General building work permit checklist — Orlando, Florida
Assembled from Orlando’s own published permit rules. Every line below is quoted from a city document and linked to it. Nothing here is generated, estimated, or inferred from another jurisdiction.
Do you need a permit?
Orlando requires a permit for general building work.
Effective July 1, 2026, Florida Statutes Section 553.79(1)(g), created by Chapter 2026-63, Laws of Florida (CS/CS/HB 803, 2026 Regular Session), directs every permit-issuing local government in the state to waive the building permit requirement when the owner of a single-family dwelling, or a contractor working for that owner, takes on work worth under $7,500 at the property. Orlando honors this statewide floor but runs it as a request rather than an automatic pass. The owner or the owner's contractor files an exemption request with the city and attaches the written contract or other paperwork establishing what the work is and what it is worth, and the city responds within five business days. The request is tracked under a MET case number that can be pulled up by address on the city's Permit Lookup site. Several categories are shut out of the exemption no matter how small the job. Electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas work stay permitted. Orlando reads structural work to take in railings and guards, pool barriers and fences, windows and doors, siding and soffits, roofing, and elevated decks. A property sitting wholly or partly inside a flood hazard area as the Florida Building Code defines it is ineligible, and the city directs applicants to its flood zone lookup before applying. Breaking one job into smaller pieces so that each lands under $7,500 is not allowed; the threshold is measured against the complete project. The exemption reaches the building permit only, so land development, planning and civil reviews may still apply, and the statute provides that the local government owes no legal duty to the owner or contractor for work done under it.
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Sources
- building — fee schedule ↗verified August 2026
Other permits Orlando publishes rules for
Listed because the city publishes a separate rule for each type — not because this project necessarily triggers one. Whether it does depends on your scope of work.
- Deck permit checklist
- Fence permit checklist
- Shed permit checklist
- Water heater permit checklist
- Re-roof permit checklist
- Electrical work permit checklist
BuildSpec is a reference, not the authority having jurisdiction. Confirm requirements with Orlando before you build.