Florida’s new small-project exemption does not say that every City of Orlando job costing $7,500 or less can proceed without a building permit.
The enrolled law, effective July 1, 2026, says less than $7,500 and adds property, flood, trade, project-scope, request, and documentation conditions. The City requires an exemption request and provides a MET case status record.
Key Findings
- $7,500 is not less than $7,500. The enacted text uses a strict less-than threshold.
- Five work categories remain outside the exemption: electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, and gas.
- Flood-hazard property is excluded when it is partially or entirely within the Florida Building Code definition.
- A larger project cannot be divided into smaller projects to evade permitting.
- The City request is part of the evidence. A low contract amount alone does not create a documented exemption.
The eight eligibility tests
| Test | Record to check | Why “under $7,500” alone is insufficient |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Authority | City-limits confirmation | Another municipality or the County uses another enforcement agency |
| 2. Property | Single-family-dwelling record | The statutory exemption is not a general property exemption |
| 3. Applicant | Owner or owner’s contractor | The request must identify the qualifying party |
| 4. Value | Written contract or other scope/value document | Price must be documented and genuinely below the threshold |
| 5. Flood | Current flood-hazard check | Property partly or entirely in the defined area is excluded |
| 6. Work type | Itemized scope | Electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, and gas work are excluded |
| 7. Combined project | Full-project scope and contracts | A project cannot be split to evade the permit requirement |
| 8. Request/status | Submitted City request and MET result | Eligibility still needs the City record, not an assumption |
Failing or not knowing one field means the file is not ready to treat as exempt.
What the enacted text says
The enrolled HB 803 requires a local government that issues building permits to exempt an owner of a single-family dwelling or the owner’s contractor from obtaining a building permit for qualifying work valued at less than $7,500.
It then excludes:
- work on property partially or entirely in a Florida Building Code flood hazard area; and
- any electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, or gas work on property containing the single-family dwelling.
The law also says a construction project may not be divided into more than one project to evade the requirement. Record the whole planned scope, not only the piece described on one invoice.
Why the threshold wording matters
The Florida Senate’s bill summary paraphrases the provision as work valued at “$7,500 or less.” The enrolled bill text and the City’s implementation page use “less than $7,500.”
Those phrases are not mathematically identical:
- $7,499.99 is less than $7,500.
- $7,500.00 equals $7,500; it is not less.
Local Service Ledger uses the enrolled text’s stricter boundary. This does not determine how the City values a project, treats taxes or owner-supplied materials, or resolves a disputed contract value. Ask the City to apply the current rule to the complete documented scope.
The City’s five-record chain
The City exemption page turns the law into a local record process.
1. Jurisdiction record
Confirm the property is inside City of Orlando limits. An Orlando mailing address is not sufficient.
2. Scope and value document
The City tells applicants to prepare a written contract or other documentation showing the nature and value of the work. The scope should be detailed enough to test every excluded trade and the combined project rule.
3. Flood check
Use the City’s linked flood-zone route and preserve the dated result. A salesperson’s statement that a home “doesn’t flood” does not answer whether the parcel falls within the defined flood hazard area.
4. Submitted request
Complete the City exemption request and retain the submission confirmation and attached documents. Submission is not approval.
5. MET status result
The City says it will review the request within five business days and directs applicants to search the address in Permit Lookup, then select the MET case number. Save the actual dated status and any conditions or denial reason.
Five business days is a review statement, not permission to start on day six if no result is visible.
Work the exemption does not absorb
The City’s ordinary residential permitting guide describes building and applicable trade permits. If any part of the project is electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, or gas work, the small-project exemption does not remove that work from the permit boundary.
Examples need project-specific classification. Replacing a finish may appear nonstructural, while moving a wall, changing wiring, rerouting plumbing, altering an HVAC system, or adding gas work invokes an excluded category. Do not let a contract’s marketing label override the actual scope.
The building-permit exemption also does not necessarily remove:
- zoning or historic review;
- HOA approval;
- right-of-way, utility, tree, environmental, or fire authority;
- contractor licensing duties;
- code or safety obligations; or
- contract and lien-law records.
The reviewed sources do not establish exemptions from those separate systems.
A homeowner’s exemption-file checklist
Before work begins, preserve:
- address, parcel, and City jurisdiction result;
- dwelling type and occupancy facts relevant to the request;
- complete written scope and total project value;
- every related proposal, change order, and owner-supplied component;
- current flood-hazard result;
- line-by-line excluded-trade review;
- submitted request and attachments;
- MET case number and final status; and
- written City response to any ambiguity.
If the scope or price changes, repeat the eligibility review. The original status record does not automatically cover added work.
Methodology and limitations
Local Service Ledger reviewed the enrolled 2026 bill, Florida Senate summary, and two City of Orlando permitting pages on August 9, 2026. We joined the legal conditions to the City workflow, identified eight eligibility tests, and preserved the threshold wording conflict.
We did not evaluate a parcel, flood map, contract, license, project value, or scope. The article excludes the law’s separate temporary hurricane/flood-wall provision and the owner-builder licensing exemption because they answer different questions.