Open Permit Closure— What We Handle

Most building departments in Miami-Dade and Broward County have online portals where you can search permit records by property address. Miami-Dade County uses the Miami-Dade Building Department portal. Broward County and its individual municipalities each have their own systems. The challenge is that South Florida has dozens of separate building departments — you need to check the correct one for your property's jurisdiction.

AGK Construction & Roofing includes a free permit records search as part of our on-site inspection. We identify the correct jurisdiction for your property, pull the permit history, and identify every open and expired permit on your property — across all trades — before you commit to any resolution work. Call (954) 807-3455 to schedule your free inspection.

This is one of the most common and most frustrating situations South Florida property owners face. Contractors frequently tell clients the permit is "taken care of" or "closed" — without actually scheduling and passing the final inspection required to officially close the permit in the building department's records. The only way to verify that a permit is truly closed is to check the building department's records directly and confirm that a final inspection was completed and approved.

AGK Construction & Roofing verifies the actual status of every permit in the building department's records — not just what your contractor told you. If the permit was not properly closed, we handle the final inspection and closure process from that point forward. If work needs to be corrected to pass inspection, we identify that during the free property visit.

Yes — absolutely. Open permits do not expire from the building department's records simply because time has passed. A permit pulled 20 years ago that never received a final inspection is still an open permit today and will still appear in a title search. In fact, older open permits are often more complicated to close because the work may no longer meet current Florida Building Code, the original contractor may be long gone, and the documentation may be incomplete or outdated.

AGK Construction & Roofing closes old open permits regularly — including permits from the 1990s and early 2000s. We assess the existing work, determine what corrections are needed to meet current code, obtain any necessary updated documentation, and coordinate the final inspection with the building department to officially close the permit regardless of how old it is.

An open permit is one that was issued and is still technically active — the permit has not been closed with a final inspection, but it has not yet lapsed. An expired permit is one that was issued but lapsed because no inspections were requested within the required timeframe, typically 6 months in most Florida jurisdictions after the last approved inspection.

The resolution process differs. An open permit that has not expired can sometimes be closed with just a final inspection — no new application needed, just scheduling the inspection and passing it. An expired permit typically requires a new permit application with updated drawings and sometimes updated materials to meet current code. AGK assesses which situation applies to your property during the free inspection and advises you on the fastest and least expensive path to closure.

Timeline depends on the type of permit, its status, and whether any corrections are needed before the final inspection. For straightforward cases — such as a roofing permit where the work was done correctly and just needs a final inspection — closure can sometimes be achieved in 1 to 3 weeks. For more complex situations requiring corrections or a new permit application for an expired permit, the process typically takes 3 to 6 weeks.

AGK Construction & Roofing treats pre-closing open permit cases as top priority. We communicate directly with your real estate agent and closing attorney so everyone is informed of the permit status throughout the process. Call (954) 807-3455 immediately when an open permit surfaces in your title search — the sooner we start, the sooner you can close.

Yes. This is one of the most common open permit scenarios in South Florida — the original contractor who pulled the permit has retired, gone out of business, lost their license, or become unreachable. The good news is that the permit belongs to the property, not the contractor, and a new licensed contractor can step in to complete the closure process.

AGK Construction & Roofing handles permits that were originally pulled by other contractors regularly. We assess the work that was done under the permit, determine what corrections are needed to meet current Florida Building Code, obtain any necessary new or updated documentation, and coordinate the final inspection with the building department to officially close the permit under our own licensed contractor credentials.

Yes. AGK Construction & Roofing holds four active Florida contractor licenses: Roofing (CCC-1335099), General Contractor (CGC-1534839), Plumbing (CFC-1434412), and Glass & Glazing (SCC-131153361). We can legally inspect, correct, and pass final inspections for open permits across all four trades under one contract.

For South Florida properties with multiple open permits across different trades — which is extremely common on properties that have changed hands several times — this means one contractor managing all closures simultaneously, coordinating with the building department on a unified timeline. This is significantly faster than hiring separate contractors for each trade's open permit.