What HB 803 changed and how savings vary by jurisdiction, project scope, and permit fee structure.
Permit fees are usually treated as a fixed project cost. In Florida, they do not always have to be.
When an owner or contractor uses a licensed private provider for building-code plan review, inspections, or both, Florida law requires the local jurisdiction to account for work the building department no longer has to perform. In many jurisdictions, that means a meaningful reduction in the building-department portion of the permit fee.
And as of July 1, 2026, the rules are stronger than they were before. HB 803 amended F.S. 553.791 with new commercial fee-reduction minimums, tighter review deadlines, limits on certain charges, and a deemed-approval backstop.
For contractors, developers, and owners running multiple projects, the private provider decision is now both a schedule question and a cost question.
The basic idea is simple: permit fees help fund building-department services such as plans examination and inspections. If a private provider performs those services instead, the jurisdiction realizes a cost savings.
Under the current version of F.S. 553.791(2), the local jurisdiction must reduce the permit fee by the cost savings realized from not performing the private provider's services. The statute also says the jurisdiction may not charge plan-review or building-inspection fees for services a private provider is performing and may not impose punitive administrative fees because an owner chose the private provider process.
The exact reduction is not one universal statewide percentage. Local fee schedules are structured differently, which is why the right question is not simply, “What is Florida's private provider discount?”
The better question is: “Which permit-fee components relate to the services my private provider is performing, and how does this jurisdiction calculate the reduction?”
This is one of the biggest changes for 2026.
For a commercial construction project, if a private provider performs plans review or building inspections, the local enforcement agency must reduce the applicable portion of the permit fee by at least 25%.
If the private provider performs all required plans review and building inspection services, the statute requires a reduction of at least 50% of the amount otherwise charged for those services.
Jurisdictions can provide larger reductions. The law also gives the minimum teeth: if a local enforcement agency fails to provide at least the commercial reductions required by the statute, it forfeits the ability to collect fees for that commercial construction project.
The percentage varies by jurisdiction, project type, and which services the private provider performs. These examples show how far the local reduction can move beyond the statewide commercial minimum.
| Jurisdiction | Private provider reduction | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Palm Beach County | Commercial projects: at least 25% when the private provider performs plan review or building inspections, and at least 50% when the private provider performs all required plan review and building inspections. | These are the statewide HB 803 commercial minimums that apply in Palm Beach County. The percentages shown here are statutory minimums, not a higher county-specific discount. |
| City of St. Petersburg | 50% reduction to the normal building permit fee for private provider inspections and 50% reduction to the normal plan-review fee for private provider plan review. | The reduced permit fee is subject to a $55 minimum, and the reduced plan-review fee is subject to a $45 minimum. |
| City of Fort Lauderdale | Commercial projects: 25% reduction for inspection-only private provider services and 50% reduction when the private provider performs both inspection and plan review. | The City charges structural, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing disciplines separately. Other disciplines can remain at standard City rates. |
| Orange County | 45% reduction when the private provider performs either plan review or inspections, and 90% reduction when the private provider performs both. | The County expresses this by charging 55% of the total permit fee for one service or 10% when both services are private. |
| Hillsborough County | 25% reduction for plan review only, 50% reduction for inspections only, and 75% reduction when the private provider performs both. | The schedule applies the private provider administrative fee as a percentage of the total permit fee. |
| City of Lakeland | 80% reduction on the applicable building, roof, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and gas permit fee when inspections are performed by a private provider. | The reduced inspection fee is generally subject to a $72 minimum. Plan-review charges are structured separately. |
| City of Venice | 75% reduction on the valuation-based permit fee for private provider inspections and 75% reduction on the normal plan-review fee for private provider plan review. | The City assesses 25% of the otherwise applicable fee to cover administrative costs. |
| Bay County | 60% reduction to the corresponding building permit fees when a private provider performs inspection services. | The reduction applies to the corresponding building permit fee. Other charges and required surcharges can remain. |
| Hernando County | Commercial projects: 55% for plan review and inspections, or 45% for inspections only. Residential projects: 45% for both services, or 35% for inspections only. | The County publishes separate residential and commercial percentages. |
For a simple comparison, assume a commercial project's permit charges attributable to plan review and building inspections would otherwise total $10,000.
The important qualifier is the applicable fee component. A percentage should not automatically be applied to every dollar on the bottom line of a permit invoice.
A private provider does not eliminate every government charge associated with a project.
Depending on the jurisdiction, items such as impact fees, state surcharges, technology charges, zoning or land-development fees, concurrency charges, fire review fees, and other administrative components may remain.
Fort Lauderdale is a useful example. Its current HB 803 guidance separates structural, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing disciplines, while landscape, zoning, and engineering remain outside the private provider scope and are charged at standard City rates.
That is why a useful savings estimate starts with the jurisdiction's actual fee breakdown rather than project valuation alone.
Fee reductions are only one part of the HB 803 changes.
For permit applications involving private provider plan review, the local building official must provide written notice identifying incomplete required forms or documents within 10 business days. For a single-trade plans review involving a single-family or two-family dwelling, that period is 5 business days.
If the building official does not provide the required notice within the applicable period, the statute says the permit is deemed approved as a matter of law and must be issued on the next business day.
The current statute also limits later review to the issues previously identified and establishes additional time limits after revisions are submitted.
Timing still matters, but the rules depend on the service being transferred.
For private provider inspection services, the 2026 statute requires written notice at permit application or by 2:00 p.m. local time, two business days before the first scheduled inspection by the local building department.
The statute also provides a path to elect a private provider after construction has begun for certain single-trade inspections on single-family and two-family dwellings.
In practice, setting up the private provider scope correctly before the project is deep into the municipal process is still the cleanest approach.
The obvious candidates are projects with meaningful plan-review and inspection fees, but volume matters just as much.
A contractor processing dozens of permits per year can accumulate significant savings even when the reduction on one permit looks modest. Commercial contractors and developers now have the additional protection of HB 803's statutory minimum reductions. High-volume roofing, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, window and door, generator, solar, and other single-trade contractors can pair the fee analysis with more predictable private-provider review and inspection scheduling.
The value is therefore not just a lower permit invoice. It can also mean fewer variables between completed plans, permit issuance, inspections, and closeout.
Florida's private provider law transfers specific building-code functions. It does not transfer every governmental review associated with development.
Zoning, fire prevention, public works, utilities, environmental review, floodplain requirements, and similar approvals may remain with the agencies having jurisdiction. Those parallel approvals can still affect the permit schedule even when the private provider is handling building-code plan review and inspections.
Do that before the permit is moving through the system, not after the fee invoice arrives.
Tew & Taylor has provided private provider services in Florida since 2008, including plan review and inspections, with permitting support available to help projects move through local jurisdictions.
Our team works with contractors, developers, owners, architects, and engineers throughout Florida and deals with the practical side of the process every day: jurisdiction requirements, private provider documentation, plan review, inspections, permitting coordination, and project closeout.
With HB 803 now in effect, the financial side of private provider services should be evaluated alongside the schedule benefit, especially on commercial construction where Florida law now establishes minimum reductions.
If you have an upcoming project, contact Tew & Taylor and we can review the jurisdiction, project scope, and proposed private provider services before submittal.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Permit fees, procedures, and local schedules can change. Confirm the current requirements with the applicable jurisdiction before budgeting or submitting a project.
Tell us the project location and scope. Tew & Taylor can help you evaluate the private provider process before submittal.
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