Yes. On commercial work there is a floor, and a department that ignores it forfeits the fee entirely.
The permit fee is the only line most contractors track, and until 2026 it was also the softest. The statute required a reduction but let each jurisdiction decide what its cost savings were worth. In practice that meant a wide range of outcomes and a lot of arguing.
When an owner or the owner's contractor retains a private provider for plan review or building inspection services, the local jurisdiction must reduce the permit fee by the amount of cost savings it realizes from not performing those services. The reduction may be calculated on a flat fee, a percentage, or any other reasonable basis the agency uses to assess its own cost.
Beyond that, the jurisdiction may not charge fees for plan review or building inspections when a private provider is performing them, and it may not charge punitive administrative fees because you made the election. Permit fees must reflect the cost actually incurred by the jurisdiction. A reasonable administrative fee based on actual cost, including the labor cost of the personnel providing the service and the clerical and supervisory assistance required, is still permitted.
On a commercial construction project the statute now sets minimums:
These are floors, not caps. A jurisdiction may reduce more, and the statute says so explicitly.
If a local enforcement agency does not reduce the fee by at least those percentages, it forfeits the ability to collect any fees for the commercial construction project.
Not a fine, not a complaint process, not a refund you chase afterward. The fee itself becomes uncollectible. That is an unusual enforcement mechanism in Florida building law and it is the reason the floors are worth knowing precisely.
The surcharge required under Florida Statute 553.721 is calculated on the amount of the reduced permit fee, not the original. A small point that gets missed in reconciliation, and one worth checking on larger permits.
The percentage floors are written for commercial construction projects. On residential work the general rule still governs: the jurisdiction must reduce the fee by its realized cost savings and may not charge for plan review or inspections a private provider performs, but the statute does not fix a percentage. Actual reductions vary by jurisdiction, and some are substantial.
If you work across multiple counties, that variation is worth mapping. Two departments can treat the same residential re-roof very differently, and neither is necessarily out of compliance.
You pay the permit fee, not the homeowner. It goes into job cost and stays there. So a reduction is a direct margin item rather than a discount passed through to the customer, and it recurs on every permit you pull.
Ask for the fee calculation in writing before the permit is issued, showing the portion attributable to plan review and inspection services and the reduction applied. A department that cannot identify that portion cannot demonstrate it applied the required percentage to it. On commercial work, raise a shortfall before you pay rather than after.
Yes. The local jurisdiction must reduce the permit fee by the cost savings it realizes from not performing the services, and it may not charge fees for plan review or building inspections a private provider is performing. It also may not charge punitive administrative fees for the election.
At least 25 percent of the portion of the permit fee attributable to plan review or building inspection services when a private provider handles part of that scope, and at least 50 percent when a private provider handles all required plan review and inspection services.
On a commercial construction project, a local enforcement agency that does not reduce the fee by at least the required percentages forfeits the ability to collect any fees for that project.
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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