Every second homeowner we meet asks the same two questions: do I need a permit for this, and will it slow the project down. The honest answers are “for most of a real kitchen or bathroom remodel, yes” and “only if it is not planned for”. Here is how it works in Broward and Palm Beach counties, from a team that prepares permit paperwork every week.
What needs a permit
Under the Florida Building Code, a permit is required whenever work touches the systems of the house — not the finishes. In a kitchen or bathroom that means:
- Plumbing — moving or adding a sink, dishwasher, shower or toilet drain; replacing supply lines; a new water heater.
- Electrical — new circuits for an island, a range, an oven, under-cabinet lighting; moving outlets; a panel upgrade.
- Structural — opening or removing a load-bearing wall, adding a beam, changing a window opening.
- Mechanical — relocating a range hood exhaust or a bathroom exhaust fan through the roof or an exterior wall.
- Windows and exterior doors — always, because of hurricane impact requirements.
What generally does not need a permit: painting, replacing cabinets in the same place without plumbing or electrical changes, replacing a countertop, new flooring in a house (condo buildings have their own rules on sound-rated underlayment), swapping a faucet or a light fixture like for like. The line is “same place, same system”: as soon as a drain or a wire moves, it is permitted work.
Who handles the paperwork
On our projects the permit paperwork is part of project management, not a separate fee. Our coordinator prepares the application and the drawings from your 3D design, follows the review and books every inspection. Florida also allows an owner-builder permit for your own home, but it makes you personally responsible for the work, for insurance, inspections and any later sale, and we do not recommend it for plumbing or structural work.
City or county?
It depends on the address, not the mailing city. Inside a municipality the permit goes to that city’s building department: Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Weston, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, West Palm Beach and so on each run their own. In the unincorporated areas — much of West Boca, parts of western Boynton and Delray, and the unincorporated pockets of Broward — it goes to Palm Beach County or Broward County. We check the parcel before the application so it lands in the right office the first time.
The inspections
A typical kitchen or bathroom has three to five inspections, and they set the rhythm of the schedule: rough plumbing and rough electrical once the walls are open and before anything is closed; a framing inspection if a wall or beam changed; sometimes an insulation check on exterior walls; and a final once fixtures are in and everything works. Our project manager books each inspection as the stage is reached, so the crew is never waiting on a date that was not requested.
How long it takes
Review time for a residential interior permit is typically one to three weeks depending on the municipality and the time of year; structural work with engineered drawings can take longer, and a few cities are consistently slower than others. This is why we run the permit in parallel with cabinet production in our own shop: by the time the permit is issued, the cabinets are built, and demolition starts the week we have both. Planned that way, permitting adds no time to a 4–6 week kitchen. Unplanned, it is the single most common reason a remodel drags into its third month.
Condos: the second permit
In a condo the city permit is only half of it. The association has its own alteration application — drawings, scope, insurance certificates, sometimes a deposit — and it must be approved before the city permit is even applied for in many buildings. Since Florida’s 2022 condominium safety law, boards have become noticeably stricter about anything touching plumbing or structure. See our condo remodel guide for the full process.
What unpermitted work costs later
- At sale. Buyers’ inspectors and title companies look for open or missing permits; unpermitted kitchens and baths are a routine reason for price reductions or delayed closings, and retroactive permits require opening walls to show the work.
- At claim time. A water leak from an unpermitted plumbing change is a common reason for an insurer to dispute a claim.
- In fines. Code enforcement can require the work to be permitted after the fact, at double fees in some jurisdictions, or removed.
A permit is the cheapest insurance a remodel can buy. Ask any contractor one question before you sign: “Which permits does this scope need, and are they in the price?” If the answer is vague, so is the rest of the quote.