Pinellas County permits: status, inspections and expiration
- Permit portal
- Pinellas County Access Portal
- Run by
- Pinellas County Building and Development Review Services
- Phone
- (727) 464-3888
- Official page
- pinellas.gov
Which permits does Pinellas County issue?
Pinellas County's Building and Development Review Services permits construction in unincorporated Pinellas County, such as Lealman and Palm Harbor, and in several smaller municipalities that use the county for building services; the county's department page lists them. Larger cities, including St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo and Dunedin, run their own building departments.
How to check a permit's status
- Without signing in: search the Pinellas County Access Portal (Accela) by the record number. The record page shows the record's status, its details and its inspections.
- Signed in: the records on your account are listed under My Records, where each record also shows conditions and fees.
Inspections
Inspections are scheduled in the Access Portal. For several express permit types, such as roofing, mechanical, windows and doors, the county also offers virtual inspections through the VuSpex GO app, either as an offline field report or a live video inspection with a county inspector.
Keeping a permit from expiring
Under the Florida Building Code (section 105.4.1), a permit becomes invalid if work doesn't start within six months of issuance, or if work stops for six months after it starts. Work counts as in progress when the permit has an approved inspection within 180 days (section 105.4.1.3). A failed or cancelled inspection doesn't reset the clock.
If the county's record shows an expiration date, that date is the one that counts. Check it after every inspection rather than counting days yourself, and ask the Pinellas County Building and Development Review Services about an extension before the date passes, not after.
This guide is general information for contractors, not legal advice. Procedures change; confirm with the Pinellas County Building and Development Review Services.
See every Pinellas County permit on one list
PermitGlance signs in to your Pinellas County portal account and imports every permit on it, with its inspections and city documents. It warns you before a permit expires and tells you when an inspection fails, alongside your permits in the 16 other jurisdictions we cover. It only reads; it never changes anything on your county account.