This covers the City of Miami (folio numbers starting 01). Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Hialeah and unincorporated Miami-Dade have their own building departments.
What the City's checklist asks for
The City's Exterior Windows and Doors applicant checklist (read 23 October 2026) is the whole permit in one page:
| Item | What the City requires |
|---|---|
| Product approval | A "Current Miami Dade County Notice of Approval (NOA) Product Approval" or a Florida DBPR product approval |
| Its status | "Cannot be expired, must be for the current Florida Building Code in effect" |
| Its content | Design pressures, the size of each unit, all mullions, glass type and thickness |
| Drawings | Floor plan marking each window and door, elevations of each wall, and a schedule tying each unit to its NOA with room, size, model and existing rough opening |
| Life safety | Sill heights, and emergency escape and rescue details for bedrooms |
| Openings | No opening changes on the checklist's Homeowner's Express Review route |
| Inspections | Window/door buck, then final |
Miami-Dade's own windows, shutters and doors page says the same about NOAs and accepts Florida Building Commission approvals too. So the practical test before you sign is simple: every model on the quote has an NOA number, the NOA is current, and its maximum sizes cover your openings.
Is any window work exempt?
The City's no-permit list has no window section. Florida's HB 803 lets owners ask for written exemption of work valued under $7,500 on their property, but the City's HB 803 page excludes structural work and any property fully or partly in a flood hazard area, and does not mention windows; an approval letter must be posted on site before work starts. If you hope to use it for a single window, submit the exemption form and wait for the letter rather than assuming.
Who can pull it
The City's owner-builder page reserves roofing, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and gas permits for licensed contractors; windows are not on that list. An owner of an owner-occupied one- or two-family home, not intended for sale, can qualify as an owner-builder after a short multiple-choice exam and an interview at the Homeowner Assistance counter (444 SW 2nd Ave, 1st floor), and must then hire licensed contractors or hourly workers.
Most window jobs are pulled by the installer. Window installers in Miami work under a Miami-Dade certificate of competency or a Florida license: check either on the county's BCCO Contractor Search, which also shows complaints. 93.0% of the window firms in our file matched an active license. More in the Miami contractor license lookup.
What it costs
From the City's fee schedule (Exhibit C, Sec. 10-18, adopted April 2026) and fee page:
| Fee line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Residential up to 3 units, building permit | 0.50% of estimated construction cost |
| Minimum permit fee | $110.00 |
| Up-front fee | $2.80 per $1,000 of estimated value (80% credited at issue) |
| Re-inspection | $57.00 |
| City solid waste surcharge | Windows and doors fully exempt |
The usual City of Miami window permit is filed at $14,246, and the middle half of firms usually file between $8,000 and $19,106. At 0.50%, a job has to pass $22,000 before the percentage beats the $110 minimum, so most window permits pay the minimum plus the up-front fee. Re-inspections cost $57 each, so ask the installer to book the buck inspection only when every opening is ready.
What 4,921 Miami window permits show
| Measure | City of Miami windows, doors and shutters |
|---|---|
| Permits on homes, October 2023 to September 2026 | 4,921 |
| Firms | 1,096 |
| Firms with a permit in the last 12 months of the window | 578 |
| Reached Final (permits a year or more old) | 98.5% |
| Usual days from issue to Final | 55 |
| 10th-percentile firm's finished share (10+ permits) | 93.1% |
| Firms with exactly one permit | 536 (48.9%) |
| Busiest / quietest month | March (index 119) / December (85) |
Filing peaks in March, ahead of hurricane season, and is lowest in December. Nearly every Miami window permit closes (98.5%), so one still open after the usual 55 days is worth a question: usually the final was never booked. Prices by firm: Miami windows cost; national figures: window replacement cost; counts by year: Miami permit statistics.
See every City of Miami window installer by share at Final →
Before you hire
The Miami checklist with red flags and the busiest firms is hiring a window installer in Miami; compare firms on the Miami windows list. Rules in other cities: do I need a permit for window replacement. Past permits on your address: Miami building permit search.
What this does not tell you
A Final means the inspector passed the installation; it does not check the price, the warranty, or the wind-mitigation paperwork your insurer may want. Filed values are the installer's estimate. Our data is the City of Miami only, and shutters and doors are counted with windows.
How we know this
Checklist items and inspections are quoted from the City of Miami's exterior windows and doors applicant checklist; owner-builder, HB 803 and fee rules from City of Miami pages read 23 October 2026 and the Exhibit C fee schedule (Sec. 10-18) adopted April 2026. Permit counts are City of Miami building permits for windows, doors and shutters, 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 windows in Miami?
Yes. The City of Miami handles exterior window and door replacement as a residential building permit, and its applicant checklist requires a current Miami-Dade NOA or Florida product approval for every unit. The inspections it lists are the window/door buck and the final.
- Can a homeowner pull a window permit in Miami?
Window permits are not on the City's list of trades reserved for licensed contractors (roofing, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and gas). An owner of an owner-occupied one- or two-family home can qualify as an owner-builder after an exam and interview at the Homeowner Assistance counter, and then takes responsibility for the work.
- How much is a window permit in Miami?
The City's fee schedule (Sec. 10-18, adopted April 2026) charges residential permits 0.50% of the estimated construction cost, with a $110 minimum and $57 per re-inspection; windows and doors are fully exempt from the City's solid waste surcharge. On the usual $14,246 job, 0.50% is under the minimum.
- How long does a window permit take in Miami?
The usual City of Miami window, door and shutter permit reached Final 55 days after issue, and 98.5% of those a year or more old did.
- Do hurricane shutters need a permit in Miami?
Shutters are in the same window, door and shutter permit category in the City's data, and Miami-Dade's windows, shutters and doors page applies the same product-approval rule to them. Ask for the shutter's NOA before you sign.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Florida Building Code 9th Edition: what changes for reroofs, windows and new homes on permits from 31 December 2026
- Do I need a permit to replace windows in Cape Coral? Size-for-size vs new openings, fee and timing
- Do I need a permit to replace windows in Cleveland? Yes: the City calls it an alteration. The fee, who pulls it, and timing
- Do I need a permit? 13 common home projects, checked against city rules and permit files
- Do I need a permit to replace windows in Minneapolis? Yes, even same-size: the table, fees and timing
- Do I need a window replacement permit in Sacramento County? Yes, even for a retrofit: the policy, the energy sticker, two inspections
For one city
- Residential Permit: Exterior Windows and Doors, Applicant Checklist — City of Miami Building Department (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Windows, Shutters and Doors — Miami-Dade County Building (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)
- BCCO Contractor Inquiry and Complaint Search — Miami-Dade County (2026-10-22)