the code enforcement system too. It is usually separate from permitting, and an open code case is a bigger problem than an open permit.
Run this before you list, not after you are under contract. A pre-listing permit audit turns a closing crisis into a scheduled repair with months of runway, and it costs a fraction of what a delayed closing costs. This is the single highest-return habit available to listing agents in older neighbourhoods.
Where to search, by county
Unincorporated county records generally live in the system below. Municipalities inside each county run their own, so a full check may mean two searches.
| County | County permit records via | Also check (example) |
|---|---|---|
| Sarasota County | Sarasota County's online permitting portal | City of Sarasota |
| Manatee County | Manatee County's Accela-based online services portal | City of Bradenton |
| Hillsborough County | HillsGovHub, Hillsborough County's permitting and development portal | City of Tampa |
| Pinellas County | Pinellas County's online permitting system | City of St. Petersburg |
| Charlotte County | Charlotte County's community development permitting system | City of Punta Gorda |
| Lee County | Lee County's building permit services portal | City of Cape Coral |
| Collier County | Collier County's growth management permitting portal | City of Naples |
| Miami-Dade County | Miami-Dade County's permitting and inspection system | City of Miami |
| Broward County | Broward County and municipal permitting systems | Fort Lauderdale |
| Palm Beach County | Palm Beach County Planning, Zoning & Building systems | West Palm Beach |
| Orange County | Orange County's One-Stop permitting services | City of Orlando |
| Duval County | City of Jacksonville permitting systems | City of Jacksonville (consolidated) |
| Polk County | Polk County building division permitting system | Lakeland |
| Pasco County | Pasco County building construction services portal | New Port Richey |
| Brevard County | Brevard County planning and development permitting system | Melbourne |
| Volusia County | Volusia County growth and resource management permitting | Daytona Beach |
| St. Lucie County | St. Lucie County building and code regulation systems | Port St. Lucie |
| Seminole County | Seminole County development services permitting system | Sanford |
| Alachua County | Alachua County codes enforcement and permitting system | Gainesville |
| Monroe County | Monroe County building department permitting system | Key West |
Portal names and URLs change. If a search comes up empty for a property you know has permit history, that usually means you are in the wrong system rather than that the property is clean.
You found an open permit. Now what?
- Pull the actual permit record, not just the search result. What was permitted, which inspections passed, whether it is expired, and who the contractor of record is.
- Classify it. Complete work needing only a final inspection is a one-to-two-week problem. Work done beyond the permitted scope is an after-the-fact filing measured in months.
- Get a written scope and timeline before anyone promises a date to a buyer, seller or lender.
- Start immediately. Nothing about this gets easier by waiting.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check if a property has open permits in Florida?
Most Florida jurisdictions publish a permit search by address in their permitting portal. The complication is that you may need to check more than one — the city and the county, and sometimes a predecessor system that older permits still live in. A municipal lien search company will do it comprehensively for a fee, and title companies order one as a matter of course before closing.
What is the difference between an open permit and an expired permit?
An open permit is issued and not yet closed — work may be ongoing or the final inspection may simply never have been requested. An expired permit has passed the jurisdiction's inactivity or duration limit. Both appear in a lien search. The expired one is usually the harder problem, because renewal may no longer be available and a fresh application would be reviewed under current code.
Does an open permit stop a home sale?
In practice it usually does. Title companies flag open permits, buyers' lenders often will not proceed, and title insurance can be affected. Most transactions resolve it, extend the closing, or use an escrow holdback.
How far back should I check?
As far as the records go. Permits from twenty years ago still appear in lien searches, and Florida provides statutory routes for closing certain very old permits — worth establishing before assuming a full after-the-fact process is required.
Request a permit history
Send the property address. We will pull the record and tell you what is actually outstanding.
Ready to get your permit moving?
One call tells you which jurisdiction controls your project, what it will take, and what it will cost. Most of the time we can scope it on the phone.