This covers the City of Miami (folio numbers starting 01), not Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Hialeah or unincorporated Miami-Dade.
What Miami exempts, and what needs a permit
From the City's Work that Does Not Require a Permit page, read 23 October 2026:
| No permit in the City of Miami | Not on the list, so it needs a permit |
|---|---|
| Replacing lamps and bulbs in existing fixtures | A new outlet, switch or light on new wire |
| Replacing a damaged receptacle, switch or breaker with an identical part, no wiring change, by a licensed electrical contractor | A new or bigger breaker, a new circuit, a panel change |
| Ceiling fan on existing wiring, by a licensed electrical contractor | A fan or fixture needing a new box or new run |
| Portable generator of 5 kW or less, temporary, not hardwired | A permanently installed or hardwired generator |
| Plug-in or battery wireless alarms, cameras and smoke detectors | Hardwired alarms and smoke detectors |
| Troubleshooting without new wiring or components | Any repair that installs new wiring |
| Plug-in above-ground spa | A hardwired spa or pool equipment |
Two things are unusual. The swap exemptions are tied to who does the work: the same receptacle swap by an unlicensed handyman is not on the list. And Florida's $7,500 owner exemption under HB 803 does not apply, because the City's HB 803 page says it "does not include electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, or gas work".
Who can pull it
Only a licensed contractor. The City's owner-builder page says "roofing, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and gas permits may only be issued to appropriately-licensed contractors" (read 23 October 2026). Florida's Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board licenses EC (certified, statewide) and ER (registered, local only) contractors; an ER from another county may not be licensed for Miami. 91.3% of the Miami electrical firms in our file matched an active DBPR license. How to check: Miami contractor license lookup.
How a Miami electrical permit is filed
| Job | Route |
|---|---|
| Residential service repair, water heater replacement, A/C change-out, gate or shutter motor, low-voltage data/TV | Easy Permit: the contractor files in iBuild, pays online, gets the permit card by email, no plan review |
| Wiring inside a remodel or addition | Sub-permit on the master building permit; the City says you "cannot acquire a sub-permit until you have been approved for a master permit" |
| New service, panel upgrade, generator, new circuits | A stand-alone electrical permit through iBuild, with plans where the reviewer asks for them |
Note what is missing from the Easy Permit list: outlets are listed "Commercial only", so adding a residential outlet is a regular permit. Keep the permit card on site; the required inspections and results show on the permit's Inspections tab in iBuild. Building Department: 305-416-1100.
What it costs
From the City's fee schedule (Exhibit C, Sec. 10-18, adopted April 2026): building, plumbing, mechanical and electrical permits on residential buildings of up to three units are 0.50% of the estimated construction cost, the minimum permit fee is $110.00, and a re-inspection is $57.00. Below $22,000 of work, the minimum governs, which covers nearly every home electrical job: the usual City of Miami electrical permit was filed at $6,000, and the middle half of firms usually file between $3,500 and $10,000.
What 6,214 Miami electrical permits show
| Measure | City of Miami electrical |
|---|---|
| Permits on homes, October 2023 to September 2026 | 6,214 |
| Firms | 1,029 |
| Firms with a permit in the last 12 months of the window | 639 |
| Reached Final (permits a year or more old) | 86.6% |
| Usual days from issue to Final | 184 |
| 10th / 90th-percentile firm's finished share (10+ permits) | 78.7% / 95.5% |
| Firms with exactly one permit | 359 (34.9%) |
| Busiest / quietest month | April (index 116) / November (91) |
Electrical closes later than Miami roofing (86.6% reached Final, against 97.5% for roofing) because so many electrical permits are sub-permits that wait for the remodel around them. A stand-alone panel or service permit open for months is a different matter: ask the electrician to book the final. Prices by firm: Miami electrical cost; national ranges: electrical work cost; counts by year: Miami permit statistics.
See every City of Miami electrician by share at Final →
Before you hire
Ask for the EC or ER number and check it on DBPR, then read the firm's record on the Miami electrician list. The national checklist is hiring an electrician; panel work elsewhere is in do I need a permit for an electrical panel upgrade, and other cities in do I need a permit for electrical work. Past permits on your address: Miami building permit search.
What this does not tell you
Exempt swaps and unpermitted work leave no record. A Final means the City's inspector passed the work, not its price. Filed values are the contractor's estimate. Fees can change with the City budget; the iBuild invoice is the final word.
How we know this
Exemptions, Easy Permit items, sub-permit and owner-builder rules are quoted from City of Miami pages read 23 October 2026; fees from the City's Exhibit C fee schedule (Sec. 10-18) adopted April 2026. Permit counts are City of Miami building permits classified as electrical, October 2023 to September 2026; finished share uses permits a year or more old, and days to Final is the median from issue to final.
Numbers come from City of Miami building permits (since 2014), data through October 17, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- Do I need a permit to replace a light fixture or outlet in Miami?
Replacing bulbs needs nothing. Replacing a damaged receptacle, switch or breaker with an identical part, with no wiring change, is exempt in the City of Miami only when a licensed electrical contractor does it; so is a ceiling fan on existing wiring. New outlets, circuits and panels need a permit.
- Can a homeowner pull an electrical permit in Miami?
No. The City's owner-builder page says roofing, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and gas permits 'may only be issued to appropriately-licensed contractors', and the $7,500 HB 803 exemption excludes electrical work.
- How much is an electrical permit in Miami?
The City's fee schedule (Sec. 10-18, adopted April 2026) charges electrical permits on homes of up to three units 0.50% of the estimated construction cost, with a $110 minimum and $57 per re-inspection. The usual City of Miami electrical permit in our data was filed at $6,000.
- How long does an electrical permit take in Miami?
Easy Permits such as a residential service repair are issued online with the card emailed. Closing is slower: the usual City of Miami electrical permit reached Final 184 days after issue, against 38 for a roofing permit.
- Does a generator need an electrical permit in Miami?
A portable generator of 5 kW or less used temporarily, and not hardwired or permanently installed, is on the City's no-permit list. A permanently installed or hardwired generator is not, so it needs a permit from a licensed electrical contractor.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Do I need an electrical permit in Anaheim? Panel upgrades, the utility meter spot, fees and inspections
- Do I need an electrical permit in Arlington, VA? What's exempt, who pulls it, how long it takes
- Austin building permit search: how to look up permits on an address
- Do I need an electrical permit in Austin? The exempt list, the homestead permit, fees and inspections
- Do I need an electrical permit in Raleigh? The City's rule, the $124 minimum fee and the owner affidavit
- Do I need an electrical permit in Sacramento County? Panels, circuits, even ceiling fans: rules, inspections, timing
For one city
- Work that Does Not Require a Permit — City of Miami Building (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Get an Easy Permit — City of Miami (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Get a Sub-Permit — City of Miami (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Become an Owner Builder — City of Miami (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Building Permit Exemptions for Residential Properties (HB 803) — City of Miami (accessed 2026-10-23)
- City of Miami Building Permit Fee Schedule (Exhibit C, Sec. 10-18), adopted April 2026 (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board — Florida DBPR (2026-10-22)