Which Broward and Palm Beach towns publish a permit rule for common home jobs?

We read the published permit sources of 72 Broward and Palm Beach jurisdictions for seven common home jobs, and the tables below show what each one's own source (or, for some Broward towns, the county's rule) says, with its link and the date we read it.

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How does InstaBids work, in one paragraph?

Describe your job once on InstaBids, with photos and a written scope, and contractors who take part can bid on it. Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection. Homeowners in Broward and Palm Beach counties can start a request. InstaBids is not a government-contract tool, auction site or construction company.

What did this study check?

Every jurisdiction in our permit research notes, 72 in all: 31 Broward and 39 Palm Beach cities, towns and villages, plus each county's unincorporated area. For seven home jobs, we read each one's own published permit sources on 29 and 30 September 2026 and recorded what they say under one of five labels.

How to read the labels

Each cell holds one label, then a link to the source it rests on and the date we read it. The labels describe what a jurisdiction publishes, not what the law requires, and they are applied in this order, the first that fits:

• Job named: the jurisdiction's own source (its website, code, form, checklist, permit-type list, fee schedule or issued-permit report, or the building provider it names) names this job as permit work. An exemption-only mention does not establish this label. An inspection line counts only if it ties the repair to a permit.
• General rule: its own source states a permit rule for the wider kind of work, such as all plumbing work, swimming pools, or repairs and alterations, without naming this job. A checklist for building a new pool does not count for resurfacing.
• County rule: Broward towns only. The town's own sources hold neither of the above, so the cell cites the Broward County amendments to the Florida Building Code, which apply throughout Broward County.
• None found: on the check date we found no published rule from that jurisdiction naming the job or the wider kind of work. It records our search, not the law, and the link shows where we searched.
• Not researched (not used in this edition): we did not check this job there.

Under the label, a cell can add "exemption published", with an excerpt from the source (each list item quoted on its own; open the source for all conditions), "value cap, see source" where the source exempts some of the job below a value limit, or "threshold unreadable, see source" where the limit or its unit could not be read; the rule still comes first. We show an exemption only where the source names this job or its trade in it, so a "Job named" or "General rule" cell can still have a general small-repair exemption: open the source before you rely on a label. For plumbing, "Job named" and the CSV's names field mean operations named as permit work: repiping or fixture replacement; the CSV says which. For a roof repair in Broward, the county rule itself exempts some small roof repairs; open it. The study looks for permit rules for the job: where the only permit a town names is a zoning permit, the cell says so, and zoning or floodplain wording that never mentions a permit for the job is listed in the CSV's limits column, not counted.

What the study found

Counted from the 504 cells in the tables below; the two count tables give every label for every job. The labels measure how specifically each town publishes its rule, not how strict it is. Broward has a county rule that every town falls back on; Palm Beach has no matching label, and the Florida Building Code applies statewide in both.

• A/C change-out: a published rule of some kind (Job named + General rule + County rule) in 71 of 72: “Job named” in 28 of 32 Broward and 35 of 40 Palm Beach jurisdictions, “General rule” in 3 Broward and 4 Palm Beach, “County rule” in 1 Broward; “None found” in 1 of 72.
• Water heater: a published rule of some kind (Job named + General rule + County rule) in 71 of 72: “Job named” in 29 of 32 Broward and 25 of 40 Palm Beach jurisdictions, “General rule” in 2 Broward and 14 Palm Beach, “County rule” in 1 Broward; “None found” in 1 of 72.
• Plumbing (repipe or fixtures): a published rule of some kind (Job named + General rule + County rule) in 71 of 72: “Job named” in 12 of 32 Broward and 6 of 40 Palm Beach jurisdictions, “General rule” in 18 Broward and 33 Palm Beach, “County rule” in 2 Broward; “None found” in 1 of 72.
• Electrical panel or service: a published rule of some kind (Job named + General rule + County rule) in 72 of 72: “Job named” in 26 of 32 Broward and 12 of 40 Palm Beach jurisdictions, “General rule” in 5 Broward and 28 Palm Beach, “County rule” in 1 Broward; “None found” in 0 of 72.
• Pool resurfacing: a published rule of some kind (Job named + General rule + County rule) in 66 of 72: “Job named” in 5 of 32 Broward and 3 of 40 Palm Beach jurisdictions, “General rule” in 11 Broward and 31 Palm Beach, “County rule” in 16 Broward; “None found” in 6 of 72.
• Fence: a published rule of some kind (Job named + General rule + County rule) in 69 of 72: “Job named” in 30 of 32 Broward and 35 of 40 Palm Beach jurisdictions, “General rule” in 0 Broward and 2 Palm Beach, “County rule” in 2 Broward; “None found” in 3 of 72.
• Roof repair: a published rule of some kind (Job named + General rule + County rule) in 71 of 72: “Job named” in 14 of 32 Broward and 19 of 40 Palm Beach jurisdictions, “General rule” in 16 Broward and 20 Palm Beach, “County rule” in 2 Broward; “None found” in 1 of 72.

Broward County results

Each cell links the source it rests on, with the date we read it. On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see every job; the jurisdiction column stays in place.

Palm Beach County results

Same labels and layout as the Broward table. On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see every job.

Method and limits

Jurisdictions: every Broward and Palm Beach city, town and village in our permit research notes (31 and 39), plus each county's unincorporated area, read through the county's own building pages. Jobs: replacing a central A/C system, replacing a water heater, planned plumbing (repiping or replacing fixtures), an electrical panel or service change, resurfacing a pool, installing or replacing a fence, and repairing a roof (not a full re-roof).

What counts as a published rule: a page, code section, form, checklist, permit-type list, fee schedule or issued-permit report published by the jurisdiction or by the building provider it names. A fee line for a job counts as naming it. Summaries written by anyone else do not count.

In the CSV, the source-role column tells a supporting rule from a page we only searched. The read-from column records how the cited page was read, and the dated-source column records a document's own date, separate from the date we checked it. A publication chain is the town page that sends readers to a provider or another publication; the chain name and chain link columns keep it. An empty exemption field means no exemption recorded in the cited source for this job.

Check dates: A/C sources were read on 29 and 30 September 2026; the other six jobs on 30 September 2026. Some town sites refuse automated readers, so those pages were read in a full browser; where the notes also hold an older archived copy of a page, the cell cites the live page read on the check date.

Limits: rules change after the check date, a label is a summary and the source decides, and only the building department can say what your job needs. A 2026 Florida law lets some small single-family jobs skip a permit; towns apply it differently, and trade work such as electrical, plumbing and mechanical stays permit-required. Check your town's page; Juno Beach's notice is one example. A few documents could not be opened at all; where that touched a cell, the CSV says so. Some cited documents are older files the town still links; the date shown is when we read it, not when the town issued it. This study is not legal advice.

What does "None found" mean for my job?

Nothing about your job, only about our search: on the check date we found no published rule from that jurisdiction naming the job or the wider kind of work. Ask the building department for your address before work starts, and ask each bidder whether the permit is in the bid.

Should I ask a bidder about the permit?

Yes, ask each bidder whether the permit is in the bid and who will pull it, then confirm the rule yourself with the building department for your address. The tables point you to the source each jurisdiction publishes, with the date we read it.

Can I download the data?

Yes, the study data as a CSV file has one line for each jurisdiction and job, 504 in all: the label, any exemption, the source and its role, the date we read it, the dataset version and a method link. It is published under CC BY 4.0: reuse it with credit to InstaBids.

How do I cite this study?

Use this line: InstaBids, “Which Broward and Palm Beach towns publish a permit rule for common home jobs?”, permit sources checked 29 and 30 September 2026, dataset version 2026-10-02-r3, instabids.ai/studies/permit-rules-broward-palm-beach. Link the page as well, so readers can open the source behind each cell.

How do written bids from photos work?

Describe the job with photos and a short written scope, and contractors who take part can price that scope without a site visit. Homeowners pay InstaBids nothing. The contractor you pick may visit once before settling the final price against the percentage the bid stated. How InstaBids works sets out the rule.

Who can see my contact details?

Contractors who bid work from your scope card and photos. Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection. The contact-detail filter can miss disguised contact details.

Sources for the facts on this page

• Town rows: each cell's own source link and checked date, in the two tables above.
• County rule cells and the county-wide scope: the Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals amendments to the Florida Building Code, chapter 1, section 105 (sections 105.3.1.4.4, 105.3.1.4.5, 105.3.1.4.10, 105.3.1.4.11, 105.3.1.4.13 and 105.3.1.4.18), read 29 September 2026 (A/C and plumbing sections) and 30 September 2026 (electrical, pool, fence and roof sections).

More guides for Broward and Palm Beach homeowners

Each county's guides start from the Broward County homeowner guides and the Palm Beach County homeowner guides; the A/C rows are explained town by town in AC quotes in Broward County and AC quotes in Palm Beach County, and the Florida hiring checklist covers the steps before you sign.

Last checked: 30 September 2026 (sources read 29-30 September 2026)