Jacksonville Building Permit Office

The Jacksonville Building Inspection Division handles vertical construction permitting and inspections for property within its jurisdiction. Because Jacksonville and Duval County operate under consolidated government, a Duval County address alone does not establish which building department will process the permit.

For property under the consolidated City of Jacksonville/Duval County government, the Building Inspection Division is responsible for building permits and construction inspections. The Development Services Division handles related matters such as zoning assistance, site development review, floodplain management, right-of-way permitting, addressing, and certain development reviews.

The City requires online submission for all permit types handled by the Building Inspection Division. Applications, plans, supporting documents, review comments, permit information, and many inspection functions are managed through JaxEPICS.

A Jacksonville building permit should not be treated as a zoning approval or as automatic clearance from every development agency. The electronic permit process coordinates several City reviews, but the scope depends on the project.

The Building Inspection Division maintains current forms, affidavits, and permit checklists rather than relying on one document list for every project. Its published materials include forms associated with contractor registration, property-owner authorization, Notice of Commencement, product approvals, window and door replacement, pools, residential construction, and other permit types.

For a new one- or two-family building, pool, enclosure, commercial project, or another specialized scope, the corresponding City checklist should be reviewed before files are uploaded. Jacksonville also advises applicants to use the current form editions posted by the City rather than older versions.

Jacksonville’s fee and permitting materials distinguish building permits from electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and other permit categories. The exact permits depend on the work being performed. For new commercial construction, the City identifies site clearing, building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permits among the permits that may be required.

The Building Inspection Division currently applies the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023) to permits within the applicable code cycle. Plans should be prepared for the code requirements in effect for the submission.

Jacksonville determines the required inspection sequence as part of permit review. The permit holder is responsible for scheduling inspections and for avoiding work that conceals an area before the required inspection has been completed.

• Inspection requests can be managed through the City’s online permitting and inspection system.
• The Building Inspection Division also accepts inspection scheduling by telephone during its published business hours.
• JaxEPICS can be used to review permit and inspection information and track inspection results.
• The permit and required job-site documents must be available for inspection.
• Jacksonville requires the applicable filed Notice of Commencement documentation to be provided before inspections when required for the permitted work.

The City states that inspections scheduled through its regular process are placed on the next-business-day schedule. Inspection availability and project readiness should still be checked in JaxEPICS before construction is advanced to the next stage.

Projects involving a change of use, zoning relief, site development, new access, work within the public right-of-way, or floodplain conditions can require additional review. Jacksonville separates many of these functions from the Building Inspection Division.

Jacksonville publishes its building and construction charges in the City fee schedule. Fees vary by project type and can include building permit charges, plan review, Development Services charges, trade permits, inspections, and other applicable items. Because the schedule contains many project-specific calculations, the current City fee schedule is the appropriate source for estimating a permit rather than applying one flat Jacksonville permit price.