/ F.S. 553.791 · Miami-Dade · Mechanical · Plumbing · Electrical

MEP private provider plan review and inspections in Miami-Dade

• PF-2026000081Miami-Dade private provider firm, Board and Code Administration Division (RER), approved September 28, 2026 · verify County listing
• PR-2026000343Registered representative: Osmany Portal, PE
• Florida PE 95945License record · verify on MyFloridaLicense
• F.S. 553.791Professional liability carried at the statutory private-provider limits

What a private provider changes, and what it does not

When to bring in a private provider

Timing decides what is still available and, in unincorporated Miami-Dade, whether the County's permit-fee discount applies. Find where your permit is.

1. 01Not applied yet

   Elect at application. The Notice to Building Official goes in with the permit application, and plan review and inspections can both be private from the start.

2. 02Applied, not yet issued

   File the notice before the permit is issued. The County's fee schedule applies its private-provider discounts only when the provider is disclosed before issuance. If the County has already reviewed the plans, inspections only is still an option.

3. 03Issued, no inspection yet

   Notify by 2 p.m., two business days before the first scheduled inspection, and do not let a County inspection happen first. The fee-schedule discount is tied to disclosure before issuance.

4. 04The County has already inspected

   The County states that once it completes an inspection before a private provider is noticed, the option is no longer available. After construction starts, it lists a path for single-trade permits and for single- and two-family residences by notifying the building official. We check each permit's inspection history before quoting.

5. 05Replacing another private provider

   The new provider takes responsibility for the rest of the project: review of revisions or deferred drawings and the remaining inspections. We need the prior provider's record of every inspection performed and an updated notice before we inspect anything.

Unincorporated Miami-Dade (County Building). Fee discounts: County fee schedule, Implementing Order 4-63, effective October 1, 2026. Which permit fees are discounted, and by how much, depends on the trades and services on the notice; the department confirms the amount. Cities run their own intake and fees.

Is it worth it on your job? Six questions

A private provider pays for itself when review or inspection availability is what is holding the work. It does not help when the hold-up is a department it cannot replace or a set that still does not answer the comments. The screen below says which, and writes a record you can send with your inquiry.

How the engagement runs

1. Screen and scope. Jurisdiction, permit status, trades, services, construction value, and the design-and-build conflict check. Then a written proposal with a fixed fee, the number of review cycles, and the number of inspection visits.
2. Notice to Building Official. The fee owner, or the contractor on the owner's behalf, files it. In Miami-Dade County's jurisdiction: with the permit application when plan review is included, or by 2 p.m., two business days before the first scheduled inspection when it is inspections only. We supply the provider side: registration, license, insurance certificate, and representative documents as the jurisdiction requires.
3. Plan review. Mechanical, plumbing and electrical sheets reviewed against the adopted Florida Building Code and local amendments. Comments in writing with the sheet and the code path named. For each submission (new, revision, rework) the sworn plan compliance affidavit and the log of approved sheets.
4. Inspections. The contractor requests each inspection against the permit through the jurisdiction's system. We inspect, record results on the Florida Building Commission form, and submit them within the County's four-business-day window. Deficiencies are posted and reinspected before anything is covered.
5. Immediate hazards. A condition that poses an immediate threat to public safety goes to the building official right away. That is the statute, not a service option.
6. Closeout. A certificate of compliance for each trade before the certificate of occupancy or completion is requested, and the record set retained.

Before the first rough-in inspection

Most failed MEP inspections are not code arguments. They are work the inspector cannot see or a set that does not match the building.

• The approved set and the permit on site. The inspection is against that set, not the latest email.
• Everything in the inspection still exposed. Nothing concealed that the inspection covers.
• Plumbing: the required tests on the drain, waste and vent and the water piping in place at the time of inspection. See plumbing inspection day.
• Mechanical: equipment labels and listings visible, the manufacturer's installation instructions on site, service access and clearances as drawn, condensate routed to its approved termination, damper access before the ceiling closes. See mechanical inspections.
• Electrical: boxes, conductors, grounding and bonding visible before cover, and working space kept clear. See electrical inspection day.
• A field change the approved set does not show is a revision, not an inspection note. Submit it before the inspection that needs it.

Comparing private-provider quotes

Fees for the same permit vary widely, and the lowest number is only lower if it covers the same work. Ask every provider the same seven questions. Our proposals answer each one in writing.

• Who inspects? The person who walks the site and signs the report, and whether they are a registered representative named on the notice. At MasterBuild that is Osmany Portal, PE, at every visit.
• What is covered? Plan review, inspections or both; which trades; and which of the permit's required inspections the fee includes.
• How many visits? The number included, and the price of a reinspection or an extra visit.
• Who does the paperwork? Who prepares the Notice to Building Official package and the County forms, and who files each inspection report within the County's four-business-day window.
• Is closeout included? The certificate of compliance for each trade and the retained record set.
• Insurance. Professional liability at the statutory limits for your construction value, with a certificate once the engagement is active.
• Conflict check. Whether the provider's firm designed or built any part of the building. If it did, it cannot be your provider.

What to send for a quote

• Permit number or application status, the address, and the building department.
• Plan review, inspections, or both, and which trades.
• The current or approved set, or a share link.
• Construction value.
• Who designed the MEP and who is building it.
• Construction phase and the inspections you expect, with rough dates.
• If another private provider started the job, who, and the inspections already performed.

Official Miami-Dade forms and verification

Use the current County forms for the permit and inspection record. We confirm the jurisdiction, permit stage, trades, and required versions before the engagement starts.

Common questions