Florida Building Code section 105.1 sets the baseline: any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building must first obtain a permit from the building official. Electrical, gas, mechanical, and plumbing work regulated by the code also requires permits. unverified
What is exempt. The Florida Building Code itself lists only narrow gas, mechanical, and plumbing exemptions (portable appliances, minor part replacement, clearing stoppages). Cosmetic finish work is treated as exempt by local building departments rather than by a statewide code list: painting, wallpaper, tile and carpet, and replacing kitchen or bathroom cabinets generally need no permit under Pinellas County guidance (and Clearwater's published guidance says the same, adding minor roof leak repairs under $500). When in doubt, ask your building department before starting. unverified
The new under-$7,500 exemption. Under HB 803 (FS 553.79, effective July 1, 2026), certain non-structural single-family residential work valued under $7,500 may qualify for a permit exemption in unincorporated Pinellas, covering items like doors, garage doors, roofs, siding, soffit, fascia, and stucco. Two big caveats: the exemption must be approved by the County Building Official before work begins, and it does not apply at all to properties in a flood hazard area or to gas, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, or structural work. Splitting a large project into small pieces to duck permitting is expressly prohibited, and the approved exemption document must stay on the job site. unverified
Who issues your permit depends on your address. Unincorporated Pinellas uses the county's Building and Development Review Services (727-464-3888) and the Pinellas County Access Portal. Every municipality (St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo, and the rest) runs its own building department for property inside city limits.
Other triggers to remember. Fences require permits in some jurisdictions but not others (Clearwater requires a permit for all fence types; unincorporated Pinellas generally does not for standard chain link, wood, or vinyl). Work over $5,000 requires a recorded Notice of Commencement before the first inspection. Contractors, not homeowners, must pull permits except for owner-occupied single-family exemptions under FS 489.103, which come with strict conditions. unverified
Unpermitted work can surface at sale time, trigger code enforcement, and complicate insurance claims, so the safe default in Pinellas, especially in flood zones, is to ask first.