Do I need a permit to remodel in unincorporated Miami-Dade? The $7,500 exemption, what stays permit-only, fees and 15,315 permits

This covers folio numbers starting with 30. The City of Miami and the other cities run their own building departments; the City of Miami's window rules are in Miami window replacement permit.

What needs a permit

From the county's Permit Exemptions page (read 24 October 2026):

The House Bill 803 exemption. From 1 July 2026, a project under $7,500 on a single-family home, duplex or townhouse (and their accessory structures) can go without a building permit. The county's conditions: the property must not be even partly in a flood hazard area; electrical, plumbing, mechanical, gas and structural work "always requires permits", structural including windows, doors, wind-resistant fences and sheds; a project "cannot be split into smaller phases"; and the owner or contractor must submit a written request and the contract through the county's portal, or in person at 11805 SW 26 Street. Units in multi-family buildings, condos included, do not qualify.

Who can pull it. Licensed contractors or owner-builders (How to Apply). An owner-builder must own a one- or two-family home in a person's name and do the work for their own use, after an owner-builder validation; selling or leasing within 24 months makes the law presume it was built for sale (Owner-Builder Permits). For windows, doors and shutters the county's checklists ask for the current Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance (NOA) of each product, and say Florida Building Commission product approvals are also accepted (Windows, Shutters and Doors).

What it costs

From Implementing Order 4-63 (effective 1 October 2026):

On a 1,600-square-foot house a remodel permit is $800 at $0.50, under the $870 cap; on a 2,000-square-foot house the cap applies. Separate electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits each start at $150.82, and a 7.5% RER surcharge plus state surcharges are added. A Notice of Commencement must be recorded when the job is over $5,000.

How to apply

1. Check the folio starts with 30 on the Property Appraiser's site.
2. Submit plans through the EPS portal. The county says initial plan review typically takes 24 hours to 10 business days, plus any rework; upfront fees are paid before review.
3. Record the Notice of Commencement for jobs over $5,000, before inspections.
4. Inspections are booked through the Building Permit Selection Menu or at 786-315-2100 by 4 p.m. the business day before, and nothing may be covered before it is inspected.

What 15,315 remodel and repair permits show

In unincorporated Miami-Dade a "remodel" permit is mostly a window permit: window permits outnumber general alterations more than three to one. The middle half of declared values, $4,200 to $20,000, mostly reflects those window jobs. Filing peaks in March and April and is lowest in November. Monthly counts and the contractors named most often are on Miami-Dade remodel permits; see also Miami-Dade permit statistics and browse Miami-Dade permits.

Before you hire

Check the contractor's earlier county permits with Contractor Permit Inquiry (Miami-Dade building permit search) and the state license (how to check a contractor's license in Florida). Other places' rules: do I need a permit to remodel, a kitchen and a bathroom; filed values elsewhere in home remodel cost.

What this does not tell you

The county's file has no status and no final date, so we show no finished share or time to final, and it begins in November 2024. A remodel's electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits are counted under those trades, not here. Work done under the $7,500 exemption will not appear as a permit.