Building Office Frequent Questions

You must first register through the State of Florida, Department of Business and Professional Regulations at www.myfloridalicense.com. 

Then, to register your license with Osceola County, follow the steps on our Licensing page.

Florida Building Code

The effective date for the 8th edition (2023) Florida Building Codes and the 2020 National Electrical Code is December 31, 2023. All applications submitted on, or after, December 31, 2023, shall be designed in accordance with the 8th edition (2023) Florida Building Code for Building, Residential, Existing Building, Energy Conservation, Fuel Gas, Mechanical, Plumbing, and/or the 2020 National Electrical Code. These Codes may be accessed via the following links

• https://codes.iccsafe.org/codes/florida
• https://www.nfpa.org/Codes-and-Standards

An analysis of the Code changes may be viewed at Florida DBPR’s website as follows:

• http://www.floridabuilding.org/fbc/Links_to_Code_Resources.html

Please note that all master plans approved under the 7th Edition (2020) Florida Building Codes expired on December 31, 2023 and cannot be used for further permitting. New master plans in compliance with the 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Codes must be submitted for review and approval before being used.

Yes, pursuant to Florida Statute 489.103(7), property owners can act as their own contractor if they meet certain conditions.

For residential projects:

• Owners may build or improve one- or two-family homes or farm outbuildings for personal use.
• All work not performed by licensed contractors must be personally supervised by the owner.
• The property cannot be sold or leased within 1 year after the work is finished.

For commercial projects:

Owners may construct or improve a commercial building if:

• The total project cost does not exceed $75,000.
• The building is solely for the owner's use or occupancy.
• It is not offered for sale or lease.

Requirements:

1. Licensed subcontractors must be hired for regulated trades such as electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and roofing.
2. Complete and sign the Owner-Builder Statement/Affidavit, available under “Building Permit Applications” on our Permitting Applications page.
3. Submit your signed Owner-Builder affidavit, along with your permit application, to our Permitting office at 1 Courthouse Square, Suite 1400, Kissimmee, FL 34741. This must be done in-person, not online.

If you have questions, contact our Building office at 407-742-0200.

To file a complaint against a licensee or report unlicensed activity, use the Florida DBPR - File a Complaint page.

If your complaint involves County code violations like unsafe structures, overgrown lots, and unpermitted work, you may register a Code complaint to our Code Enforcement office.

Yes, you may request an after-hours inspection online through our Permit Center. View instructions here(PDF, 484KB) 

You must pay the minimum fee of $160.00 before the inspection request is approved. If additional fees are incurred, payment is due upon receipt of invoice and no further inspections will be performed and/or a Certificate of Occupancy will not be issued until the fee is paid.

We also offer Saturday building inspections for certain permits. About Saturday inspections.

One to two days after the power call is processed. Learn more about the CO process & how to download it here.

Any owner, licensed contractor or authorized agent may bring in the permit application or pick up the permit, but only the applicant (licensed contractor or owner) may sign the permit application. If the applicant (licensed contractor or owner) does not submit the permit application in person, his/her signature must be notarized on the application form. Permit applications by a licensed contractor must be signed by the license holder; no one else may accept responsibility for the work being permitted.

Apply online

A building permit protects the public by ensuring standard methods and materials are used in construction, that qualified people perform the work, and that the work is verified through inspections at various stages through completion. Permit records, including approved plans and inspections are maintained by the Building Office for the life of the building.

You must file an NOC if your construction project is valued at $5,000 or more (including labor and materials).

To submit an NOC

1. Download a blank Notice of Commencement form from our Permit Applications page and complete it.
2. Get the form notarized. This can be done at most banks, packing/shipping stores, and County clerk offices.
3. Record your NOC at the County Courthouse. The Recording department is located on the second floor of 2 Courthouse Square, Kissimmee, FL 34741, phone 407-742-3517.
4. Deliver the recorded NOC to our Building Office at 1 Courthouse Square, Kissimmee, FL 34741, or email it to NOC@Osceola.org.

If you have questions, you may call our Community Development office at 407-742-0200.

Before the permit expires, you must submit a Permit Extension Request (for permits that are already issued) or a Permit Application Extension Request (for permits that are still pending). You must include specific details as to why an extension is necessary.

Find more details on our page Permit Extensions and Cancellations.

Fees for permits are per the current adopted County Fee Schedule.

• Residential Impact and Mobility Fees
• Commercial Impact and Mobility Fees

Yes, to change a contractor on your permit, complete and submit a Change of Contractor form, available from our Permit Applications page. The Change of Contractor form must be submitted along with the application signed by the new contractor.

If you have an approximate address (the block range, i.e., 1200-1300 Block XYZ Street) it is possible for our Planning Office to research projects currently under review or recently approved for that location. Once building construction has begun, our Building Office can provide more detailed information about residential and commercial permits, including the contractor(s) and owner of the property, size of the structure, etc.

Yes, if we have it on file. Please complete the Permit Research Request Application found on our Permit Applications page and submit it to our office.

In keeping with Florida’s records retention schedule, we do not retain records on residential structures more than ten years after the house was built.

It costs $5 to initialize the request and this covers the first 15 minutes of research time. Any additional time spent searching for records incurs a $20 fee per extra hour.

Before sending a request, please check if your property is within City of Kissimmee or City of St. Cloud jurisdiction. If your property falls within their bounds, you must contact their Building & Permitting offices.

It normally takes 3 to 5 days to review and process a set of residential plans if they meet the minimum code requirements. If the drawings or documents we receive have deficiencies, the reviewers will place the project on hold and request corrections to be made. Only after the corrections have been made and re-reviewed by the necessary departments will the house plans be approved.

No, Osceola County Building Office does not enforce any local ordinance that could change the Florida Building Code 2023. There are other Building Office ordinances as well as county ordinances that are enforced by other departments.

Master filing is a service that provides customers with an option of submitting for plan review construction plans of a typical building or structure that could be built multiple times in multiple locations. Builders and contractors may use this option before completing documents for permitting.

Preliminary review is a service that provides customers with the ability to submit a set of construction drawings without having to complete all the requirements of a building permit application, specifically is not required to have a contractor. This is a tool that owners, representatives and design professionals may utilize to save time during the process of completing documents for permitting.

It normally takes between 2 to 4 weeks to review and process a set of commercial plans. Commercial plan review includes building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire. Typically a commercial review will generate plan review comments at this stage.

You can schedule a building permit inspection online, by text, or over the phone following the steps linked here: Schedule an inspection.

You can re-schedule or cancel an inspection online through permits.osceola.org, or by calling 407-742-0200. Please have your permit number ready when calling.

Cancel or reschedule an inspection online or by text.

Yes, you can leave comments for inspectors when you schedule your inspection online. See instructions here.

You will need to have the following items on site and available for the inspector to view:

• Permit Card
• Notice of Commencement (NOC)
• Stamped plans: “Reviewed for Code Compliance”
• Florida Product Approval sheets and Manufacture’s Installation Instructions

You may call an inspection in for the next day as long as you put in the request before 3:00 p.m the previous day. If the inspection is called in after 3:00 p.m. it will automatically be added on the calendar two days out. For example, if you call an inspection after 3:00 p.m. on Monday, the inspection will not be scheduled until Wednesday. Please keep in mind that weekends and governmental holidays are not considered work days.

As of April 2025, we offer Saturday building inspections. Saturday inspections must be scheduled by 3:00 p.m. on the Thursday prior to the inspection date. About Saturday inspections.