What Is a Private Provider in Florida?

A licensed professional who performs your plan review and inspections instead of the building department. Same code, same legal standing, different line.

By Devon Hutcherson, Easy Build FL. Last updated August 2026.

Short answer. A private provider is a licensed Florida engineer, architect, or building code administrator who performs your plan review and building inspections instead of the local building department. Florida Statute 553.791 gives the property owner the right to hire one, and it requires the local jurisdiction to accept that work.

Why this exists at all

Florida has been permitting more work than building departments can process for a long time. That is not a knock on the departments. It is a staffing math problem. Experienced inspectors and plans examiners retire faster than new ones come in, and the volume does not slow down to wait for them.

The Legislature's answer, back in 2002, was not to lower the standard or take work away from local government. It was to open a second lane. If a licensed professional is willing to put their own license and their own sworn signature behind a plan review or an inspection, the state lets them do it, and the local jurisdiction has to honor it.

That law is Florida Statute 553.791. It has been amended several times since, most recently by HB 803, which took effect July 1, 2026 and made the private provider route meaningfully stronger.

The easiest way to think about it

Think TSA PreCheck.

You still go through security. Nobody is waving you past the standard. The rules are identical, the screening is real, and if something is wrong you get stopped exactly like everyone else. What changed is the line you stand in and how long you stand in it.

A private provider is the same idea applied to permitting. Same Florida Building Code. Same required inspections. Same consequences for work that does not comply. What changes is who does the review, how fast it comes back, and whether your crew is standing around waiting for a window.

One thing the analogy gets right that people miss. PreCheck requires you to sign up first. So does this. There is paperwork on the front end, and a provider has to be registered with the building department that governs your job.

What a private provider actually does

Two services, and you can elect either one or both.

Plan review

A licensed plans examiner reviews your drawings against the Florida Building Code, cycles corrections with you directly, and then signs a sworn affidavit stating the plans comply. That affidavit goes to the building department with your permit application.

Inspections

The provider performs your required phase inspections, records the results, and issues deficiency notices when something fails. At the end of the job, they issue a sworn certificate of compliance, which is what the jurisdiction uses to issue your certificate of occupancy or certificate of completion.

In person or virtual

Inspections can be performed either way. That is written into the statute, and as of HB 803 a local government cannot prohibit or limit virtual inspections by a private provider. Most contractors do not know this. It matters, because a virtual inspection is often available on demand rather than next day, which can make it the faster option, not the compromise option.

How the process actually runs

Step by step, this is the shape of it on a typical job.

  • 1. You elect a private provider

    The owner, or the contractor with the owner's authorization, files a written Notice to the Building Official (known as an NTBO) naming the provider and the scope of services. The notice uses a form adopted by the Florida Building Commission and includes an owner acknowledgment. As of HB 803, you can elect a private provider at any time, including mid construction, and the jurisdiction cannot require a copy of your service agreement as a condition of the permit.

  • 2. Plan review happens on your timeline

    Your provider reviews the plans and cycles comments with you directly. You are dealing with a named person who answers the phone, not a queue.

  • 3. The affidavit goes in with the permit application

    Once the plans comply, the provider signs the sworn affidavit. That, plus your application and fees, goes to the building department.

  • 4. The permit clock starts, and it is short

    This is the part with real teeth.

    The building official has a limited window to respond, and if they do not, the permit is deemed approved by operation of law.

    Under HB 803, where a private provider has certified the plans, the official's review is limited to completeness plus local matters like zoning, floodplain, site review, and life safety. They are checking that your paperwork is all there, not re-reviewing your code compliance.

  • 5. You build, and you call your provider for inspections

    When the crew is ready, you request the inspection from your provider rather than from the county. No scheduling window, no morning lost waiting on an arrival that may not come.

  • 6. Certificate of compliance, then CO

    When the last required inspection passes, the provider issues the sworn certificate of compliance. The jurisdiction then issues the certificate of occupancy or completion, again on a short statutory clock, again with silence counting as an automatic grant.

What still goes through the building department

This is where honest information matters more than a sales pitch. A private provider is a partial alternative, not a replacement. The following stay with the jurisdiction and the agencies that have authority over them.

  • The permit itself. The building department still issues it. You still apply.
  • Zoning, planning, floodplain, and site review. Not building code, not in scope.
  • Fire safety. Chapter 633 firesafety codes are specifically excluded from applicable codes in the statute. Fire marshal review and inspections run separately.
  • Public works and any other agency approvals your project needs.
  • Stop work authority. If a building official identifies a violation that is an immediate threat to public safety, they can issue a stop work order or deny a permit or CO. That authority survives everything else in the statute.
  • Audits. A building official can audit a private provider's work to confirm it was performed. They are limited to four audits of the same provider per year absent a written immediate threat finding, they must give at least five business days notice, and the audit cannot hold up your job.

Anyone telling you a private provider lets you skip the building department entirely is either simplifying badly or selling you something.

What it costs, and the part people miss

You pay your private provider for their work. That is a real line item and it varies by provider, project type, and scope.

What offsets it is that the jurisdiction is not allowed to charge you full freight for work it did not do. The statute requires permit fees to reflect actual cost incurred when a private provider is retained, and HB 803 went further.

  • Punitive, administrative, and additional fees are prohibited where a private provider is used, including inspection and site review fees.
  • On commercial projects the fee reduction is a mandatory floor. At least 25 percent when a private provider performs plan review or inspections, and at least 50 percent when a private provider performs all plan review and inspections.
  • Local registration is free. Jurisdictions must maintain a private provider registration system and cannot charge for registration or updates.

Note that 25 and 50 percent are minimums, not caps. How your specific permit prices out depends on the jurisdiction's fee schedule and how much of the work your provider is doing. Ask the provider to walk you through it for your actual permit type. Nobody should be quoting you a savings number sight unseen.

The larger number is usually not the permit fee at all. It is carrying cost. Interest, supervision, a framing crew you scheduled and then pushed. A plan review that sits for six weeks is expensive in ways that never show up on the permit invoice.

What changed on July 1, 2026

HB 803 was the most significant rewrite of the private provider statute in years, and it passed the Florida House 109 to 0. The highlights for a contractor.

  • Elect a provider at any time, including mid construction. The old preconditions are gone.
  • No written contract required, and officials cannot demand a service agreement or consent form as a permit condition.
  • Local review is narrowed to completeness on anything outside local ordinances, floodplain, site review, and life safety.
  • Virtual inspections cannot be prohibited or limited by a local government.
  • Mandatory commercial fee reductions of 25 and 50 percent, as above.
  • No registration fees, and every jurisdiction must run a registration system.
  • An official may only inspect work a private provider approved when they have knowledge that submitted forms were incomplete or incorrect, and they must give the provider written notice identifying the specific forms first.

The direction of the law has been consistent for two decades. Make the private provider route usable, and make the clocks self executing so it cannot be slow walked.

Is this right for your project?

It tends to make the most sense when:

  • Your plan review timeline is what is holding up your start date
  • You run phase inspections in a jurisdiction where scheduling is the bottleneck
  • You are working across several jurisdictions and want one consistent process instead of five different queues
  • You are on a commercial project where the mandatory fee reduction is meaningful
  • Your carrying cost per week of delay is a number you can actually calculate

It matters less when your permits already come back quickly and your inspections happen when you call for them. Some departments are genuinely fast. If yours is one of them, this may not be your problem to solve.

One practical consideration that trips people up. Providers register with individual building departments, and a provider who is not yet registered where your job sits may need time to get registered before they can work. That is worth asking about on the first call.

Where Easy Build fits

Easy Build FL is not a private provider. We do not perform plan review and we do not perform inspections.

What we do is connect Florida contractors with the private providers who fit their specific work. The right jurisdiction, the right project type, the right kind of job. There is no public directory that answers those questions today, so contractors ask around, and good providers stay hard to find.

A poor experience with a private provider usually does not mean it is a bad industry. It means it was a bad match.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is using a private provider legal in Florida?

    Yes. It is authorized by Florida Statute 553.791, first enacted in 2002 and amended several times since, most recently by HB 803 effective July 1, 2026. Every Florida jurisdiction is required to accept qualifying private provider plan review and inspections.

  • Does a private provider replace the building department?

    No. The building department still issues the permit and retains zoning, floodplain, site review, and life safety review. Fire safety codes are excluded from the private provider scope entirely. Building officials also keep stop work authority for immediate threats to public safety and can audit a provider's work.

  • Can I use a private provider anywhere in Florida?

    The statute applies statewide, and local governments cannot adopt requirements more stringent than 553.791. In practice, a provider needs to be registered with the specific building department your job falls under, so availability depends on the individual provider rather than on the law.

  • Who can be a private provider?

    A licensed Florida professional engineer, registered architect, or licensed building code administrator. A standard certificate holder under Chapter 468 can perform inspections on residential additions and alterations of 1,000 square feet or less.

  • Are private provider inspections held to a lower standard?

    No. The same Florida Building Code applies. The provider signs a sworn affidavit and a sworn certificate of compliance, carries required professional liability insurance, and answers to their own professional licensing board.

  • Can inspections be done virtually?

    Yes. The statute allows inspections in person or virtually, and as of HB 803 a local government cannot prohibit or limit virtual inspections by a private provider. Virtual inspections are often available on demand, which can make them faster than waiting for an in person slot.

  • Does a private provider save money on permit fees?

    It reduces them. Jurisdictions cannot charge for inspections they do not perform, and cannot charge punitive or additional fees where a private provider is used. On commercial projects the reduction is a mandatory minimum of 25 percent, or 50 percent when the provider handles all plan review and inspections. The exact figure depends on your jurisdiction's fee schedule and your scope.

  • Can my engineer be my private provider?

    Not on a building their own firm designed or is contracted to build. The statute prohibits it.

  • What is a Notice to Building Official?

    The written notice electing to use a private provider, filed with the local building department on a form adopted by the Florida Building Commission. It names the provider, states the scope of services, and includes a signed owner acknowledgment.

Sources and further reading

This page is general information about Florida law, not legal advice. Verify current statute and your local requirements before relying on it for a specific project.