HB 803 Is Rewriting Florida's Permit Fee Schedules

Florida House Bill 803 (chapter 2026-63, Laws of Florida) is quietly forcing cities and counties across the state to rewrite how they charge for building permits. Its fee provisions took effect July 1, 2026, and the ripple effects are showing up in fee schedules everywhere we track.

What the law changed

Three provisions matter most for anyone pulling permits. First, inspection fees can no longer be based on a project's total cost; they must reflect the actual cost of performing the inspection. The percent-of-value inspection fee, long a fixture of Florida schedules, is now unlawful. Second, when a licensed private provider handles plan review and inspections, jurisdictions must substantially reduce the permit fee. Third, certain small residential jobs are exempted from permitting requirements entirely.

What we're seeing on the ground

Tracking dozens of Florida fee schedules against their official sources, we've watched the law's effects arrive in waves. Some cities pulled their schedules and announced revisions without publishing a successor yet, leaving applicants without a current published rate. Others still publish schedules containing percent-of-value inspection fees the law now prohibits. And the first post-HB 803 schedules show where pricing is headed: flat, surcharge-inclusive fees per permit type, and actual-cost-of-service pricing charged per county-assigned inspection rather than per dollar of job value.

The practical consequence: a Florida fee schedule that was accurate last year may already be superseded, and more republishing is coming as jurisdictions work through compliance.

What it means for your next permit

Check the current schedule before you price a job, and ask the building department whether a revision is pending. If you use a private provider for plan review and inspections on commercial work, ask what fee reduction applies; the law entitles you to one. Every jurisdiction page on this site links the official schedule we sourced and the date we last verified it, so you can see exactly how current the numbers are. For background on how Florida permit fees are structured, see our Florida permit fee guide, or jump straight to fees by county and city.