Florida's private provider law lets a building owner, or the owner's contractor with written authorization, hire a licensed private provider to perform building code plan review and inspections instead of the local building department. The jurisdiction must accept that work. This is the full framework, with the statutory citation for every deadline and every dollar figure.
Section 553.791 of the Florida Statutes, titled Alternative plans review and inspection, creates a statutory right to use a private provider in place of the local building department for building code plan review and building code inspections.
A private provider is a person licensed as a building code administrator under part XII of chapter 468, as an engineer under chapter 471, or as an architect under chapter 481. The fee owner, or the contractor with the owner's explicit written authorization, may make the election at any time. The local enforcement agency must reduce the permit fee, must act within statutory deadlines or the permit is deemed approved, and since July 1, 2026 may not prohibit or limit a private provider's use of virtual inspections.
If you are reading anything else about this statute, check its date. CS/CS/HB 803, enacted as chapter 2026-63, Laws of Florida, took effect July 1, 2026. It renumbered nearly every subsection of 553.791, taking the section from 22 subsections to 24, and changed several key deadlines. Most summaries published online still use the pre-2026 numbering, and at least two of the headline figures in them are now wrong. There is a full crosswalk below.
CS/CS/HB 803 was approved by the Governor on May 6, 2026 and took effect July 1, 2026. For anyone who learned this statute before that date, the table below is the fastest way to re-orient. The left columns show where each provision used to live and where it lives now.
| Provision | Old cite | Current cite | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notice to building official | (4) | (5) | Form now adopted by the Commission; agency may not alter it. Resume requirement deleted. |
| Plan review deadline | (7)(a) | (8)(b) | 20 business days → 10 business days. Review narrowed to completeness of forms and documents only. |
| Sealed affidavit track | (10) | (12) | Substantively unchanged. Internal cross-reference now points to subsection (7). |
| Inspection records deadline | (12) | (14) | 2 business days → 4 business days. New protection against failing an inspection over on-site records. |
| Certificate of occupancy | (14) | (16) | 10 and 2 business days unchanged. Notice narrowed to incomplete forms or documents. |
| Audits | (20) | (22) | Four per year retained. New 5 business day advance notice requirement. |
| Commercial fee reduction | none | (2)(d) | New. At least 25% / 50%, with total fee forfeiture as the penalty for non-compliance. |
| Virtual inspection entitlement | none | (19)(c) | New. Local agencies may not prohibit or limit private provider virtual inspections. |
| Administrative fees | (2)(b) | (2)(b) | "Reasonable administrative fee" authorization deleted. Punitive administrative fees barred. |
| Registration system | (3) | (4) | Permissive → mandatory, electronic, no administrative fee. |
| Public entity use | none | (24) | New. Counties, municipalities, school districts and special districts may use private providers on their own projects. |
Two of these deserve emphasis because they change what is commercially possible rather than merely where to find it. The plan review clock went from 20 business days to 10, with the review narrowed to completeness of forms and documents rather than code compliance. And s. 553.791(19)(c) converted virtual inspection from something a jurisdiction could permit into something it may not prohibit.
The statute defines the role narrowly. Under s. 553.791(1)(n), a private provider is a person licensed as a building code administrator under part XII of chapter 468, as an engineer under chapter 471, or as an architect under chapter 481. All three qualify. There is a fourth, limited category: for inspections of additions and alterations of 1,000 square feet or less to residential buildings, the term also includes a person holding a standard certificate under part XII of chapter 468.
"Private provider" means a person licensed as a building code administrator under part XII of chapter 468, as an engineer under chapter 471, or as an architect under chapter 481.
s. 553.791(1)(n), Fla. Stat.A private provider works through duly authorized representatives. Under s. 553.791(1)(f), a representative is an agent identified in the permit application who is licensed as an engineer or architect, or who holds a standard or provisional certificate under part XII of chapter 468. A representative holding only a provisional certificate must work under the direct supervision of a licensed building code administrator. Note the asymmetry: a provisional certificate is enough to be a representative, but not enough to be the private provider.
Under s. 553.791(9), a duly authorized representative must be an employee of the private provider entitled to receive reemployment assistance benefits under chapter 443. In practice that means a W-2 employee, not a subcontractor.
s. 553.791(3) imposes two restrictions that apply to every private provider. First, a provider may only perform services within the disciplines covered by that person's own licensure or certification. Second, and absolutely:
A private provider may not provide building code inspection services pursuant to this section upon any building designed or constructed by the private provider or the private provider's firm.
s. 553.791(3), Fla. Stat.The right belongs to the fee owner, and it can be exercised at any point in a project. Under s. 553.791(2)(a), the fee owner of a building or structure, or the fee owner's contractor upon explicit written authorization from the fee owner, may choose at any time to use a private provider for plan review or building code inspection services, notwithstanding any other law, local ordinance, or local policy.
The 2026 amendments strengthened this in a specific way that matters on the ground. A local enforcement agency may not require the contract between the provider and the owner to be provided as part of the permit application or as a condition of issuing a permit. A copy of the written authorization must be submitted, but the commercial contract itself is not the building department's business.
s. 553.791(2)(e), added in 2026, bars a local government or building official from requiring additional forms beyond those required at registration, other than the written notice required under subsection (5).
One caveat worth knowing. Under s. 553.791(2)(a), if you use a private provider for plan review, the local building official may, at his or her discretion and under duly adopted agency policies, require that you also use a private provider for the required building inspections. The election is not always severable.
s. 553.791(6) covers electing a private provider after construction has begun. The 2026 act materially liberalized this: for a single-trade inspection on a single-family or two-family dwelling, notice before the next scheduled inspection is now sufficient, and the former precondition that the building official be unable to provide inspection services in a timely manner has been removed entirely.
This is the part of the statute that changed most dramatically on July 1, 2026, and it is the part most often described incorrectly. There are two separate provisions and they do different work.
s. 553.791(2)(b) applies to every project, commercial or residential. The local jurisdiction must reduce the permit fee by the amount of cost savings realized for not having to perform the services. Then, as amended in 2026:
The local jurisdiction may not charge fees for plans review or building inspections if the fee owner or the fee owner's contractor hires a private provider to perform such services. The local enforcement agency may not charge punitive administrative fees when a fee owner has chosen to work with a private provider.
s. 553.791(2)(b), Fla. Stat.Before July 1, 2026 the statute expressly permitted a local agency to charge "a reasonable administrative fee." That authorization was deleted.
s. 553.791(2)(d) is new in 2026 and applies only to commercial construction projects. The agency must reduce the permit fee by at least 25 percent of the portion of the permit fee attributable to plans review or building inspection services, as applicable, and by at least 50 percent of the amount otherwise charged if a private provider performs all required plan review and inspection services.
That last figure is not rhetorical. The statute provides that if the local enforcement agency does not reduce the fee by at least these percentages, it forfeits the ability to collect any fees for the commercial construction project. The percentages are floors, not caps; nothing prevents an agency from reducing a fee further. The s. 553.721 surcharge is calculated on the reduced fee.
Read this carefully if you are comparing providers. The 25 and 50 percent figures apply to commercial construction projects. Marketing that presents them as a universal permit fee discount is overstating the statute. For non-commercial work the governing provision is (2)(b), which is differently shaped but arguably stronger, because it bars plan review and inspection fees outright.
Electing a private provider requires written notice to the local building official, and the timing is precise.
Under s. 553.791(5), the notice must be on a form adopted by the Florida Building Commission, and, as of July 1, 2026, the local enforcement agency may not alter that form. The notice must state the services the private provider will perform; the name, firm, address, telephone number, email address and license or certification number of each private provider performing the services; and, if the building official requires it, a certificate of insurance showing professional liability coverage in the amounts the statute requires.
s. 553.791(5)(c) requires an acknowledgment from the fee owner or contractor "in substantially the following form." It is an indemnity. The owner acknowledges having elected private provider services, understands the local building official will not review the plans or perform the inspections except as the statute allows, confirms having inquired into the competence and insurance of the personnel, and agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the local government, the building official and their code enforcement personnel from claims arising from that election.
Changes to the listed providers must be updated within 1 business day after any change, or within 2 business days before the next scheduled inspection. A change of a duly authorized representative does not require a permit revision, and no fee may be charged for making the change.
The 2026 act also deleted the former requirement to submit qualification statements or resumes with the notice.
There are two tracks, and since July 1, 2026 both run on a 10-business-day clock. They differ in what the building official is allowed to look at.
This is the change with the largest practical effect. Under s. 553.791(8)(b), the local building official may review the forms and documents required under the section for completeness only, and must give written notice of any incomplete forms or documents:
| Application type | Deadline for notice of incompleteness |
|---|---|
| General | No later than 10 business days after receipt of the application and the private provider's affidavit |
| Single-trade plans review for a single-family or two-family dwelling | No later than 5 business days |
The notice must state with specificity which forms or documents are incomplete. If the official does not provide written notice within the period, the permit is deemed approved as a matter of law and must be issued on the next business day.
Before July 1, 2026 the general figure was 20 business days, and the official reviewed for compliance, identifying "specific plan features that do not comply." The 2026 act halved the clock and narrowed the review. Paired with it, new s. 553.791(8)(a) bars the official from reviewing plans a private provider has found compliant, except to the extent necessary to determine compliance with local ordinances, floodplain management regulations, site review requirements, and other administrative or life safety review unrelated to building code compliance.
Resubmittal mechanics are in (8)(c) through (8)(e): the first revision gets the remainder of the tolled period plus 5 business days, and later revisions get 5 business days each, with the same deemed-approval consequence for silence.
s. 553.791(12) applies when the private provider is a licensed engineer or architect who affixes a professional seal to the affidavit required under subsection (7). The official must then issue the permit or provide written notice identifying the specific non-compliant plan features, the specific code chapters and sections, the plan's deficiencies and the reasons the application failed, within 10 business days. Silence again means the application is deemed approved as a matter of law.
Note the trade-off. The (12) track forces a substantive code-deficiency notice with specificity. The (8)(b) track is completeness-only. Subsection (12) is available only where a chapter 471 engineer or chapter 481 architect seals the affidavit; it is not available to a building code administrator private provider.
Under s. 553.791(9), a private provider must inspect each phase of construction as the applicable codes require. The statute is explicit that this may happen remotely:
Such inspection, including a single-trade inspection, may be performed in person or virtually.
s. 553.791(9), Fla. Stat.The same in-person-or-virtual language appears in the s. 553.791(1)(d) definition of building code inspection services.
The most commercially significant change in the 2026 act, for anyone running a remote inspection program, is new s. 553.791(19)(c):
A local enforcement agency may not prohibit or limit private providers from using virtual inspections if a virtual inspection is not prohibited by any applicable code.
s. 553.791(19)(c), Fla. Stat., effective July 1, 2026This creates an asymmetry that is easy to miss. Under s. 553.79(6), when a state or local enforcement agency performs inspections itself, virtual inspection is discretionary: the agency "may" do it. Under s. 553.791(19)(c), when a private provider performs the inspection, the agency may no longer prohibit or throttle the virtual method. What is optional for the government is an entitlement for the private provider.
The only statutory definition sits in s. 553.79(6), not in 553.791:
"Virtual inspection" means a form of visual inspection which uses visual or electronic aids to allow a building code administrator or an inspector, or team of inspectors, to perform an inspection without having to be physically present at the job site during the inspection.
s. 553.79(6), Fla. Stat.s. 553.791(10) also provides that a local agency may not prohibit inspections outside normal operating hours, including after hours, weekends, or holidays.
An open question we will not paper over. Section 553.79(6) bars virtual inspections for structural inspections on a threshold building, but by its terms that sentence is directed at "a state or local enforcement agency." Section 553.791(19)(c) conditions the private provider entitlement on a virtual inspection not being "prohibited by any applicable code," and 553.79 is a statute rather than a code. Whether a private provider may perform a virtual structural inspection on a threshold building is therefore genuinely unresolved on the face of the two statutes, and we are not aware of authority settling it. Treat threshold structural work as in-person until it is settled.
Under s. 553.791(14), on completing a required inspection the private provider must post the completed inspection record, indicating pass or fail, and provide the record to the local building official within 4 business days. The record goes on a form provided by the Florida Building Commission.
This number changed on July 1, 2026. The deadline was 2 business days under the prior text, where it sat in subsection (12). It is now 4 business days, in subsection (14). Most third-party summaries still published online give the old figure and the old subsection number.
The building official may waive the 4-business-day delivery requirement if records are electronically posted or transmitted, or posted at the project site, and all inspection records are submitted with the certificate of compliance. The 2026 act added a protection that matters in the field: a local building official may not fail an inspection performed by a private provider for not having the inspection records at the job site, if those records were electronically transmitted to the official within the 4-business-day window.
A private provider must report to the local enforcement agency any condition that poses an immediate threat to public safety and welfare.
Under s. 553.791(15), as amended in 2026, the certificate of compliance may be signed by any qualified licensed individual employed full time by the private provider firm.
Under s. 553.791(16)(a), the clock starts when the building official has received the request, the applicant's certificate of compliance, and all other government approvals required by law, including payment of all outstanding fees. From that point:
| Project type | Deadline to issue, or to notice incomplete forms or documents |
|---|---|
| General | No more than 10 business days |
| Single-family or two-family dwellings | No more than 2 business days |
Under s. 553.791(16)(b), if the official does not provide notice of incomplete forms or documents within the applicable period, the request is automatically granted and deemed issued as of the next business day, and the official must provide the written certificate within 10 days after it is automatically granted.
The 2026 act narrowed what the official may notice here too. Under the prior text the official could notice "specific deficiencies, as well as the specific code chapters and sections." The current text is limited to incomplete forms or documents.
Subsection (16)(a) also contains the core anti-duplication rule for inspections. The local building official may perform inspections of construction a private provider determined compliant only if the official has knowledge that the private provider did not perform the required inspections, and must first give the private provider written notice of the facts and circumstances relied on for that knowledge.
The statute does not leave refusal to discretion. The grounds are enumerated and narrow.
Under s. 553.791(17), if the local building official determines that the construction or plans do not comply with the applicable codes, the official may deny the permit or the certificate request, or issue a stop-work order, if the official determines that the noncompliance poses an immediate threat to public safety and welfare. That phrase is a defined term. Under s. 553.791(1)(j) it means a building code violation that, if allowed to persist, constitutes an immediate hazard that could result in death, serious bodily injury, or significant property damage.
Two procedural protections follow. Under (17)(a), the building official must be available to meet with the private provider within 2 business days to resolve the dispute. Under (17)(b), an unresolved dispute goes to the local enforcement agency's board of appeals if one exists, and decisions may be appealed to the Florida Building Commission.
s. 553.791(22) governs audits, and it is considerably more constrained than most contractors realize.
A local building code enforcement agency may not audit at all until it has created standard operating private provider audit procedures for its own staff, covering the audit purpose and scope, the audit criteria, an explanation of processes and objections, and detailed findings of areas of noncompliance. Those procedures must be publicly available online, with a printed version readily accessible in agency buildings. Audit results for the prior two quarters must also be public. The agency must adhere to its own posted procedures.
The four-per-year cap is itself recent. Chapter 2024-191 changed it from four times per month to four times per year, effective January 1, 2025.
Four limits define the edge of the private provider framework.
This is the most important scope limit and the one most often missed. s. 553.791(1)(a) defines applicable codes as the Florida Building Code and any local technical amendments to it, but expressly excludes the applicable minimum fire prevention and firesafety codes adopted pursuant to chapter 633. A private provider does not displace the fire authority having jurisdiction.
Under s. 553.791(3), a provider works only within the disciplines covered by that person's licensure or certification, and may never inspect a building designed or constructed by the provider or the provider's firm.
Under s. 553.791(1)(n), a person holding only a standard certificate under part XII of chapter 468 qualifies as a private provider solely for inspections of additions and alterations of 1,000 square feet or less to residential buildings.
Threshold buildings are not excluded from private provider use, but a separate and additive regime applies. Under s. 553.79(5)(a), the enforcing agency must require a special inspector to perform structural inspections on a threshold building under a structural inspection plan prepared by the engineer or architect of record. Under s. 553.79(5)(c), the architect or engineer of record may serve as the special inspector if listed as qualified. And as noted above, s. 553.79(6) bars virtual inspections for structural inspections on a threshold building when performed by a state or local enforcement agency.
A note on completeness. Section 553.791 itself contains no occupancy-based exclusion; the limits above are the ones written into the statute. That is a statement about 553.791, not a guarantee that no provision anywhere in the Florida Building Code administrative chapter bears on a particular project. For an unusual occupancy or a project with federal or state agency involvement, confirm before you rely on it.
Florida Statute 553.791, titled Alternative plans review and inspection, is the law that lets the owner of a building, or the owner's contractor with written authorization, hire a licensed private provider to perform building code plan review and building code inspections instead of having the local building department perform them. The local jurisdiction must accept that work. The statute was substantially amended by CS/CS/HB 803, enacted as chapter 2026-63, Laws of Florida, effective July 1, 2026.
Under s. 553.791(1)(n), a private provider is a person licensed as a building code administrator under part XII of chapter 468, as an engineer under chapter 471, or as an architect under chapter 481. For inspections of additions and alterations of 1,000 square feet or less to residential buildings, the term also includes a person who holds a standard certificate under part XII of chapter 468.
Yes. A private provider inspection is the required inspection, not an additional one. Under s. 553.791(16)(a), the local building official may perform inspections of construction that a private provider has determined to be compliant only if the official has knowledge that the private provider did not actually perform the required inspections, and must give the private provider written notice of the facts relied on before doing so.
Yes, and since July 1, 2026 the savings are specified for commercial work. Under s. 553.791(2)(d), for a commercial construction project the local enforcement agency must reduce the permit fee by at least 25 percent of the portion attributable to plans review or building inspection services, and by at least 50 percent if a private provider performs all required plans review and inspection services. If the agency fails to reduce the fee by at least those amounts, it forfeits the ability to collect any fees for that project. Separately, s. 553.791(2)(b) provides that a local jurisdiction may not charge fees for plans review or building inspections performed by a private provider, and may not charge punitive administrative fees.
Under s. 553.791(5), written notice must be given to the local building official at the time of permit application, or by 2 p.m. local time 2 business days before the first scheduled inspection by the local building official. The notice must be on a form adopted by the Florida Building Commission, and the local enforcement agency may not alter that form.
Under s. 553.791(8)(b), the local building official must give written notice of any incomplete forms or documents no later than 10 business days after receiving the permit application and the private provider's affidavit, or no later than 5 business days if the application relates to a single-trade plans review for a single-family or two-family dwelling. If the official does not provide that notice in time, the permit is deemed approved as a matter of law and must be issued on the next business day. Since July 1, 2026 this review is for completeness of forms and documents only.
No. Section 553.791(19)(c), effective July 1, 2026, provides that a local enforcement agency may not prohibit or limit private providers from using virtual inspections if a virtual inspection is not prohibited by any applicable code. Separately, s. 553.79(6) makes virtual inspections discretionary when a state or local enforcement agency performs them itself, and defines a virtual inspection as a form of visual inspection using visual or electronic aids that lets an inspector perform an inspection without being physically present at the job site.
Under s. 553.791(14), the private provider must post each completed inspection record indicating pass or fail and provide the record to the local building official within 4 business days. Before July 1, 2026 this deadline was 2 business days. A local building official may not fail an inspection for records not being at the job site if the records were electronically transmitted within the 4-business-day window.
Under s. 553.791(16)(a), after receiving the request, the private provider's certificate of compliance, and all other required approvals including payment of outstanding fees, the local building official has no more than 10 business days to issue the certificate of occupancy or completion or give notice of incomplete forms or documents, or no more than 2 business days for single-family or two-family dwellings. Under (16)(b), if the official gives no notice within that period, the request is automatically granted and deemed issued as of the next business day.
Under s. 553.791(22), the same private provider or private provider firm may not be audited more than four times in a year, unless the local building official determines that a condition of a building constitutes an immediate threat to public safety and welfare, which must be communicated in writing. The provider must be given at least 5 business days notice before each audit. An agency may not audit at all until it has published standard operating audit procedures online. Work may proceed after a private provider's inspection and approval and may not be delayed for an audit.
No. Section 553.791(1)(a) defines applicable codes as the Florida Building Code and any local technical amendments to it, but expressly excludes the minimum fire prevention and firesafety codes adopted under chapter 633. Fire inspections remain with the authority having jurisdiction over those codes.
No. Section 553.791(3) prohibits a private provider from providing building code inspection services on any building designed or constructed by the private provider or the private provider's firm. The same subsection limits a provider to services within the disciplines covered by that person's licensure or certification.
Inspektr is a Florida private provider. We perform plan review, building code inspections including virtual inspections, and we prepare and submit the permit itself, under the statute set out above. One registration covers every Florida county, and one system carries a project from permit application through certificate of occupancy.
The practical consequence of the 2026 amendments is that the timelines on this page are enforceable. A permit application that sits past the statutory window is deemed approved. A certificate of occupancy request that goes unanswered is automatically granted. A jurisdiction that will not take a virtual inspection from a private provider is no longer acting within the statute.
This page summarizes Florida Statutes s. 553.791 and related provisions of s. 553.79 as they read following chapter 2026-63, Laws of Florida, effective July 1, 2026. It is provided for general information by Inspektr, a Florida private provider, and is not legal advice. Statutory text is paraphrased except where quoted. The authoritative text is published by the Florida Legislature at leg.state.fl.us. Where a source elsewhere conflicts with this page, check whether that source predates July 1, 2026. Last reviewed September 2026.