Miami-Dade County, FL Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)

Section 10-5(a) of the Code of Miami-Dade County states that "applications for permits will be accepted only from contractors holding a current certificate of competency and license in their respective fields," which covers the plumbing trade along with building, electrical, and mechanical work. The certificate of competency comes from the Miami-Dade County Construction Trades Qualifying Board under Chapter 10, and Section 10-1 defines the administrative agency issuing permits as the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources for private-property work, except that a municipality may designate its own agency to issue permits within its own limits.

Homeowners get one narrow carve-out: Section 10-5(a)(2) lets a sole owner personally install, repair, alter, or add to the plumbing, electrical, mechanical and gas systems in a single-family or duplex residence they occupy and do not intend to sell, but only after satisfying the Building Official of their knowledge of the Florida Building Code for that trade, and the work must be done without pay or hired help. Section 10-5(a)(3) caps that owner exception: no more than one permit for a new single-family or duplex residence in any 24-month period, and plumbing, electrical, mechanical, or gas alteration permits are likewise limited to one residence in a 24-month period.

3(b) must hold a current Master Plumber or State Certified Plumbing Contractor license and at least five years of field experience, and who is certified by the Board of Rules and Appeals. Plumbing permit fees follow the same schedule as other Building Code permits under Section 8-12, including the double-fee penalty in Section 8-12(c) for work started before the permit is obtained.