Okaloosa County, FL Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Sec. 6-134(b) of the county code lays out when Okaloosa County's Growth Management Department requires a building permit. The first trigger covers any owner, authorized agent or contractor who wants to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a 'building', defined broadly as any roofed and/or walled structure enclosing a space used for sheltering an occupancy, or a 'structure', defined even more broadly as anything erected with a fixed location on the ground measuring 30 inches or more above natural grade, expressly including a deck, sign, billboard, liquid storage tank, antenna or tower, not just a conventional building.

The second trigger covers electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system work regulated by the technical codes, meaning most system installations or alterations need their own permit even when no structural work is involved. A third, separate trigger applies to underground utility systems, which require plans, permitting and inspection from three county departments at once: Growth Management, Water and Sewer, and Public Works. 721, Florida Statutes, plus non-county costs like credit card processing charges. If work starts before the permit is obtained, subsection (d) imposes a penalty equal to 100 percent of the usual permit fee, on top of that fee, and subsection (e) lets the building official deny or recalculate the permit if the declared project value looks underestimated.