Frequently Asked Questions

The Eighth Edition FBC Code Requirements for inspections can be found here.

All permit related documents must be submitted through the Bay County on-line permitting system, also known as the Portal. This includes responses to plan review comments, third-party inspection results performed by a Registered Design Professional (Professional Engineer / Registered Architect) or Private Provider. The Portal can be found HERE. 

The Florida Building Code Section 105.1 – Required stipulates that “ Any owner or owner’s 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 this code, or to cause any such work to be performed, shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit. We simply recommend that if you have a specific question concerning the applicability of the FBC, just call us – we’ll be happy to discuss your project and give good advice! 

No, however, additional information or clarifications are required. All that is required of the applicant is to simply upload the requested document revisions or missing information to the same building permit application through the Portal. Uploads can be performed under the “upload documents” option found under the permit, which is located under “my items” and “my permit applications”. 

The phrase “minimal plan review” simply means the Scope of Work associated with the building permit is very limited in nature and a lengthy or detailed review is not required by the Florida Building Code. As such, work to be performed on existing buildings that are rather simple, such as re-roofing, water heater replacements, HVAC replacements, and the like qualify as a minimum plan review project which will be reviewed and processed within three (3) business days. Contact us at (850) 248-8350 if you have questions concerning a small project that might qualify for minimum plan review. 

Registered users can visit the Portal Homepage and once logged in, select "permit search" under the Building Department category on the main page.  This functionality is not available unless a user account has been established.

When the final inspection is scheduled and once our inspectors log a passing result, our team of Permit Technicians will be automatically notified that the Certificate of Occupancy is ready to be issued. Once the Permit Technicians verify all required project close out documentation is on file, the CO will been issued. Permit holders can visit the portal homepage and select “My Items” and then “My Permit Applications” where a list of permit numbers will populate along the left of the page. Next, select the desired permit number to open a page displaying the permit status and all related documentation. The Certificate of Occupancy can be found under the section “Documents & Images” once it has been made available. 

Select the “My Items” button at the top of the webpage, near where you signed into your account. Open the section labelled “My Permit Applications” and find the permit on the list. This list will have a brief status and information on each permit, and allows you to edit permits using the various available options. From here, you can select the permit number on the left to open a page displaying the permit status and all related documentation. If anything looks inaccurate or you have further questions, we encourage you to call the Building Safety Division at (850) 248-8350. 

Visit the portal homepage or any of the Building Safety Division pages, and you should see an option for “Building Forms” along the left side of the screen. This page is a resource for all Building Safety Division forms and information. If you should need assistance, please call us at (850) 248-8350, we’d be happy to help you. 

New contractor registrations must be done in person at the Building Safety Division office. Please contact us at 850-248-8350 to schedule an appointment to talk with one of our License and Trades Investigators. 

The first thing to check is to make sure you are on the correct webpage, Bay County Web Portal. From the correct webpage, users will then select the “sign in” which will open the next step in the process and there you’ll find a “Forgot your password?” toward the bottom of the page. By selecting the forgot your password button, a screen will appear where you’ll enter the email address on record of the user account which will trigger an email to be sent to the email address on record. By following the instructions within that email message, a user will be able to create a new password and then log in using the newly updated password. 

Yes, you can. However, all county permit applications are now processed through the cloud-based online Portal which can be found HERE. If you do decide to pay us a visit in person, our staff will be happy to walk you through the Portal user registration and application process in person and you will be able to access the permit afterwards through your portal login. 

You can use the Bay County Property Appraiser’s website to perform a Property Search Selecting Here. After typing in your address or parcel number, you will see Parcel Summary page. The unincorporated areas of Bay County will be labelled as Fire County Mosquito District 55 or District 56. Other tax district numbers indicates the property is located within the jurisdictional boundary of an incorporated city and you will need to contact the appropriate government body for permitting. 

Contractor complaints can be filed with DBPR by following this LINK.

Contractor complaints can be filed with DBPR by following this LINK.

While you can find the product approval information on the manufacture’s websites / stores they are sold in. You may also search the information on this link: PRODUCT APPROVAL INFORMATION 

While we cannot recommend a specific contractor, licensed contractors are regulated by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and are searchable at MY FLORIDA LICENSE. 

The 2023 Florida Building Code, Eighth Edition can be viewed HERE. 

The Planning and Zoning Division is responsible for administering the Bay County Land Development Regulations which includes provisions for the establishment and enforcement of zoning requirements and set-back dimensions required in the unincorporated areas of Bay County. You can find most information on the P&Z website or you may contact our Planning and Zoning Department at 850-248-8250. 

The cost of the building permit fee, like the cost of a project, will depend upon the size and scope of the project. The intended use, size, and type of construction of the building are the biggest factors. A building permit for a typical 2,500 square foot site-built, single family dwelling, including state surcharges and plan review fees would be roughly $1,600 excluding any additional Bay County impact fees that may apply. More detailed information concerning permit fees can be found HERE. 

Building permits are valid for 180-days. In order to remain valid, a passing inspection result is required which resets the 180-day clock. In the event construction stalls or if no passing inspection results are recorded the permit will automatically expire and a new permit will need to be obtained. 

All building permit applications are required to be submitted online through the Bay County Portal which can be found HERE. 

The Bay County on-line permitting system, also known as the Portal, can be found HERE. Once the Portal web page is open, select the red “Sign In” button, scroll to the bottom of the page and select the red “Register” button to create a new account. Note that this registration process is open to everyone; however, Contractor user accounts must be registered using the email address on record with the Building Safety Division in order to properly link the Contractor license to the user account. 

Sign into your user account on the Portal, select the red “My Items” button followed by the red “My Permit Applications”. All permit applications and active building permits that are linked to your user account will populate in that area. 

Building permits are also searchable by permit number or street address by simultaneously pressing “ctrl F” and entering the known permit number or known street address in the search box. 

Visit the portal homepage and select “Estimate Fees” towards the top of the page under the heading Building Department. Similar to the permit application process, you will be asked to select the application type, enter details of the work description, and select work items. A fee estimate summary will be generated based on the information you provide. Note that this is an estimating tool only and final fees may vary. 

Notifications of a fee due will be sent from Bay County to the email address of the registered user. Once a user receives an invoice, the user will simply log into their Portal account and navigate their way to “my items” and then “my permit applications”. Once the desired invoice is located, the user will find and select “add fees to cart”. Once all desired fees are added to the shopping cart, users can then select “my shopping cart” to review all items in the cart and make the payment. Note that a user should avoid paying fees online prior to receiving an actual emailed invoice from Bay County. 

There are a couple of reasons fees might be removed from a user’s shopping cart. For instance, if by chance a user makes an error entering the credit card information, or if the user waited too long to complete the transaction, the fees are placed into a hold that is designed to prevent double payments. Regardless, fees will be released after 24-hours for the user to add them back into the shopping cart. Or, a user can simply contact the Building Safety Division to request assistance. 

Once payments are made, a notification is sent to Bay County staff to verify all payments have been successful and no other information is required. Once confirmed, the permit will be issued via email. 

Inspection requests are submitted by telephone or through the user’s portal account. A user can locate their permits “my items” and then “my permit applications”. Once there, select “Request Inspection”. A menu of inspection options will be available to select the appropriate inspection required to include an option to select the most desirable date to inspect. At this point, especially with the first inspection request, user’s should be certain to confirm the contact name and cell phone number of the person on-site or any necessary access door or gate codes required for Bay County staff to access the property. 

This is usually due to the inspection you are requesting not being in the correct order. For instance, a user may have accidently requested a plumbing final in advance in advance of the plumbing rough-in receiving a passing result. Additionally, there could possibly be an inspection required before the one you are schedule that may be “not applicable”. Regardless, if this should happen and the user isn’t finding success correcting the issue, please call Bay County at 850-248-8360. We’ll be happy to help resolve the matter for you and get that inspection scheduled. 

This is typically because a required document has not been attached to the application. User’s should be careful to ensure each document required is uploaded and attached to the application to be submitted. 

A completed Change of Contractor form must be provided to amend the building permit top reflect this change. Users can do that through the Portal user account. Staff will be automatically notified of the uploaded document and the change will become visible in a day or two. The new contractor will be listed under the project contacts once the substitute contractor required licensing and insurance certificate have been verified by BSD staff. 

Applications noted as pending are making their way through the mandatory review process stipulated by State Statute, the Florida Building Code, or local Land Development Regulations. Portal application are automatically assigned to the appropriate Bay County staff for a thorough review of all associated documents for accuracy and completeness. Should additional information be required, staff will contact the user in order to successfully resolve those outstanding issues. 

The Bay County online permitting process has been streamlined and modernized to eliminate unnecessary steps in the process thereby saving everyone involved both time and money. The current process begins with a single building permit application that includes 100-percent of the project Scope of Work required. This sole application automatically triggers a parallel process whereby all the required reviews take place simultaneously in lieu of the old linear process that involved the passing of paperwork from office to office (series process). Any specialty work such as mechanical, electrical, plumbing, or roofing are permitted under the single primary permit application and do not require additional permitting. 

All applicable fees will all be calculated at the conclusion of the review process and subsequently paid with one payment from the convenience of your home or office. Sub-Contractors are no longer required to submit permit applications or make multiple trips to the Bay County office building. 

Each project requires a Notice of Commencement to be recorded and filed at the Bay County Courthouse in accordance with Florida Statute 713.13 which can be viewed in its entirety HERE. The recorded NOC is required to submitted to Bay County prior to scheduling the first building inspection and is not required to be included in the building permit application, however, it is recommended that the applicant submit this document as soon as possible in order to avoid unnecessary delays when attempting to schedule inspections. 

Yes. Florida Statute 489.103, which can be found HERE, contains provisions for a property owner to self-perform as the contractor under certain and specific circumstances. Owners must follow the user registration process as described elsewhere. Once the property owner is a registered user, they can apply for a building permit through the Portal. However, Statute requires the property owner to appear in person at the Building Safety Division to review and sign the Owner-Builder Affidavit in the presence of one of the Bay County Building Safety Division a Notary Public prior to the issuance of the Building Permit. This Notary Public service is offered at no cost to building permit applicants. 

The Building Safety Division is located at 840 W. 11^th Street, Panama City, Florida 32401. As is all other departments involved in the review and permitting of development activities to include Planning & Zoning, Engineering, GIS, Traffic, Public Works, and Code Enforcement. 

Building Permit application forms can be online HERE. Checklists showing the items required to be submitted for a permit are available under our online forms. 

The Building Safety Division hours of operation, where we are open to public guests, are 8:00 am through until 4:00 pm and phones are answered until 5:00pm, Monday – Friday.