To look up a building permit in Florida, search the online permit records of the city or county that has jurisdiction over the property, using the property address or parcel number. Permits are public records, so most Florida building departments provide a searchable portal, and the county property appraiser can help you confirm which jurisdiction to search.
Key takeaways
- Building permits are public records you can search by address or parcel number in most Florida jurisdictions.
- The correct place to search is the city if the property is inside city limits, and the county if it is not.
- Look for the permit status, especially whether the final inspection passed, not just whether a permit exists.
- If you cannot find a permit online, the building department can search its records directly.
Table of contents
- How do I look up a building permit in Florida
- Which jurisdiction should I search
- What information do I need to search
- What does the permit status tell me
- Where to search by jurisdiction
- A worked example: checking a home before making an offer
- What if I cannot find a permit online
- What if the work has no permit at all
How do I look up a building permit in Florida
Go to the permit search portal for the jurisdiction over the property and enter the address. Because permits are public records, most Florida cities and counties let anyone search recent permit activity, view the permit type, and see its current status.
Older permits may not be online and can require a call or a public records request, but recent work is usually searchable. The free permit checker can help you decide which past projects should have a permit before you go looking.
Which jurisdiction should I search
Search the city if the property is inside city limits, and the county if it is in an unincorporated area. This is the single most common mistake: searching the county for a home that a city actually permits, and finding nothing.
If you are unsure, the county property appraiser's site usually shows the taxing jurisdiction, which points you to the right building department. Our county pages for Orange County and Polk County explain the split between city and county jurisdiction.
What information do I need to search
At minimum you need the property address, and a parcel number helps for exact matches. The parcel number is available from the county property appraiser and avoids confusion when multiple similar addresses exist.
Some portals also let you search by permit number, contractor, or date range, which is useful if you already know part of the record. Start with the address, then refine.
What does the permit status tell me
The status tells you where the permit stands, and the most important detail is whether the final inspection passed. A permit that exists but never reached a passing final inspection is an open permit, which can be a problem at sale.
Watch for these common statuses:
- Finalized or closed: work was inspected and completed.
- Open or active: permit issued, final inspection not yet passed.
- Expired: permit lapsed before completion.
Our guides on expired permits and closing an open permit explain how to resolve the last two.
Where to search by jurisdiction
| Property location | Where to search |
|---|---|
| Inside a city | That city's building department portal |
| Unincorporated county | The county building division portal |
| Unsure | County property appraiser to confirm jurisdiction |
| Older records | Call the department or file a records request |
A worked example: checking a home before making an offer
Say you are considering a home and the listing mentions a newer roof and a remodeled kitchen. You search the jurisdiction's portal by address and find a finalized roof permit but no permit for the kitchen electrical work.
That gap is worth a question before you make an offer, because unpermitted electrical work could become your responsibility. See our guide on what to do if a house has permit problems before selling for how buyers and sellers handle this.
What if I cannot find a permit online
If a portal search comes up empty, it does not automatically mean no permit exists. The work may predate the online records, or the permit may be filed under a slightly different address or owner name.
Call the building department and ask them to search their internal records. They can often find older permits that never made it into the public portal, and they can confirm whether a permit was ever issued.
Our take: When you look up a permit, do not stop at whether one exists. The status matters more than the existence, because an open or expired permit is a live obligation that can land on whoever owns the property next.
What if the work has no permit at all
If a project truly has no permit and one was required, it is unpermitted work that usually needs an after-the-fact permit to resolve. Confirming this early, before buying or selling, gives you time to negotiate or plan.
Our guide on after-the-fact permits explains how that process works. If you are the current owner, resolving it now is far easier than during a future sale.