Building Codes

An application for Certificate of Occupancy / Completion request form must be provided to the BCO office for processing in order to satisfactorily close a permit.

New work may be added to an active permit if the requested added scope meets all of the criteria below. When in question, the final determination of the applicability of a new permit versus existing add-on will be subject to review and approval by the Building Official and or Director as deemed appropriate.

1. The new work scope must be substantially related to or caused by the current and located in the same general vicinity.
2. The new work scope must be able to be executed by the same license holders.
3. The new work scope must be submitted prior to the change in any adopted code editions the original work was permitted under. New work under a new code cycle will be submitted under a new permit.

Plans reviewed and permits issued are valid for 180 days per the FBC. Failure to activate a permit within that window will result in the project file being closed. Resubmission of new plans will be required under a new permit. Verifiable commencement of work and required inspections must be initiated and maintained in a timely manner. Open permits with inactivity exceeding 180 days will be closed and the permit voided. Extensions not exceeding 90 days may be available by submitting a request in writing to the building official.

If an inspection is failed, a $150 re-inspection fee must be paid prior to the next inspection. Examples of failing conditions include improper or incomplete work, work not per the approved plans, failure to provide adequate access or access equipment, system malfunction, insufficient details or approved plans not available for inspection, and use of non-specified materials. Requests for cancellation or rescheduling must be reported to the inspection coordinator prior to 7:00 AM on the day requested to avoid penalty. To report a cancellation “reply all” to the automated email confirmation that was sent when you initially requested the inspection and type “Cancellation Request” prominently in the message and or heading.

Fees are non-refundable once the services are executed. The only refundable amount available is the inspection portion of the fees where no work was done and no inspections executed. If any work was done, the site must still be inspected for continued safe and code compliant conditions. Additionally, any amounts less than $500 are not available for a refund due to the associated administrative costs.

If work is discovered that should have had a permit, the responsible entity will be contacted and advised that they are in violation of the Florida Building Code and UCF construction procedures. They will be required to go through the permit process with double fees applied.

Refer to the FBC and FFPC for required inspections.

Yes, prior to issuance of the building permit, this office will verify each contractor of record’s license number and expiration date. The contractor of record is responsible to verify all subcontractors working under their permit. The following trades require licensing by the state: general, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, roofing, swimming pool, fire alarm, fire sprinkler, and certain underground contractors.

Signed and sealed drawings are required in the codes and statutes for various levels of work. Please refer to the FBC or Florida Statute for additional information.

1. FBC 105.3.1.2 indicates the following six (6) conditions where documents shall be prepared under the direction of an engineer registered under Chapter 471 Florida Statutes:

1.1 Plumbing documents for any new building or addition which requires a plumbing system with more than 250 fixture units or which costs more than $125,000.

1.2 Fire Sprinkler documents for any new building or addition which includes a fire sprinkler system which contains 50 or more sprinkler heads.

1.3 HVAC documents for any new building or addition which requires more than a 15-ton-per-system capacity which is designed to accommodate 100 or more persons or for which the system costs more than $125,000.

1.4 Any specialized mechanical, electrical, or plumbing document for any new building or addition which includes medical gas, oxygen, steam, vacuum, toxic air filtration, halo, or fire detection and alarm system which costs more than $5000.

1.5 Electrical documents. See Florida Statutes, Section 471.003(2)(h).

1.6 All public swimming pools and public bathing places defined by and regulated under Chapter 514, Florida Statutes.

2. Florida Statute 481.229 indicates that a registered architect is required for work in schools, auditoriums, or other building intended for public use, except for work on minor school projects less than $50,000 pursuant to Florida Statute 1013.45.

The plan review fee covers the initial review of the project final construction documents and all associated minor revisions, shop drawings, and code required submittals. Any revisions with notable work addition or an associated increases in project cost must be reflected in the document review request and or transmittal with additional fees assessed as necessary. Projects that are substantially re-scoped and redesigned must pay for new plan review and inspection fees. Only final construction documents may be submitted for permit review.

All fees are paid by UCF interdepartmental transfer or by check only. Proof of identification is required for signed checks. All checks that are not certified or cashier’s checks must clear prior to permit issuance. The SFM fees are billed separately and payments must be made separately to them.

SFM fees are calculated as the Construction Costs x 0.0025, with $100 minimum. All SFM fees are non-refundable.

Example: $30,000 Construction Cost x 0.0025 = $75 $100 minimum

Example: $1,000,000 Construction cost x 0.0025 = $2,500

All permitted projects will be charged permit fees necessary to conduct plans reviews and inspections of the work per the current FBC. Please see the Building Permit Application for fees. State Fire Marshal fees are billed separately where applicable in addition to the Building Code fee. The permit fees are chargeable to the UCF department or requesting entity that is funding the project. All permit fees must be paid before a permit will be issued.

Five (5) sets of construction plans and documents are required to allow for a concurrent review while the record sets are in route to the SFM. This will then allow for one (1) for SFM review and record copy, one (1) BCO review and record copy and one (1) contractor field copy. A copy of the reviewed plans is required to be maintained on the site.

Where signed and sealed plans are required, the design professional of record (typically the architect or engineer) shall provide a minimum of three (3) sets of final construction drawings and specifications to the Building & Fire Code Office through the project manager. For projects that do not require signed and sealed drawings (see below), the project manager responsible for the design shall submit a minimum of three (3) sets of drawings and specifications. The Building & Fire Code Office will screen the plans for completeness and forward them for further BCO or SFM review as applicable. For plans deemed incomplete, comments will be provided to the project manager and the plans returned or held for additional information before further processing. BCO and SFM plan review comments will be forwarded to the project manager as they are received. Record responses to all BCO and SFM comments shall be provided and once all issues are satisfactorily addressed, an email notification that the drawings and specs are reviewed for permitting will be sent to the project manager. The general contractor (GC) responsible for the work must then apply for the building permit. No work shall commence until the permit has been issued. The GC is responsible for constructing the project to the FBC, in accordance with the reviewed plans and specs. The GC is also responsible for requesting the required inspections as indicated in the FBC and FFPC.

A permit with all associated plans, documents, and fees is required for each separate structure affected. Separate facilities connected by breezeways are considered separate structures. If you have a question, please contact the building official for any special circumstances you feel may apply.

Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure, or to erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any impact-resistant coverings, electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system, the installation of which is regulated by the FBC, or to cause any such work to be done, shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit. See Section 105 of the FBC for additional information.

Yes. The SFM administers the Florida Fire Prevention Code (FFPC), which is separate from the FBC. The SFM reviews and inspects construction projects for code compliance. Information on the Florida Fire Prevention Code and SFM construction plans are available at the Division of State Fire Marshal website. All projects requiring SFM review must have their plans submitted through the UCF BCO office for attachments of the necessary forms and routing information.