Citrus County, FL Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Citrus County Code § 18-8
- Permit gate
- Required before nearly any construction
- Unpermitted-work penalty
- Double the skipped permit fee
- Storage building exception
- ≤400 sq ft, DBPR-approved, tie-down only
- Appeals body
- Code Review and Appeals Board (CRAB)
- Applies to
- Unincorporated Citrus County only
Summary
In unincorporated Citrus County, a permit is required before erecting, altering, moving or demolishing any building, mobile home or floating residential unit under Sec. 18-8. Building without one adds a second penalty on top of code-enforcement fines: double the permit fee the owner skipped.
(a)Permits required. No person shall erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, improve, convert, change the use or occupancy, or demolish any building or structure subject to this code, including a floating residential unit, or set or place a mobile/manufactured home or floating residential unit within the territory covered by this article, without first having obtained a permit therefore. Any person commencing construction for which a permit is required, without having first obtained such permit, in addition to the penalties described in this chapter, shall also be subject to a penalty equal to double the permit fee.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 76).
Full Breakdown
Citrus County adopts the Florida Building Code as the Citrus County Building Code for all unincorporated areas under Sec. 18-7, and Sec. 18-8 is the permit gate that sits under it. The rule reaches nearly every stage of a project: erecting, constructing, enlarging, altering, repairing, moving, improving, converting the use, changing occupancy or demolishing a building or structure, plus setting a mobile or manufactured home or a floating residential unit, all require a permit first. 103(7), a state-certified contractor or someone holding an active certificate of competency matching the scope of work, or an owner's authorized representative for the single, limited purpose of assembling or tying down a storage building of 400 square feet or less that already carries a Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation insignia.
ch. 713 to the property owner. Sec. 18-8(e) carves out one exemption: no permit or fee is required for work that does not need an inspection to verify code compliance, though that exemption cannot be used to break a larger, permit-triggering project into smaller unpermitted pieces. The Citrus County Building Division, whose director and building official administer this article, sets and collects the associated review and inspection fees under Sec. 18-9.
Violations & Fines
Building without a required permit triggers two layers of cost under Sec. 18-8(a): the standard code-enforcement penalties in Chapter 18, plus a specific surcharge equal to double the permit fee the work should have carried. Appeals of building director or building official decisions go to the seven-member Code Review and Appeals Board (CRAB) within 30 days under Sec. 18-6, and CRAB's decision is final subject to judicial review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to build a shed in unincorporated Citrus County?
What happens if I build without pulling a permit first?
Can a homeowner pull their own building permit?
Where can I appeal a building official's permit decision?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Citrus County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Citrus County to another location·View the Florida building safety overview
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