Job Sites: Do Permits Need to be Posted on Site?

 

A. No. Under Section 553.79(23), Florida Statutes electronic permits are permissible and there is no requirement for a physical posting on a worksite. The permit application, which is required to be submitted electronically, has been submitted by the private provider, owner or contractor and is in the building official’s office electronic system. An inspection cannot be failed or rejected as noncompliant for a lack of printed permit on site if the permit is available through that electronic system. Code enforcement may not shut down the worksite for failure to post a paper permit at the worksite.

 

 

Section 553.79(23), Florida Statutes specifically states “For the purpose of inspection or record retention, site plans or building permits may be maintained in the original form or the form of an electronic copy at the worksite.”

 

 

For purposes of this section of the Florida Statutes, “Worksite” includes any phone, laptop, tablet, or other electronic device that has the ability to access the electronic permit, with which the inspector can retrieve the permit electronically placing the permit “at the worksite”. This removes any requirement that contractor’s representative be on-site for the inspection, or provide the equipment to retrieve the permit as the document is contained in the inspector or code enforcement’s own systems.