Can a Florida Building Department Require Your Construction Contract?

Effective July 1, 2026, Florida Statutes §553.792 (as amended by Chapter 2026-63) prohibits a local enforcement agency from requiring any of the following as a condition of issuing a building permit:

— Construction contracts or letters of intent between the owner and contractor
— Labor and material cost breakdowns
— Profit and overhead statements
— Any similar financial documentation not directly required for code compliance review

The prohibition also extends to inspection fees: a local enforcement agency may not calculate inspection fees as a percentage of total project cost, and inspection fees may not exceed the agency's actual cost to perform and approve the required inspection. Valuation-based inspection fees — a common practice in Florida before HB 803 — are prohibited after July 1, 2026.

These prohibitions apply to all local enforcement agencies in Florida, including county building departments, municipal building departments, and special districts with building inspection authority.

Florida permit fees are typically calculated as a percentage of project valuation. A higher declared project value means a higher permit fee. Building departments had a financial incentive to verify — or challenge — the project value declared on the permit application.

The mechanism they used was to require the construction contract or a cost breakdown as supporting documentation. If the contract showed a higher value than what was declared on the permit application, the building department would recalculate the fee upward.

In practice, this created several problems:

— It gave building departments access to sensitive business information — contract pricing, profit margins, and overhead rates — that had no legitimate permitting purpose.
— It created leverage for building departments to delay permits pending document review.
— It discouraged contractors from providing accurate project valuations, since higher valuations triggered higher fees and more scrutiny.
— It was applied inconsistently, with some building departments demanding extensive documentation and others asking for nothing.

HB 803 addresses this by prohibiting the document demand entirely and by separately prohibiting valuation-based inspection fees. Building departments may still assess permit fees, but they must do so without compelling disclosure of contract terms or business financials.

The prohibition in Chapter 2026-63 is targeted at financial and contractual documents that are not necessary for code compliance review. Building departments retain full authority to require documents that are legitimately necessary for that review, including:

— Signed and sealed construction drawings prepared by a licensed architect or engineer
— Site plans, survey, and legal description of the property
— Product approvals and specifications for materials and systems
— Energy calculations and compliance documentation
— Geotechnical reports where required by the Florida Building Code
— Contractor license numbers and insurance certificates
— Proof of ownership or authorization to build
— Completed permit application forms

The distinction is between documents that serve a code compliance purpose (permitted) and documents that serve only a financial verification purpose (prohibited). If a building department requests a document after July 1, 2026, and you are unsure whether the request is lawful, ask the building department to identify the specific code provision that requires the document. A request that cannot be tied to a specific code requirement is likely prohibited under Chapter 2026-63.

If a Florida building department requests your construction contract, cost breakdown, or profit and overhead statement as a condition of permit issuance after July 1, 2026, you have several options:

Cite the statute directly. Florida Statutes §553.792, as amended by Chapter 2026-63, Laws of Florida, prohibits the request. You can respond in writing citing the statute and declining to provide the document. A written response creates a record.

Request written justification. Ask the building department to identify in writing the specific statutory or code provision that requires the document. If no provision exists, the request is unlawful.

File a complaint with DBPR. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) has oversight authority over building departments. A pattern of unlawful document demands can be reported to DBPR.

Consult a Florida construction attorney. If a building department is using document demands to delay or deny a permit, a construction attorney can advise on enforcement options including mandamus actions to compel permit issuance.

For most situations, a polite written response citing §553.792 will resolve the issue. Building departments are generally aware of the new law and will back down when the prohibition is cited. The important thing is to document the request and your response in writing.

Chapter 2026-63 includes a related prohibition that addresses how inspection fees are calculated. Effective July 1, 2026, a local enforcement agency may not:

— Calculate inspection fees as a percentage of total project cost
— Charge inspection fees that exceed the agency's actual cost to perform and approve the required inspection

Before HB 803, it was common for Florida building departments to charge inspection fees as a percentage of project valuation — effectively a second permit fee layered on top of the initial plan review fee. For large commercial projects, these valuation-based inspection fees could be substantial.

The prohibition does not eliminate inspection fees — building departments can still charge for inspections. It simply requires that those fees reflect the actual cost of the inspection service rather than a percentage of project value. A building department that charges $500 for a framing inspection must be able to justify that $500 as reflecting the actual cost of performing the inspection, not as a percentage of a $500,000 project.

This provision, combined with the document prohibition, closes the two main mechanisms that building departments used to extract financial information from permit applicants and charge fees beyond the cost of the regulatory service.