Sumter County, FL Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

Section 13-343(b) of the Land Development Code sets the mechanics of a building permit once it is issued. The permit and any recorded notice of commencement must be conspicuously visible from the road at the job site in a weatherproof display; a lost or destroyed placard can be replaced through the building official. Inspections themselves are not automatic, the permit holder must request each inspection, and the building official performs it. Permits are valid for six months from the date of issuance unless the building official specifies otherwise at the time of permitting, and that six-month clock is subject to revocation as the code allows elsewhere.

Before the permit expires, the holder can apply for one additional year of renewal; once a permit lapses, the remaining work has to be re-permitted as new work rather than simply reopened. The final building inspection has to be approved before the building official will issue the certificate of occupancy for the structure. Section 13-341(c) assigns the building official as the sole review and approving authority for building permit applications and gives that office the authority to inspect the property before the permit is issued, and again before a permit to alter an existing building is granted, so the inspection function runs from pre-permit review straight through to final sign-off. The county administrator or designee handles the separate application and completeness review that precedes the building official's own procedure.