Collier County Growth Management: Building Permit Submittals Explained

Collier's PRFH application requirements list the core package as construction plans, a site plan and the product approval index.

On top of that, the county lists conditional items that depend on the lot and the scope. Those conditional items are where most first-time submittals get rejected, so it pays to sort them out before the drawings are finished.

Collier requires a storm water plan on lots with one- and two-family dwellings, with two exceptions.

Lots in the Rural Agricultural (A) zoning district outside the Immokalee Urban Area Overlay and outside the coastal urban designated area on the Future Land Use Map are exempt. So are lots that already received a Surface Water Management or Environmental Resource Protection permit from the South Florida Water Management District. Everyone else should plan for grading and drainage on the site plan.

If the lot is one acre or larger, Collier asks for a Vegetation Removal Affidavit.

One acre of vegetation may be removed after the single-family permit is issued, and clearing more than one acre needs a separate Vegetation Removal Permit. In the Rural Fringe Mixed Use District the county also asks for a Preservation Review Form. Estates lots often hit both, and they shape where the house, drive and septic field can go.

For work on a building in a Special Flood Hazard Area, Collier asks for its Substantial Improvement and Substantial Damage affidavit packet and the 50% Cost Estimate Worksheet.

The county's packet is explicit about incremental repairs: they are not allowed. All repairs, even ones done at different times or under different permits, must be listed and calculated together on the worksheet, and the worksheet must include all open permits.

For market value, Collier uses the Improved Value of the structure from the Collier County Property Appraiser, which excludes land.

Staff can administratively add 20% to that Improved Value to get a closer market figure. If you disagree, you can hire a Florida-licensed appraiser for a comparable appraisal. If the work is substantial, the building must meet flood-resistant construction standards, including elevating to base flood elevation plus one foot.

There is a Collier-specific caveat to that add-it-all-up rule.

Section 163.31795, Florida Statutes (s. 2, ch. 2025-190), now bars an NFIP community from enforcing a substantial-improvement ordinance that uses a cumulative period. Listing every repair in the current scope and every open permit on the same building on the worksheet is still what the packet asks. If staff also want closed permits from earlier years added to the total, ask the Floodplain Management Section which rule they are applying before you cut the scope. Confirm the current 20% adjustment with the Floodplain Management Section (239-252-2942) before you rely on it.

Collier accepts a Private Provider Package when a private provider performs plan review or inspections.

Owner-builders must supervise on site any work not done by licensed contractors. Where the site uses a septic field, a health or environmental septic application is part of the package. Each of these changes who signs what, so we confirm them at kickoff.