Our permit guide answers the first questions — whether your project needs a permit, which office issues it, and who should pull it (your contractor, in their own name). This post is the sequel: what actually happens between "the application went in" and "the permit is closed," stage by stage, so the process doesn't feel like a black box while your kitchen sits in boxes.
Stage 1: The Application Package
In Orange County this is electronic — the county's FastTrack system — and the quality of the package decides most of what follows. A complete submission includes the drawings, and for structural work those plans must be signed and sealed by a Florida architect or engineer. Incomplete or ambiguous plans don't get rejected outright; they get commented on, and every comment costs a correction cycle. This is the least visible place a good contractor earns their fee: clean paperwork in, faster permit out.
Stage 2: Plan Review — and the Correction Cycle
Reviewers check the drawings against the building code. If everything is clean, the permit moves to issuance. If not, comments come back, the plans get revised, and the package goes through another cycle. This loop is why permit timelines vary so much for what looks like the same project: as published examples, the City of Orlando advises about two business days per review cycle, and Orange County notes approved documents are usually available within hours once approved — but nobody can tell you in advance how many cycles your plans will need. For additions, the overall permitting stretch has been running 6–10 weeks through 2025–2026.
Stage 3: Issuance, Sub-Permits, and the Notice of Commencement
When the permit issues, the trades attach their own sub-permits — electrical, mechanical, plumbing, gas, roofing as applicable. One more document matters before the first inspection: Florida requires a Notice of Commencement recorded for any project over $5,000. It establishes the project's official start for lien-law purposes; your contractor should prepare it as part of running the job, and a copy stays available on site.
Stage 4: The Inspection Sequence
Inspections happen at defined stages, and each one gates the next phase of work: the wall can't close until the rough-in inside it passes. A typical remodel sees framing and trade rough-in inspections mid-project and finals at the end; an addition adds foundation and structural inspections earlier in the sequence. Two things to understand as the homeowner:
- A failed inspection is normal. The correction gets made, the inspection gets re-called, the job moves on. Judge your contractor by their transparency about it, not by a perfect pass record.
- Nothing gets covered before its inspection. Drywall over an uninspected rough-in is the classic shortcut — and the classic tear-out. If you ever feel schedule pressure pushing that direction, that's the moment to ask questions.
Stage 5: Final Inspection and Closing the Permit
A passed final inspection is mandatory to close the permit. New additions receive a Certificate of Occupancy; alterations typically get a Certificate of Completion. Get that paperwork at your final walkthrough and file it with your records — open permits surface at the worst times, usually at refinance or sale, and closing someone else's years-old permit is far harder than closing your own on time. Our process page shows where this lands in a full project arc.
What This Means for Your Schedule
Add it up and the permit is a real phase of your project, not an errand: weeks of review before work starts, inspections gating each phase during construction, and paperwork at the end. That's why our addition timeline guide and best-time-to-remodel guide both treat permitting as schedule, not bureaucracy. Plan for it and it's routine; ignore it and it's every delay you didn't see coming.
Want a project where all of this is simply handled? That's how we run every job — permits in our name, inspections scheduled and passed, closure documented. Call (407) 634-4099 for a free phone consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does plan review take in Orange County?
It depends on scope and how many correction cycles your plans need. As published examples: the City of Orlando advises about two business days per review cycle, and Orange County notes approved documents are usually available within hours of approval. A like-for-like remodel can clear quickly; an addition needing engineered drawings has been running 6–10 weeks through 2025–2026. The cycles are the variable — clean, complete plans are the biggest thing that shortens the wait.
What is a Notice of Commencement and who files it?
Florida requires a Notice of Commencement recorded for any project over $5,000, before the first inspection. It's a recorded document that establishes when the project officially began, and it matters for lien law. Your contractor should handle preparing it as part of running the permit; it gets recorded with the county, and a copy typically needs to be available at the job site.
What happens if an inspection fails?
It gets fixed and re-inspected — a failed inspection is a normal part of construction, not a scandal. The inspector documents what needs correction, the work is corrected, and the inspection is re-called. What you should expect from your contractor is transparency: which inspection, what the correction was, and when it passed. What should worry you is work getting covered up before its inspection — that's the shortcut that turns into tear-out.
How do I know the permit was closed at the end?
A passed final inspection closes the permit — additions get a Certificate of Occupancy, most alterations a Certificate of Completion. Ask for the documentation at your final walkthrough and keep it with your records. Open permits have a way of resurfacing at refinance or sale, years later, when the contractor who left them open is long gone.