Proposed Statute Would Require Florida Building Commission to Establish Statewide Building Permit Applications for Commercial and Residential Projects
HB 803 (2026) has passed both houses of the Florida Legislature, and if signed into law by the Governor, will make changes to a lot of statutes related to building permits and inspections. As part of that, the bill amends 553.77, Florida Statutes, to require the Florida Building Commission to create uniform, statewide building permit applications for commercial and residential projects by July 1, 2027 as follows:
(b) By July 1, 2027, adopt by rule a uniform commercial building permit application to be used statewide for commercial construction projects and a uniform residential building permit application to be used statewide for residential construction projects. To the extent feasible, the uniform commercial building permit application and the uniform residential building permit application adopted by the commission must be capable of integration with existing building permit software systems used by local governments and must account for local amendments to the Florida Building Code.
If signed by the Governor, these changes would take effect July 1, 2026.
About the Author
Jason Lambert is a Florida Board Certified Construction Attorney and Partner in the Construction Industry Practice Group at Hill Ward Henderson, in Tampa, Florida. He is also the founder and chief contributor to the Hammer & Gavel construction law blog. Jason focuses his practice on representing contractors, subcontractors, and materials suppliers throughout the state of Florida. Before law school, Jason spent a decade working in the construction industry, primarily as a project manager and operations director for both new construction and remodeling. He can be reached at jason.lambert@hwhlaw.com or 813-227-8495.
