Open or expired permits in Jacksonville, FL
An open permit means a permit was pulled on your property and never finalized. The job may be finished, half-finished, or done years ago by someone else. The building department record still shows it waiting on inspections or a final sign-off. An expired permit is the same problem with a clock that ran out. Start with the paperwork in front of you. Read the notice all the way through. Write down the compliance date and any hearing date. Note the address, the case number and the permit numbers listed. Then call the code office named on the notice with your questions about your case — deadlines, hearing dates, fines and liens are theirs to answer, not ours.
Call us or send your notice details · free estimate
Jacksonville is an incorporated municipality, so code enforcement here is normally run by the municipality itself, though some places contract it out. The office named on your notice is the one handling your case. Across Florida, code enforcement works under Chapter 162, Florida Statutes, which lets cities and counties use either a code enforcement board or a special magistrate. The process generally starts with a notice of violation that identifies the problem and gives a reasonable time to correct it. If it is not corrected, the case is set for a hearing, and the board or magistrate issues an order with a compliance date. A fine may be imposed for each day a violation continues past that date, and a certified copy of an order imposing a fine can be recorded in the public records, where it becomes a lien on the property. The exact steps, deadlines and amounts vary by city and county and are stated on your notice.
While your case is open, don't
- Do not let the dates pass unnoticed. The compliance date and any hearing date on your notice run on their own schedule, so put them on a calendar and keep talking to the code office named on the notice.
- Do not start permit work before the permit is in place. Under section 105.1 of the Florida Building Code a permit is required for most construction, alteration and repair, and new unpermitted work on top of an open permit only adds to what has to be resolved.
- Do not tear out finished work on a guess. The building department decides what each open permit still needs, and opening walls or ceilings before that is known can mean doing the same work twice.
- Do not assume a permit closed because the job looks done. A permit stays on the property record until it is finalized, which is why old ones often surface at a sale or a refinance.
- Do not assume the original contractor will come back. Many open permits belong to a previous owner or to a contractor who is no longer around, so the status has to be checked directly with the building department.
What we do
- We pull the permit historyWe get the permit record for the property from the building department and go through it with you. Each open or expired permit is listed out so you can see what is actually there.
- We identify what each permit is missingFor every open permit we identify the inspections that were never done. Then we check the work on site against the approved plans.
- We schedule the missing inspectionsWe book the inspections each permit still needs and meet the inspector. Where an inspector requires corrections, we make them and bring the work back for re-inspection.
- We renew or re-apply where the permit has lapsedAn expired permit may be renewed, or a new permit applied for under our licence where the original contractor is gone. Electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning work is done by our Florida-licensed subcontractors, who pull that trade's permit.
- We work each permit through to closedWe stay with each permit until the building department shows it closed out. You get the paperwork to show the code office named on your notice.
- We agree the price firstThe estimate is free. We read the notice with you, look at the property, tell you what work the violation needs, and agree the price in writing before any work starts.
Work by 360 Home Improvements, Florida Certified Building Contractor CBC1267336. Electrical, plumbing and AC work goes to our Florida-licensed subcontractors, who pull that trade's permit.
How it works in Jacksonville
Jacksonville mixes early-1900s wood-frame and brick homes in riverfront districts like Riverside, Avondale and Springfield with mid-century concrete-block ranches and a large share of 1990s-to-present stucco and block subdivisions on the Southside, Northside and around Bartram Park and Mandarin. That spread matters here. A permit opened on a century-old Murray Hill house and one opened on a newer Baymeadows subdivision home can need very different work before an inspector can sign them off. Many open permits on Jacksonville properties came with the house: a previous owner's renovation, a window replacement, a roof job.
Storm repairs are the other common source. Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, and Jacksonville's coastline and the tidal St. Johns River bring wind-borne debris, heavy rain and tropical-storm flooding. Roofs and windows get replaced quickly after a storm, and permits on that work are not always finalized. Salt-laden air and high year-round humidity keep exterior work moving too. Whatever opened the permit, the record stays until it is finalized, and the building department with jurisdiction over your Jacksonville property decides what each one needs.
Questions people ask
- The open permit was pulled by the previous owner. Is it still mine to deal with?
- Permits attach to the property record, and some open ones were opened by a previous owner or by a contractor who is no longer around. The building department decides what each permit needs before it can be closed. For how it affects your case specifically, ask the code office named on your notice.
- Does an open permit really matter if the work is finished?
- An open permit stays on the property record until it is finalized, and it often surfaces at a sale or a refinance. The work may be complete and still be missing inspections or a final sign-off.
- Will the inspection pass?
- We cannot say. The building department and its inspectors decide what each permit needs and whether the work meets it. What we can do is identify the missing inspections, schedule them, and make corrections where an inspector requires them.
- Are you licensed to work in Jacksonville?
- Yes. We hold a Florida Certified Building Contractor licence, CBC1267336, which is a state certification valid in every Florida county and verifiable on the Florida DBPR website. Electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning work is handled by our Florida-licensed subcontractors, who pull that trade's permit.
- Can you deal with the fines or the hearing for me?
- No. We are a contractor, not a law firm, so we do not represent owners at hearings and we do not negotiate fines or liens. Those are decided by the code enforcement board, special magistrate or local government named on your notice, and legal questions go to a Florida attorney.
- What does it cost to close an old permit?
- It depends on how many permits are open, which inspections are missing, whether the work matches the approved plans, and whether anything has to be opened up or corrected. We look at the property and the permit history first, then put a price in writing before work starts.
This page is general information about Florida code enforcement, not legal advice. For questions about your own case (deadlines, hearing dates, fines or liens), contact the code enforcement office named on your notice, or a Florida attorney.
Send us the notice
The estimate is free: we read the notice with you, look at the property in Jacksonville, and agree the price in writing before any work begins — call (954) 906-7864 or send a request through the form on this website. Questions about the case itself, including deadlines, hearing dates, fines and liens, go to the code office named on your notice.
Request a free estimate
Tell us what the notice says and where the property is. We'll look at what the violation needs and agree the price with you before any work starts.
Other violations in Jacksonville
Code Violation Solver is run by 360 Home Improvements, a licensed Florida contractor. We fix the condition behind the violation; the code office named on your notice decides the case.