Find the office that issues your permit.

1. 01 · Owner or GC

   Use the job address, not the mailing city

   A Miami mailing address can sit in Coral Gables, Miami Beach, or unincorporated Miami-Dade. The folio / parcel / city-limits line decides the desk — not the post office.

2. 02 · Owner or GC

   Decide city limits vs. unincorporated county

   Inside a city, the municipal building department usually issues. Outside, it is often the county. Consolidated governments (Jacksonville, Nashville, Indianapolis, Denver, New Orleans) collapse that split — still confirm.

3. 03 · Designer

   Name the extra desks

   Floodplain, historic, zoning, fire, health, and right-of-way are frequently separate counters. A building permit does not automatically clear them.

4. 04 · Applicant

   Confirm in writing if two portals look plausible

   Call or email both departments with the address and folio. Ask: “Which office issues the building permit for this parcel?” Keep the answer in the job file.

Office names

Verified

Department websites

Reached — still confirm how to apply

Unverified listings

Names only — guessed websites are hidden until they resolve

If it touches the street

A driveway cut, dumpster in the street, or cable in the parkway is usually a different office from the house permit.

Always confirm who issues the permit, and whether the property is in the city or the county.

What's checked

• ICC public codes

  Read-only model codes. Confirm the edition your local office adopted.

• FEMA Flood Map Service Center

  Check whether the parcel sits in a mapped flood zone before you design.

• Call 811 before you dig

  Utility locate. Separate from the building permit — still required.

• OSHA construction standards

  Federal jobsite safety — a different lane from the building official.

• ADA Standards

  Federal accessibility. Many local offices also enforce a local accessibility path.

• EPA construction stormwater

  Federal CGP overview. Check your state construction general permit.

• DOE Building Energy Codes

  Status of state energy-code adoption. Confirm the local path.

• NFPA free access

  Index of fire standards. Free-access terms set by NFPA.