Miami-Dade County Building Department | Permits, Inspections & Contact

Miami-Dade County’s Construction, Permitting and Building Code Division is the building authority for properties in unincorporated Miami-Dade County. The county’s permitting guidance says Miami-Dade has 35 municipalities, and each incorporated city has its own building and zoning officials. Confirm the property’s jurisdiction before applying: county building jurisdiction generally applies to an unincorporated property, while a city handles permits inside its municipal limits.

Miami-Dade County permit process

For an unincorporated property, start with the county’s permit portal and review the permit type, checklist, and plan requirements before submitting. Miami-Dade says homeowners may submit online or in person at the Permitting and Inspection Center. Complex work may require signed and sealed plans from a Florida-licensed architect or engineer, and separate trade, zoning, fire, environmental, water-and-sewer, or health reviews may apply depending on the project.

Inspections, zoning, and occupancy

Miami-Dade requires inspections for new construction, remodeling, renovations, and many electrical, mechanical, and plumbing projects. The county says the approved stamped plans and permit card must be at the job site, the address must be posted and visible, and work must be inspected before it is covered. Inspection requests generally require the permit number and three-digit inspection code; the county also supports virtual inspections for selected trades.

Zoning inspections may verify that landscaping and site work match the approved plan before a Certificate of Occupancy or commercial shell Certificate of Completion is issued. Miami-Dade also provides online searches for permit status, inspection routes, certificates of use, and building-code enforcement cases. A project within a municipality may still need a county municipal approval for county-level reviews such as water and sewer, impact fees, environmental resources, fire rescue, or septic matters, even though the municipality issues the building permit.

Official contact information

The Miami-Dade County Permitting and Inspection Center is at 11805 SW 26th Street, Miami, Florida 33175, open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. except legal holidays, with a main phone of (786) 315-2000. Use the official pages below for current applications, permit lookups, inspection scheduling, and jurisdiction guidance; do not use the county page as a substitute for the building department of an incorporated Miami-Dade municipality.