St. Petersburg building permits
Department contacts, adopted codes, permit types, fees, and gotchas for St. Petersburg, Florida.
Last verified 2026-09-23 · Source · Embed this page’s badge · Version history
Building department
- Address
- Municipal Services Center (MSC), One 4th St. N, St. Petersburg, FL
- Phone
- 727-893-7111
- Office hours
- The building permits page prints 'Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.' for the Municipal Services Center counter. It is recorded here as the counter's hours, which is how the page presents it.
- Website
- Official site
Codes adopted
Florida adopts construction codes statewide under Chapter 553, Part IV, Florida Statutes (the Florida Building Codes Act), administered by the Florida Building Commission. Adoption is automatic rather than local: under s. 553.73(6), F.S., "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 edition in force is the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023); the Commission states that its effective date is December 31, 2023. The Code is derived from the International Building Code as a base code, with Florida-specific amendments and supplements, and the Commission is required to update it every three years on a triennial cycle — 2026 Update materials are already being published, so the edition should be confirmed as current. 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." Note that DBPR's own guidance describes the filing requirement differently, as submitted via the Building Code Information System "at least 30 days prior to being enforced" — the two sources state different deadlines and neither is restated here as the other. Note also a statewide carve-out on 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. Always confirm the edition in force and any local amendment with the jurisdiction issuing the permit.
- Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023) — adopted statewide under s. 553.73(6), Florida Statutes, without any act by the city.
Permit types & fees
St. Petersburg's permit history isn't searchable here yet
This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for St. Petersburg yet is the record of permits actually issued — the history you'd search by street address. That is a gap in our coverage, not a statement about any particular property.
Your email, and the place — never an address. We only use it to tell you when St. Petersburg lands. Privacy.
New residential construction activity
New privately-owned residential construction onlyHousing units authorized by building permits for new privately-owned residential construction — this is not total permit volume (no commercial permits or remodels).
- Latest month (2026-08)
- 357units
87 buildings · $92.5M valuation
- Trailing 12 months
- 3,100units
12 of 12 months reported · #2 in Florida coverage by units
- Year to date (2026 YTD through 2026-08)
- 1,373units
490 buildings · $375.8M valuation
8 month(s) reported to Census
- Full year 2025
- 2,641units
698 buildings · $532.8M valuation
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey (BPS), 2026-08 vintage. Census survey data — separate from the permit-requirements verification above. All Florida building activity
Tips & gotchas
- A subsection of the city's building permits page is written for storm-damage repair and lists items such as a floor layout and photographs of damage under 'Before You Visit'. Those are counter-visit guidance rather than a designated document list for any permit type, and are not recorded here as permit requirements.