Basement permits across Florida
Where each city draws the line on basement work. Sort any column — useful if you build across several towns and need to know where the rules change.
Cities compared
36
Always need one
36
Depends on size
0
The statewide starting point is Florida Building Code, Building, 2023, 8th edition. Cities that changed the rule are the interesting rows below.
| Where the line falls | Fee | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville | 1,009,833 | Yes | You need a building permit to finish a basement or conver… | The code lists no dollar amounts. Building permit fees are … |
| Miami | 487,014 | Yes | You need a building permit to finish a basement or conver… | The code names no basement-specific amount. For residential… |
| Tampa | 414,547 | Yes | Finishing a basement or converting it into living space i… | The code names no basement-finish amount. Sec. 5-109.2 sets… |
| Orlando | 334,854 | Yes | You need a building permit to finish a basement or conver… | The code names no basement-finish permit amount. Orlando pu… |
| St. Petersburg | 267,102 | Yes | Finishing a basement or converting it into living space i… | Permit fee is set by the total construction value under the… |
| Port St. Lucie | 258,575 | Yes | You need a building permit to finish a basement or conver… | The code gives no dollar amount; building permit fees are s… |
| Hialeah | 235,388 | Yes | You need a building permit to finish a basement or conver… | The code names no basement amount. Sec. 14-3 says building … |
| Cape Coral | 233,025 | Yes | Finishing a basement or converting it into living space i… | No dollar amount is stated in the code. Fees are set by the… |
| Tallahassee | 205,089 | Yes | You need a building permit to finish a basement or conver… | The code lists no dollar amounts. Building permit fees come… |
| Fort Lauderdale | 190,641 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Gainesville | 148,720 | Yes | You need a building permit to finish a basement or conver… | The code lists no dollar amounts. Building permit fees are … |
| Miramar | 143,242 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | City permit and related fees are established and adjusted b… |
| Coral Springs | 140,808 | Yes | Finishing a basement or converting it into living space i… | A deposit of $100 per single-family residential unit is due… |
| West Palm Beach | 127,744 | Yes | A building permit is required to finish a basement or con… | — |
| Lakeland | 124,990 | Yes | You need a building permit to finish a basement or conver… | — |
| Clearwater | 116,811 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | Appendix A (Schedule of Fees): one-/two-family plans examin… |
| Miami Gardens | 116,173 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Davie | 112,052 | Yes | You need a building permit to finish a basement or conver… | Permit fees are set by council resolution (Sec. 5-2); the c… |
| Palm Coast | 106,729 | Yes | You need a building permit to finish a basement or conver… | The code lists no dollar amounts. Fees are published by the… |
| Boca Raton | 102,238 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | Fee per city's municipal facilities and services user fee s… |
| Plantation | 100,694 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | Additions, Alterations, Repairs—Residential: Non-Residentia… |
| Deltona | 100,513 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Sunrise | 100,128 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Fort Myers | 99,918 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| North Port | 92,875 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Deerfield Beach | 90,507 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | Permit fees shall be established by the city commission by … |
| Melbourne | 87,561 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | Building permit fees established by city council resolution… |
| Daytona Beach | 86,015 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | Fee schedule established by City Commission resolution; pla… |
| Homestead | 85,796 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | Application fee for all other scope of work: $125 minimum +… |
| Kissimmee | 84,756 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Doral | 83,625 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | Per Schedule A on file with City Clerk (Doral Code Sec. 5-1) |
| Miami Beach | 83,251 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | Per appendix A schedule, adjusted annually for CPI-U (Sec. … |
| Boynton Beach | 83,095 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Largo | 82,337 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Lauderhill | 76,627 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Tamarac | 75,147 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | Fee schedule established by city commission resolution; adj… |
“Unconfirmed” means the city's code doesn't state the rule plainly enough to publish. Those city pages link straight to the ordinance section instead.
Why neighboring cities disagree
Every city starts from a model code and then edits it. One town raises the shed cutoff, the next lowers the fence height, a third exempts the structure where its neighbor only exempts repairs to it. None of that is visible from a national article — you have to read each ordinance, which is what these pages do.