Do I Need a Permit to Install an EV Charger in Florida?

Florida-specific rules

Adopted code: Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023); the Florida Building Commission states its effective date is December 31, 2023. ADOPTION IS STATEWIDE AND AUTOMATIC, NOT LOCAL: s. 553.73(6), F.S. provides that "The initial adoption of, and any subsequent update or amendment to, the Florida Building Code by the commission is deemed adopted for use statewide without adoptions by local government." The Code is derived from the International Building Code as a base code with Florida-specific amendments. The Commission must update it on a three-year cycle and 2026 Update materials are already being published, so confirm the edition in force. LOCAL VARIATION RUNS ONE WAY ONLY: s. 553.73, F.S. provides that "Local amendments must be more stringent than the minimum standards described in this section and must be transmitted to the commission within 30 days after enactment" - though DBPR's own guidance states the filing requirement differently, as submitted "at least 30 days prior to being enforced". The two official sources give different deadlines and neither is restated here as the other. A STATEWIDE CARVE-OUT APPLIES TO RESIDENTIAL FIRE SPRINKLERS: IRC section R313 sprinkler mandates may not be incorporated into the Code or adopted as a local amendment, except for a local government whose sprinkler ordinance has been in effect since January 1, 2010. THE PROVISION MOST LIKELY TO DECIDE THIS JOB SITS IN A CHAPTER THAT IS NOT ABOUT BUILDINGS. CHAPTER 718 IS CONDOMINIUM LAW, and s. 718.113(8) is where an owner's right to install a charger comes from — not from the Florida Building Code, which governs how the work is done rather than whether the association may stop it. TWO INSTRUMENTS, TWO UPDATE CYCLES, AND ONE OF THEM DOES NOT APPLY TO MOST HOUSES: chapter 718 reaches condominiums, so a single-family homeowner outside an association takes nothing from it, while the code applies to both. WHEN CHECKING CURRENCY, CHECK BOTH SEPARATELY. A current code edition tells you nothing about whether the condominium statute has been amended, and the statute has been an active area. This record works from the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023) for the installation and from chapter 718 as it stands for the right, and those two statements have different expiry dates.

Sources: Section 553.73, Florida Statutes (2025) - Florida Building Code, Florida Building Commission - official site (current code edition and effective date), Florida DBPR - Building Codes and Standards, Frequently Asked Questions