What is an expired permit in Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Miami and throughout Florida?

Building permits, which include demolition, roofing, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and others related to construction activities are typically only open for 180 days. This time usually allows for a substantial amount of work to be completed.

During the 180 days, a contractor who files for a construction permit is required to request the necessary inspections from the city or county inspection agency per the Florida Building Code.

These inspections cover but are not limited to demolition inspections, rough-in inspections and final inspections. 180 days is usually a sufficient amount of time to complete the construction project.

The most common reason permits become expired is because there are one or more required inspections not done within the 180 days. These permits are typically the easiest to close unless there has been a substantial change in the structure. The permit will then expire automatically due to no inspection activity.

From our experience, most expired permits only need a final inspection. We are able to close expire permits fast starting at $250.00*. (Call 877-741-1506 for Details)

The issues that are caused by an expired permit on your home or business:

An expired permit not only prevents you from possibly performing more work on your home but it can also prevent you from selling your home in most jurisdictions in Florida.

Title companies, mortgage companies and real estate agents will not allow a home or business owners to sell their property with an expired permit. As well as expired permits can leave you open to large safety concerns and financial losses.

The Florida Building Code (FBC) regulates how buildings and structures are built to ensure the health and safety of the occupants.

The safety concern associated with an expired permit is that you will not be able to ensure that your property is built to the minimums required by the FBC and your local building code. One way to know that your structure is up to code is to have it inspected by the City of Orlando, Orange County Building Department or your local Florida building department.

Large costs are incurred when an inspection agency requires visual inspections of work that is now covered up by drywall or exterior coverings.

You, the owner will be required to pay for those associated costs to re-open the previous permit or obtain a new building permit, remove the coverings, make any necessary repairs or upgrades required to pass inspections and then to close the opening per code.

The current home or business owners are responsible for closing expired permits pulled by the previous home or business owners.

The process we use to close an expired permit:

ClosePermits.com is owned by SL Builders & Associates, LLC, a certified general contracting firm.

We are able to help you close expired permits fast that were open by any trade in Orlando and all of Florida.

We also work with a group of engineers and architects to prepare signed and sealed construction documents and drawings if they are needed to apply for your new replacement permit to close out the expired permit.

Step 1: We requests all documents associated with the expired permit.

We may contact the contractors of record for the expired permit and the previous homeowners.

Finally, we will request all documents from the City of Orlando, Orange County building department or your local building department.

Step 2: We perform our own visual inspection of your property. We make recommendations for possible corrections to help ensure you pass inspection the first time.

At that time we provide all the critical documents and solutions to properly close your expired permit.

Step 3: We file to re-open your expired permit. Which means we open a new permit to replace your existing permit with the original construction documents if available.

If no construction documents are available but are required to re-open the permit we provide you the owner with the next steps to obtain the permit. (Prepare construction documents and drawings by one of our architects or engineers.)

Step 4: We request the required inspections and meet with the city or county inspectors at your home or business. 

Step 5: Once all inspections are complete, we provide you with documentation to prove the permit is properly closed.