Orange County, FL Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)

Section 9-203(a) makes the Florida Building Code, Plumbing the governing law for plumbing work countywide, and its lone local amendment to FBC § 101.1 folds plumbing permitting into the general building-code administration set out in chapter 9. That administration is where the actual permit mechanics live. Section 9-6(a) requires any owner or authorized agent who intends to install, alter, repair, remove or replace a plumbing system to first apply to the building official and obtain a permit, issued only in accordance with the county's zoning classifications and only on payment of the fee set in the BCC's adopted fee schedule (§ 9-16). To even apply, § 9-6(b) requires the applicant be a homeowner performing the work personally, the holder of an Orange County certificate of competency, or a state-certified plumbing contractor who has registered a license with the building official, with proof of liability, property-damage and workers' compensation coverage, and who is in good financial standing with the division of building safety, meaning no unpaid fees or bounced checks on file.

A permit can be revoked at any stage on written notice from the building official stating the grounds, and § 9-6(c) routes a revocation appeal through the same process as an appeal of a final building-official decision under § 9-11(c): written notice filed within thirty days with the Building Codes Board of Adjustments and Appeals. Working without the required permit, or violating any rule adopted under chapter 9, is unlawful under § 9-7(a); inspectors document violations in writing and give the owner a reasonable time to correct before the matter is punished under the general penalty provision, § 1-9.