“How long until we can start building?” is usually the second question a client asks us, right after “how much will it cost?” The honest answer is that the construction permit timeline in Miami-Dade and Broward is almost never a single number — it’s a chain of review stages, each with its own clock, and the total depends on how complete your plans are on day one.
As a licensed general contractor (CGC1533873) building new homes and additions across Miami-Dade and Broward, we manage this process on every ground-up project we take on. Here’s what actually happens between “plans submitted” and “permit in hand”, with realistic timeframes for each stage, not a single optimistic number pulled from a website.
Construction Permit Timeline in Miami-Dade: Stage by Stage
Miami-Dade reviews new single-family construction through multiple disciplines working in parallel, not one reviewer moving through your file start to finish. That parallel structure is also why the number of departments your project touches predicts your timeline better than the size of the house does.
| Stage | What happens | Typical timeframe |
| Intake & completeness check | Application logged, fees paid, package confirmed complete before the review clock starts | 1–2 weeks |
| Multi-discipline plan review | Structural, zoning, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and — if your lot triggers it — DERM environmental review, running simultaneously | 4–8 weeks for a straightforward single-family home |
| Corrections & resubmittal | Reviewers issue comments; you respond and resubmit | 1–3 weeks per cycle (budget for at least one cycle) |
| Special reviews (if applicable) | DERM, coastal construction control line, or historic preservation review, when your lot or scope triggers them | Adds 4–16 weeks on top of standard review |
| Final approval & permit issuance | All disciplines sign off, fees are calculated and paid | About 1 week |
Put together, a straightforward ground-up single-family permit in Miami-Dade typically clears in 6 to 8 weeks once your application is accepted as complete. Add DERM or coastal review, and that stretches to 3 to 6 months. Larger or more complex projects can run longer still.
Construction Permit Timeline in Broward: What’s Different
Broward’s timeline runs on similar logic, with one major variable Miami-Dade doesn’t have in the same way: Broward County has 31 incorporated municipalities, and most of them run their own building department instead of going through the county. Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, and Coral Springs each review plans on their own schedule, so “Broward” isn’t really one timeline, it’s dozens of them.
With that caveat, here’s what a straightforward single-family permit generally looks like:
| Stage | Typical timeframe |
| Initial plan review | 10–30 days, depending on jurisdiction and project complexity |
| Corrections & resubmittal (if needed) | 1–3 weeks per cycle |
| Full permit issuance, straightforward residential scope | 4–8 weeks total |
| Complex projects (structural changes, ADUs, whole-home builds needing peer engineering review) | 6–12+ weeks |
The practical takeaway: in both counties, a clean, complete, correctly sealed submittal is what keeps you in the faster end of these ranges. Every deficiency cycle (a missing signature, an expired product approval, an incomplete flood elevation certificate) adds one to three weeks back onto the clock, and it’s the single biggest variable we manage on behalf of clients.
Why HVHZ Adds a Layer Reviewers Don’t Skip
Miami-Dade and Broward both sit inside Florida’s High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ), which means every impact-rated product on your project — windows, doors, garage doors, roofing — has to carry a valid Notice of Acceptance (NOA) or Florida Product Approval that matches exactly what’s specified on your plans. Reviewers check this closely, and it’s one of the most common reasons a resubmittal cycle gets triggered: an NOA that’s expired, or one that doesn’t quite match the product actually called out in the drawings.
The fix isn’t complicated, but it has to happen before you submit, not after a reviewer flags it: confirm every HVHZ product’s approval is current and matches your plans exactly, and keep that documentation organized and ready to attach to your application.
From Permit to Certificate of Occupancy: The Full Picture
Getting your permit issued is the starting gun on the construction permit timeline, not the finish line. Once construction begins, a typical ground-up single-family home in Miami-Dade or Broward runs 10 to 14 months from permit issuance to final inspection, moving through foundation, framing and dry-in, rough-in inspections (electrical, plumbing, mechanical), insulation, drywall, and finish work, each phase with its own scheduled inspection.
Two things worth planning around at the closeout end:
- Inspection scheduling has its own lead time. Expect roughly one to three business days to get an inspector out once work is ready, longer during busy seasons.
- Certificate of Occupancy (CO) issuance isn’t instant. All final inspections and any trade or fire department sign-offs have to clear first, and closeout paperwork can add another two to four weeks after the last inspection passes, even when the work itself is done.
So the realistic, full picture for a ground-up single-family home is: roughly 2 to 6 months of permitting, followed by 10 to 14 months of construction and inspections, for a total of about a year to a year and a half from application to move-in. Projects with DERM, coastal, or multiple resubmittal cycles run longer; simple, complete applications on straightforward lots run shorter.
How We Keep the Construction Permit Timeline From Becoming a Delay
Most of the permit delays we see aren’t caused by the county being slow, they’re caused by submittals that go in incomplete. On our own ground-up projects, we manage that by:
- Confirming every HVHZ product approval before submittal, not after a reviewer catches it.
- Coordinating structural, MEP, and civil documents as one package, so disciplines aren’t reviewing against mismatched drawings.
- Responding to correction comments within days, not weeks, so a resubmittal cycle doesn’t sit idle.
- Building the permit timeline into the overall project schedule from day one, so clients know what to expect instead of guessing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get a building permit in Miami-Dade for a new house? For a straightforward single-family home, plan on 6 to 8 weeks once your application is accepted as complete. If DERM environmental review or coastal construction review applies to your lot, budget 3 to 6 months.
Is the permit process faster in Broward than Miami-Dade? Not necessarily, it depends entirely on which of Broward’s 31 municipalities you’re building in. Some incorporated cities move faster than Miami-Dade’s county-run process; others don’t. There’s no single “Broward timeline.”
What’s the single biggest thing that delays a permit? Incomplete or mismatched documentation, most often an HVHZ product approval (NOA) that’s expired or doesn’t match what’s specified on the plans. Each correction cycle this triggers adds one to three weeks.
Does getting the permit mean construction starts immediately? It means construction can start. From permit issuance, a typical ground-up single-family home in Miami-Dade or Broward takes 10 to 14 months to reach final inspection and Certificate of Occupancy.
Can I speed up my permit review? Some jurisdictions offer expedited review for an additional fee, but the more reliable lever is submitting a complete, correctly sealed package the first time, that alone avoids the resubmittal cycles that cause most delays.
Planning a ground-up build and want a realistic permit-to-move-in schedule for your specific lot? Schedule a free consultation with us, we’ll walk you through what your project’s permit path actually looks like before you submit, not after. Licensed General Contractor CGC1533873, serving Miami-Dade and Broward County.
Curious what construction itself costs once the permit clears? See our 2026 cost guide for building a new home in Miami-Dade.